Against All Odds

Chapter fifty seven : He told me so

Obi staggered as she ended the call, she was trying so hard to process the information as well as deal with the pain that came from it.

" Tata ọ gịnị? What is it? "

Obi sat down and just stared into space while Benjamin thought it wise to let her recuperate from shock especially because he was immobile.
After minutes of watching Obi stare into space, she finally opened her mouth to speak." She killed my mother! They killed my mother! What.. Why.. She came to our house, she cried that day... I don't understand. She took care of us, She took care of my babies.. I was... She was.. She was mother's friend"

Benjamin barely understood what Obi said but he suspected it was Chukwudi's mother because of the statement about his children. "Obi come, biko bịa"

Upon hearing her husband's request, she slowly approached his bed and sat on it. Benjamin grunted and groaned before sitting up. Obi was worried and advised that he sits back but he refused. The intravenous medication he was receiving through a drip was still attached to his hand to Obi's relief and she sat closer to Benjamin.
Obi leaned on her husband and he wrapped his hand around her. She kept thinking about the series of dreams she had after her mother's death. She seemed to have been warning her about the people she would have never thought could harm her family.

"Has he left?" Benjamin asked Obi
"who?" She responded facing him

"Obiefune...i owe him my life. I wanted to know if he's still around so that I can thank him"
Obi shook her head slowly before clearing her throat. "He left not too long ago. I did not think you'd have wanted to see him after what happened"

"I owe him" Benjamin replied softly,it was then that he saw the hand print on Obi's face. He slowly moved her hair aside and caressed her cheek. Obi shut her eyes enjoying the warmth from his hand.

"I don't think I can forgive myself for this, I let my rage consume me again." Benjamin declared with a gloomy expression

Obi drew his face closer to hers a gave him a kiss on his lips "it's fine"
"You said earlier you thought you were doing me a favor when we got married and to be honest you did. I owe everything to you, you gave Tobe and the girls a stable home and you've taken care of me so much. I just can't imagine how my life would have been if you hadn't showed up"

Benjamin cleared his throat "That's not what I mean, it's just that I've kept this for a long time and I don't know how you'll take it"

Obi grinned "I doubt if that's true, I've taken so much today"

Benjamin inhaled deeply "I killed my mother"

Obi was stunned by his confession "wha... What!". She hadn't expected what he told her.

"I didn't shoot or stab her but I contributed to her death. When I was younger, I used to visit the hospital often and I didn't understand why. I lived on drugs because of my condition, so many supplements. I would chew some, drink some. Fruits and Vegetables were always around me. Then there was the pain day! "Benjamin chuckled

" I always hid everything from you because I didn't want you to leave me"

"I wouldn't have" Obi interrupted "It is still till death do us part"

"The pain crisis is the most difficult thing to experience, I get chest pains, cramps in my muscles and sometimes respiratory depression, i find it difficult to breathe then. The endless blood transfusions, I was an unhappy child. I remember crying a lot of times begging the doctors not to prick me with needles because I grew tired but I had no choice if I had to live. I used to envy Obiefune and my other cousins you know, they had everything I wanted.