*Unedited* (Because I'm awesome)

Song: Melissa - Shatta Wale (You should really listen to this)

It was ten long days to Christmas. It would be my first Christmas in the city. A long while ago, that was all I'd ever dreamed about. Just that I didn't think that I'd be a prostitute, living with a psychopath.

It was the morning of the day I was to be auctioned off, but it was much too early to begin any preparations. I'd woken up before Kofi and had meant to take a shower. I rose from my rug and passed by his bed. He looked so angelic in his sleep, so pure, it was hard to imagine that he was the monster he was.

My shower was long. There was a steady flow of water from the shower, unlike back at home where I'd have to limit the water I could use to one bucket. It wasn't that we didn't have water back home. It just wasn't portable for the poor. We would fetch the water in buckets and store them in large barrels. We tended to use water economically because filling the barrel was tiring.

I mean, I used the water economically because I had to refill it when it was empty. My brothers used it in a way which made me feel like strangling them to death. Right now though, I wouldn't mind if they used all the water in the barrel. I wouldn't mind if they called me names and stuck my toothbrush in cow dung.

I'd thoroughly burnt my skin. When I went to brush my teeth, the mirror was covered with steam. I wiped it away and stared at myself. My eyes looked tired. Very tired, like it took every bit of strength I had to keep them open.

I brushed my teeth without looking in the mirror. When I was done and out of the bathroom, Kofi was still asleep. He was frowning so seriously that I thought he was awake. "Kofi?" I called out. He didn't reply.

I felt a sense of fear creep up my spine, making me shiver involuntarily. Something told me to get out of there, fast. I went over to the small room that contained my clothes and hurriedly grabbed something. I was too anxious and scared to check clearly. My stomach was tying itself in knots, whilst I felt the profound need to disappear.

I pulled on the underwear and clothes I needed, but before I could make it out of the room, there was a loud noise which sounded like the roar of a lion.

A lion?

I went out of the small room.

Kofi.

He was awake.

And angry.

I jumped, my hairs standing on end as he threw a lamp against the wall. He clutched his face in his hands and let out an ear piercing roar. Instead of covering my ears like I should've, I couldn't help noticing how torn up he looked.

I was still scared, my legs felt like jelly underneath me, but his face was covered with so much raw pain. His eyes were red and angry, tears streamed down his face, snaking their way down his strong neck.

For a moment, I stared at him, scared but intrigued, mystified, wondering what exactly could cause someone to look so torn up, so angry yet so sad. So pained, like his very existence was slowly being ripped away from him and there was nothing he could do about it.

I regretted my decision to stay and stare when he looked at me, his eyes burning with rage. If I was scared before, I was completely petrified now. I'd turned to stone, frozen into place by fear I'd never known.

His face fell, the mask of anger was replaced by indifference as he stalked up to me. I didn't think that I could move, but I guess I was more afraid than I was telling myself. I moved back until I hit the wall.

"Déjà vu," I thought, but I couldn't for the life of me seem to remember when this had happened before; if this had happened before.

He was gritting his teeth together, making his jaw tick angrily. "What--" he began. "--do you want?"

"I j--"

"Take your lust somewhere else you dirty whore." He said. He went out of the room shortly after, banging the door loudly behind him.

It took my racing heart a while to put two and two together and realise that he was really gone, and when it did, my heartbeat slowed significantly and I felt the ice-cold grip of fear begin to loosen its deadly claws.

Then, the anger washed over me. How dare he call me a whore? How dare he, a pimp, call me a whore? He was the one who was literally forcing me to sell my body, yet he had the gull to call me a whore? Who does he even think he is?

I don't think my mind was in the right place. All I saw was red as I quickly rushed after him to give him a piece of my mind, but I stopped short upon seeing Michael heading down the stairs with a bag over his shoulder.

I couldn't stop myself, I called out, "Michael?"

He turned around, his eyes unreadable, yet his voice sounding so fed up. "What do you want?"

