Incompatible…

AARON ANSAH-AGYEMAN

INCOMPATIBLE

A ChrisEffe Thriller

 

CHAPTER 19

Effe emerged from the bathroom and found Eyram sitting on her bed with a grave expression. She raised her eyebrows at her sister as she unwound the towel around her head and removed her morning gown.

“You have your Counsellor’s Look, Rammy,” Effe said as she stood in front of her wardrobe wearing only sheer white panties and a bra. She took a pair of white undershorts from the wardrobe and slipped it on.

“Mom and Dad, Ef,” Eyram said softly. “They want to see us in the Discussion Room.”

Effe looked troubled immediately, and her shoulders dropped.

 

The Family Discussion Room was a comfortably-furnished room on the second floor of their luxurious house, located next to their parents’ bedroom. It had been a huge playroom once when Effe and her sisters were growing up, but it had now been remodelled into a beautiful room with comfortable armchairs for their family meetings.

Effe sat down in front of her dressing mirror, and her troubled eyes met her sister’s in the mirror.

“Isn’t it too early for a family meeting, Rammy?” Effe said with a wearied sigh. “It’s just five o’clock in the morning.”

“Must be something pretty serious,” Eyram said gently as she stood up and approached her sister.

“Chris,” Effe whispered.

Eyram didn’t speak. She stood behind her sister and wrapped her arms around her. Effe sighed heavily and leaned against Eyram, grateful for the support.

 

So, eventually, they all found their way to the Discussion Room.

Ken and Ivy Kedem were already dressed. Ken was in a dark suit and white shirt, whilst Ivy was in a white skirt suit and dark inner. They were sitting in the head armchair which faced the rest.

Josh was in jeans and a T-shirt, and he looked really worried as he sat in an armchair with his head thrown back. Beside him was Baaba, who was still in her short nightie with a morning coat over it.

Effe and Eyram sat to the right of their parents.

 

“Well, we’re all here,” Ken said, and he seemed a trifle tensed as he tried to smile. “As usual, let’s bow our heads and begin with a prayer.”

Effe, who was very low in spirit, barely heard her mother praying, and she was grateful again when Eyram reached out and took her hand. She murmured ‘amen’ when she heard the chorus around her, and then she opened her eyes wearily and looked at her father.

Ken Kedem was looking intently at her now. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, and then he clamped his hands together and leaned forward.

“Well, sorry for disturbing your sleep, dears,” he said gently, but his voice was firm. “But as you all know, there’s something we must talk about as a family, and a decision we must make, as a family. As I always say, our strength has always been our unity, and it is something we must always strive to keep. Well, I had a disturbing call from my friend, Kojo Hollison, about an hour ago.”

At the mention of Steve’s father’s name Effe gasped and looked intently at her father, and her face was really troubled indeed.

“What happened?” Baaba asked in a troubled voice. “Is he alright? Is Steve alright?”

 

“Kojo is alright,” Ken Kedem said, his voice troubled. “But I’m afraid it is Steve who’s not doing so well and is on admission at the Eden Hospital.”

“What happened to him?” Effe asked with surprise. “I spoke to him yesterday evening, and he was alright.”

“He almost died last night!” Ivy Kedem said viciously. “He was attacked by that madman Chris Bawa who almost killed him!”

“What?” Effe gasped with horror. “That cannot be…no, Mama! I was with Chris last night…had dinner with him! I dropped him home!”

“Yes, I know, and that madness must stop, Effe!” Ivy exploded angrily. “I don’t know what is going through that head of yours, girl! I don’t know why you don’t see the writing on the wall and keep tormenting us this way! Of all the fine men in the world, is it only that crazy boy you chose to fall in love with, huh? That ends right now, do you hear? Are you listening to me? That madness you call love will end right here, this morning!”

 

“Calm down, sweetheart, please,” Ken said, holding his wife’s arm as he continued to look at Effe.

“But what happened to Steve?” Josh asked with concern. “You say Chris attacked him? Wow. That’s some deep insanity right there! Don’t you think there’s some mistake somewhere?”

Effe was trembling badly now as she stared at her parents, and her lips shook as she shook her head numbly.

“I don’t understand any of this, Dad,” she whispered quaveringly. “Chris attacked Steve? How did that happen? When did it happen?”

