On my way home, the thoughts of bimpe began to flood my brain and I suddenly began to develop a kind of likeness for her. I got home and dialled segun’s number and it wasn’t reachable again. Haaaa!!!, what could be happening to my friend?, this is so unlike him!!!!!!.
The next day which was sunday, I was so anxious to see my new apartment that I didn’t go to church that morning. I trekked to fadeyi and took BRT to maryland. From the bustop, I crossed to the side where bikes used to stay. I gave them the description given to me by bimpe and I board a bike and was dropped infront of the building. it was a storey building with a fence surrounding it. I knocked at the gate and a young man came to open the gate for me to come in. He enquired about who I am and I told him my sister got an apartment here on my behalf. I showed him the receipt bimpe gave me and he smiled and said “your sister or your wife?”. I was like, what do you mean sir?.
He replied, “I’m the caretaker of this house, and when our agent brought this lady to me, I told him I’m not giving out the apartment to a single lady or a single guy because I needed someone who would take care of the compound, then she told me its her boyfriend that would be staying here and that she would be coming around often. So why are you denying her?”. I just laughed and was just speechless. “You guys of these days sef, I don’t just know why you like to deny your spouses and call them your sisters” he further said. I just laughed and joked over it as the man took me to the apartment. I entered and saw that it was a room and parlour selfcontain with an inbuilt bathroom, kitchen and toilet. “Chaiiii!!!! I don upgrade”, I checked the room and found a new mattress, rug and some other items, I was just so overwhelmed and my joy knew no bounds.
I returned to mushin that evening and I informed my cousin that I got an apartment in maryland. He was so surprised because he knew how much I earn but I lied to him that it was sublet to me by a friend who relocated to another state and still has 6 months rent left. I moved in the following week and was going there every evening after work.
Bimpe suddenly became someone I can’t do without chatting and talking with. We were so close and intimate again as if she wasn’t the same bimpe who was once my greatest nightmare.
We would always talk in the morning when she get to work. We would chat sometimes on break when she Is less busy, and we must chat in the evening. I found myself getting more attracted to her but I keep trying to resist any feelings towards her. I also talked with betty and she told me she won’t be coming back to lagos that weekend, I felt disturbed at first but bimpe’s company reduced the pain of not been able to see my love on weekend.
Up till thursday, segun’s number wasn’t going through and mails weren’t delivering. I became so worried and I called one of his girlfriends whom I have her contacts, she told me “segun!!!!, don’t even ask of him from me again onihaxy, I don’t have anything to do with him again, its been long we broke up”. *****hmmm sege bad guy!!, e don chop this babe and run be that******.
I became more worried that I became uncomfortable and don’t know what else to do again. At about 5:30pm that evening, i was at work when I got a call from someone.
ME: hello
CALLER: hello, good evening,
ME: good evening.
CALLER: am I speaking with onihaxy?
ME: yes, who is this?
CALLER: ok good. I’m calling you to inform you about your friend segun
ME: heeeeeee!!!!!, segun!!!!!!!!, what happened to him ?
ME: yes yes!!!, I’m onihaxy, what happened to him please?
CALLER: I’m Tunde, a legal practioner.
ME: so what happened to segun please?
CALLER: He purchased a stolen phone from someone,
ME: a stolen phone?
CAlLER: yes, that’s not all, the phone was inside a SUV and both the car and the phone was stolen at the same time. So the phone was traced to him. So he has been charged for armed robbery.
ME: huuh, when did it happen?
CALLER: since last week.
ME: where is him now?
CALLER: he is in the police custody and may be charged to court any moment from now unless we find the person who sold the phone to him or we settle the police so as to prevent the case from getting to court, but I’m not sure the second option will be possible because the owner of the phone and car wanted the matter to get to court,
ME: heeeeeee.
CALLER: since I’m the lawyer working on his case, he gave me your number to call you and inform you about what happened to him.
ME: eyah, I have been trying his line since last week and it wasn’t going through. I have been so worried.
CALLER: yes, the phone is with the police. let’s just keep praying we find the seller of the phone because he eloped immediately he heard segun was arrested.
ME: ok sir, thank you sir, is this your number?
CALLER: yes
ME: ok thanks, I will save it and give you a call.
CALLER: no problem. Bye
I became so weak and restless.
“He must have been badly beaten by now”
” Na crime to buy phone from someone now oo”
“I just wish I can see him right way”.
” He must have been seriously injured by now”.
“And I know segun too well, he doesn’t do crime except for some minor “yahoo yahoo” he did in the past”.
“But why must he purchase phone from someone?”
“What if he will be eventually sentenced to jail?”
“Who would be his replacement in my life?”.
I was so lost in thoughts until one of my team members came to my desk and banged the table, that was when I came back to reality. I just managed to finish my daily target at work that day because I wasn’t happy and I wasn’t myself, my only best friend is in police custody and might go to jail. Funmi noticed my mood that day and enquired about what was happening to me but I told her I was fine.
I closed for the day at 6pm and I went home. I was still worried and unhappy, I thought about everything that had happened between us, how we have both went through the thick and thin together, everything we shared and I was shedding tears as my best friend was on his way to jail. I prepared noodles that night and I couldn’t eat it.
At around 8:30pm, I picked my phone and wanted to talk with the lawyer and I discovered my phone was off, I then remembered I switched it off immediately after receiving his call when I just didn’t feel like talking to anyone.
I switched on the phone and I got a message from the lawyer saying “hi, I have been trying to call you but your number is unreachable, please call back when you get this message”.
I got scared again and was thinking what could be happening, I checked my airtime balance and found just 4naira credit on my phone, I flashed the guy and he called back.
ME: hello, I just saw your message, my phone has been off since.
TUNDE: yes, I called you but your number wasn’t reachable. I wanted to give you updates after leaving the police station this evening.
ME: ok, what is the update?, any good news?, has my friend been released?,
TuNDE: the police said if we are able to raise 100k before friday evening which is tomorrow, he will be released and the police will forget and scrap the case.
ME: haaa, that’s too much money oo.
TUNDE: you just have to act fast, because after tomorrow and the money is not available, he will be taken to court on monday morning, and from the look of things, its likely for him to get atleast 6years jail.
ME: ok, have you made any contact with his relatives?
TUNDE: no, none of his relative is aware, he said he doesn’t want them to know about it so as not to put them in tension.
ME: haa,
TUNDE: please, don’t inform his family please, only his few selected friends are aware of it.
ME: so what do we do now?
TUNDE: just try and arrange for the money and send to me tomorrow morning so as to work on it faster. The earlier the better.
ME: I don’t have that much at hand at the moment sir, what do I do now?
TUNDE: just try and send the money to the account number I will send to you as a text after this call, its very important if you don’t want your friend to go to jail.
ME: ok sir, let me see what I can do
TUNDE: just do something fast about it. And please, don’t inform any of his family please.
ME: ok sir
TUNDE: ok, I will call back tomorrow morning. Pls try and get something before then.
ME: ok sir
TUNDE: bye.
A text came in after the call and I checked, it was an account number from the lawyer. I sat down on my bed and I started thinking of where to get money before the next day to send to this lawyer. The only person that came to my mind was bimpe. “But how do I tell her that I needed that huge amount?, and the worst thing was that how do I tell her I needed it for segun?. On the other hand, I began to think this could be a scam. How can someone be locked up and his family would not be aware of his arrest?.
Please, what should I do?
WATCH OUT FOR PART 16
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