There was something about his movement; the way his body language was glaringly obvious as he laughed, too much of movies i guess or that the gesture was used so much in fights that there was no missing it.
He had laughed, those laughter you could tell that it wasn’t coming from the place of joy or happiness, but from bitterness, it had some shrill undertone of danger..
Maybe that was why i sensed it coming before i saw it, maybe that was why when he laughed turning to look away, with a hand caressing his lips, it wasn’t because he suddenly felt he could touch that part of his face, it was because he was folding his fist and what better way to do it without been detected, what better way to completely take your opponent unawares especially when they do not see it coming, and from where i stood…there was no way he would have seen it coming..not with the quick way he turned laughing, smiling with his hands to his lips, then his eyes turns cold as his fist folds..and he swings… he swings and then i scream..
I had no idea why i screamed, and not just the fact that i screamed, it was the face that i screamed the name of the person i hated the most in the planet since i stepped into J.k.A Constructions and Designs..the one who had suddenly become a pain to my left cheek and my right, the one i want to slam his face into the wall just because his smug look upsets me, the one that we are constantly at loggerheads at work and even here in his house because we were paired to work on a project, a housing project, the one that violated my butt cheeks by spanking them, the one who poured me hot choco and ruined my work dress, the one i got arrested..well…John misread and i didn’t correct and he was arrested and humiliated in the office and i had a thrill from that, the one who stole my food and ran, the one who put iced cubes to my butt cheeks..again, does he like butt cheeks?
Focus Adora!
The one who i had to ruin his work area, the one who grabs me and the one who stumbles with me and landed beneath me…and the one whose solid built and the way he held me and the nearness of his lips suddenly make me quiver and my throat closing..
Damnit focus Adora!!
The one that i hate, why the hell did i call his name, to warn him, to alert him of the impending punch that might throw him off balance, throw anyone off balance when they don’t expect it..that same one i hate..so why the hell did my heart catch in my chest as i see the punch land on his face and he staggers backwards..
With his hands to his face, he staggers, almost losing step, the puncher laughed…”’Get up fool!! Today i will show you why i am called John, and when i am done teaching you a lesson, you will respect me, you will respect and even call the security guards oga too. Get up fool’’!! John chanted
‘’Brian!!!!’’ i call out again, he spares me a glance
Í see Ikena stepping forward, but then i see Brian’s hands telling him to stay..
What was the driver coming to do, stop the fight or..what? Knock John out… he seems to obey everything Brian says, strange, i will analyze it later.
‘’Brian!!”’ i call out again as i walk forward
‘’John, what the hell is the matter with you, how dare you hit him? i told you no fights, not on my account, i have a job to keep !!’’ i scream at John, but it felt as though i was screaming at him for hitting Brian- for hitting Brian, not screaming for my job position in the company i didn’t want to lose but for the man.
Adora, what the hell is wrong with you? I ask myself, what is happening to you all of a sudden?
John nudges me away gently “’No Miss Adorá? i will beat him up here where no one will save him, next time he would know how to shut up when grown ass people are talking , he is a child. Get up Fool so i can punch you to the ground”’ he folds his fist again and beckons to Brian
Brains spits, it was red liquid. I see him smile straightening up..
He holds up on finger “’First, Ado-rat, i think you should listen to your boy toy and move” he holds up his second finger ”Two , boy toy..you shouldn’t have done that”’ and he holds out the third ‘Three, rules of engagement, you should never give your opponent the opportunity to regain back his stance or stamina or whatever you will..while you waste time talking trash and how you are going to make him lick your feet, you know why? Because only stupid people don’t realise that is the very first and last mistake you will make”’
‘’What nonsense are you spewing, get up so i can—‘’
‘’Gladly!!’’ Brian says before his eyes flashes, his fist, i didn’t see it when he folded it, i didn’t see it when it began to move, aiming high, and i bet even John didn’t see it.. because the next thing we know, John is on the floor, holding his face.. Brian’s punch takes him from below his jaw, i think that is called uppercut, and while John was trying to regain the shock that must have resetted his brain, Brian’s other punch makes contact with his gut and the last one hits his face and sends him to the ground.
Damnit !! he takes no prisoners..
John was groaning painfully on the floor.
I swear i saw just one punch,it made me dizzy because it was too fast, but three took John down..
For a minute i stood there shocked watching the groaning man and the man standing over him, rubbing his fist..