I tried my hardest not to come across as desperate or needy, especially when he was being so rude, but I couldn't help it. "Are you leaving?"

"No, I'm moving in, as you can see," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

I bit down on my bottom lip to stifle the embarrassment and pain from the way he was talking to me. There was a time when Michael saw me as the highest of highs, regarded me with utmost respect, until we were stupid enough to get into a relationship and ruin everything we had.

"Oh okay. Um, safe journey," I said awkwardly. How do you say goodbye to the person you love most in the world? How do you tell him to get married to a girl who's having another man's child? How do you stop your heart from leading you to forget your pride and do something as stupid as beg him to stay with you? How do you stop the intense pain that feels like it won't ever end?

He didn't leave immediately like I expected him too. He stood there, staring at his shoes and then at the railing, then at me. His façade cracked, and I saw pain. Pain in the eyes of the boy who had loved me for almost his whole life.

"If you would just give me a reason, if you would just come clean, tell me exactly what's going on here... I might stay." He set his bag down and took a step forward, stopping suddenly though as if his brain was second guessing what his heart was telling him to do.

"You might?" I asked, my heart pounding incredulously. As usual, this felt too good to be true. Things like this don't happen to Elorm Enam Nutsugah. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"

He took another step closer. "I promise you that it isn't." He didn't come any closer. He looked at the stair, then looked at me, hesitant, yet needy. He wanted me. He wanted me even after every bad thing he thought I'd done. But when faced with the possibility, the question was, did I want him?

He took another step. "I know there's something fishy going on here. That night..." I looked away. He was referring to the night on which he had so ruthlessly humiliated me and left me hanging like a rag doll. "I knew something was wrong somewhere. I wanted to find out, believe me, I did, but then I was too busy hating you."

"Michael, you should leave," I told him, even though it shattered my heart into a thousand pieces.

"Not until I find out what's going on here. You're sick aren't you?" He asked. He bit down on his lower lip. "It's not your fault. It's an addiction and you can be cured."

I smiled. This was sweet. He was sweet. He thought I was sick. He thought that I was only here because I felt compelled to. That meant, somewhere deep down, he still trusted me. He knew I wouldn't just come here for the thrill of it. He loved me.

But I couldn't lie to him. Just imagine how wonderful it'd be if I could simply go along with his story, or better yet, tell him the truth. I couldn't though. Kofi told me that he'd kill him. Sure, I had my doubts if Kofi was really capable of murder.

Sure, he had tortured me, but he could've easily killed me; he didn't. He could easily kill Michael, he could've refused his request to come and see me, he could've forced me to give up my virginity to one of the male prostitutes, yet, he'd given me the chance to lose it to Michael. Kofi was a horrible person, there was no doubt about that, but I don't think he was capable of murder.

Then again, better safe than sorry. He wasn't the only mind behind the business. There were some others and they were quite devious, if I do say so myself.

"Michael, I don't have a sickness. I'm fine. This is... this is just what I want." My throat began to tighten up. I'd never found it this difficult to lie in my life. Sometimes, there were just these people that we find it so difficult to lie to. Almost impossible. But perhaps these were the same people that you'd do anything to protect. Even lie to them.

"The first step to get cured is admitting that you're sick," he took a step closer. He was so close now. It almost felt like if I reached out, I could touch him. But I couldn't. He wasn't mine anymore. Next year, he'd be married to Etornam, and he'd be raising her bastard child.

"I'm not sick. This is just the... life I want." Goodness. I wished he would just leave. It was physically painful to keep uttering these rotten lies. They didn't even make sense falling from my lips. My goodness.

"Do you hear yourself? I know the life you want. You've never stopped talking about it ever since I've known you. You don't want to live the rest of your days hawking your body, you want to hawk your mind. Stop this, Elorm. Please just say the words, and I'll help you."

I bit down on my lower lip, feeling my throat close up. I hated how he always made me cry. He always made me remember everything I'd be forfeiting if I decided to accept this fate. My dreams, my family, him.

