Kamsi froze the moment she broke into the room. Her heart sank. Her shoulders sagged, letting the heavy black bag slide down to the floor with a thud, spilling tomatoes, ogirishi , amarantus and onions. The sight in front of her was terrible.
“Oh my God!” she yelped. “Frank!” There was an edge of surprise in her scream. “I can’t believe this. I need a pinch right now. I must be dreaming.” She began to saunter and spin around.
Frank pulled away from the person he was with in the bed. He dragged himself up to his feet, the remains of his energy drowning in the softness of the squashy foam. When he was out of the bed, the face that remained sent a stinging shock down Kamsi’s spine. Her jaw almost dropped to the marble floor. “Haaa… Ijeoma! Oh my God, what’s happening here?” Her eyes began to mist and she pulled the red clip holding her new braids together. The action sent every single strand flying. The back of her throat suddenly caught an unforgiving dryness.
Ijeoma sat up. She dragged herself on her buttocks to the far corner of the bed and leaned against the wall. Two hard nipples pushing through the bedspread on her chest.
“Baby, it’s not what you think,” Frank voiced, as he went about hitching back the buttons of his pants.
“Sure, I understand. It’s not what I think.” She held her chest in a bid to quell the storm swelling beneath her chest.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he begged. A huge sweat flooded his dark skin. Kamsi searched tirelessly for the once merry crinkle at his eyes. But they were there no more.
“And you,” she barked, returning her gaze to Ijeoma. “To think that we were friends. I took you as a sister. I shared in your joy. And I also felt your pains. For how long has this been going on?”
“I’m so sorry, Kamsi.” She had gone on her knees begging with her eyes misting.
Kamsi’s face reddened with rage and she pushed forward, meaning to send a slap to her face. But she had only gotten near when Frank’s grip tighten around her waist. On realizing that she couldn’t pull away from his grip, she flung out a hand into the air between them, the ring in her finger catching on Ijeoma’s lips and blood spurted instantly.
Finally, she pulled free from his grip and rushed into the kitchen, reappearing seconds later with a knife. Pushing past Frank with eyes ladened with rage, she toppled over an unseen nylon on the floor. She lost control of her moves and her hand ran into the left part of her chest, plunging the knife deep into her heart. A pin drop silence fell in the room, but her wailed broke it as she writhed in pain. Blood gushed from her nose and mouth until her eyes stared blankly at her friend, still holding the pains of betrayal and on the altar of love.
THE END