I had two choices, go to John and try to console him for being stupid to fight someone he wasn’t sure off, or go to Brian that i hate with a passion …and use my hankerchief to wipe the blood from his broken lip, and use ice for his hand..
Think Adora think..!!!
And why the hell does Brian’s lip and fist concern me now, and yet i couldn’t decide.
I see John trying to get up, staggering up, i was wrong when i see his face, i thought it was his jaw…i think the third one got to his eyes, it was swollen, and his own lips was bruised too, i see the blood trekking out the side of his lips too..and he slouches as he staggers up…folding his fist, he points it to Brian.
‘’I will kill you- you asshole!!”’ he shouts..
Okay, now i rush to him, not to stop him but to stop Brian who shakes his head saying ’’Stupid dog, you don’t know when to sit down, maybe you haven’t had a siesta yet, one quick one and i will send you to a long peaceful sleep till morning”’ Brian raise his hands and i grab it holding it
“’Stop it Brian!!!!”’ i caution
‘’Get out of the way Miss Adora..”’ John says spitting ‘’I will kill you bastard i will”’
Brian nudges me away, i don’t budge ‘’What are you standing there for, do something Ikena damnit before they kill each other”’ i yell at ikena who leaves his standing post and pulls John down with just one hand to his shoulders, John groans going to his knees as he bends, his hand is over Ikena’s
‘’’what the hell?’’ i mutter to myself as i see the strength he barely used, and yet John grimaces in pain as he goes down
‘’Calm down son,you really aren’t going to win this fight, save shame and let it be”’
‘’Let go off me you moron!!”’ John tries to hit his hand away, but Ikena’s hand is stiff..
‘’i say calm the fxxk Down or i will make you”’ Ikena warns..
I feel Brian trying to nudge me out of the way,i turn to him pushing him backwards. ‘’Are you out of your mind, look at you bleeding, are you a child fighting like a tout, what is the matter with you..you are bleeding for God’s sakes”’ i point to his lips
‘’Well you should see the other guy, not so pretty!!’’ he smiles
He had the guts to smile, he has the-Argh!!
‘’You..you are crazy, if this gets to Mr Emeka do you know what would happen, you both are two grown men fighting as though you both are dragging about something…here..”’ i gave him the handkerchief in my hand “’Wipe your mouth you are bleeding’’
He takes it and cleans his lips, pouting it out to look “’Hmmph!! He barely poked a vein”’
‘’To bleed like that, he must have hit you hard and it has to hurt’’
He looks at me strangely, “’If i didn’t know better i would think you cared!’’
I raise an eyebrow, was he high, me?
‘’i don’t care about you now as much as i didn’t care about you before. “’ i walk away from him to see John trying to get up and Ikena keep pushing him down with just one hand on his shoulders…how strong is this Ikena dude, and why is he telling him to stay down..
“’John , John look at me, look at me”” i say to him, a frown coming on my face as i see his eyes swollen, or this wouldn’t do..this wouldn’t do at all. He can’t go to the office tomorrow looking as if he got ran over by a bus.
I get up walking to Brian, “’Give me your keys?’’
He looks up sharply “’WHY THE HELL FOR?’’
‘’Give me your damn keys or i will call this in to Mr Emeka myself and i will tell him you started it, and i would tell him all sort of lies to get him to listen to me and even if it’s just for 30 minutes it’s enough to do you damage now give me your damn keys so i can get some damn ices so that man doesn’t look like a swollen toad before tomorrow”’ i tell him
He had the effrontery to smile ‘’When you say Swollen toad like that referring to John the dog, it makes me happy!!”’ he laughs handing me the keys “’that is the only thing you said that is making me give you the key, not that i care what he looks like tomorrow because I don’t. Not that i care about Emeka, i actually don’t because your threatens would not fly, it’s solely because you say he looks like a swollen toad”” he shines his teeths, for an annoying guy he has good white dentition.
‘’I said before he looks like..Argh give me the damn keys’’ i drag it from him, opening the house i find my way into the kitchen, grabbing some ice, i open cabinet looking for what to use, nothing. I grab the napkins i see and pour ices into two, then wrap it.
And i didn’t realise what i was doing until i got outside, i rush to John, ‘’Let him go Ikena, you are hurting him”’ i hit Ikena’s hands away..