"Michael..." I trailed off, and he stepped closer. He was so close now, just a breath away. I was afraid to touch him, fearing that he might vanish. "what about Etornam, your village, your responsibilities?"

"What about them?" He asked, cocking his head to the side in the playful way he used to do before we fell out. It made me think about the good old days. Those days we'd never have again.

"Don't play dumb Michael."

"They can go to hell." He said so sincerely, staring into my eyes, that I believed him.

It was safe to say he'd left me in an impenetrable state of shock. I didn't move, didn't say anything, didn't blink, didn't breathe. I just stared.

He took that opportunity to close the distance between us. We were standing chest to chest whilst he looked down at me and I looked up at him.

"Let me help you," he whispered, his minty breath fanning over my face.

"Why do you want to do this for me?"

Because I love you.

But he didn't say that. He didn't say that because, maybe, we both weren't sure if we still felt the same about each other after everything that had happened. Maybe he didn't love me anymore, well, not as strongly. Maybe we'd gotten to know each other well and decided that we didn't like what we see.

He didn't answer my question. He took my hand, grabbing onto it like it was his lifeline. His last desperate attempt to rekindle our quenching flame. "Please."

Yes.

It was so easy. Say 'yes', and Etornam and the chief and the village can all go to hell. But it wasn't that easy. No it wasn't. My family, Etornam's baby, my own people. They were the people that would suffer at our happiness. But then there was the more imperative question; did we still want each other? Would we work?

Most people say that it's better trying and failing than not trying at all and regretting, which is a bloody lie. There are some failures that you just can't risk. Like trying to kill someone, failing and getting caught. Imagine, the person alive but your whole life ruined.

This was not a failure I was willing to risk.

Or was it?

Because there was a burning longing in my chest. Even then, I longed to fall into his arms and soar above the clouds with him, without a care in the world.

Yet there were metal chains secured around my ankles, keeping me rooted to the ground.

I didn't despise any of these circumstances, which made me realise my indecision. Did I want him, or did I not?

"I do--"

"Leaving?" Kofi effectively cut in.

I was shocked to say the least. He looked nothing like earlier. He was so composed, wearing a suit jacket with a button up shirt and a pair of trousers, everything black but the shirt, which was grey. His curls were balanced atop his head, bouncing with every step his Nike clad feet took.

It made me wonder if this morning's episode was merely a dream.

"You know I'm leaving, do you just like to ask stupid questions?"

He grinned, although it was barely noticeable. "I see why she likes you, you are the same. Don't worry. Our customers will take good care of her."

Michael fisted his hands. "What are you trying to do?"

"Get on your nerves, of course. You know that. Do you just like to ask stupid questions?"

"Stop it," I interjected before Michael could respond.

Kofi spared me a glance and gave me a half smirk. "You won't miss him much, I assure you. You'll be much too occupied."

I sighed, rubbing the side of my neck in frustration. "Just stop it."

Michael picked his bag off the floor and threw it over his shoulder, ignoring Kofi. He looked at me; he kept staring long enough that Kofi became suspicious. I knew that when he left and Kofi grabbed my arm.

"What was that about?" He asked. He was as unreadable as ever, I couldn't tell whether he was angry or just curious.

"Maybe it's hard to leave the love of your life forever. You wouldn't know."

He rolled his eyes. "It's funny how convinced you both are that you're 'in love'." He used his fingers to mimic inverted commas in the air.

"Like I always say, you wouldn't understand."

"Thank God for that."

I scoffed. "You have no idea what you're missing out on."

"Heartache, misery, pain? Wow, what a wonderful thing! Really, I'm so unlucky that I'm not in love."

I rolled my eyes.

"On a more serious note, if you dare try anything..." he let the threat hang.

I rolled my eyes again. "Do your worst."

To my surprise, he laughed. "Nothing can break you, really."

"You had better get that in your thick skull."

"You haven't seen my worst," he stepped closer. "I get what I want, Elorm. When I said I'll break you, I meant it."

It was the third time I rolled my eyes during this interaction. "Look at me, I'm so scared." I said dryly.