“Well, according to Steve, he was supposed to have dinner with you last night, my dear,” Ken said carefully. “He said you called and cancelled it.”

“Yes, I did,” Effe said numbly.

 

“Yes, you did!” Ivy said furiously and scornfully. “Yes, you did, indeed! Because you had a date with that violent fool who only knows how to throw his fists!”

“Mama!” Effe cried, hurt.

“Don’t you ‘mama’ me, Effe Kedem!” Ivy screamed. “What’s the matter with you, huh? That Chris boy has no place in our family, do you hear me, Effe? Absolutely no place!”

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“Take it easy, dearest, please!” Ken said firmly as he pulled his wife back. “Well, Effe. It seems Steve went to visit a friend of his around Chapel Hill, and he evidently saw your car leaving, after dropping off Chris. He says his phone was off so he couldn’t call you, but he was running to his car to follow you when Chris saw him and came to intercept him, asking him to stay away from you.

Steve was with two of his friends, and they tried to reason with Chris, but he lost his temper and attacked them. He broke the jaw of one of them, and the thighs of the other. He smashed Steve’s face too. Steve managed to get his friends into his car, and although wounded, he managed to drive them to the hospital, where they were all admitted.”

 

“Jesus, that’s so sick!” Josh murmured with shock. “How could he be so callous?”

“He’s a ruthless beast, that’s what he is!” Baaba said with rage. “How could he behave like that? Does he own you, Effe? You’re treating him with kid gloves and that’s so unfortunate! Whatever childish feelings you two have for each other must dissipate by now! This is unacceptable!”

“If indeed that happened, then it is bad!” Eyram said, horrified. “I know Chris is jealous and possessive, but most of the times he’s reserved and does not turn violent unless he’s provoked…”

“Shut up over there, Eyram!” Ivy shouted furiously. “Provoked? That boy is a walking cauldron of madness! He’s always provoked! Now, I’ve stated my stance, Effe! Stop this stupidity! Call him and cut ties with him, do you hear me? I’ll not tolerate this nonsense anymore!”

 

“Mama!” Effe cried as tears fell down her face. “You’re really hurting me! You’re not giving me any chance to process this!”

“Process what, Effe?” Ivy Kedem shot back angrily. “Chris’ madness? He’s not sane, and he’s not normal! How could he be so violent? He should be arrested and locked away! He doesn’t belong to society!”

“Is he going to be arrested?” Effe asked in a broken voice as her tears fell heedlessly down her cheeks.

Ken Kedem shook his head once.

 

“I believe he should be arrested, Effe, yes,” Ken said gently. “But Steve, bless him, doesn’t want to press any charges, and has agreed to pay all the hospital charges for his two friends. We’re on our way to visit him in the hospital, my dearest. But, what has happened has really forced us to bring this issue of Chris out to address it once and for all. That boy is uncouth, Effe, and highly violent! Only a few days ago he almost killed his mother’s bodyguard, and he injured his stepfather badly. He’s not of a stable mind, Effe.”

 

Josh stood up and crossed over to Effe’s side. He sat down beside her and took her hand in his.

“I’m not comfortable with you being with a guy like him, Ef,” he said gently, his expression earnest. “He was such a cool guy, yes, and we all loved him in school. But since he got into all that martial arts bullshit, he’s become so volatile. You’re both young, Ef. This is the time to see it as it is and stop this pain. Break off with him, and save yourself all the heartache and the danger he poses to you in the future!”

“Stop pampering her!” Baaba screamed balefully. “She’s old enough to get some sense into her head! None of us wants Chris, Effe! I’ll be blunt with you about this! Steve adores you and is already in love with you. He told me only last night of his preparedness to marry you! Dump Chris and give Steve a chance! He’s a gentleman and knows how to treat a lady! Just as Mom said, Chris is mad!”

 

“And moreover, look at his obstinacy over the land issue!” Eyram said earnestly as she rubbed Effe’s hand. “Granted his father indeed owns the land, but Dad has offered them twice the value of the land! And his own grandfather has offered to pay triple or whatever amount they might want for the land! Yet, Chris instigates his father against us and continues to insult Dad! How could you stand to be with a bastard like that?”