John was cursing, calling fire and brimstone, talking about how he would get Brian for this, how he was taken unawares and how Brian cheated that is why he hit him, if they were on level ground, Brian wouldn’t have been able to even dare it…infact-
I grab the ice and push it to his mouth, he really needed to shut up. Brian beat him flat, no two ways about that and if we didn’t stop it..maybe one of them would have truly died and i had a strong feeling it wouldn’t be Brian. I wasn’t rooting for the dude, i hate the dude, i was just stating the obvious.
Oh shut up Adora and focus on the man infront of you who came all the way to take you home and Brian beat him, you should concern yourself about him. I sigh thinking to myself.
‘’Ouch!!’’ John exclaims as he is seated on the floor..i stare at him
‘’I am sorry, please..just hold it close to your eyes and your lips, it would stop the bleeding and the swelling ’’’ i place my hand with the ice to his face.. the other bag is still with me as i try to console John without saying nothing. His hand creeps over my hand as i held the ice to his face, i frown.
*****
Brian is staring at her, his anger is back..his eyes flashes quickly, he is rubbing his fist as he spits out blood again, Ikena walks up to him ‘’Next time, try not to completely take the breath out of an opponent you know can’t compare to you, what were you trying to do, kill the guy?’’
‘’He deserves it”’ Brian is still staring at Adora as she is touching John’s face, he sees John’s as he raises his own hand and places it over hers, for some reason, this angers him, and he is boiling, he curses under his breath.
‘’Now what is it? You want to finish what you started? If you are feeling high and mighty why don’t you go fight Gesto and Telema back at the club, but no, they hold you and you want to pee in your pants”’
‘’Are you stupid? Don’t you see how big chested they are and how wide their hands are? You want them to squash me in a second like a fly?’’
‘’Okay, and yet you used John to show your power…very low”’
‘’He started it, you saw him, he punched me first”’
‘’you instigated him and why the hell did you change your mind about the Miss going in our car, i thought you said she should find her own damn way home now this bloke shows up to take her home and next thing you are giving orders and entering a fist fig ht with a stranger like a jealous boyfriend… what is up Sir?’’
‘’sometimes i think you forget who you are talking to…with such tone”’
‘’Sorry sir, but sometimes i think you don’t think before you act, and you haven’t answered my question , you say something and then do another, it’s only right that i ask”’
Brian isn’t paying attention to him “’Wait i don’t get it, i have a bleeding lip too don’t i, i have a fist that hurts from that dude’s boney face..and yet she is over there caressing his face and all that, what about me, i see two ice wrapped in two napkins with her and yet, she is there.. helping him with one, what the hell about me?’’
Ikena is staring at him and then he stares at Adora.. ‘’Are you jealous Sir?’’ he asks him directly
‘’Pfft!! Are you smoking ph weed now?’’
‘’No, well not yet but you didn’t answer the question”’
‘’Good because you are starting to sound like a mad man, and to answer you no, i am not, is that not rather a ridiculous question to ask me? Why the hell would i be jealous, jealous of what and who exactly?’’
Ikena turns to Adora and John again ‘’Her, him”’
‘’Pfft!! They have nothing on me, i am just being observant, two people had a fight, instead you seem to care for one and not the other, its basic mother hen instincts..plus she got two ice wraps, one for him and one for me’”
‘’ Who said she brought any for you or that is for you and besides,She isn’t a chicken and she isn’t your mother, plus maybe she doesn’t care about your bleeding lip”’ Ikena states
‘’maybe you want one two Ikena “’Brian turns to him
‘’Maybe you should think twice sir, i am a military man, not just your driver sir, i am properly trained in the army too plus and i am your bodyguard as well and i believe if i call your father up to tell him his son is in the hospital with broken bones and i was being defensive..he wouldn’t ask for my head’’
‘’my father wouldn’t let you touch me Ikena“’
‘’No!! Your father wouldn’t have let you scrub toilets, or floors or allowed you go almost two weeks without a decent meal and a maid to pick up after you and cook for you…but here we are!!’’
Brains frown depends “’’Here we are!’’ he stares back at them, then at his time “’damnit, it’s almost 8 pm’’ Right on cue, his touch-light phone rings, it was Gesto , God he misses his Iphone if he doesn’t get it back after all this, someone was going down. He ignores the call.
‘’shall we leave?’’ Ikena sees the caller.
Brian stares at them, “’Not without her!!’’
“’Are you being serious?’’ Ikena couldn’t believe his ears.
