“Ouch” I whimpered painfully. “Please be careful
Tina” I said sharply.
“Sorry” she seemed to be trying hard to control
her emotions as she tended the bloody fist marks
all over my body with hot water and a clean
towel. “Just try to endure the pain” she whispered
sympathetically.
I winced as the hot towel hit my skin again. It felt
like a great camp fire had been lit beneath my
skin and everywhere was aching like hell. It still
felt extremely unbelievable that Alex had actually
beaten me up. He had slapped me once but even
then, I never imagined that he would have the
nerve to beat me to a pulp in my delicate
condition. “Ow! Easy” I moaned painfully.
Tina shook her head. “Forgive me, but I really
wish I could kill that husband of yours. I know he
is your husband but he is a demented beast. My
apologies” she grumbled angrily as she squeezed
the towel aggressively.
I swallowed painfully. This is one subject I would
rather avoid. “You don’t need to apologize Tina, I
also wish I could kill him; my life would be a lot
better… Ow…” I moaned in pain as she placed the
hot towel on my swollen face.
She wiped tears I hadn’t noticed from her face. “I
was so scared… especially when you passed out.
We need to get you to the hospital” she said
sternly.
I sighed. “How many times would I tell you that I
am not going to any hospital? I am not going” I
would not want to explain how and why I turned
into a punching bag to any doctor. It was already
embarrassing and degrading enough that Tola
and Tina were the spectators of the disastrous
event, adding the staff of a hospital to the list
would be more than I can stomach.
“You are being too stubborn Amara. Your baby is
involved here, even if you don’t care about
yourself” she said angrily.
“My baby is perfectly fine, I am sure” I said.
“How can you be so sure? Your baby is part of
you; if you are hurt, your baby is hurt too” she
retorted.
I swallowed and endured the pain without making
a sound. Tola entered the room, bringing more
hot water and left in a hurry like she could not
bear to see me in that condition. I exhaled
audibly. For the first time, I really looked at Tina
and noticed something odd. “Tina? Why do you
have that swell on your head?” I asked, sitting up
sharply to examine the swollen part of her head.
She brushed my hand away, avoiding my gaze.
“Stop. Lay still and let me finish what I am doing.
This is nothing”
I ignored her. “This does not look like nothing.
What happened to your head? Did you fall?”
“Y…Yes… I slipped in the kitchen and hit my head”
she murmured
I shook my head. “You are a terribly liar Tina, you
can’t effectively lie to me” I said, knowing that I
won’t like the answer. “What happened?” I said
sharply.
“Erm…” she coughed slightly. “I tried to pull your
husband away when he was… erm… beating you…
and he pushed me away…”
“And you hit your head on something” I finished
for her in extreme anger, bouncing off the bed
within the twinkling of an eye and hiding the
sharp pain that took over my wounded body.
“The wall” she stated. “But it is nothing and it
would go soon. I did not ask you to stand up, you
are very hurt” she murmured disapprovingly.
“How dare he?” I roared as my anger
skyrocketed. “He might be able to hurt me but he
has no right to disrespect my friends”
“Please don’t forget that I am under his employ”
she said. “Don’t beat yourself up over nothing. He
is paying me so he has the right”
“Absolutely not. He is paying you to cook for him
and not bump your head against the wall. I would
give him a piece of my mind. If he thinks he has
put me in my place by beating me up” I laughed
heartily, though it was painful. “Well, he should
think again. I have already been stripped of my
pride and dignity; there is nothing left to be
ashamed of”
She sighed. “Well, he is not around now; thank
God for that. Now, you would use your drugs and
sleep, thank God the marks are not visible
anymore”
“Yeah. My skin never retained marks for long, I
am lucky I am not as white as that swine; Lisa.”
I said gratefully.
“Yeah, if you were, your body would look like a
painter’s board. Now, come and lie down, you
need to rest”
“Let me see what I can do to your head first” I
said alternatively.
“No! I have done that. I am not in the mood to
feel that pain again, please” she grimaced.
I smiled. “And you called me a baby for feeling
pains.”
**********
