THE CONSEQUENCES
656 Words
Jimmy didn’t come the next day.
Or the next.
Jessica texted: _“Are you okay?”_
_“Did the hospital call again?”_
No reply.
On day 3 she saw him.
On a boda, dropping another girl at campus.
Laughing.
Her chest twisted.
_Out of humanity_, she reminded herself. _That’s all this was._
---
*The Hospital*
At 11pm her phone rang. Unknown number.
“Is this Jessica? This is Mulago. We have Jimmy here. He collapsed.”
She was at the hospital in 20 minutes.
Jimmy was on a bed, IV in his arm. Pale. Exhausted.
His mom was asleep in the chair next to him.
The nurse whispered: “He hasn’t eaten in 2 days. And he gave his last money to someone. We don’t know who.”
Jessica sat on the floor next to his bed. All night.
She didn’t sleep. She just watched his chest rise and fall.
When he woke up at 5am, she was the first thing he saw.
“You came,” he said, voice rough.
"Where else would I go?” she whispered.
He closed his eyes. “I’m sorry. For disappearing.”
“Don’t,” she said. “Just don’t die on me.”
---
*The Offer*
2 days later Jimmy was discharged. Broke.
The loan boss called again.
“1 month now. Not 3. Interest is rising.”
“Or I take the salon. And I take her.”
That night Jessica made a decision.
She knocked on Jimmy’s door.
He opened it. Still weak.
“I’m moving in,” she said.
“What?”
“Temporarily. Until we pay this off. Two people working is better than one.
And if we live together, the lie is more believable.”
Jimmy stared at her. “Jessica, this is my last 1 room. I have nothing.”
“Then we’ll have nothing together,” she said.
“And we’ll figure it out.”
He didn’t argue. He just stepped aside.
---
*Living in the Lie*
It was cramped.
Her clothes in one corner. His in another.
One mattress. One stove. One bucket for bathing.
Mornings: She made tea. He made her laugh.
Days: She worked at the salon. He rode boda from 6am to midnight.
Nights: They sat on the floor counting coins. 5,000. 10,000. 20,000.
They didn’t talk about the kiss.
But sometimes their hands would brush while washing dishes.
And neither of them pulled away.
The loan boss’s boys came once to “check”.
Jessica was in his hoodie. Jimmy’s arm was around her waist.
“See? Told you,” the guy said, and left.
After they left, Jimmy didn’t let go right away.
Jessica didn’t move either.
For 3 seconds they just... breathed.
Then Jimmy dropped his arm and said “Dinner’s ready.”
---
*The Breaking Point*
Week 3.
Jessica came home with 250k. Her biggest day at the salon.
She was smiling. “We’re almost halfway!”
Jimmy was sitting in the dark.
His phone was in his hand.
“What’s wrong?”
“My mom,” he said. “Doctor says she needs surgery. 800k. Or...”
He didn’t finish.
Jessica’s smile died.
That 250k. It was supposed to go to the loan.
But his mom was going to die.
She walked to him. Knelt on the floor.
“Use it,” she whispered.
“Jessica, that’s the loan money—”
“I said USE IT,” she snapped. Then softened. “Please. For her.”
Jimmy looked at her. Really looked.
At the girl he pulled from the rain.
At the girl who was now choosing his mom over her own freedom.
He pulled her into a hug. Tight.
“I don’t deserve you,” he said into her hair.
Jessica closed her eyes.
“Maybe not,” she whispered back. “But you have me anyway.”
Outside, it started raining again.
- Writer
