Wild West of the Heart
SEVENTY THREE

Mary didn't let him in, instead she stood in the way, wedging him against the doors. "Mary-" Came a sheepish whisper as he stuck his hands into his hair. "Aren't you going to let me in?"

Titi crept up to her like a shadow, without uttering a word. She left the decision whether or not to let him in solely in her hands. And a tear slipped down Mary's eyes as she just stood there, she shook her head in disbelief. "What took you so long?" She threw a question back at him as it began to drizzle over him. He shivered, moving closer to her but she shut her eyes. "Mary, i'm sorry. For this and for everything. I've been trying so hard to be a much better person for you- And for Ola" He whispered.

It was on getting close that the stench of booze from his lips blew right into her face and Mary turned away, scoffing from her lips.

"You're drunk" She whispered as well as he went quiet.

"Akin you're drunk"

He reached for her hands but she pushed him away. "I can't keep doing this, i can't keep coming to back to same problem, expecting a different outcome. Expecting you to change" I have changed" Akin interrupted.

And she scoffed. "I'm afraid it's too late. For anything. It took you months to realize all you took for granted. All you had and i don't want that" The tear stung her eyes. "I think our time is passed Akin. I think there's nothing to fight for" "Go home" Mary whispered. And without waiting for a reply, she closed the door on his face, succumbing to her tears. "Hey Hey" Titi held unto her as she leaned against the door, holding up her chin to face her.

"I don't know what i just did" Mary whispered from lips that quivered and her sister held her in for a hug. "It's going to be okay" She replied.

I wish promises like that were kept.

Akin froze in front of the door, realizing in that very moment that he had lost everything. It took a second before he walked down the porch and towards his rented pickup.

The rain dripped down his face, mixing with his tears. It was the first time he ever cried. He let his hair soak in the drizzle before he climbed into the car. He wailed, hitting his head against the steering wheel as the horn blazed. Through his moist eyes, he saw the half empty bottle of vodka he'd carried around in his pigeonhole and he chugged it down in a second, scrunching his nose after. He let go of the bottle, tossing it below him.

He heaved a deep breath, gripping the steering wheel with his left hand and igniting the engines with his right. He pulled away, the rain splashing against his windshield as he sped down the slippery roads and unto the expressway. All while Wendy's take on me song blared from the radios.

We all have that song that plays in our minds before something terrible happens, a score for the effect and for Akin- this was his song.

-

For Hillway High, the Spring Fling was like the Purge.

It was the one day during the school year, asides prom that you could have drinks, dates and all of the school for one night. No actual punishments for that night.

But the rules were about to change just for Obi.

Collins smirked at him from above with a glass of whiskey in his hands. Obi was kneeling on the ground with a cane beside him. But to be honest, Collins was not much of a cane person- He loved the mental blackmailing and the emotional torture, those were his weapons. And only on rare occasions did he ever get physical with students.

Obi was opportuned to have experienced all of his weapons so kneeling there, he sort of felt immune. To the cane, to his spiting words or his blackmail. He was just there, embracing the feeling of nothingness that came from him. And for about ten minutes, there was just silence between them. Before Collins cleared his throat. "You know you're a lot like me?" He laughed at his own statement, taking a sip of the whiskey. "I was just like you when i was a kid-" "Stubborn"

"Getting into fights with not only my peers but teachers as well. I had a moral compass but it was too a fault. So much that i reported even the slightest issue to the authorities" He chuckled. "Now my friends hated me, called me names. Sly all of that. The teachers did too, called me a nuisance"

"I don't know where it all changed" He stepped forward to Obi. "But i think it's the moment i realized that it's better to have friends than make enemies of dangerous people" He leaned closer to Obi and he felt a sliver in his heart the moment his heated breath brushed against his face.

His eyes were filled with disgust as he stepped backwards.

Collins placed his glass to the table. "You don't want to be my enemy Obi. No one should" He whispered. "At least i'd love to think i'm a good person but only to those that are good to me" Obo matched up to his eyes for the first time. "I don't really care Collins" He called him by his name.

Like i said, he was sort of immune to all of this by now. In that present moment, all he felt wasn't fear as usual. It was anger, and it was rage. And Collins could see through him. "What is it you really want Obi?"

"I want to leave me and my friends the fuck alone" He inched closer to him and Collins let out a sigh. "You and your friends keep coming back. You keep messing around in dangerous places, in my places. I'm not stupid, Obi-" He nudged his glass towards him.