Ivy Kedem was on her feet, and she moved to stand in front of Effe.

“Look, Effe, I love you very much,” Ivy said levelly. “I’m not going to speak about this again. If you go ahead and marry Chris Bawa, I will not be a part of that union. The moment you marry him, you’ll lose me as a mother. I’ll not be at the engagement or the wedding. I won’t let your father sit in either to receive anything from his family. And, if you marry him, I’ll never set foot in your home, ever! And any children you two would have wouldn’t find any love in my heart!”

 

“Mama!” Effe cried both horrified and terrified. “Oh, Mom! How could you say such things to me, your own daughter?”

“Not her alone, dearest,” Ken Kedem said as he also got to his feet. “I’m on my way to visit Steve, and I must as well be blunt about this. I don’t want Chris Bawa as a son in law, ever. Break off with him and give Steve a chance. That is all I will say. If you go ahead and stick to him, that’s the end of the road for me too. I won’t be a part of your life. And, lest I forget, he’s no longer welcomed to this house. Don’t ever let him step inside here again.”

Effe Kedem wept bitterly as her family filed out of the room, and she was left all alone to face the bleakness of her life with Chris Bawa.

***

Effe, wearing a fetching pink blouse and beautiful black jeans, walked into the ward wearing her sunglasses because her eyes were very swollen from all the tears she had shed.

It was just after nine in the morning when she entered the VIP Male Ward of the Eden Hospital. Already, Jojo Hollison and some two other men were in the ward, sitting on long-backed chairs beside Steve.

The curtains were not drawn, and the air-conditioner hummed softly.

Steve, wearing loose trousers and a T-shirt, was sitting on the bed as a doctor in the proverbial white tunic with the standard stethoscope around his neck gently touched his face. Hovering beside them was a beautiful young nurse in white.

 

Effe stopped in the doorway and gasped when she saw Steve’s face, which was swollen very badly even though he tried to smile reassuringly at Effe.

She was so absolutely horrified, especially when she noticed the traces of blood on both eyes of Steve. The knowledge that Chris had done this to Steve really hurt so much.

“Oh, Effe, please come in!” Steve said as the doctor stepped back. He held out his hand to Effe, and she stepped forward and hugged him gently.

“Oh, Steve!” she whispered tremulously as fresh tears came to her eyes. “I’m so terribly sorry that Chris did this to you!”

He tried to smile, and then he winced as pain lanced through his cheeks.

 

“It’s okay, hun,” he said, still holding her. “I understand the guy, you know. You told me he’s jealous and possessive. He was obviously protecting his territory.”

“That’s crap, son!” Jojo Hollison said furiously. “That beast must be locked up, Steve!”

“No, no, no!” Steve said, holding up his hand. “That’s okay. The boy is not right completely up there. He’s a good friend of Effe, and I don’t want to hurt her in any way…otherwise, I would’ve locked him up a long time ago.”

Effe looked up gratefully at Steve and nodded gratefully.

 

“Thank you, Steve,” she said quaveringly. “Thank you for not having him arrested. All this is quite frustrating for me, and quite painful too. I’m still thinking about a lot of issues, but I believe I would come to a decision soon.”

“I know you will, dear, I know you will,” Steve said, smiling happily and drawing her closer. “The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

And at that precise moment, the ward door opened, and Jonathan Afful walked in sombrely.

He was not alone, though.

Behind him was his best friend, Chris Bawa.

Chris was wearing black jeans and a white hoodie which was drawn across his head. His feet were encased in white Nike Air Jordan.

He saw Effe almost in Steve’s arms, and his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits!

 

Effe, whose back was toward the door, had not yet seen Chris, but Steve glanced up and saw the sizzling rage in Chris. He winked at Chris, and suddenly, before Effe could move, Steve Hollison bent his head and brushed his lips across Effe’s.

Effe gasped, startled, and tried to move back out of Steve’s arms, but Steve had already lifted his head with his cold eyes filled with triumph.

He knew he had succeeded in his sudden decision to drive Chris Bawa into an uncontrollable rage and further discredit him!

Chris was growling as he thrust Afful out of his way and took quick steps toward Steve.

“Chris!” Jonathan cried in alarm, trying to steady himself, the sound of his voice causing Effe to swivel around with a startled cry…

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