Romola kicked her feet into high gear. She had to get there fast. she would lose her mind and do something drastic like throw herself in front of a moving car on the two lane road that led to the apartment she had shared with Yetunde. But she wasn't going there. No, she couldn't. Not after the total humiliations she had received at Miss Oyama's hands.

She wanted to come out in her own time-- to tell the truth in her own way but Yetunde had denied her the opportunity. Romola put one feet on the curb, then retracted it. No, she would not give Yetunde another opportunity to rejoice in her downfall. The first time, she went away to protect herself. This time, Yetunde would also learn that the best defense was an attack.

Romola turned back the way she'd come.

But attack what? She had no access to Yetunde's physically. Worse still, the devil had graduated and probably did not live in this apartment any longer. What was there to fight? She was powerless but her anger was not a force that could simply be moved by the realization of the futility of its effort.

No. There had to be another way.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She starred at the name on the screen-- Chioma.

"Hello," She croaked, her voice hoarse from the tears that had emerged at her confession.

The tears didn't move Miss Oyama at all. If anything, it had angered her. Romola wasn't even sure she still had a job.

"Please, this isn't the best time to call."

"Then when is? Really tell me."

"I'll be home in a few minutes."

"Better. Maybe you'll come and remove your useless sister from my premises before I take an extraordinary measure. You know what I can do."

"My sister? Which one?"

Was it Sunbo who had refused to pick her calls or Lolade? No, it couldn't be Lolade; the young girl couldn't remember the way to her house. If she could, she would have visited countless number of times.

More tears spilled down her cheeks. It would have to be Sunbo who would not hesitate to tell her I-told-you-so. She deserved it.

"I don't understand whether you want us all to pack out so you can bring your family in here." Chioma hissed.

"I'll be there."

A beeping sound confirmed that Chioma had dropped the call.

# # #

Romola set her eyes on the bags littered outside the apartment. Sunbo sat on one of the large purple boxes dressed in a peach bum-short and a white tank top. A white silky kimono jacket covered the rest of her skin. The boxes lay beside the door while there were a few Ghana-must-go bags and a bright orange nylon on the floor. A few shoes peeked out of the nylon bag while Sunbo's tapped her phone screen.

"What are you doing here?"

Sunbo dove towards Romola. She hung around Romola's neck. "You're finally here. Why didn't you pick your phone?"

Her phone. Romola paused, staring at her feet. A small piece of cake cream remained on her ankle like a parasite. She'd left her tablet on the table when that stupid usher had asked her to join the single women in front.

"What happened to your dress?" Sunbo eyed Romola's dress.

"Nothing. Why are you here?"

Sunbo smiled. "I finally know what I want to do with my life"

"Which is?"

"I want to move in with you."

Romola eyed the baggage that Sunbo had dragged with her. She drew in a deep breath to prepare for battle.

"Is this a joke?"

"It's not. Now, can you go and tell your stupid room mate that I am coming to live with you?" Sunbo picked the orange bag and walked towards the brown door.

Romola grabbed her sister's elbow. "That's not happening."

"What'd you mean?"

"You heard me. That's not happening. You can't stay here."

"Why not?"

"Why not? Why not?" Romola struggle to keep her voice under control. Was that supposed to be a question? "There is no space."

"No problem. I'll drop my bag here and sleep here on weekends."

"No. No. You can't stay here. Go back home."

Sunbo shook her head. "I can't go back oh."

"Why can't you?" Romola's eye settled on the Ghana-must-go bags.

Sunbo had more belongings than she'd had when she was kicked out of the family's house. There were two small ones and one large that she recognized, the small one-- the one with the fruit pattern design. She'd given it to Sunbo just before she got into the university because she'd bought a small leather box at the time so she could store her clothes.

"Mummy doesn't want me there."

"That's a lie." Sunbo was the new golden child. "What did you do?"

"What makes you think I did something."

"If you didn't do anything, why would she kick you out of the house?"

"I haven't done anything." Sunbo stomped her feet. "But if she sees the video, she'll lose her mind."

"What video?"

Sunbo shook off Romola's hand. "Don't worry about that. Just help me talk to your room mates. I will only stay here till I get my own place."

"What video?"

Her mind flashed back to her mother's reaction when her nudes had dropped. The connection she had with her mother this past Thursday was not something she could afford to lose again and unless Sunbo had done something of that magnitude, nothing else would cause their mother to send her out.

"Forget about it. If you're worried about rent, I can pay. I have money."

"Where did you get the money?"

Sunbo frowned. She opened her mouth to speak as the door squeaked, turning on its hinges. Chioma stepped outside, with her hands planted on both sides of the door post.

She growled at Sunbo.

Sunbo hissed.

"Romola, your sister cannot stay here."

"What's your own?" Sunbo screamed. "Would I be sleeping on your head?"

"She won't be staying here."

"Romola," Sunbo called.

Romola picked her way through Sunbo's belongings as Chioma retreated into the house. Here Sunbo was, trying to force her way into the house but she didn't even know how much money she still had. She had some money but how long would she be able to live here without a job while she still had to pay for her online classes? It was guaranteed that Miss Oyama would not take her back. The woman had simply dropped her at the office and asked her to leave. She didn't have the strength to beg.

"Sunbo, you can't stay here?"

"Why not?"

She'd faced Yetunde and defeat today. She lost. She couldn't trust Sunbo with that knowledge. Not when the girl had warned her about keeping her past from her employer. Yetunde's scorn was one thing. Sunbo's laughter, another.

"You can't stay here."

"I told you I'll pay."

"What's wrong with the house?"

Sunbo plopped on top of the large Ghana-must-go, folded her legs and rolled her eyes. "Why would I want to stay in that godforsaken place?"

"Sunbo!"

"Don't Sunbo me. Why aren't you staying there?"

"You know why."

"Lie. Even if they did not kick you out, you would not have stayed."

"See, I'm tried. I need to rest."

"Me too, I'm tired of that house where everybody is always fighting. One day, that man will kill somebody and I won't be there. If I have to sleep outside here, I will stay here until you let me in."

"Don't let the mosquitoes kill you." Romola got into the house and banged the door behind her.

Chioma paced the length of the small room. "I hope that your sister has left. You all can see; I've been saying it. Your sisters would soon take over this room."

There was nowhere for Sunbo to sleep and soon, she might have to go back to the bridge too. "She'll leave."

Author's Note:

Hello. I was going through the draft that has all the previous chapters of this book stored and I realized that I failed to publish one chapter earlier in the book. So, please check Chapter 26: Mall Pickup. There's been an update to it and  it contains key information for a couple of scenes down the road.