More To It

Chapter 20- His Past

Zaynab

“Never EVER open the door for anyone ever again”,Abiodun stresses out for the millionth time while pacing the living room floor.

“Am setting up cameras outside so you can see from inside who’s at the door. If he broke in then he knows h- f**k f**k f**k”,he smacks his forehead repeatedly then he starts swaying back and forth.

“Babe what are we going to do? I feel as if he’ll attack me. He said you haven’t taught me any manners and i- am scared Abiodun, am so so scared”,I shake my head and cover my face.

“Hey”,Abiodun kneels down before me and touches my face.

“I’ll fix this. I promise you I won’t let him hurt you”.

His voice sounded so shaky, like he was scares himself. This is the first time I’ve ever heard a shake in his tone, his words are always so firm and confident. But this time they sounded afraid and uncertain.

“Babe”,I scoot to the edge of the couch and hold his face.

“Are you scared?“,I ask him. He looks at me and shakes his head.

“He was talking about some videos of your childhood”,I whisper.

He looks away and shakes his head.

I sit on the floor beside him and sit on his lap and give him a quick and gentle kiss then rest my forehead against his.

“I know this must be hard for you, but I want you to know that am here for you every step of the way”,I whisper while brushing his lips.

“That’s all I need. Don’t leave me, please”,he the whispers.

I smile then hug him tightly.

“Never!“.

“Am sorry about the last time. One of my ex boys told me that my dad was soon to be out. That’s what was on my mind. I couldn’t really focus. But it wasn’t fair on you, am sorry about that”,he whispers.

“It’s okay baby, I just wish you would’ve talked to me about it. Am your wife, we’re one. You can’t be secretive with me, would you like me being secretive? No right? We should tell each other things”,I tell him. He looks at me and smiles a little then he pulls me closer to him and places his lips on mine which made me instantly smile then wrap my arms around his neck and deepen the kiss.

“EWWWWWW”,Yousif let’s out a scream. I part myself away from Abiodun who looks down and shakes his head with a chuckle. I turn around to find Yousif jumping up and down with his eyes covered.

“Awwws baby. Come here”,I burst out into laughter then hold my arms out towards him.

“Eww no”,he shakes his head.

“Yousif come here”,Abiodun chuckles. Yousif instantly runs over then hugs both Abiodun and I.

“I LOVE YOU MOMMY, DADDY”,he yells and gives us both a big kiss.

“We love you too”.

***

“So you need my help?“,mommy looks at Abiodun who rubs his face with frustration.

“Yeah”,I answer for him.

“So your dad is out. What can he actually do? It’s not like you’re scared of him”,Fawaz tells Abiodun who looks at him then his gaze drops and he looks away while playing with his fingers.

“Are you scared of your dad?“,Malik gasps loudly. This time, everyone is now staring shockingly at Abiodun who doesn’t reply.

“Wow. Never thought I’d see the day”,Idris mumbles to himself earning a knock on the head from me.

“Shut up”,I tell him. He rolls his eyes and moves away from me altogether.

“I knew they wouldn’t understand. I’ll take care of this myself”,Abiodun mumbles then he stands up abruptly, ready to walk out of the room when mommy holds his hand stopping him.

“He sent me a video”,she tells him.

“He knows where you live?“,Abiodun turns to her then his chest starts hevaing up and down.

“We’ve met, briefly. He handed me this”,she rummages through her bag and takes out a CD labelled ‘To My Son’.

“What is in it?“,Aaleyah asks mommy who shrugs.

“We can watch it together”,she holds the CD to Ibrahim who walks over to the CD player. He bends down and starts working the player.

“I don’t think we should watch it”,Abiodun clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck nervously.

“The fact that you’re nervous males me want to watch it”,Malik replies.

“I really don’t think. It’s not a good idea”,Abiodun walks over to the CD player in attempt to take it out but before he could press the eject button, laughter from the screen fills the entire room. It sounded like his dad’s laughter.

“Abiodun move”,Ibrahim moves him away. Abiodun was just frozen as he stares at the screen. His hand which is still laid out in front of him starts shaking.

“Abiodun?“,I call but mommy shakes her head at me so I focus back on the TV while occasionally glancing at him.

There’s two little boys, about the age of 5 and the other looks to be 10, a girl who looks to be about 8 years then there’s Philip. They’re all tied up to a homemade electric chair while Philip is standing in front of them all with a smile on his face.

