DEMONS YOU MADE

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Malik.

I finally took Valerie's advice after two weeks. Truly, I had gotten very fond of Valerie these past weeks. We've spent a lot of times together. I wanted to ask her out on a date but I'm scared of how she'll react. I fear that girl sometimes.

I decided to go to Ruby's apartment and that's where I am right now, by the door of her hostel. I knocked softly on the door.

"Yeah. Who's there?" I heard Amanda say. Amanda has been Ruby's roomie since I've known her. She was a nice Igbo girl that was raised in Warri. She was really funny and easygoing.

"Urhmmm...it's Malik." I told her and she opened the door. She smiled and ushered me in.

"Bros Bros...how e be naw? Long time ...I never find you" I laughed at what she said.

"Well... I've been good. So where's Ruby?"

"She dey inside..wait she step outside. She go soon come back"

"Wait....is she out or she's in? "

"She dey inside before she con go out go buy food wey we go chop"

"Alright. I'm just going to wait for her here."

"No p...she no go waste time."

As if on cue, Ruby stepped inside. She was in a blue  bumshort and a baggy tee-shirt.

"Gosh... Amanda can you just---" she just saw me and looked quite surprised.

"What are you doing here ?" She asked me

"I came to talk to you "

"About??....listen Malik. I'm not feeling too good so I'll appreciate it if you can just leave me alone"

"But--" I started to say but she interrupted me

"Amanda..here is your food." She said passing Amanda's nylon containing the food she bought her.

"Thanks. I'll just leave you both to talk. He looks really serious about talking to you. I'll go outside..you guys sort yourself out" I looked at her in amusement.

"That's the first time I've heard her speak more than one sentence in pure English" I said laughing but I stopped as soon as I saw her glaring face.

"You haven't answered me. Why are you here?" She said still not looking at me.

"Urhmmm...I've come to hear you out" I told her but she laughed maniacally.

"Hear me out? Malik you didn't hear me out about two weeks ago so why now? Ohh finally you have time for your old friend you abandoned for two bad weeks... fourteen horrible days. Chill...Did she tell you to come and hear me out?" She laughed again

"She did but---"

"Enough. I don't wanna hear it. You didn't believe me then and you won't now. I want to be alone now"

"Ruby.. you've been alone for two weeks now. I've been watching you these past weeks. You've been walking alone, doing things on your own. I've missed your smile y'know? Please smile a bit more."

"Malik, I have no reason to smile so I wouldn't smile. Please don't force it. Tell me what you want. I've explained everything already to you. What more d'you want?"

"I'm just trying to understand you"

"Like I said i have a messy family and all. I was raped by my stepbrother continually. I couldn't take it anymore so I stabbed him one night he came to my room. The more I remember the number of times he raped me since I was eight and how painful it was, the more I stabbed him. I just felt too good stabbing him. I was still stabbing him when dad and mom came in. I ignored their presence and continued stabbing him, despite I was crying. I remember how loud mom screamed, it was then I saw the amount of blood on my white bed sheet. Dad had always had a weak heart, so when mom made me drop the knife, and confirmed he was dead. Dad slumped. We had to take them both to the hospital. The motherfucker was already dead before he got to the hospital but mom just wanted to be sure he could live. Dad died as well and that was the beginning of my hell. Mom changed, the house became cold. Nobody knew about it until my best friend, the only person I confided in, let it leak out. She was jealous of me. Things became unbearable for me in school, everyone looked at me like a murderer. Fortunately, I wasn't sent to jail, I mean I was just ten. Funny thing, nobody wanted to know what I went through in the hands of the idiot, they just judged me. I killed my father. ..my sweet loving fath----." She's been crying since she started talking about the rape. I pulled her into my embrace when I noticed she couldn't continue talking. She sobbed louder into my chest. Her tears soaked my shirt.