"Look around you, i won't have all of this if i was"

"Being at place like i am comes with responsibilities, responsibilities like doing all you can to protect yourself. I may use devious means but you must know, getting all of this is hard. Keeping it is even harder" Collins whispered.

"You wouldn't have raped my friend if you thought of all of this" Obi spat in his face and he heaved a sigh. "I wasn't thinking Obi and if i could go back and change everything, i would" He said. Obi stepped back, palming his face. "Bullshit"

"You are all the terrible qualities that could be in a man. You are an unrepentant psychopath and a rapist. You are an abuser and a greedy, selfish, self-absorbed person who should never have all that he has now" Obi gritted through his teeth and Collins just watched him.

"Does Janet-Does your wife know about all of this?"

"About who you are. About Fiyin and Marissa and everything. Does she know what a terrible person you are"

"Obi. The sooner you realize you are just like me, the better for you. Then you would stop fighting yourself" Obi had tears in his eyes as he dared to raise a finger at Collins.

"That is a lie" He gnashed his teeth. "That is a big fucking lie. I care, and i fight for the people i love. I have empathy and i have a heart. And i don't go about hurting everyone in my way. I know what you do to Marissa-“

"And i know it isn't all there is to Collins. But once i figure it out, especially why it is you left Campbell. I will come for you with everything that i have. And i would sure you pay for every bad thing that you've done" Obi said to him. For the first time, Collins had nothing to say.

His eyes just remained fixed on the teenager before him, the teenager that dared to stand up to him. And he took a sip of his whiskey. "You don't want to go down that road" "You're wrong, i do"

"I'm so done with people shitting on me. I'm so done with being weak and helpless and crying on the bathroom floor. I'm done with being walked on. You can go to hell with the disciplinary board, at the end of the semester, everyone's going to know the truth" Collins smirked evilly as he inched closer to him. "Why wait?" He whispered.

"Why wait till the end of the semester for everyone to know the truth?" Collins brushed past his shoulders as he walked to the door, he opened it for Obi, tilting his head.

"I can't protect you from this"

Obi narrowed his eyes in the corridor, looking at the papers that flew in the air and some plastered against the walls. He arched his brows as the whole of Hillway High pushed through the door in an instance, staring at whatever was written on

it.

He arched his brows, walking unto the loud hallways. And standing there, his hands quivered next to him. There were eyes that met his as everyone seemed to whisper and mutter to themselves. It wasn't until one of those papers hooked unto his converse that he picked it up. And there was that feeling of having someone slowly rip out your heart. He gasped, tears welling into his eyes as he stared at the crowd of students in front of him, Ayo at the forefront.

Looking down at the paper, it was an intimate picture of him sharing a kiss with Abdul the one time they thought they were alone at the backyard. Obi gasped, letting the paper slip from his hands as he stepped backwards. His eyes went around the corridors as his heart seemed to race.

The first thing he could think of was Abdul, and not even himself. Even as each breath seemed to collapse his lungs. His eyes blurred and his vision fazed, like he was having a panic attack, or worse a heart attack. It was as if there was this weight pulling down in his chest and he couldn't breathe. Collins had completely shut his door behind him.

And he noticed the words that had been painted on it, and a across his locker down the hall-FAGGOT with the f word and even further from him were the pills he thought he had gotten rid off, lying on the ground. Ayo had a smirk of victory on his face before walking down the aisle between the murmuring students. At the end of it was Ab.

Opposite from him with tears in his eyes.

And the moment he stormed out of the halls with one of the papers in his hands, Obi went after him, totally abandoning the transphobic slurs that had been painted across his locker. He raced behind him as Abdul went through the very front school gate. Obi held his chest as if he could fall at any given moment. But he needed to see Ab.

He needed to see Abdul if it was the last thing he did before collapsing to the floor.

"Abdul" He yelled in the rain that drenched them both. His tears flowed freely down his cheeks before he turned around. And Obi had nothing to say. Except-

"I'm so sorry, Abdul. I'm so sorry for this" His tears hurt the back of the throat as Abdul sniffled, his eyes a dark red.

"This is it, Obi. This is the very end of it" He whispered.

"Everyone knows, and it's because of you. I don't want to ever see you again, what am i going to tell my my parents Obi? What am I going to tell everyone?" Abdul raised his hands in the rain. Obi sobbed, holding his heart in his hands in that very moment.

