It's the thought that counts... Chapter fourteen

Charlie's body felt warm against Mayowa's as they cuddled each other tightly after having their pleasurable experience, sex, for the first time. There they laid bare and naked in Mayowa's room, the sheets were all rumpled and stationed at the very edge, the bed itself had gone through it's very own metamorphosis. Although the ceiling fan was set to the highest point, drops of sweat were still visible on their bodies.

"Charlie?" Mayowa called gently running her fingers on his bare chest which she laid upon.

"Yes" he answered kissing her head softly.

"Do you see me as a tool to be used?" she asked.

"Who would be crazy enough to think that of you?" he asked.

Mayowa smiled at his response, "You are doing it again".

"Doing what?".

"That thing" she answered.

"You mean this?" he asked laying his hands around her neck.

"That tickles" she chuckled.

"Does it now?" he asked strengthening his grip.

"Charlie what are you doing?" she asked beginning to feel the effects of his hardened grip around her neck. She gasped for air, each breath becoming harder but also was futile. Instincts kicked in as her fist swung all over the bed, clashing repeated against Charlie's body but the impact caused no effect and no reaction, instead he squeezed even harder than before. Her eyes turned to Charlie's catching a glimpse of the terror that sought her life, his face was no longer his but now replaced by a demonic one, a tear fell down her cheek as she yelled, "Luci! please help me!".

Immediately she jerked up from her bed, her body sweat soaked, she ran her hands around her neck examining it and then the nausea set in. She turned around searching for a place to vomit, soon her eyes caught sight of the flower vase beside her, which had been given to her by Bola on one of her previous birthdays. She raced for it and began puking into the flower vase.

"Ouch my head!" she yelled feeling the pains of the hangover from the drinks she had the previous night. After a few minutes, she rose from the bed, switched on the lights and went to examine her neck properly in the mirror.

"What a strange dream that was" she said to herself finding no signs of being strangled, "What time is it?" she asked staring at her phone which read, '8am'.

Mayowa pulled open her drawer and popped open two tablets of PANADOL EXTRA, she took the pills and rushed down to the kitchen to get some water from the sink.

"Mom what are you doing here and what's that smell?" she asked catching the familiar foul scent in the air.

Her mother shook her head stating that she knew nothing, she picked up her note book and wrote down, "I don't know".

Mayowa took a glass cup and poured water into it from the sink, gobbled up the pills and flushed them down with the water, she leaned a sigh of relief  and asked "Where's dad?".

"He went out early" she wrote down.

"He left you all alone by yourself?" Mayowa asked.

She nodded.

"That's quite odd" she said rinsing the glass cup in the sink, "Have you had breakfast then?".

She smiled warmly and wrote "Just now".

"Okay" Mayowa said.

"You came home late last night" she wrote.

"Yeah I'm sorry I worried you guys".

"It's okay, who was the man?" she asked.

Mayowa's face turned red, she hadn't yet introduced Charlie to her parent and never planned to. She never was close to her parents before, the fact that her mother took it so well was a shock to her.

"A friend" Mayowa answered.

"Seemed like more than a friend to me" her mother wrote.

"It's not like that, we aren't serious yet" Mayowa immediately held her hand over her mouth, realising she had let out more than she planned to.

"So he is your boyfriend" she wrote.

Mayowa gave up the fight and nodded in agreement lowering her head.

"I like him" she wrote as she wore a smile on her face, her hand touching Mayowa's.

Mayowa was even more shocked at her mother's reaction to the fact that she was seeing someone, 'Where is my mother?' she thought to herself.

"All I want is to see you happy" her mother wrote spreading her arms wide for a hug, Mayowa hesitated at first but decided to enjoy the moment while it lasted. She raced to her mother and connected with the hug, tears running down her cheek as her mother patted her back.

"Thank you mommy" she said.