THE SECRETS OF ELORA (chapter 3)
Ray and I would see almost everyday and we kept having carnal knowledge of ourselves, I was beginning to lose myself to this moral degradation, Ray turned into a nymph who couldn't stay a day without s*X, and I was turning into one myself, we made mad love in the bedroom, kitchen, in my bedroom and even on the streets at nights, it was a quest of an insatiable appetites, I was gradually losing interest in my school activities, my first semester results was demeaning of my status in my family, my sister Nuella had noticed changes in my speech and in my dressing, been 2years older than I was, she could tell a man was in my life and it doesn't depicts any positive feedback on my academic career and otherwise,
One time I had gone home on a small vacation, Ray and I could talk for hours deep into the nights, it was on this vacation my sister got to find out I was seeing Ray, she wasn't too happy about it when I told her I wasn't a virgin anymore,
"Elly, this guy is not the right man for you!" Was Nuella's assessment of Ray,
"How could she possibly know who's right for me?" I was angry at her assertion of Ray,
I decided never to disclose my relationship with her or anyone again,
Ray would call me everytime his libido beckons, he'd get insecure of me leaving his side and would growl at any male advances I get, I didn't call it anything cause he made sure I was protected, loved and cared for,
He was very soft and would get emotional at every little thing, I'd cuddle and treat him like a baby and the comfort would put him to sleep just like a baby,
One night, Ray invited his friends to see a football match between Manchester United and Arsenal to his house before he finally bid Portharcourt farewell, it was my first time of meeting them, so I made sure I prepared adequately for it,
He had made plans to go live with his parents at Ikeja Lagos state before leaving for his NYSC,
That particular Night was the turning point of my life with Ray,
The doorbell had rang exactly at 5pm on that fateful Monday night, Ray was in the room dressing up while I was at the kitchen making dinner for them to eat after the match, Ray wasn't forthcoming to the door, so I decided to answer it myself, opening the door my eyes met two men with a bottle of champagne wine in their hands,
"Good evening, you must be Elora?" The fair looking guy asked, "We are looking for Ray, he's expecting us",
"And who are you sir?" I gently asked,
"Daniel, and this is James", He answered, also pointing to the dark guy standing with him, who with my observation was unease standing there, he couldn't utter a word and couldn't even look at me,
I let them in cause Ray had already briefed me of their names, but the dark looking guy made me have odd feelings about the evening, he seemed to have a thousand words but doesn't know how to say them,
After I had finished cooking, the boys have started seeing their football match, I had wanted to sit with my man when the unexpected occurred,
I came to where Ray sat and decided to sit close so I could cheer him up when his team is losing, he's an Arsenal fan, and they weren't doing particularly well, but Ray pushed me so hard that I fell to the floor, James and Daniel looked in awe of what just happened, but the look on their faces showed it wasn't a surprise to them, they might have probably seen it severally, but the questions are "where and when?" Ray told me he has never been with any woman before, or maybe he lied to me,
"Babe!!...." I screamed, "what was that all about?" I shouted so loud thinking Ray would apologize and tell me it was a prank and he didn't mean to do that, but his reaction was what gave me chills,
Bombing out of the sitting room into his bedroom, I followed suit to enquire what had come over him, entering the his room, Ray pulled my hair and dragged me into his room, I screamed in pains, pulling his hands off my hair, but his strong grip was no match for me,
"You're hurting me Ray!!.." I screamed, but I haven't finished my words when he landed a heavy blow to my left eye, Instant darkness covered my sight, I screamed so loud which attracted his friends, but Ray wasn't done with me, he pulled out his belt and landed the first whip on my neck which left me in an excruciating pain, I fell to the floor of his bedroom wriggling in pains, his friends had ran into the room dragging him out of the room, Ray couldn't say a word, all I heard was his panting and growling,
Daniel had taken him out of the bedroom leaving James alone with me, I couldn't believe what just happened, his friends knew what he was, cause none of them uttered a word to him,
"I'm sorry dear, please get up" James finally spoke out, he managed to lift me up from the floor into the bed, but I was broken, the pain in my heart was bigger than the pain inflicted on my body,
I swore to never come close to Ray again, I picked up my bag and dash off into the living room only to be stopped by Ray, who knelt down in tears,
"Please don't go babe, I don't want to lose you!" He cried,
That wasn't an apology but seeing tears stream down his face did the trick, I looked at the two friends, Daniel smiled, while James shook his head in disapproval, I didn't understand why he was shaking his head, maybe he wasn't touched by his friend's tears, it sure did break my heart to see Ray broken like that, I forgave and forgot the black eye, the mark of his belt on my neck and the strong pulling of my hair, I held him into my thighs pulling him up, with his face an inch to mine, I gave him a warm kiss on the lips as I led him back into the bedroom, turning to see the two friends, my eyes caught James vehemently shaking his head, it was a sign of an impending doom, but my heart was too big enough to take notice!
(To be continued)