Sacrilege - Season 1 - Episode 83

4 years ago

Sacrilege - Season 1 - Episode 83

*****
Teju had to push Deolu’s mother out of the room after Deolu left, since the woman refused to leave. As she slammed the door, she leaned heavily against it and slid down the door as her knees unbuckled beneath her. Pain engulfed her, causing her breath to come out in gasps.

Crawling, she moved herself away from the door and the sides of her bed until she got to the bedside drawer and yanked it open. Her shaky fingers searched the content of the drawer until she found a little container.

Opening it shakily, she eased her pill unto the palm of her hand, threw it into her mouth and swallowed. Leaning her back against the bed, she closed her eyes against the tears, waiting for the blinding pain to subside.

***** Chris dropped the phone and gripped the steering harder, eyes clued to the road ahead. Tito sat as still as a log of wood on the seat beside him. She stared out the window. His large oversized jacket around her shoulders, coupled with the stray strands of her hair dancing around her face, made her look no more than a child. She looked so vulnerable. And though she hadn’t uttered a word since they left the hospital or moved an inch since she settled into the chair in his car, Chris was awfully aware of her presence.
He seemed to know every time she blinked. And every time she did more than blink; when her eyes closed for few seconds, her long lashes becoming more pronounced as they fanned her upper cheeks. He knew every time her breath came out a lot shakier than normal. The heavy silence which hung around the car was uncomfortable to say the least, but what was more uncomfortable was knowing that she was going through so much pain and not know what to do about it. It made him restless for an unknown reason.
He suspected the pain wasn’t just from hearing about the accident. He had seen that look in her eyes. That look that told him that she had experienced something similar before. ‘That’s what they said the last time’ the words Tito spoke in the hospital came back to him. What had happened to her?
“Turn off the air conditioner” Tito’s voice suddenly said into the heavy silence as her hand stuck out, rolling down her glass with the automatic button. Chris swallowed, turned off the air conditioner and also wound down his glass. The wind blew Tito’s unkempt hair into disarray. The bond holding back the long thresses was certainly no match for the will of the stubborn mane. Tito’s nerves seemed to relax and Chris saw her close her eyes for a brief moment.

He gripped the wheels, staring back at the road. “Feel better?”

Tito remained silent for a while. “Yes.” She answered finally. “You should go to her”
Chris turned his eyes off the road to give her a questioning look but she still had her eyes out of the window. “Huh?”

Tito swallowed. “I know that’s where you truly want to be – with Laura. I know you’ve been thinking about it… Laura all alone in that hospital, there’s nothing you wouldn’t give to be there, holding her hand, lying to her that everything would be alright…” her voice trailed off and Chris turned his eyes back to the road, gripping the wheel harder. “It is totally fine. You don’t have to be stuck with me any more than I want to be stuck with you”

Chris held his tongue. He had learnt to hold his tongue to avoid saying something he’d later regret. Of course, she wasn’t so wrong. He had been so worried about Laura being all alone in the hospital that he had to call Deolu. But weirdly, he didn’t wish he was with Laura right now. He knew even if he were there, he would not be able to give Laura the kind of support Deolu could give her.
“You wouldn’t get rid of me that easily.” Chris finally said. Tito fell silent as Chris drove on. “Got a thing with hospitals?” he asked.
Tito took a deep breath. “I don’t want to talk about it”

“You should, if you want to go back there.” Tito slid him a look. “I know we’ve not been the best of friends, maybe not even friends at all; but you can confide in me” he smiled at her. “I’m a good listener”
“That’s news”
“C’mon.” His eyes softened.
Lll

Tito’s eyes grew dark as she stared out the window again. The wind blew her hair around. “Let’s just say whoever loves me ends up dead.” Her mouth took on a bitter smile. “They die” her voice shook. “It has happened before. Twice” she swallowed. “And now…”
Chris saw her hand go up to her face to wipe a tear before it fell. His chest sq££zed painfully. He had Laura in his car several days back. But even then, he hadn’t felt this much pain. There was this grief that Tito could not hide. One he wondered how she had been able to hide it so perfectly for so long.

“Now, I can see it happening again” Tito continued, her voice came out so lifeless, it tore at him. “My dad loves me so much and now… and now…”