Oceans Apart (15) by Milli

NNPC Hospital, Muri Okunola 11:55pm
Behi sat down on one of the long hospital seats with Emeka and his mum. All three were silent, not saying a word to one another. They were all lost in their thoughts while they waited for the doctor to give them an update on Dozie’s condition.
Dozie’s mother thought about him and kept on praying to God that he would be okay. He was her first son and she could not fathom the thought of losing him. She would never be the same again. She wondered why someone would do something so cruel and terrible. Dozie was a peaceful boy and did not look for anyone’s trouble. Why was he the target of the hoodlums that attacked him? She thanked God silently that nothing had happened to Behi. That would have been worse. She tried her best not to question God and kept on praying to God to take control of the situation.
Emeka thought about his older brother. He had always been the wild one while Dozie was the calm and responsible one. He had covered up for him numerous times when he had gone partying but at some point Dozie began to make him see and understand that life was not all about having fun but about making something meaningful out of it. He had also encouraged him to attend church more frequently and to be honest it had made him a better person. If not for Dozie he would have turned out to be a useless chap. He wondered why this thing had happened to him. They were supposed to be going back to London the next day but clearly that was not happening. He felt angry that such a thing should happen to such a good person. He looked at his mum and then at Behi. The both of them had cried their eyes out earlier and he had comforted them. He tried his best not to cry. His mum’s eyes were closed and he knew very well that she was praying. Behi was just staring into space. He didn’t know if he should move towards her and assure her once again that everything would be fine. She really looked like she was lost in thought so he decided to leave her.
Behi thought about her sweetheart Dozie. All she felt was guilt. Everything was her fault. If she had not started this whole revenge plan all this would not have happened. One silly stupid urge to get back at Bimbo had caused all this. She was devastated. Only Osas knew the truth: Bimbo stabbed Dozie in the back. She had to tell Osas to leave the hospital and go home. She insisted she would stay but Behi told her she had done enough for one day. Vivian stayed a while in the hospital as well. She exchanged numbers with her and asked to be kept updated. Another thing that made her feel terrible was that she had lied to his mum and brother. She told them they were attacked by some robbers. She was crying while telling them and Osas helped her complete the lie explaining they came out from nowhere and attacked them. Dozie was proving stubborn so they stabbed him and ran away. Behi could just not tell them the truth for now.
She could not believe that Bimbo had done such. He was a heartless fellow. She recalled how he had literally chased everything in skirt while they were together. On two occasions she had caught him at home in bed with another girl. He was her first boyfriend and she had really fallen hard for him. He was quite the gentleman and yes he had enough money to splash around. Things started out really well between them and she had even imagined them getting married, having a fancy wedding. However as time went on, he changed into a totally different person. One thing she hated herself for was that she always forgave him and stayed in the relationship. He had this charming smile that always melted her heart. He always bought her expensive gifts as well and always made her feel like a princess with his words. She eventually ended up sleeping with him because he pressured her to do so making her believe it was because she wasn’t doing so that he was cheating. However even after that he didn’t change one bit. She would forever regret doing so. She had tagged it the biggest mistake of her life. She admitted that she was naïve and it was her sister who finally pushed her to break up with him. She had endured his misbehavior for two good years.
Dozie was a hundred percent different form Bimbo. He was like a breath of fresh air. She had been a bit skeptical about dating anyone after Bimbo but Dozie proved himself to be worthy of her. She could tell him anything and everything and he never for once judged her when she did something silly. He always went the extra mile for her and made sure on one messed with her. He made her a better person. She had to admit that she was really selfish. In all of this, she never thought about Dozie and how he would feel. Now he was lying down on a hospital bed because of her.
Emeka decided to go sit closer to Behi. He held her hand and said. 
“He will be alright… I am sure he will pull through.”
“I hope so…Behi said as tears filled her eyes.”
“But what really happened?”
“Someone…one of the robbers stabbed him with a screwdriver”
“I know but why would anyone want to do that?”
“I have no idea.”
Emeke and Dozie looked so alike and his face only reminded her of Dozie’s.
