Wild West of the Heart
SIXTY FIVE

"I'm happy" Obi giggled.

He placed his palms over his lips, trying to hold in his laughter. He sat on the window pane but his feet dangled into his room. His cheeks were pinkish and he noticed the moment he stared in the mirror.

Nathaniel swung in the chair that had adjustable screw beneath it and he hefted up his keycard. Obi looked to the desk in front of him and his shoulders fell. "Isn't this " He whispered, narrowing his eyes at the white powder across the table. Nate crumbed it together with his card and sniffed in a bit through his left nostril.

He exclaimed, tilting his head backwards and Obi climbed down the windows. "Wrong" He added and Nate choked into his arms."Don't you like the way you feel?" He asked, pointing to the table. "Or are you okay mopping about being single on Valentine's day in your little bubble?" He added.

Obi felt his eye roll to the back. Felt, because he didn't have much control over his body anymore. He inched closer towards him. "I'm not in a fucking bubble" He cussed, bringing his head to the table.

He scooped just a bit unto the card as Nate smiled down on him like a proud father. Sniffing it through his nose, he screamed. "Obi. Mira" Nathaniel burst out laughing as he held him back. "Fuck"

"I fucking feel good" He could yell that from the windows as he fell into the bed. "Fuck everyone" Nate added, walking all the way to the bed as well.

"Fuck him" He whispered. Obi. "Fuck Abdul" He wasn't sure he meant that, but he was just hurt. And from the stare Nathaniel gave him, he could tell Obi had quickly fallen from that new high-

—and it didn't take long for him to resume his mopping. There was tears in his eyes and Nate groaned, sitting up. He licked the tip of his fingers, as he faced the windows. For him, the drugs made him forget all his pain and struggles. But for Obi, it reminded him of them.

"You know what you need" He smiled back at him as he reached into his pockets. "What?" Obi asked, folding his arms behind his head.

"This" Nate hefted up a bagged powder from his pockets and Obi's jaw dropped. "More?" He gasped as he sat up as well. "What is that?" He giggled and Nathaniel leaned into his ears. "No fucking clue “

"There's only one way to replace out" Obi sat on his legs, as he reached for the paperbag like some expert. He didn't feel so good, but he was willing to take more. Anything to forget about the past few days, and the fact that there was no Abdul anymore. They was no them.

There he was on valentine's day, alone as usual.

-

Ola rode his bike like his life depended on it.

He used his clothed elbows to wipe the beads of sweat that began to form across his forehead. And he paddled more. The day wasn't that hot, but on the other hand, it wasn't winter like.

If there was anything, it gave more an autumn feel. The trees by the roads had dried, with yellow leaves and little or no fruit. He was convinced this was the weirdest time of the year-

-the weeks before early spring. It had been days since he'd been sitting on Jazzlyn's phone and the information it contained. Truth was, between the JAMB and basically just sorting things out with his mother, he barely had any time. Until now.

He rode his bikes under the blue skies, heading towards Obi's house to see Mira. He'd tried speaking to his best friend but things seemed a bit different these days. He'd noticed Obi's fallout with Abdul since they spent their lunches apart and barely never even looked at each other in the halls.

He'd also barely seen Fiyin nor his father. Everything seemed to be falling apart, and there was nothing he could do to fix it.

He drove his black bicycle into the shrubs, letting it fall to the ground before he climbed over it. Unhooking his helmet, he placed it against the handles and headed up the front porch. Staring up Obi's windows, he'd noticed they were open- -which could only mean he was around. Now, normally they'd spent valentines day together, since they usually had no one. Like i said, things seemed to have changed and he could hear voices from above him. He strode, the scent of something ticking the back of the throat as he knocked softly.

Stepping back, his eyes navigated the building in entirety until the door opened. And there was Mira, in a silk black robe that looked expensive. Silva was behind her, his laptop glued to his arms as he nodded. "Are you sure it's that hospital?" He cut himself short, allowing Ola to fully walk in.

"Hey" Mira whispered, holding the ends of her robe together. His eyes went from the empty champagne glasses on the table to her fingers that pointed to the stairs. "Obi's upstairs" She said as she fell into the couch. "What did you say?" She turned to Silva who sat beside her and she peered into his laptop like they were partners on some mysterious murder case, which actually this was. And they had no idea how it even became this.

From what people said was a failed robbery, now they were uncovering more things that were hidden far from the eyes. Ola cracked his knuckles, peering over his still position. Mira immediately looked to him, he hated the sound of cracking bones and he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Obi's upstairs" She reiterated, assuming he was here to see him, and he hadn't heard her the first time. But that was when he stepped forward, slipping his hands into his pockets for the phone.

"I'm not here for Obi" His voice cracked as he stepped as close as the center table. He tossed the phone against the glass and Mira looked from it to his eyes, in quagmire. Ola sat, pointing to it.

"That's for Jazz" He said the words that changed everything and Silva was immediately restive in his seat. "What?" He doubted the words he heard and Ola sat forward. "I saw it on the ground, in the bush close to my house, where she was murdered"

"My guess is that it fell from her when she was mugged. And it'd been there ever since, through rain and shine" Mira reached for it first, instinctively turning it on. "She wasn't mugged" She muttered under her breath before looking to Silva. "Do you know what this means?"

He looked to the name displaying across the screen and heaved a deep breath, of course he knew what this meant, especially after he'd been to the hospital the elderly lady had directed him to-

"We're here to see one of your patients. Reginald Ojo-" Silva clung to the wooden desk, locking eyes with the plump woman behind it. She scanned through her desktop and it didn't take long before she looked back up. "No one under that name"

Silva felt his heart sink.

"Can you check again?" He requested, turning back to Mira who was beside him. "This doesn't make any sense, the woman said he was here" He whispered, the stress of all this weighing him down.