He smirked. "You're by far one of the most interesting people I've met."

"Is that a compliment?"

"No. Quite the opposite actually."

* * *

Everything of theirs was set, but Etornam wasn't ready to leave yet. According to Michael, she'd locked herself in the bathroom. I knew this had something to do with her pregnancy, but I didn't want to voice out my thoughts because I was in a good place with Michael and I didn't want to ruin it.

I guess this was a good thing for Michael because this meant more time to convince me to leave everything behind and go with him, but Kofi had grown suspicious and had began watching us like a hawk, which annoyed me to no end.

I needed to talk to Michael. I hadn't made up my mind on whether I loved him or not, but I needed to let him go. Even if I wasn't in love with him, he'd been one of my closest friends for as long as I could remember. I wouldn't let them kill him. I couldn't.

Kofi glanced at his Rolex watch and rolled his eyes. He crossed his legs and ran his hand through his hair. "What's taking so long?"

"In a hurry to get rid of me, aren't we?" Michael asked, crossing his strong arms over his broad chest. He grinned. It'd been a while since I'd seen any semblance of a smile on his face. He looked beautiful. He'd always been beautiful.

"Of course. I don't even understand why your presence here was necessary. All you did was cause her heartache," he nodded in my direction.

At that, Michael looked a tad bit guilty. "Like what you're doing to her is any better."

Kofi eyed him, looking bored at the same time curious. "What do you mean?"

"I know you're exploiting her sickness to make money!" Michael burst. His stance was more furious now, he looked rigid, like he was about to pounce on anyone who dared to cross him.

Kofi looked at Michael for a while, a look that said, "Are you stupid?" then he turned to me. "What's wrong with this dude?"

I had to bite my lip to stifle a laugh. The way he said it was just hilarious, and his look was so innocent and genuinely confused. I decided to play along. "Don't try and play dumb."

Kofi stared at me like I was from another planet. Then he looked down at his lap, then he looked back at me. "Huh?"

I almost laughed out loud, but then we heard an ear-piercing scream. It came from upstairs, and I had no doubt that I was from Michael's room.

Etornam.

No one moved for a while, until we heard the second scream. Kofi rolled his eyes, and Michael looked genuinely curious as he rushed up the stairs. I simply followed because I was curious. Michael was banging on the bathroom door, demanding to be let in.

I couldn't hear what was happening on the inside very well, but it sounded like she was crying. Was something wrong with the baby? Michael kept banging on the door with both fists, but she wouldn't open it. She let out another scream and Michael began trying to kick the door down.

"That door is worth more than your life you stupid brute. Step away from it!" Kofi bellowed, brandishing a key like a weapon. For some reason, that made me laugh, which was very wrong in a situation like this.

However, the laughter dried up really quickly when I took in the sight of Etornam. She was sprawled across the floor, her whole figure screaming that she was in pain, with small rivers of blood flowing down her legs.

"My goodness," Michael whispered. He was frozen, shock paralysing him. Then he looked at me. "you were right."

I shook my head, "That's not what's important right now. You need to get her to a hospital. She's having a miscarriage."

The word seemed to thaw his frozen body. He jumped into action, going to kneel beside Etornam.

"Michael," she said. Her hand came up and touched his face, smearing a little bit of blood on his cheek. He froze up again, and just then, she closed her eyes and her head lolled to the right lifelessly.

I realised then that Michael was pretty much useless at this point. He was much too shaken up to do anything. I was shaken up myself, but I felt detached from the whole situation. Etornam had almost six inches on me so I couldn't really do anything but hover around her, plus I couldn't drive. It was all left to Kofi.

The person in question was leaning against the door frame, looking bored out of his mind.

"A little help, please?" I asked, sounding surprisingly frantic.

He looked at me. "Not until you tell me what was going on back there."

"Really?" I gasped. "You don't see the dying girl before you?"

"It's just a miscarriage. No one asked her to get pregnant anyways."

