LIVING

chapter 1

it was sunny day and dad was at home , and right now the same thing happening is the same thing that has always been happening for years now, and I meant my parents are always fighting, they don't even care if I'm around anymore and now i too choose not to care too, it all started when i was 15 and we were all sitted in the living room, suddenly mom came out shouting,

ooops sorry I forgot to introduce myself my name is Tobi and I'm yoruba(Nigerian) we live in lagos and I'm 5ft tall and dark skinned and I'm 19 yrs old.

tobi!!, shouted my mom: come here now didn't I ask you to go and take my stuff from Mary's mother ,what are you still doing here my friend will you get out : mummy im sorry i forgot im going now , no, no don't worry I'm going myself leave my front abeg , my mom was getting ready to leave for the market when my dad came to the living room he kissed his wife on the cheeks and went to sit down , good morning sir I greeted, morning Tobi how are you, I'm fine sir,

tobi come here and help me look at this thing on my phone , he said and I went I was helping my dad with his phone and suddenly there was a knock on the door and my dad went to check, meanwhile my mom came close to me asking , what are you doing on your father's phone i told her and looked only for the phone to be snatched from my hands and she said , let me check this man's phone he doesn't allow me to look at his phone i dont know what he is hiding oo: not long my dad came back and told us that it was our landlord who has come for his rent ,

oh my God Michael , my mom screamed
then I remembered she was still going through the phone and that was the day the quarrels Started when my mom found out my dad was cheating on her.

(back to present)

turns out ever since my mom found out about my dad affairs she could no longer trust him and since then whenever my dad leaves the house to other places aside from work he is meeting other women so my mum believes,

amidst all this fight its me the only child who gets to be abandoned, left alone, my parents hardly remembers that im there, 9 and after school I go home then I eat the left overs and go to my room to read, (note reading is Tobi's hobby) I read bl stories and manhwa and sometimes I wish my life was filled with love you know parents who loved each other and someone who will love me with my flaws but that wish is never coming true especially as a Nigerian being gay is against the law who im i kidding i cant even tell my parents that im gay they would send me away why? because they are christians its against our religion!! I know because pastor James always preaches about it and how God will condemn those who are sexually attracted to the same gender, I'm scared to tell anyone not even my child hood friend efe she would hate me and I don't want that so I tried to ungay myself if that is even a word, it wasn't easy but I pretended to be strait since I was 17 I always tell my friends that I've had girlfriends just so no one would suspect me , and on A very, very annoying day , a boy who I can only describe as hot, tall and handsome boy I've ever seen,I've never seen him before who is he, I couldn't stop staring he was putting on sleeveless shirt and his tattoos were showing it was so attractive i couldn't help but stare

and by his looks he doesn't look like an agbero like me he looks so different and that made him so attractive his dreads was on a on a bun, I found out later that he was our new neighbour, i couldn't believe it why was someone like him staying in a place like this, i finally snapped out of my daze when my mom called my name, did i say called i meant shouted my name hahahah this is nigeria what do u expect if I don't go now I should be expecting a nagging which I don't want right now.

later that day, oya Tobi come and carry this fruit basket to our new neighbours house this is our welcoming gift I'm busy I would have gone but I'm busy okay ,I wasn't expecting to meet him so soon at first I was excited but then what if he rejected the fruit or what if he insults me, no oh i cant go, i cant go i kept saying in my head, why are you still there ? my friend go and deliver that basket; my mom said, but mummy i was doing something can you just go by yourself later when you are done it would be better if you gave him yourself; i haven't even finished what i was saying when a spoon came flying in my direction almost hitting my head.