Finally the doctor came out of the room where Dozie was and all three stood up waiting for his response.
“Please tell me my son is okay!!! Dozie’s mum cried
“You son is now stable and is doing fine. We were able to remove the screwdriver from his back successfully.” He has not woken up yet but I am sure he will do so soon”.
“Thank God…Imela Chineke please let me go and see him.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Reddington Hospital , Idowu Martins, 1:30am
“Deji!!!!!…hmmm….nothing must happen to my son o!!!! Mrs Adekoya cried out to her estranged husband pulling his shirt.
“Erm Kemi can you just calm down and let us wait for the doctor to update us.”
“E me ke!…calm down?! My only child is in a critical condition and you want me to calm down…”
“Please Kemi this is a hospital. There are other people here. Please just try and calm down.
Kemi sat down and kept quiet. Bimbo was a handful just like his father but she loved him so much and did not want anything to happen to him. She had been separated from his dad for a while and she knew it had affected him a lot. He had always been given what he wanted just to compensate for the time she had not been there for him. Deji also did the same as he always had one meeting or conference to attend out of town. She had to admit that they had not been the best of parents to him. He had always been in the middle of all their fights and arguments until he finally made the decision to move out of Deji’s house which was well…her former house. She wondered what he had been doing that made him have such a fatal accident. The car was a write off. She was really thankful that he was still alive although he was in critical condition. She prayed that he would be alright.
Chief Deji Adekoya sat silently in the chair thinking about his son. Bimbo was a strong willed young chap just like him. When he and Kemi started having issues in their marriage, she moved out of the house but Bimbo decided to stay with him. He had always told him to be persistent if he really wanted something and although this was somewhat good advice it usually caused major fights between them. He silently hoped it was not his strong will that made him have such a terrible accident. He admitted he had not been the best father because he was hardly around and Bimbo had to make certain important decisions by himself. He vowed in his mind that when Bimbo gets out of this he would be a better father to him.
“Chief”, the doctor called coming out of Bimbo’s room.
“Ah my good friend…Williams..please how is my son doing?”
Doctor Williams had been their family doctor for a long time.
“Ah….doctor please I hope he is still alive o….please tell me he is still alive” Kemi cried
Deji got a bit irritated. Did she have to be so loud all the time? he thought to himself.
“Kemi, Deji, Bimbo is stable now although he legs were quite damaged.”
“A ye mi o” Kemi cried.
“Kemi please” Deji said using he hand to tell her to calm down.
“He may not be able to walk for now and may have to use crutches and his wounds would take quite some time to heal…we have to keep him here for some time he still needs to be monitored.”
“Thankyou Doctor Williams the most important thing is that he is alive.”
“Exactly…Deji I will do my best to make sure he recovers as quickly as possible”.
“Thankyou Doctor”
“I suggest you go home and get some rest Chief”
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
“Behi you can come home with us…don’t think he’s going to wake up anytime soon.”
“No I rather just stay here.”
“My daughter please you need to rest”
Behi felt a wave a guilt when she heard those words
“It’s okay ma…I will stay”
“Okay but please make sure you leave by day break okay?”
“Okay Ma, Thankyou ma”
When they left, she just stood looking at Dozie…couple of wires were stuck to him and his eyes were closed.
She took his hand and tears formed in her eyes again. “Baby I am so so sorry, you really did not deserve any of this. She kissed his hand and dropped it on the bed. It was 2:30am and she was tired. She sat down on the chair and sent Osas an update of all that had happened. Before she knew it she drifted off to sleep.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Reddington Hospital, Idowu martins, 7:30am
Bimbo opened his eyes. He did not know when he was. He looked around and then after sometime he realised he was in a hospital. He tried to sit up but he could not do so. He was in a lot of pain especially around his lower body. The events of last night quickly flashed through his mind. He suddenly became agitated. He had to get out from there. What if the police were looking for him? He tried to get up again but the pain was too much to bear. He thought about Dozie and actually hoped he was alright. He hoped he was not dead but the thought of him being dead kept coming to his mind. He lay down on the bed again and closed his eyes. “I am done for” he thought as a single tear rolled down his cheek.