"Just a miscarriage?" I scoffed. "Why am I even surprised, my goodness! I'm used to this." I threw my arms up in exasperation.

I went over to Michael and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey." I whispered.

He turned around and looked at me, slowly.

"Great. Now you're in shock too." I facepalmed. It seemed like it was all left to me. I didn't have a phone I could call an ambulance with - not that Kofi would even let me near a phone - but I had to at least get her in the car and hope that Kofi's ice heart would melt a little.

I grabbed her hands. They were bloodied and knowing where the blood was from, I would've normally been disgusted, but at that moment, that was the least of my worries. I didn't like the girl, but I couldn't just watch this happen to anyone. Even my worst enemy. Well, one of my worst enemies.

I began to drag her. She was much heavier than she looked and I felt terrible for putting that strain on her body in her condition. I was so scared that the way I was handling her was too rough for her condition, but I couldn't just leave her to bleed out.

Michael was still crouched in his position, staring at his bloodied hands.

When I got to the doorway, leaving behind a bloody trail, Kofi refused to move out of the way. "What's wrong with you? Can't you see what's happening? If you won't help, at least get out of my way."

"No. Tell me what was going on down there."

I dropped Etornam's hands but later regretted it when her head and the whole upper half of her body hit the ground with a thud. I cringed. I sighed, turned around and faced Kofi. He crossed his arms over his chest like he was just daring me to do something.

I bet he wasn't expecting what happened next. I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and shoved him aside, which I was sure was possible only because he was caught off guard. He didn't make it anymore difficult for me after that. He just stared, with his jaw on the ground.

I grabbed Etornam's hands and began to drag her across the floor. The stairs drew closer, the looming obstacle which seemed too daunting to even try to overcome. Kofi came into view again, and he was giving me a look I couldn't decipher.

"Need help?" He asked.

I glared at him. I was so tempted to say no, but it was Etornam's life at stake - and perhaps her baby's - and I couldn't forsake that for my pride. "Yes," I muttered begrudgingly.

He suddenly came forward and threw her over his shoulder, his shoulder digging into her stomach.

"What's wrong with you? Don't carry her like that!" I bellowed, rushing forward. I don't know whether I was going to collect her from him or what, looking back.

He looked... sheepish as he changed her position and nestled her in his arms like a bride. There were no obstacles on the way as we took her into the car. Her forehead was warm to the touch. She had begun to develop a fever and her blood showed no signs of stopping. I could only hope we'd make it to the hospital in time.

At the thought, I glared at Kofi. "If only you'd helped from the beginning."

"I thought you didn't even like her."

"So? I leave her and her child to die? Not all of us are like you."

He didn't say anything else. Thanks to his reckless driving - which was atypical of him seeing that he was so cool and calm about everything - we got to the hospital in time. At least, I liked to believe that it was in time.

The doctors didn't let us go far. I wanted to make sure she was okay but I wasn't about to chase the doctors like some headless chicken. It was better to give them space as they worked.

"We're not waiting here a moment longer, you need to get back."

"I want to make sure she's okay," I countered.

He quirked a brow. "I don't understand you, you know? She's having a baby with the love of your life. Why won't you want it dead?"

I glared at him. "It's not its fault about the circumstances surrounding its birth. And the child isn't Michael's."

"I see. So you want her to keep it so that the mere sight of it gets on Michael's nerves and he'll leave her for you?"

I just stared at the man.

He stared back.

"You know, I'm tired, just take me back."

"You confuse me, you know?" He said.

I rolled my eyes. "Not more than you do me."

* * *

BLACKLIVESMATTER

Well that was an anti-climatic ending. I wanted to end where they found out about the miscarriage but I felt like the chapter didn't have enough in it.

Anyways, sorry for no update last week. I don't know, inspiration didn't hit me.

Plus stream Trollz 👅

So, liked it this chapter? Get ready for some Michael and Elorm drama in the next one.

And I'd like to thank all the writers who added Broken to their reading lists! Thanks for all your support during these trying times.

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