Incompatible…
AARON ANSAH-AGYEMAN
INCOMPATIBLE
A ChrisEffe Thriller
CHAPTER 20
Jonathan Afful reached out blindly and caught Chris’ arm, and he felt the energy rippling through his friend as he took another step forward.
“Shun, Chris, damn it!” Jonathan said, his voice filled with concern.
The doctor and the nurse were staring at Chris with a mixture of shock and dismay. Jojo Hollison stood up with a harsh curse and planted himself between his son and the advancing Chris.
“Damn it, not you again!” the elderly man said with concern. “What do you want now? What are you doing here? You’re lucky we didn’t report you to the police! Get the hell out of here!”
“Is this the young man that assaulted Stevie?” one of the visitors, a huge man with massive muscles, asked.
“That’s the son of a bitch!” Jojo Hollison said hotly.
The muscled man suddenly bore down on Chris, his face angered, and without hesitation, he threw a heavy punch at Chris’ jaw. His fury turned to surprise and fear when his punch just slashed the air because with uncanny speed Chris had shifted position, and his hand shot out as he grabbed the huge man by the neck.
“I have no fight with you,” Chris said coldly. “Don’t you dare.”
The man stepped back, his face suddenly cowed. He had felt the power of those fingers around his neck, and seen the look of death in Chris Bawa’s eyes,
“Get out of here!” Jojo Hollison said, but his own voice was shaking with fear as he looked at Chris. “I swear to God, if you hit my son again I’ll have you arrested this time!”
Effe had regained her composure, and she was now standing in front of Chris, barring his way as his dark eyes seared into Steve.
“Stop it, Chris!” Effe said in a controlled voice, trying to hold on to her anger.
Chris tried to step past her toward Steve, and she put her hand flat on his chest and pushed him back.
“Stop it, Chris!” she repeated, this time louder. “What’s wrong with you? Is this how you’re going to live now? Beat up all my male friends?”
Chris Bawa glared at Effe, and his jealousy was spilling over, making it hard for him to control himself.
“Do you kiss all your male friends, Effe?” he asked softly, making her gasp, the pain flashing across her face.
“How dare you, Chris!” she said and pushed him in the belly with both hands, and was quite unprepared for the little moan of pain that escaped through his lips. “Come with me.”
She took his arm and began to lead him out of the ward, but he snatched his arm from her grasp and walked out of the room in a furious huff.
“Effe, please stay,” Steve called in a forlorn voice, but she barely heard him as she followed Chris to the corridor and once more reached out for his arm to stop him.
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“Chris!” Effe said desperately, angrily. “You can’t do this! You can’t go round beating up people like this! And what are you doing here anyway, Chris? Are you coming to check up whether he died from your beating? Three men! You’ve severely wounded two of them, physically maimed them! What’s the matter with you?”
He leaned against the wall and his furious eyes were filled with jealous pain as he glared at her.
“I beat him up so you kiss him?” he asked savagely. “This is the bloody second time! You promised me it wasn’t going to happen again!”
“I didn’t kiss him!” Effe shouted, furious. “He caught me by surprise, but I moved away from him! I’m not a whore, Chris Bawa, and I don’t go around kissing men I’m not in a relationship with! Show me some respect, if you’re incapable of showing me nothing else!”
“Show yourself some respect, Effe!” he hissed at her. “If you don’t encourage him, he wouldn’t dare do anything like that!”
“Your jealousies and silly insecurities, Chris, that is what always come between us!” she said, pushing him in the chest. “Is that why you attacked them like some wild beast?”
“I attacked him?” he asked icily. “Is that what you think it is?”
“He said he saw me dropping you off last night, Chris! He tried to get into his car and come after me because his phone was off. You recognized him and attacked him, and when his friends tried to help you seriously injured them! He would’ve had you arrested if it hadn’t been because he knows I love you!”
He scowled at her then, and his mouth opened as he fought for breath to control himself. The fury had left his face, and only the pain remained.
“Is that what he told you?” he asked softly. “Is that how he described what happened?”
“That’s what happened, Chris!” Effe blurted out angrily. “Why did you do that? Why on earth couldn’t you give me the benefit of the doubt and instead attacked those men so recklessly? What’s getting into you? I’m going through a lot of pressure and I’m simply trying to stay afloat enough to think through everything in a sane manner. But you’re not making it easy for me at all! You’re really pushing me to the wall!”
“He lied,” Chris said softly.
“Stop it!” Effe almost shouted. “Stop lying, Chris! You know you did it! You beat them up!”
“I’m not denying the fact that I beat them up,” he said, his voice still soft. “But they forced my hand.”
“Forced your hand!” she retorted furiously. “What do you mean they forced your hand? You simply flew into a jealous rage and attacked him because of your insecurities! I’m getting fed up with you, Chris Bawa! Stop pushing me too damn hard.”
“So, you heard his side of the story, and instead of asking me what happened, you simply chose to believe what he said, taking his word over mine, and calling me a liar in the process?”
Effe took deep breaths now, putting her head to one side to look at him and seeing how hurt he was, and then her jaw tightened perceptively.