"Abdul i'm in the photo too. We've both been outed to the entire school. We can't d—“

"I don't care" Abdul pushed a lump down his throat. "I don't care about you or about everything. I wish i never came to this party and i wish i never met you" He yelled.

And as if Obi's heart failing him wasn't enough, those words completely broke him like a spear going right through an open wound. He watched Abdul pace down the side of the roads, raising his hoodie over his head.

And he just there, sobbing in the rain.

He swore if he had a knife, he'd stabbed Ayo in his heart first and then himself. But alas it was already late-the night had ended and the students flooded out the gates.

He could do nothing to change it. And no matter how much he wanted the grounds to open up to swallow him, it didn't.

"Tranny" Someone threw him an empty can of drink as the cars pulled up on the entrance. There were people laughing in his face and all around him and he'd guessed they'd witnessed all of that. "Fucking faggot" Some whistled and Obi had never wanted to kill himself, up until that moment.

And there was Ola who raced through the entire school in search of his best friend after seeing the hundred posters that were littered on campus of him. He halted, making eye contact with Collins from across the hallway. And he shook his head, turning around.

He knew he'd do nothing about it, about Ayo especially who'd mounted his bike, riding down the roads with the largest of smiles on his face.

"Obi❞ Ola yelled, making his way to the rooftop where he'd guessed he might be. But no one was there. He walked to the very edge of it, letting the rain soak his clothings.

And looking down, he saw Fiyin drag Nathaniel's hands as they were headed towards a parked car. He could hear her shrill screams as he lifted her up in the air. They seemed to be having the most fun in the rain but it was short-lived. The drugs wore off, and they were left sitting in the back of his pickup truck. Her fingers traced the misty windows as his snoring filled the entire car. She looked to him, and then down at her- knowing the whole reason that she was doing all of this was to feel anything other than the pain.

Other than the guilt, and the regret. And every bad feeling that overwhelmed her. She was left there wallowing, no clue of how to get home. But suddenly hope showed up in the form of a friend- Deborah. And as usual, she was there to pick up the slack like she always did.

She'd spent the last hour looking for Fi, trying to avoid what had happened to her twice. And once she found her, she pulled open the door, hefting a phone in her face. "Come on. I called you an uber home" Deborah whispered, taking her hand and guiding him out of his truck. "Did-"

"You know what, nevermind" She shook her head as they made their way down the pavement. "Deb" Fiyin whispered. "Have you seen Obi?" She shook her head.

And after a while, a car pulled up in front of them and Fi entered the backseat, alongside her. "You're welcome" She whispered under her breath as Fiyin rested on her shoulder. She knew there was no way she was about to leave her. And Ola thought the very same of Obi, after a really long night. However, his life was about to turn upside as well. But it wasn't him, thankfully.

It was Akin who'd managed to somersault his car after swerving to avoid a bicycle. Now, he had blood dripping down his head with a broken bottle of vodka beside him.

He knew that one ignition spark would have him up in flames-it was why he stayed very still as his life flashed before his eyes, Mary being very key in those memories.

If he were to die now, he realized he had nothing. No one.

And the same went for Tom, Fiyin's dad as he fell to the ground in front of her, clenching his chest. She stood, having not moved a step from the back of the door. And she had her phone in her quivering hands.

She wasn't sure she felt anything but nothingness. Just tears in her void eyes as she dialed 911. There was a half rolled joint next to him and the stench of smoke in the air.

"Hello" There was a crack in her voice. "This is 911, what's your emergency?" A sharp pain pierced her chest as she said the words. "I think he's dead-" She whispered, looking down on her father.

If there was ever an end, it felt like this. If there was ever a rock bottom for everyone-it was this. It had to be this, because everything had shattered. Completely broken.

This was the degree to a damage that couldn't be fixed by Kintsugi. Couldn't be fixed by gold. There was nothing, there was no hope, not for Obi. Not for Akin. Not for Deb, nor for Abdul. Nor for Fiyin. There was no hope for Ola the moment he would realize what had become of his father.

And though he felt so strongly towards him, no one should ever have to see your family like that. Especially his mum.

And the same went for Fiyin.

Of all the terrible things that had happened in the past few months, this was by far, the worst. And as three of them stood-all distinct from each other,

Ola on the rooftop, Obi on the shores of the lagoon and Fi, on the front porch watching her dad getting wheeled into the back of the ambulance, they knew. They knew so much within their hearts that there was no coming back from this. There was no coming back from what happened that night.

To be continued...