“Rakeem, what would you like me to start with? You or your little sister Omotayebi OR should we go for your little brother, Abiodun”,Philip asks the kids who were shaking with fear.

“Abiodun?“,we all whisper then look at Abiodun who gulps with his eyes fixated on the screen.

“Start with me. I’ll take their turns too. Please father”, Rakeem begs Philip who just starts laughing.

He walks over towards Abiodun who just starts crying out of nowhere. Anger flashes through Philips face then he slaps Abiodun who cries harder.

“DID I TOUCH YOU? WHY ARE YOU CRYING? HUH?“, Philip screams then he grabs Abiodun by the head and punches him in the face repeatedly.

“Father he’s just a kid, please am sorry, please he’s sorry”, Rakeem begs but Philip didn’t care. It looked like it just made him angrier. He leaves Abiodun who’s now covered up with blood. He couldn’t even breathx he was panting heavily while trying to loosen his wrist from the ropes.

Philip walks over to the corner where there’s a mixture of technology equipments. He starts fumbling with some buttons on a screen which seemed to put Abiodun in pain because he was just screaming.

“Electrocution”,I whisper and cover my mouth with disbelief.

As if on cue, the rest of the kids start screaming while Philip continued messing with the buttons.

The video stops playing then a second later, the scene changes. This time Abiodun is in a corner with his head in his lap while his big brother, which nobody knew he even had, has his arms wrapped around him. They looked older too. Around their teens.

“Once I graduate, I’ll get us out of here, I promise”,Rakeem whispers to Abiodun who shakes his head. He looks up and his face is all swollen. He looks so weak, like his death was near and he could feel it.

“He killed mama”,Abiodun whispers with a shaky breath.

“He killed Omotayebi”,he adds.

“We’re next Rakeem. He’s going to kill us”.

“He always wanted sons, he won’t kill us. He’ll torture us, but kill us? Nah”,Rakeem replies.

“If he tries to kill me”,Abiodun looks up at Rakeem who shales his head quickly.

“I won’t let h-“.

“No Rakeem! If he wants to kill me, LET HIM! I don’t want to be his son, I don’t want to be here anymore, I don’t want to feel this pain. My head feels heavy. I feel like am going mad. Am turning into him Rakeem. I beat up a kid in school because he was tapping a pencil on his desk. Am going to turn out to be like him. I don’t want that. I’d rather die”,Abiodun tells Rakeem with tears running down his cheeks.

“Don’t say that. You’re not going to die, you’re a smart kid. You’re going to make me proud one day. You’ll be successful, for the right reasons. Remember I told you, all we have to do is have patience w-“.

“Patience with Allah, I know. How could I forget, you always say the same thing, even after He let father kill mama then Take. Even then, have patience? Allah doesn’t love us, He doesn’t care what happens to us”,Abiodun scoffs and looks away from Rakeem who chuckles.

“Its the exact opposite Abiodun. We all go through trials, there’s nothing Allah wants other than for us to keep talking to Him, bring him our problems, believe in Him, trust Him. You can’t expect nothing if you don’t have trust in Allah. And remember Abiodun, I’d you have Taqwa (fear) of Allah in you, nothing can go wrong. Father obviously doesn’t, that’s why he’s like this. He’s already gone astray. Whenever you think like him, just always recite surah Al-Fatihah or ayat-ul-kursi. It always helps me. And you know I love when you recite those”, Rakeem smiles and shoulder bumps Abiodun lightly which made the two chuckle.

“Allah has blessed you with a nice voice and knowledge. Itcs up to you to use it wisely. Anyways forget about that, read for me”,Rakeem tells Abiodun who lies down on the ground with his head on Rakeem’s lap who starts running his fingers through his hair.

“What surah?“,Abiodun asks him.

“Ummm al-Rahman”.

“You always listen to that, choose something else”,abiodun groans.

“Read that, I like it when I hear it from you”.

Abiodun rolls his eyes then clears his throat before beginning.

“Bismi Allahi alrrahmani alrraheemi

Alrrahmanu

AAallama alqurana

Khalaqa alinsana”

,- In the Name of

Allah, the Most Gracious, The most

Merciful.

The beneficent,

Hath made known the Q

ur’an.

He hath created m

an”.

Abiodun continued reciting the surah with both their eyes closed. His voice is so relaxing, calm and soothing. The tajweed and pronunciation, all correct. His tone just, wow.

