Continued from chapter one
But, how did I get myself into this mess?
My name is Ebun, Ebie as my friends call me. I’m in my mid-twenties, and a native of Ekiti state, southwestern Nigeria. My personality has undergone several metamorphoses through the years and right now, I’m not sure who I am anymore. I used to be really intelligent back in secondary school; I even won lots of awards, until I left home for the first time when I got admitted into the university.
In my first year, I met Lekan. This is where my life took a turn for the worst. The first time I saw him was right after lectures in front of the department building. I noticed a tall innocent good looking guy walking towards me with a smile on his face. I ignored his purposeful stares and smile and continued talking with my friends. He stopped right in front of me and said: “With a face as beautiful as yours, I’m sure I would’ve noticed you long before now. You must be new.“
I ignored him and continued talking to my friends.
“Excuse me, ladies, can I talk to your friend for a second?” my irresponsible friends obliged like zombies. Turning to me, he says, “Hi, my name is Lekan, you are Ebun right?” He stretched his hand for a handshake.
Surprised he knew my name I asked, “How do you know my name?” while ignoring his gesture for a handshake.
“I make it my business to know the names of the prettiest girls on this campus.” He stated with that annoying charm, again.
“And what does this have to do with me?” I asked, “Is this what you say to every girl you meet?”
“Only the extremely beautiful ones,” he replied “and trust me, I haven’t come across many.”
A little thrown off at his smooth talk, I said to myself “Ebun get a grip!” “Oga, you still haven’t answered my question? “ I said sternly this time.
“With a face like that, trust me your name will be on everyone’s lips on this campus, sooner or later”
Realizing that all my friends had left me alone, I started walking away. “Well, I see you won’t tell me how you know my name, so I’m going to meet up with my friends now.”
“Only if you agree to make me one too, can I have your number?” he asked with that ridiculously smug confidence that annoyed me even more.
“I’m sorry but I don’t give my number to strangers”. This was my last effort at resisting this very insistent guy.
“Well sometimes, strangers turn into friends and from friends to lovers and lovers to strangers again. It’s the cycle of life; don’t stand in its way, let destiny run its course.”
My naïve self knew he was trouble, there was some mystery about him that I wasn’t used to seeing and besides his charm, I had never met anyone who talked like this in real life. I rolled my eyes and as an act of waving the white flag, I gave him my number.
“See you around Ebbie” he finally walked away, smiling like he just won the lottery.
“Yeah, whatever” I whispered while walking away.
The name, Ebbie, stuck and it wasn’t long before this charming stranger had me wrapped around his finger. It was my first real relationship and it would turn out to shape a large part of my reality with men. He was very influential with students and lecturers alike. His father was a top businessman in the country and the chairman of the university board of trustees, so he had enough money to splurge.
Though he looked innocent, Lekan was the worst kind of bad boy there was. Nothing was off limit. He was my entry into wild living and I was head over heels in love with him. Our relationship was filled with tons of physical and emotional abuse. He was manipulative and always got away with whatever he did. He introduced me to all kinds of substance abuse not to mention I almost lost my scholarship as a result of my nonchalant attitude towards my academics.
I didn’t care much about life anymore. Despite his constant cheating, I didn’t break it off because I was obsessed with him. He had a stronghold on my soul until I became unrecognizable.