“What story do you have, Chris Bawa?” she said in a calmer voice. “You saw him in a rush to get to me, you became angry and jealous, and you attacked him. It is as simple as that, isn’t it?”
“No, Effe, it isn’t,” he replied. “After you dropped me off, that bastard and his two thugs came behind me and coshed me from behind, rendering me unconscious. They put me in the trunk of their car and took me to a remote field, where your friend in there tried to attack me with metal-spiked gloves. Actually, he hit me in the belly a couple of times, wounding me. I got the upper hand on them and defended myself. I could have left them where they were, but they were too wounded, and so I put them in the car and drove them to this hospital this dawn. And that is what happened!”
“Stop lying, Chris, damn you!” Effe screamed furiously and pushed him in the stomach again, hard this time. He moaned with pain and took a step from her.
“Jesus, Chris!” Effe said bitterly. “You want me to believe a blatant lie like that? Steve kidnapped you? Why on earth would he kidnap you? Why would he even dare do something like that? That is a blatant, vicious lie!”
He looked at her with sheer pain on his face, and tears glistened in his eyes suddenly.
“You believe his words over mine,” he said softly.
“But what you’re saying is preposterous!” Effe cried, brushing her hair from her face angrily. “That Steve kidnapped and put you in his car trunk? Who can kidnap you, Chris? You’re a martial artist who knows how to defend yourself because you’re that good! It will take more than ten men to subdue you! Steve and his friends kidnapped you? Seriously? No, you’ve really disappointed me, Chris!”
“There’s nothing more to say then,” he said and turned away from her.
“Yes, walk away, Chris, just walk away!” she said painfully. “You will never change! This is the way I’ve always known you to be. Whenever there is a problem you walk away. You spoke a lie to cover something stupid you did, and when I talk about it, you walk away! Fine, go, Chris, go! And you even go as far as lying that you brought them to the hospital! I already know Steve put his men in the car and drove them to the hospital, Chris.”
He stopped and turned to her.
“Really?” he asked softly.
“Yes, really, so stop the damn lies!” she shot spitefully at him. “Does it even make sense, that after you so brutally and senselessly attacked those men you would bring them to the hospital? Instead of expressing remorse and apologizing to him for not reporting you to the police, you rather choose to lie so childishly! You better change this lousy attitude of yours, Chris, because each day I get more and more tired of you! Don’t blame me if your silly antics finally drive me away from you!”
He smiled weakly, painfully, and took a step toward her.
“You used to be so different,” he said softly. “You were always the gentle one, the caring one, so loving and compassionate, a different star among your family!”
“Chris!” Effe gasped as if he had struck her, and she shook her head weakly at him, tears springing to her eyes. “Is that how you see my family? Is that how you see them?”
“Yes, Effe,” he said softly. “A bunch of uncaring people who think they’re rich, and so they can just walk over everyone. But you were different, and that is why I love you. But you know something? Your caring, loving, compassionate side is slowly eroding, and more and more you’re beginning to sound like your mother and your sisters! Just as despicable and arrogant and mean as them!”
Effe slapped him.
She could not help herself, and she wasn’t even aware she was doing it until her hand smashed across his cheek.
It was not something she had ever done before, and it shocked her as much as it did him. He looked at her for a long time, and when he turned away without a word tears immediately sprang to her eyes.
“Oh, Chris!” she whispered quaveringly, painfully. “See what you have made me do!”
He stopped and turned to face her, and then he spoke quietly, his sad eyes fixed unwaveringly on her face.
“You know, you’re the air I breathe. The pain I’m going through, the daily agony of labouring after your love, of living my life in pain and jealousies, all boil down to the simple reason that I love you, and I cannot live without you. Sometimes, above all else, I simply wish I can un-love you, Effe. I wish I can switch this feeling I have for you off, oh I wish I can just tear it out of my heart and throw it away and simply walk away. But I can’t. You’re the only one for me, the only woman this heart of mine will ever love. You have the power to hurt me because my heart loves you.”
Her tears bubbled down her cheeks, and just as she reached out to touch him, an elderly doctor emerged from another ward and turned, smiling when he saw Chris.
“Hey, young man, how’re doing?” the doctor asked as he put a hand on Chris’ shoulder. “How’s the head? Any headaches?”
Chris nodded weakly.
“It was very bad last night, but quite okay now,” he said.
“Yes, I know,” the doctor said. “Hope you took your medication this morning.”
“I did, sir,” Chris said and tried to walk away. “Thanks for everything, doc.”
The elderly doctor reached out suddenly and brushed the hoodie off Chris’ head, and that was when Effe noticed the thick wad of Elastoplast across the back of Chris’ head. The hair around the area had been shaved off for the Elastoplast to stick.
And she remembered Chris saying he had been coshed from behind, and suddenly she began to tremble.
“I’m fine, doc, thanks,” Chris said, still trying to move away.
“No, you’re not!” the elderly doctor said, sounding alarmed. “See, you’re bleeding across the belly! What happened? I told you to be careful! Have the stitches broken?”
The doctor was pointing to Chris’ belly, and when Effe looked, dazed, she saw that indeed there were red wet splotches in Chris’ hoodie!