I swear everyone in the room had their jaws dropped in shock as they listened to his recitations while also glancing at Abiodun occasionally.

Once he finished Rakeem smiles and ruffles Abiodun’s hair.

“See, Allah loves you. How long did it take too to memorize that surah?“,Rakeem asks Abiodun who rolls his eyes playfully.

“2 hours”,he mumbles.

“2 HOURS?!“,Fawaz, Malik, Aayan and Khalid all scream then they all lean back as if being shot and stare at Abiodun who rolls his eyes.

“It’s not rocket science”,Abiodun mumbles and folds his arms as he leans against the wall.

“2 hours? It took these niggas more than 3 weeks to memorize it and they speak Arabic”,Fawaz shakes his head at Khalid and Aayan who roll their eyes.

“Well hello boys”,Philip walks into the basement. The boys quickly stand up with their heads lowered.

“Father”,they both nod.

“I need to try another experiment. Rakeem, get in the electric chair”,Philip tells him.

“But your last experiment killed Taye”,Abiodun tells Philip. Philip turns to him then strides over to him and holds his neck then slams Abiodun into the wall.

“I know that! And I need another guinea pig. So it’s either you or him. But since you want to have mouth today, you can be my model”,Philip smiles then throws Abiodun into the electric chair.

“Father, no please. Forgive him please, I’ll do it. I’ll do the experiment. Please father”, Rakeem begs Philip.

“NO! I’ll do it”, Abiodun tells Philip who then starts laughing randomly.

“Aw, well ain’t this bout a b***h!“,he snaps then he picks up a crab looking stick and holds it right at Rakeem’s chest, where his heart is located. Rakeem’s hand drops and his body starts shaking vigorously.

“NO, STOP. PLEASE NOT HIM, STOP”, Abiodun pushes Philip making him stumble. Rakeem drops to the ground while still shaking.

“WHAT DID YOU DO, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YO-“.

Philip punches Abiodun in the face then he gets on top of him and starts beating him up before Abiodun could even react to the first punch.

“HOW DARE TOU RAISE YOUR HAND ON ME? HUH?“, Philip screams and kicks Abiodun repeatedly in the ribs. He grabs a screw driver from the desk and drives it into Abiodun’s left arm.

“Nauzubillah - I seek refuge in Allah)“, all the elders utter as the screwdriver goes straight through Abiodun’s arm leaving him screaming and crying in agony. Philip kicks the screwdriver further down then he storms out of the room closing the metal door with a loud bang.

I look at Abiodun with tears in my eyes. He was holding his left him as if reliving the pain. He looked to be in so much pain. I just want to hug him right now.

“Rakeem. Rakeem”, he scoots himself over to his brother who’s laid lifelessly on the floor but his eyes are opened, but barely and he seemed to whispering something.

“Laa ilaaha ill-Allah”, Rakeem whispers repeatedly before his hand head finally dropped to the side away from Abiodun who breaks down crying.

“Rakeem please, please don’t leave me here alone. Please”,he cries harder and harder each time that Rakeem doesn’t respond.

After a while the tears were just dried up on his cheeks. He looks at his arm and snatches the screw driver out of his hand.

“You’re supposed to help. We prayed, we fasted, we talked to YOU every single moment of every single day”, he whispers to himself while rocking back and forth in his position. He takes off his shirt and rips it then wraps it around his wound.

“From now on. I don’t care what happens, You don’t seem to care about me. Why am still alive makes no sense to me. I really wish You hadn’t let that bastard take Rakeem from me. He was the only one I had left. THE ONLY ONE. You took him from me too. Watch how I make you regret ever letting me live”, he says louder this time then he walks over to Rakeem.

“I know you’re expecting me to make you proud. Am sorry but He shouldn’t have taken you away from me. That’s His biggest mistake”,he tells Rakeem before picking him up.

The video stops then the scene changes, now showing Philip in a living room.

“Sooooo, after that extensively long ass video, I hope you now know the truth about Abiodun. The real Abiodun Adebisi. The little punk who I turned rogue. He’s my son. MY SON. He’s taking after me. I was proud of you....until you met that bastard. She changed you. YOU CAN’T FALL IN LOVE ABIODUN. You can’t”,Philip yells.

“She has noanners too. You taught her better than that before. Now you’re treating her as if she’s someone important. Like you’re both equal. Well NEWS f*****g FLASH SON, you’re the man. You’re in control. She listens to YOU. Not the other way around. You changed.....and I don’t like this change. I don’t like it at all”, he shakes his head then moves backwards and takes a seat on the couch.

