"Where is dad?", she asked her mother, after an hour since she returned from her morning jog, "He went to the store" "Oh, I did not see the car on my route", she said disappointed because her dad did not have to go to the store so early in the morning, "Maybe you did not notice". She knew he was avoiding her, "I'm going to go to town, I will be back with Skye, I spoke to her she said she's going to be done by 2 pm", her mother came out of the kitchen, "What do you need from the town?" she thought fast, she actually wanted to take Skye out but after all the drama she receives yesterday, she was not going to say that, "A router, my network is bad here and I need the internet", she lied. "But you are on a study-break, why do you need it?", she could not believe she was asking so many questions, that was her dad's job, "You know it means nothing to the lecturers unless it's the end of the year", she shrugged, "Okay, you will tell your father when he comes back".
'Girl, you know your man is not feeling me right now'.
When she asked permission from her father, he said she should do whatever she wanted, yes, he was still not talking to her and she knew it was going to take days, she might even leave while he was still like that. "Peace: I'm leaving the house now, I better find you ready.", she texted Skye, "Bye I'm leaving, anyone needs something from the town?", she asked her parents while heading to the door, "No.", her mother answered and her dad just stared at the TV, "All right".
Peace took a taxi to town; on the way she was busy texting her friends just to pass time. She was not planning to stay long because her parents were already mad at her, she did not want to add yet another reason to be hated. She kept checking with Skye to make sure they were not going to be late. She waited for Skye at the Mall since she was a bit late but promised she was on her way.
"Hey Big Sis!", Skye rushed to hug her and lift her up. Skye was a split image of Peace with a darker complexion, she was taller than Peace and Sasha, and she had the nicest body. "For someone who hardly replies to my texts, you are quite excited to see me", she brushed her forehead, "You know my phone is giving me problems", Peace gave her an eye, "Child, you get bigger every time I see you, I will never compete with you, and look at that ass, I'm scared", Skye covered her face in embarrassment, "That's why I never want to talk to you, you treat me like a child". That was true, Peace had always seen Skye as a child that needed protection and they were just 4 years apart, but she was a parent to her. "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry, I'll stop. Where do you want to eat?", Skye got excited, "What is your budget?" "Skye, just pick the restaurant it's getting late.", she innocently looked at her, "Cappello", she tried her luck, "Okay, let's go before your parents ask about our whereabouts."
She was interested in Skye's life, she wanted Skye to tell her how she was feeling, and what was currently happening in her life, "A boyfriend? How old is he?", she asked when Skye started speaking about her boyfriend, Peace did not know how to feel about this, to her Skye was still a baby. "A year older, we've been together for 4 months now, he's a good person", Peace took a sip of her juice to avoid saying something that might scare Skye who was getting comfortable.
'When did juice become so sweet?'
After their lunch they went to the Taxi Rank to catch a Taxi to go home, "I got you something, but I need you to promise me that you will not tell your parents because they will eat me alive", Skye nodded, she was so eager to see the present. "So, I saved some money for you, you can use it to cover everything for your matric dance", she transferred the money she's been saving to her account. Skye screamed with excitement and everyone in the Taxi turned their heads in their direction Peace covered Skye's mouth with her hand. "So much money Sis? Thank you so much. This is unbelievable, OMG!", Peace just smiled, she was so happy to see such a reaction, she felt like she did something good for her sister and she appreciated it. Her phone rang, "Oh, it must be Dad", she checked the caller ID and declined the call, "Everything all right?", Skye asked giving her a worried look, "Everything awesome, my love", she gave her a huge fake smile that reached her ears.
They arrived home around 19:15, Peace was holding Skye's bag, "Hello family!", Skye excitedly greeted them, going to hug her mother. "Hello baby, I missed you so much", she kissed her. "Hi Dad", she greeted him specifically because he did not answer when she first greeted him, "Hi Skye", he continued with whatever he was doing as if his little baby, whom he has not seen in a month did not just enter the house. When their father was angry at one of them, the whole house would catch the steam. "Anyone hungry?", her mother tried to cut the awkwardness, "Oh no mama, P bought me lunch", Skye carelessly answered.
'Shit! Shit! Shit!'
They were all in the living room, her father got up from his sofa, "You bought her food with what money?", Skye stopped on her way to her room, she realized she messed up and quickly tried to cover up, "Oh, it was not a big lunch, Dad. She did tell me she did not have much money", her father was still looking at Peace, "Go to your room Skye I am talking to your sister", Peace showed no emotions, "It was not big of a deal, Dad", she tried escaping to her room. "Wait right there, young lady", she was about to enter her room, "Show me the router you went to buy", she had forgotten about that lie, "I could not find the affordable one", she simply lied. Her father knew nothing about that kind of stuff, "You are lying again, ever since you arrived you've been lying. What is wrong with you? What are you doing there?"
'Here we go again.'
She knew this was going to take long so she went to sit on the couch while her father kept yelling, she was used to him yelling she knew he did not want to be answered so she sat there pretending to be listening., "I believe your mother and I did a good job raising you, we gave you everything you ever needed. It is so sad you are so unsatisfied, greedy, and ungrateful that you chose to prostitute yourself", Peace was shocked that her father, whom she valued so much, said those words to her. She looked at her mother, who also seemed shocked but remained quiet, "I will not allow you to insult me like that.", she decided she had to stand up for herself, "You will not talk back while I am speaking in my house", she stood up, "And you will not walk away while I am still talking", she stood there, her eyes begging for intervention from her mother but she looked away. Her phone rang while her father was talking, "Answer it, your phone has been ringing non-stop ever since you got here, it must be your sponsor checking on how your fools liked the gifts he paid for", she just looked at him, her eyes starting to tear up. Her father was a harsh man and he struggled with choosing his words when speaking to people especially when he was angry.
She took a few steps to her room and slammed shut the door behind her, locking it instantly. She sobbed, not only because of what her father said, but because her mother watched it all happen, because she worked so hard for the money she had, she was so excited that she finally afforded to buy the family things she had always wanted to buy for them, and her parents could not simply appreciate that. In the middle of her breakdown, her phone rang again, it was Akwande, it had always been him harassing her with these calls, "How about you go fuck yourself and leave me the hell alone?!", she then dropped the call. Her sister knocked multiple times on her door, but Peace needed to be alone, around 22:00, her mother knocked. Peace knew her father was sleeping, and she was a bit mad at her mother, so she ignored her.
In the morning, she packed a backpack, and she wrote a little letter, "I am going to stay with Granny for a few days. Love Peace", she then hit the road as planned to jog to her grandma's place, which was about 20 km away, she needed that much of running after yesterday.
YOU ARE READING
A Sauce Down the Pole
Random"5,4,3,2, 1..Over", Peace counted sliding down the pole she's been dancing on for 30 minutes. She walked out of the stage and immediately took off the heels that were burning her feet the moment she reached backstage. "Dan", she greeted the giant ma...
