Chapter 22 - Mother...I don't want to Leave...

"Ahh…!"
"Do you regret it now?"
"Yes…"
PAH! PAH!
"Arhhh…!!"
"Stupid girl, yes what?" Priscilla struck the whip heavily on Ifeoluwa's back.
On her face was an expression of manic fervour. Priscilla found this activity awfully exhilarating, and felt an irresistible urge to damage the fragile beauty before her.
This thrilling feeling thus compelled her to strike the whip over and over on Ifeoluwa's back.
"Yes, ma…ahh!" Ifeoluwa corrected her words, and tried to ignore the pain originating from her back. However, she could only endure so much agony.
Priscilla was satisfied with her answer.
She grinned widely and continued whipping the girl with preciseness. Aiming to cause pain but not impale her.
PAH! PAH!
The whip hit the small back repeatedly, causing the blue shirt uniform to tear, and the pieces to drop to the ground.
Her bare back was covered in alarming whip marks. Some of which were fresh and others being older marks that had yet to disappear.
After a while, Priscilla got tired and struck the whip one final time before stopping, and letting her hands fall to her sides.
She glanced down at her work. The little girl trembling on the floor was a mess, but she didn't revolt. Her reaction caused Priscilla's eyes to flicker.
The way Ifeoluwa acted was exactly how she liked her girls. Respectful, obedient and able to take a beating.
Tired and tipsy, Priscilla wobbled over to her sit and gestured towards Naomi, who was cowering in a corner. The alcohol circulating in her system caused her vision to blur as she was overwhelmed by a sudden fatigue.
Immediately after she heard her name, Naomi reached her mistress and took the whip from her hand. She didn't dare to breathe too loud or look at Ifeoluwa covered in ugly wounds.
This was the first time she had seen anyone treat a child like this. Naomi thought such things only happened in Nollywood movies. Now, though, her mind was shaken, and she shivered unconsciously at her mistress's cruelty.
Ifeoluwa moved slightly and tried to straighten herself, but failed. She felt weak, and even the slightest movement caused her immense agony. She could only raise her head weakly to glance at her mother and the cowardly maid, who avoided eye contact with her.
Sitting on the red armchair, Priscilla rested her head on her palm and narrowed her eyes. She appeared to be thinking about something.
A few minutes later, she spoke to Naomi and asked her to bring the medical kit.
Naomi nodded and left the room in a hurry. She thought to herself that she would have to work very hard for her mistress. That way, she would find no fault with her, and she wouldn't have to face her wrath.
Priscilla gazed at the teenager on the ground. If she had to be honest, she was already very satisfied with this daughter. Adopting her wasn't for nought. She was perfect in all areas except academics.
Obedient too.
Priscilla didn't really care whether she failed her senior exams or not. But to carve the notion of excellence into Ifeoluwa, Priscilla had to be rigid with her expectations, and also with her punishments.
'This child is not bad. How I wish the other girls were like her…then my life would be so much easier…' Priscilla thought to herself. She wondered if beating her was enough to discipline the child.
While lost in thought as she watched the girl in the silent room, Naomi returned with another person, who held a rectangular box with a white cross, in his hand.
"Madam." The male doctor greeted Priscilla, who waved at him nonchalantly.
"Treat her wounds."
"Yes, ma." He responded with a nod and moved towards Ifeoluwa. Naomi followed behind him to help lift the girl while the doctor treated her injuries.
The teenager let them handle her quietly with her head down.
Occasionally, she would flinch when the ointment came in contact with her skin, but overall, she was motionless. This allowed the doctor to work quickly, without issues, like an ideal patient.
"Be quick about it. I want to sleep." Priscilla urged the doctor impatiently.
Soon, Doctor Chike finished dressing Ifeoluwa's wounds and stood up from his crouching position. While Naomi helped Ifeoluwa stand to her feet.
Now on her feet, Ifeoluwa struggled out of Naomi's hold, rejecting her support.
"Leave."
"Yes, ma."
"Yes madam."
Doctor Chike and Naomi walked out instantly, leaving Priscilla and the feeble Ifeoluwa alone in the study room.
Priscilla stood from her chair and turned away. She walked towards the door with her heels clacking across the floor.
Before she left, however, she spoke to Ifeoluwa. The contents of her words startled the girl, who looked at her in disbelief.
"Prepare yourself. Tomorrow you'll be leaving this house. I'll allow you to take your bare necessities with you. For the next month, you'll live independently.
I don't care where you go, but I don't want to see you here… I've realized that you've become spoiled over the years, so take this as a trial to toughen yourself. Iffy, you are no longer a child, and therefore you should learn to care for yourself."
Priscilla reached the door when she finished speaking, addressing the girl by her pet name. She, however, halted in her tracks when she heard the panicked voice coming from behind her.
"Mother! Are you still angry with me? I'll change, I promise. You can beat me or scold me however many times you want, but please don't abandon me. I… I have no place to go… I have no one else." Ifeoluwa was normally well-behaved and followed Priscilla's wishes without complaint. But she couldn't accept that her mother wanted her to leave. That she no longer wanted her.
'If mother abandon's me, then I'm better off dead!' Thinking like this, she pleaded even more, hoping by some miracle that her mother would change her mind.
Unfortunately, Ifeoluwa was destined to be disappointed.
"Since when was it your place to tell me what I could and couldn't do? Do not disrespect me, girlie. I'm doing this for your own good. You'll be an adult soon, or what? Did you think things would be the same when you grew up?
No dear. Adults should be adults. You need to learn how to live by yourself now so that in the future, you can survive in this cruel world." Priscilla spoke sternly while rubbing her fingers on her forehead. Then, in an exhausted voice, she continued.
"I'm tired, so I won't say anymore. Whether you agree or not, tomorrow you leave this house. I don't want to hear a refusal. Do you agree with my actions?" With her hands on the bridge of her nose, Priscilla spoke in a cold and irrefutable tone.
Ifeoluwa opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She wanted to plead, cry, throw a tantrum. Anything that would change her mother's decision.
However, her throat felt like it was blocked by something that prevented her from uttering a word.
Unable to say anything, Ifeoluwa lowered her head in silence. After a few seconds, she responded in a muffled voice.
"…yes, mother."
"Good." After responding, Priscilla wasted no time in walking through the door. Not once turning back as her heels click-clacked down the hallway.
Ifeoluwa remained in place, and gazed in the direction her mother disappeared with moist eyes.
For the first time, she felt like she could really cry a river. However, she swallowed the lump in her throat, and bit her lips to stop the whimper that threatened to leave.
'Mother… I don't want to leave…'