"Hey" Mira whispered as she stepped forward, only for the same woman to shake her head. "Nothing" She replied sternly and Silva thought back on asking her to check again. She directed both of them out of the queue, attending to the person beside him.

He shrugged, biting unto his knuckles.

Now, this was a week ago, and he'd spent the next replaceing out all he could about the general hospital, Reginald and the AIDS pandemic. And now, looking down on the phone, it was one more thing added to keep him awake all night- Jazzlyn.

He knew somehow, at the root of all of this was a common denominator, a radical bond tieing all he knew together. It was what kept him pushing, what made him not to give up. Dare and the police had failed him, failed Jazz. Even the media- it was time he took matters into his own hands. It was time he forsook all the alcohol, and the club nights to actually do something for the better.

"Does Obi know?" Mira pushed a lump down his throat and Ola shook his head, unconsciously looking up the stairs.

"It's better if he doesn't yet" She replied him, having no idea of how much he was already going through and his coping mechanism. "I'd-" Ola pointed to the stairs before he paused.

"I saw the messages between her and Reginald and a few other people, i think she was ill" He looked down at the phone, his hands digging into his hair nervously. "Both of them. But you'd see that. I know it's private but-"

"It's okay" Mira said, relieving him of his anxiety. "I just want this to be all over. It's why you should have it instead, of turning it over to the police" He nodded. "You did the right thing" Silva looked to him and he exhaled softly, turning to face the stairs.

"Ola" Mira stood, and he halted. "Thank you"

It was nice hearing that for a change, instead of all the negative things of recent. And a smirk formed on his lips before he turned around, nodding for the nth time he could never get tired of that. In a second, he made his way to the top of the stairs.

"Obi"

"Obi" He called again, heading to his room. He halted, hearing closer the giggling that came from behind it. And his hands turned to a fist before he knocked against the door.

"Obi" He brought his ears close to the door and he could the hushing sounds that came before the footsteps. "I'm not here" He chuckled, and Ola arched his brows. "I can literally hear you" He said. "What are you even up t-"

The door immediately clicked and it opened, but just a bit. Obi peered from the little sides as Ola's arms rested against it. "Can i come in?" He ignored the murmurs that came from behind the door. It was clear someone else was there. He softly pushed and Obi pushed back. "Come on, Obi-"

"What's really going on?" The uncertain smile had wiped off his lips as he stepped back. "Let him in" He immediately recognized the voice behind the door, though they'd never even spoken. "Nate?"

Now Ola was more determined on entering that he pushed through the door and Obi staggered away like a drunken fifty year old. He chuckled, his collar falling off his shoulders and Ola halted. Immediately his eyes went around as that familiar scent of pills and drugs hit him in the face. He saw the powder across the dresser and Nathaniel slouched against the walls and his jaw dropped.

"Obi what's-" He was dumbfounded, having no clue that Obi would ever do this. Obi laughed, hitting him lightly in his shoulders and holding on for support. "Don't be such a downer" He weighed him down, so much that he had to drag him to bed.

His eyes went back to the open door. "Does Mira know th-" He cut himself short, knowing there was no way she could. She might have been the most open minded parent, but there was some place she had to draw the line-

-some place every parent had to draw the line. He sat him up, immediately walking to close to door and Nate stretched his legs out to him. "Come join us" His voice slurred, haven taken too much of what was across the table. Ola had no idea who to blame, was it Mira who'd been so carried away with everything, or Obi who'd let himself fall under such terrible influence because he was hurt.

Maybe it was just Nathaniel, who had been such bad news since he showed up in the halls of Hillway High. But alas, as he looked to the mirror at himself, he felt the guilt seep into his bloodstream.

Part of this seemed to be his fault, for not being there for Obi. He leaned over, dusting off the counter with his hands. "Hey hey" Obi cautioned, as he stood up from the bed. His hands gripped unto his shoulders. "Do you know how much t=" "Shut up" Ola pushed him to the bed like a feather and Nate piped up from the ground. "You can't just come here an-" He'd forgotten what he was about to say next as his fists folded up. Ola clenched his jaw, matching him at eye level like it was some boxing tournament. "Get out-"

Nathaniel chuckled deeply, looking to Obi who'd almost fallen asleep on the bed. "y-"

"I said get out" Ola gritted through his teeth, not even giving him the opportunity to finish. It was then Obi stood, with the very last of his sobriety. "Come on, Ola" He whispered, with a smirk and he had a pill between his fingers. "It's ecstasy" He inched closer to him, raising his hands to his lips. "Just have this one. Have this out"

"You don't always have to know it all everytime" Nathaniel whispered, as Ola was now face to face with his best friend, holding up a pill to him. And tears began to sting his eyes for a particular reason.

He wasn't about to let Obi fall down the same path as him. But that was months ago, and that was the part of the reason he was here.

He pushed a lump down his throat, throwing a punch at Nathaniel instead of Obi. And he groaned. "You stay away from him" Tears streamed down his cheeks as Obi stepped in front of him.

"Mide" He confronted, looking him dead serious in his eyes. "You get out" Obi raised his voice, widening his eyes as Nathaniel nursed his cheeks.

Ola stared back at him, and then his fingers that pointed to the door. "Your-" "Get out" Obi screamed, failing to realize he could very much walk up to Mira to tell her about all of this. But he didn't, he couldn't do that to his best friend- -that's if he even was. They both had moist red eyes but for different reasons as Ola took a step back. His eyes locked with Nathaniel's as he used his back to walk through the door. Obi inched close, holding the handle and slamming it in his face.

He shut his eyes, but that very moment he was whisked to a few months back-what seemed now to have been deja vu. Except then, he was Obi.

To be continued...