“Start counting your days Jumoke. You AND your daughter. You shouldn’t have messed with what I had built. You shouldn’t. He’s MY SON. MY PROPERTY. I OWN THAT NIGGA. He listens TO ME. But now he’s acting all civilized and s**t, he’s helping people that are not worth it, like ummmm why? After all the heavy work I did JUST TO MAKE YOU LIKE ME. You go against me to be what? A NICE GUY? Nigga you can’t go back from all the people you’ve killed. You just can’t”, Philip smiles.

“Turn around my son. Am here”, he winks at the screen which automatically switches off.

Everyone stands up and faces towards the entrance of the room where Philip is now standing.

Abiodun stumbles back and his hand starts to shake.

“Abiodun”,he walks over to Abiodun who starts breathing heavily.

“Philip, I don’t know what you think this is. It’s you against literally EVERYBODY in this room”,Mom raises an eyebrow.

What is she made of? Steel? The guy is literally at her face and she’s still speaking without fear. Am shutting my pants like.

“Jumoke”,he smiles and touches her cheek. Mom looks at him then his hand. She hums then picks up his hand with her thumb as if it’s something toxic and throws it to the side carelessly.

“Don’t touch me”,she warns him.

“I’ll deal with you later. Am here to see my son. ABIODUN. Come here”,he snaps.

Abiodun looks at him then starts walking slowly towards him.

“You don’t have to go anywhere. What are you doing?“,Malik and the boys pull Abiodun back.

“ABIODUN COME HERE. NOW!“,Philip yells.

“I see you have a daughter. Why?“,he asks Abiodun who glances at Salma.

“I- it- it was-“.

“Eh, she’s not needed. Am going to have to discard her”,Philip smiles towards Salma who’s eyes widens then she hides her face in Aamanee’s chest.

“That’s not needed”,Abiodun clears his throat.

“Am sorry?“,Philip turns to him.

“She’s MY DAUGHTER. Not yours. I choose to have her with me, it’s not r-“.

Philip punches Abiodun dead in the face which sent Abiodun backwards slightly.

“WHAT. DID. YOU. SAY?“,Philip yells at him.

Abiodun looks up at him and shakes his head.

“I said. She’s my daughter. Not yours FATHER”,Abiodun snaps.

“See. See. See what you did”,Philip holds mommy by the throat. All the boys gang up quickly but it wasn’t needed. Abiodun had Philip against the wall in seconds.

“TOUCH HER AGAIN. AND SEE IF I DON’T DO YOU LIKE YOU DID RAKEEM”,Abiodun snaps.

“Let. Go”,Philip whispers.

Abiodun drops him then moves backwards.

“What do you want? Am out of your house, you’ve been locked up for so long. How did you even escape?“,Abiodun asks him.

“Good behavior son. Good behavior. Noe I don’t have to harm anyone here, if you just come back home and let’s deal with this like men”,Philip smiles.

“You can’t be GOOD Abiodun. Do you know the amount of s**t you’ve done?“,Philip chuckles.

“Anyone can be hood actually”,I mumble.

I probably should’ve kept quiet, because now Philips gaze is set on me. He walks towards me with a sinister smile.

“Don’t touch her. She has nothing to do with any of this”,Abiodun tells him

“Oh really? You fell for her didn’t you?“,his dad asks him. Abiodun’s jaws tightens then he pushes me behind him.

“Am not playing”,Abiodun snaps.

“Do you not get me? You can’t be good. You’re a criminal just like me”,Philip chuckles.

“Actually... Father. You’re wrong”,Abiodun sighs.

“I promised Rakeem. I’d never turn out to be anything like you. I messed up. I get it, I beat up my wife and the others. But I’ve never killed anyone”,Abiodun says.

“What? Yes you have”,I let out.

“Shut up”,he tells me and rolls his eyes.

“Am sorry but what are you saying? It doesnt take sense”,I shake my head.

“ABEKE, ABISOLA, ZARA”,he yells.

His workplace room door opens on cue then three figures wall out. An unfamiliar face and behind her is Abeke and Abisola.

“What?“,I gasp and rub my eyes a couple times.

“Abeke?“,I wave my hand in her face then hold her cheek.

“Oh my God”.

“What? How?“,I look at Abiodun.

“Let me explain”,Abiodun whispers while staring at a shocked Philip.