‘’Yup!! You will drop me at the club, don’t answer questions if she asks what i am doing there and go drop her home, that John isn’t winning no battle today”’ He says leaving Ikena and walking towards them.
******
I am frowning, i wanted to get up and go to Brian, atleast this ice shouldn’t melt in my hands but John was just being unpredictably annoying , holding onto my hands not letting go “’Look Miss Adora, it’s because of you i am not going mad now..now see what he did? I will report him to Mr Emeka, infact i will get the Boss of the boss’s number and report him, i will go to the station and show them, this man is a ruthless animal, a dog, he needs to be put down, maybe he had a ring to his finger, see my face Miss Adora, and he was trying to force you into his car? Maybe he wants to do something to you there, this night who knows. No!! This i won’t let it go”’
‘’But John you incited him””
‘’Me? Me that was trying to get him to know his place,, how can i pay that much transport down here and come to pick up my social Manager and he dares to stop me,me? And when i try to talk to him he wants to fight? It’s because of my shoes, the smooth ground that made me trip and fall when he hit me now he thinks he beat me, i will show him, in this Port Harcourt, i will destroy his parolz, no joke ma!!’’
‘’You do realise that this would fall back on me? because if they ask what you were doing here it’s because of me, if they ask you why were you both fighting, it’s because of me…and i do not want any more issues that would make Mr Emeka punish me, i already have so many things going on at the moment, i do not need you and him to cause anymore, so can you just caress your ego and drop this, atleast if not for him for me hmm?’’ i had removed my hands from his face, i took the ice from his hands and use it on his face again, he wasn’t doing it right, he winces in pain
‘’Máám, i am a man, and this is an insuilt to my person, i am sorry but i cannot”’
I sigh
‘’I won’t go and report him to Mr Emeka’’ he looks at me, then i let out a breath “’But i won’t let this go, for my honour i need to deal with him”’
I shake my head, this one doesn’t have sense, someone beats you down without stress and breaking a sweat and you didn’t even see it coming and you are here thinking about how you are going back to face him off? I wondered if Brian removed his sense as he hits him? I shake my head, your funeral John.
But Boy!!! A guy that can stand his ground like Brian, take down an opponent with three punches making him whine like a girl, he must be something-
‘’Shut the hell up Adora!!!’’
“’What?’’
Oh wait, did i say that outloud, i bit my lower lip.
‘’Oh nothing John , nothing “’ i stare down at the melting ice in my hand.. well. The aim is defeated, maybe it would be Brian that might have a swollen lip like an abalumo and take it to work in the morning, really unfortunate, he has really cute lips up front..
‘’I swear Adora if you don’t shut up , i will smack you right now!!’’
What has that boy done to me in this few seconds..
John is frowning and looking at me “’Why are you talking to yourself and telling yourself shut up’’
I don’t answer, i press the ice to his face nudging him backwards,
‘’Owww!!’’
Oh shit!!
“’oh i am sorry, does it hurt?’’
“’No, ‘’ he lies “’But that is not it, you know i went to the HR’s office today to find out some things about the goat and guess what i found there”’
“’What? About who?’’
‘’The fool behind you that i will ruin.. you and i know there is something fishy about him””
Right
“’Oh, yeah!”’ i rub my temple
“’So i went to the HR’s office, i had to do small talks so she doesn’t suspect because there is no way i can ask her to give me an employee’s file and she would hand it to me you see ’’ he touches my hand over his face again directing the ice to his lip. I look at his hand over mine and then i frown again, if i pull mine away again would it be rude of me, my frown deepens as he continues to talk.
‘’So we talked, i offered to buy her lunch and all that and we left together, while we were at the fast food not so far from the office i pretended to have a call and leave, well it was easy because we met a few of our other colleagues so she was distracted, i rush back to the office, see, she didn’t lock her door, well that was my purpose to distract her and stuff. So i get in, and i go through employees files and then i found his and then i opened it and guess what i found within the file about the He-goat, i was shocked to my bones Miss Adora”’
‘’What did you find?’’ i lean in, i wanted to know
‘’I found-‘’
‘’Let me help you up!!’’ it was Brian pulling me up by the hand …
‘’Wait , what?’’ i try to hit him off but he pulls me up any way pulling me away
‘’Let go off me you ..you-”’ i scream at him
‘’Asshole, creep, he-goat? Get a new name, i am taking you home and you are welcome!!’’ Brian says
Tbc
