His Ride or Die Chic

Ajiri made to walk away and as expected Esiri pulled her hair yelling at her for walking out on him. Then she felt his palms as they landed on her cheeks, he pushed her against the wall crying and asking why she always tempted him and made him hurt her against his will. She cried too and made to apologize but he hit her again and pushed her to the floor, kicking her stomach. Ajiri clutched her stomach in pain.

She didn't blame him. She knew he never intended to hurt her, he loved her too much.

This was what she told her Mother the time she had to be admitted after Esiri threw a flower vase at her. He had not meant to hurt her. He was cleaning the vase and they were arguing when he threw it at her because she raised her voice at him.

Against her family's insistence she married him.

Even when her friends told her Esiri needed help she told them no one else could love and understand him like she did, he needed her. They had been through a lot together and she was his ride or die chic.
Esiri told her he needed her after every fight and this time as he kept kicking her in the stomach she reminded herself that he would soon get back to his senses and he would apologize.

He would buy her an expensive gift, maybe Jewelery or a car like he did eight months ago, or tickets for a romantic getaway as he had done severally or dinner at an exotic restaurant.

Esiri was a good man and a great Father but he had an uncontrollable temper.

Ajiri always told herself it wasn't his fault as he grew up with an abusive Father and a Mother that was barely there because she had to fend for the family. He only needed to be loved and understood.

She was jolted to reality as Esiri pulled her into the bathroom - he had never done this before.

She made to get away but he pushed her into the bath tub and turned on the shower knob.

The water pouring on her body made it difficult to breathe or scream, she was struggling and as she made to break free he hit her harder crying that she delighted in bringing out the worst in him even though she knew he loved her too much to hurt her intentionally.

She wanted to tell him that this was worse than anything he had done before and that Ovie their 6 year old son may walk in on them but as she opened her mouth, water from the shower poured in. She cried as she thought of her son who had watched his father abuse her severally but she told herself he was too young to understand that his father didn't mean any harm. Someday when he is older, she would tell him his father didn't intend to hurt her, he only needed to be loved and understood.

She waited for Esiri to stop hitting her but he continued.

Then she thought about the conversation that riled him up. She had told him that she wanted to accept the offer from her company to go start up a new branch in another state. She only had to work from Monday till Thursday and she would come home on Thursday evening and leave on Sunday afternoon. It was a 3 hour drive to her new base but he thought her being away would make it harder for them to have another baby. They had been trying to have another baby and she had lost two pregnancies from Esiri's beating.

As they argued, she reminded him of the pregnancies she had lost through no fault of hers and made to walk away. That was the beginning of yet another outburst of uncontrollable temper. Esiri pulled her back and pounced on her.

Esiri had by now stopped in his rage and at this point she felt herself passing out.

The liquid on her body was a mixture of water and blood.

She managed to open her eyes.

Her little boy Ovie was standing by the bath tub.

She heard him say faintly "Mummy you are bleeding, did Daddy hurt you again"?

She made to give him her usual response that Daddy meant no harm but she winced in pain as Ovie shook her and kept calling "Mummy, Mummy".

Everything seemed to black out and all was still.

She had become unconscious.