Mango

Chapter Four.

Mango

"MANGO! Come out." Khaya voiced from the other side of the door. I didn't want to go out, not after that dilemma we had. I was now dressed, thankfully. I had a feeling these were Khaya's clothes because they were so big and they smelled like him. Don't ask me how I know his scent, but I know it. Even though the shirt was like a dress and the pants were literally hanging from my waist, I felt like I was meant to wear his clothes.

As much as I didn't want to get out of this room, I had to. "I'm coming." I stood up and looked for some flip-flops around the room. I found a pair of them, sized 11 and I'm a size 5. You can imagine how big that shoe is. I made my way out of the room and into the living room. I was finally comfortable sitting on the sofa, but I still have to mop the floor.

"You look cute in my clothes." My head had done a whiplash when I turned to look at Khaya. What he said was somewhat annoying, and amazing at the same time. It annoyed me because he'd seen me in my birthday suit. It was amazing because no one had somehow complimented me in any way for years. I did a curtsy, avoiding the need to speak, and took a seat on the couch. "You're welcome, I guess." He said.

The television was on whatever channel it was on, but the program seemed interesting. "What are we watching?" I said nonchalantly while watching a man and a woman sitting at an adorned table and having some intense staredown. I was waiting on Khaya's answer, so I turned to face him. He was busy dishing up so much food for so few people. No wonder he hadn't heard me. I shrugged and focused on the television again.

"Ngithe uyang'thanda na, Palesa?" (I said do you love me, Palesa?) The guy on the television asked the lady. She took her time in answering the question and almost subtly rejected the guy on national television. I mean, who would go do so much just to be rejected just like that, on television? I was knocked out of my intense watching of the television when Khaya placed a huge plate of food in front of me.

I felt like crying. "Why so much rice and beef?"

"You look like you need more than that. You're too damn skinny, man." Khaya voiced with food in his mouth while watching television. It wasn't the first time someone's told me this, but I don't know why it hurt since he said it. He noticed I didn't even touch the food and said, "No offense though, but you really need to eat."

I gave a nod so he wouldn't pay attention to me anymore. I took the plate and placed it on my lap, looking at the food like a snake with seven heads was about to come out. I just wasn't accustomed to food as much as I had been in the past, and I can't eat as much as I would like to since my immune system is kind of weak and I'll be vomiting every out soon. So I took the spoon and scooped out some rice before placing the content in my mouth. I was so close to running to the toilet to excrete everything, but I had to keep up this act of submission.

I took a piece of the beef and almost ate it. What stopped me was its aroma. It's smelled good, too good in fact. The moment that piece of meat entered my mouth, I recoiled to avoid the need to gag. I swallowed it forcefully and repeated with the rice several times before I felt my tummy twist and turn uncontrollably. The pain was almost bearable. I brought my knees up to my chest to ease the pain, but it only made it worse. "Ow." I barely whispered, hoping Khaya didn't hear me. I closed my eyes shut and balled my hands into fists, my knuckles turning a shade of a lighter yellow - almost white. I was sure my teeth would shatter, because of the way I kept my jaw locked.

"Okay, Mango. What's wrong now?" Khaya placed his plate on the coffee table and turned to look at me. I have to act okay, just until I go to bed. I shook my head, indicating it's nothing to worry about. "You can't even talk, because of the way you're hurting." He said before rolling his eyes.

My throat went dry, not wanting me to speak. "I just need a glass of water, that's all." I plastered the fakest and painful smile on my face while trying to stand up. I was sitting on the edge of the bed trying to regain my sight. "Okay, I can do this," I whispered to myself, and this time I didn't care if Khaya heard me or not. I stood up ever so slowly and I could barely stay standing, so I fell back onto the sofa. That sudden movement made me want to vomit right there and then.

"Come. Let me help you get in bed." Khaya outstretched his hand to help me up, but I kindly refused by standing up without his help. I took a few steps before I nearly fell. "Stop being stubborn, and let me help you." Khaya wrapped his right arm around what's left of my waist. We took slow steps toward the guest room where I'm meant to sleep. As much as I didn't want Khaya's help, I was thankful.

He opened the door to the guest room and helped me onto the bed. He closed all the windows and curtains before walking out the room without another word said. I laid there staring at the ceiling. I'm so afraid of closing my eyes and dreaming of things that brought fear upon me every night. Khaya walked back into the room with a bucket half-filled with water. "What's that for?" I asked as he placed it on the floor near the edge of the bed.

"In case you want to vomit and you feel like you can't make it to the bathroom in time." He shrugged before turning to leave. I stopped him to thank him and he just gave a nod. There was something in his eyes that showed his internal conflict, but what could he possibly contemplate about? He switched off the lights although I wish he hadn't, that helped me fall asleep faster.

"Look at what we have here." The man with the awfully dirty and large beard said while smirking in my direction. He was backed up by 3 of his fellow members of his tiny little gang. "Boys, it looks like we've found our jackpot." He neared me and I took the same amount of steps back until my back collided with the wall.

Oh God, I'm dead.

One of the man's friends started laughing, "Looks like you have nowhere to go, sweetheart." The others laughed along as they nodded in agreement. They were all standing in front of me, crowding my space while raping me with their eyes.

"Leave me alone." It barely came out as a whisper, but they heard me. I knew this because they all started laughing their sadistic laughs again. The one with the large beard shook his head no. "I won't tell anyone anything, just leave me."

"Now that's something I can't do." Beard man said as he almost closed the amount of space between him and me, leaving barely five centimetres. I heard metal clanking and I wasn't sure what it was, but it sounded like a belt being dismantled. I looked down at the guy's pants in horror as his underwear came into sight.

I started crying and I tried to get past the guys, but they held me down on the floor. Beard man let his pants drop and his manhood came into sight. That's when I lost all insanity and started screaming for my life. One of Beard man's guys slapped me so hard that I swear he left a mark on my right cheek. "Shut up." He demanded as Beard man lowered so he could be able to get better access.

I carried on screaming regardless of what these guys said. One covered my mouth with one of his filthy hands while the other pulled my pants off far enough. When I felt my panties being pulled too, that's when I felt the tears coming down like a waterfall. "Don't cry now. You going to make me enjoy this even more." The bearded man said as the tip of his manhood rubbed against my vaginal lips.

This can't be happening. I can't be raped. I bit the hand with everything I got and that got one of them cussing. I took this chance to scream my lungs out like I've never before...

"Stop screaming!" I heard someone voice and this felt like it wasn't a nightmare anymore. Someone kept shaking me as I cried like a widow. "You're fine. Stop screaming." It was Khaya and he was in this room busy trying to calm me down. I started to wonder how long he's witnessed my outburst because I can't bear to lay all my cards on the table. At least not yet.

*Published chapters haven't been edited yet.*