*****
Jennifer's POV
My door opened and a dark figure walked in "Mama please wait… please wait. I'll call you back"
I ended the call immediately because of who I saw enter my room; it was Femi.
Dragging his feet as he walked, blood dripping on the floor; his head and his both eyes swollen. Wounds all over his body, his clothes soaked with blood; he looked like someone just returning from a war. His whole body mutilated.
"Jennifer! Please… please… help me" he shouted and fell face down to the floor.
"Femi" I shouted, he didn't respond and I got very scared. I got up from my bed and ran to his body laying on the floor. Femi was not moving.
"Frank!!! Esther!!! Please come o, come o, I don't know what has happened to my husband o" I wailed.
In less than a minute, Esther and my son immediately pushed my door open and ran inside.
"JESUS, what happened to him?" My son screamed.
"I don't know o, I don't know" I cried with my both hands on my head.
"Call the neighbors o, hayy!!! My husband is dieing o, they want to make my life miserable, they want to turn me to a widow"
"Mum, please calm down. Have you checked if he is still breathing?"
"No o, I've not checked anything o. Chei! I'm finished" I weeped, hitting my body all over the ground. Esther leaned forward to Femi, turned him over and placed her palm on his chest.
"He is still alive" she announced joyfully.
"He is alive?" I asked just to be sure.
"Yes, yes, mum you should call the doctor right away, before things escalate. Dad doesn't look good at all"
"Okay, okay" I panted "I'll do that now"
My hands shook nervously as I dialed the doctor's number- Mr Kunle was our family doctor. I was absolutely restless and my phone almost fell from my hands. I kept pacing up and down while waiting for the doctor to pick up.
"Hello, hello… hello doctor"
"Yes, good evening Mrs. Jennifer"
"Evening… doctor please I need you at my house right now"
"Okay, I'm close by. What is the matt…"
"Doctor, my husband is dieing. I don't know what happened, he just came back and collapsed in my room. Doctor rush down please; my husband is dieing" I said and ended the call abruptly.
"He must have fainted, I think we should resuscitate him" Frank said.
"Go ahead o, whatever you want to do"
Frank loosened his collar and unbuckled his belt. "Raise his legs up" he said to Esther.
Frank then began shaking Femi vigorously, I just sat on the bed, gnashing my teeth and tapping my foot against the floor.
My husband was yet to respond.
"Mum, don't you think we should take him to the hospital"
"Right now, I don't know what to do, the doctor said he is close by"
Just then, Musa opened my door and directed the doctor inside.
He immediately rushed in, and examined Femi. "Let's carry him to the bed" he said to Frank. They lifted Femi and carefully placed him on the bed. He placed his stethoscope on his chest to check if Femi was still breathing.
"How did he get all these cuts on his body" the doctor asked.
"I don't know, he just came inside and collapsed"
"This is much bigger than what I can handle, I can only administer first aid to him. We'll have to take him to the hospital"
"Okay doctor, anyhow you want to do it; just make sure nothing happens to him"
"Everything will be fine, as long as he's breathing. I just need to call the ambulance to take him to the hospital"
"Ambulance?!" I shouted.
"Has it gotten to that?"
"Ma your husband is losing a lot of blood and at a very fast rate, I'm afraid if he doesn't get transfused quickly, we might lose him. Let me call the ambulance"
"Okay, if you say so. Musa rush downstairs and bring them here when they arrive"
"Ok madam, I dey go sharp sharp" Musa said and ran out of the room.
I became even more scared, how did Femi get all these injuries? Who must have done this to him? The doctor walked to a side of the room and I could hear him converse with the hospital operatives. Within a short time, he was done.
"I've informed the nearest hospital – New life hospital just some streets away. They are on their way and will get here as soon as possible."
"Okay…okay. But shouldn't we at least get him downstairs?"
There was a deafening blare from outside my gate, "they are here" the doctor announced. "They will take care of it"
In a few seconds, I could hear footsteps running up the staircase. Someone knocked on my door, "who is that" I asked.
"Madam, na me. The hospital people done come"
"Bring them inside"
The door opened and two men rushed inside, they wore scrubs and face masks and had their whole body covered. They came in with a stretcher which they dropped on the floor. Carefully they lifted Femi and transferred him unto the stretcher, they carried him out of the room and we all followed after.
My husband lay on the stretcher, looking as lifeless as ever. His eyes were shut and he remained motionless like a dea,d man. I kept praying that he survives. They placed my husband inside. "Can I come along?" I asked.
"Yes, hurry up please" one of them replied. I and Dr. Kunle immediately rushed inside and the ambulance immediately zoomed off.
They were very fast and in a short period of time; we had arrived the hospital. We immediately alighted and the ambulance while they rushed to get Femi to the hospital. Things really got serious; I expected it to be just a small issue that could be handled by my family doctor, but it was bigger than I thought. Mr Kunle kept reassuring me that everything would be fine but the way everyone acted made me feel otherwise.
In no matter of time; Femi was already in the emergency ward and was being attended to by the doctors and nurses. The doctor soon came out to see me; "he needs blood" the doctor said.
"Is there no blood for purchase?"
"There is"
"Then go ahead with your work, I'll pay the bills. Just make sure my husband doesn't die."
"We're doing our best and we hope our best will be enough to save his life" the doctor said and went back inside the ward.
I called femi's relatives and told them about what was going on. In less than an hour most of them had arrived. We kept praying together for my husband outside the ward; even when everyone stopped praying, I didn't. Despite all he had done to me; I didn't want to lose him. If he should die; I'll immediately become a widow. I'm still still in my forties and I was too young to handle the loneliness that comes with being a widow. Not to mention how young my children were to become fatherless.
Femi's mother rushed into the waiting room breathing heavily.
"What did they say happened to my son" she said struggling to catch her breath.
"Ma good evening" I greeted.
"Evening, what happened to my son?… why is no one answering me??"
"I don't really know, all I remember is that he collapsed immediately he came back home and he had injuries all over his body"
"What caused the injuries?" She asked.
"Ma, that I don't know. We just had to rush him to the hospital"
"Jennifer, I don't really get what you're saying. How will your husband just come back home and collapse."
"That's what happened"
"Jennifer this your story isn't clear, it sounds very untrue. I just hope you have not done anything to my son" she said pointing at me
"Mama how will you say such a thing" came Frank's brother's voice from the other end of the room.
"Why won't I say such, human beings are very wicked this days, some women can even kill their husbands just to inherit all the wealth"
"Ma I can't hurt my husband, so please stop saying such things"
"I don't care, all I know is that if anything should happen to my son; my first son for that matter; you will not go scot-free"
I wanted to reply her but I just decided to let the argument end there.
Just then, the doctor came out of the ward.
"How is my son now, I hope he is better?" Frank's mum asked.
"Actually I have a message for you all and I want you to accept it with good fate"
"What happened" I asked curiously
"I and my team of nurses did our best but he – Mr. Femi…