And again Effe remembered him saying Steve had hit him with spiked gloves, and she also remembered hitting him in the belly twice in her fury.
“Chris!” she whispered suddenly, confused and pained, and as she tried to touch him he moved away from her hand. “What happened to you?”
“Oh, hello,” the doctor with a smile. “I’m doctor Anaman. Is this young man your boyfriend?”
“Yes, he is, doctor,” Effe said miserably. “What happened to him?”
“He’s quite a remarkable young man, you know,” Dr. Anaman said. “He said he and his three friends were attacked by some bad men last night and they escaped. Chris here drove all of them to the hospital even though he was also quite wounded.”
“Chris brought those men?” Effe asked, dazed, her pained eyes seeking out Chris’ eyes with remorse in them. “Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes, he did,” Dr. Anaman said. “I was on duty and attended to them. Gave Chris some stitches on his belly. Seems torn now. Come, young man. I have to take a look at that.”
“I’m quite alright, doc,” Chris said, trying to walk away.
“No, you’re not, young man!” the doctor said and took Chris’ arm. “Come, my consulting room is just down the corridor. Let me check it up. Your girlfriend can tag along if she wants.”
Effe took a step toward him, but he held out his hand to her, stopping her.
She saw the pain and bitterness in his eyes, and then he spoke quietly.
“Don’t bother. Go and take care of Steve.”
“Chris, please…” she murmured.
He turned from her and walked down the corridor with the doctor who looked a bit uncomfortable as he felt the cold tension between the two of them.
Effe began to follow them, but suddenly her arm was grabbed from behind, and she turned to see Steve, his father and the two other men who had come out after her.
“Ef, darling, are you okay?” Steve asked with concern on his face.
Effe stepped away from him and looked at him with pain and bitterness on her face.
“Chris drove you to the hospital?” she asked painfully. “You said you did!”
“Oh, no, no, I didn’t!” Steve said with concern on his face. “Who told you that, Ef?”
“My father!”
“Oh, he must’ve heard it wrong,” Steve said earnestly. “Yes, when we all fell down, seriously injured, Chris panicked, and he put us in the car and drove us here.”
“A-and y-you hit him with spiked…spiked gloves?” Effe asked painfully.
“No, Ef, no!” Steve cried. “I’m not like that! It was Abdul, one of my friends. He was only trying to protect me from Chris’ attack. He always had those things, you know, for self-defence.”
Effe looked down the corridor at the retreating back of Chris.
She had called him a liar, but at least some of the things he had told her had been right! He had also been wounded, but he had come to the hospital to check up on the men he had had the fight with!
That was the Chris she knew, and admired!
Caring and compassionate!
And he had received stitches on his stomach from the gashes the spikes had opened on his stomach, and she had unknowingly caused them to reopen when she hit and pushed him in the belly!
Effe looked at Steve for a long time.
“Did you smash his head and put him in a trunk?” she asked forlornly.
Steve’s eyes went wide with shock.
“What?” he whispered, aghast. “Is that what he told you? That damn liar! Of course not! Of all the foolish notions in the world! Why on earth would I do a thing like that? That’s a stupid lie! Now, he’s made me angry! I’ve changed my mind now! I’ll report this case to the police and get him picked up! The audacity of it!”
He turned away angrily, but Effe reached out and held his hand.
“No, Steve, please, please, no police, I beg of you!” she said desperately.
“But that guy had no shame!” Steve said furiously. “Telling a preposterous lie like that! Damn! Let the police take him, and then he can put it down in his statement!”
“No, it’s okay, please,” Effe said, alarmed. “Forget I asked.”
“I don’t know,” Steve said with a huge sigh. “Look, I’m going to look at my friends on admission. I don’t know, maybe I’ll let it ride. Come with me, Effe, please.”
“That boy is a gaddemn fucking liar, man,” said one of the men as they followed Steve.
“I don’t know why you’re patting him with kid gloves, Stevie,” said the muscular man. “You should just report him to the police for his damn dastardly act!”
Effe hesitated.
She knew she had to go with Chris to try and patch over the yawning gulf that had opened up between them.
This had been one of their most bitter fights, and she had actually slapped him!
Good gracious…
She had raised her against the one man she loved with all her heart!
In her frustrations and bitterness, with her anger roiling, she had actually hit him…
And her action had brought up a wall between them. Oh, where had all the nice moments gone now? Their love was so painful now and filled with so many suspicions and mistrusts that she wondered if it was worth keeping. They definitely could not continue like this, no! Maybe her family was right: the time had come to break up with Chris Bawa. It was far better to break up now and hurt than continue in a relationship filled with such long spans of pain and only brief stops of love and joy.
Their incompatibility was too glaring now, bringing fights and jealous tantrums almost on a daily basis.
But, she had hit him!
And she had hurt him!
And there was a crack in their relationship now, a crack she knew had to be mended as soon as possible, but she was afraid that if she allowed Steve to leave with the men, they would convince him to report the case and have Chris arrested.
“I’m sorry, Chris-Love,” Effe whispered, and then she turned and followed Steve.
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