"Stop coming back home late at night! You smell like marijuana and cigarettes. This is not the kind of environment you should create for your sister!" I heard mom yell at Tolu from behind my doors and sighed.

"Why? Cause she's too pure?" Tolu mocked and almost immediately, a very familiar sound rang in my ears.

I could almost feel it but I didn't even know how my mother's slap felt like. I only knew that it always put an end to Tolu's tantrums, at least for that day.

"Shut your stupid mouth or I will shut it for you, omo ake[bastard]" Mom threatened him and I only heard the Tolu's footsteps as he walked away from the fight and then the door to the house was open and then slammed close causing me to almost laugh.

That was how their fights ended, with Tolu walking out on mom, and slamming the door shut behind him. While mom comes to me, to cry and blame herself.

"Hey, beautiful" Mom opened my door and I smiled at her before placing the book I was just about to continue reading on the bed.

"Mommy" I looked up at her and found unshed tears in her eyes. Honestly, it broke my heart and I wrapped my arms around her, patting her head lightly and placing light kisses on her head.

"It's gonna be fine, mommy. He's just going through a phase" I told her the same thing I told her after every fight

"I spoilt him...I didn't pay him any attention. It's my fault" she cried and I held her tighter. I knew how she felt about Tolu's upbringing and maybe she felt that she didn't care for him enough that was why she restricted me from going outside. She provided me with everything and I wasn't a curious person by nature.

I barely had a relationship with my older brother. It hurt -only sometimes because I didn't have a father figure. My mother said my father had gotten her pregnant with Tolu and fortunately, he didn't realize that she was pregnant or he would have forced her to get rid of it, seeing as he was already married to another woman.

Mom said he walked out of their lives and she gave everything to Tolu after she had given birth to him because she didn't want him to feel the absence of a father. Five years later, the man in question came back, promising to marry her and she gave herself to him. He figured out when she was pregnant with me and he wanted out of the relationship when she refused to get an abortion.

The basis is that he was not even half of a man, he ran off as soon as my mother was in labor.

'Pity' I thought to myself.

She pulled back and wiped her face before kissing my forehead with a smile on her face.

"I really don't know what I would do without you. You are my happiness, my joy, Wura mi[My Gold]" I hugged her and she pushed the stray thick curls out of my face.

"You've been carrying your hair around like this. What style do you plan on making next?" she asked and I sighed before sitting in the grey plastic chair in my room. I hated making my hair because sitting down for hours made my ass sore.

"Box braids" I answered and she laughed, running her hand through my hair.

"That's the same thing you made last month, Wura" I grinned, knowing that she wouldn't tell me no.

"It lasts longer, mommy." She tapped my nose before nodding with a yawn.

"Alright, sweetie. It's already eleven, go to bed" I nodded, watching as she walked out.
I climbed back into my bed and grinned at the ceiling for some reason before picking the Novel I stopped reading.

I let it take me away.

Since I wasn't allowed to step out of the house, I let myself create a world from what I read and I literally imagine myself as a character in the book.

Silly, I know

I groaned when I heard pots from the kitchen. With so much effort, I stood up and walked to the kitchen.

I found Tolu rummaging through the fridge. He smelled like alcohol and dead rats...I think I could smell pee on him as well. It wasn't a new thing, seeing him search for food like some possessed animal.

This only happened on some occasions, on other days he would stay in his room and play some loud noise that barely had any meaning or counted as music.

Only a few lyrics made sense.

He turned to me with reddish eyes and a swollen face

"Need help?" I asked before walking towards the cupboard and pulled out powdered milk.

"I don't need your help!" he spat and I shrugged. His childish crabbiness barely affected me, I only knew that I was hungry and I needed food.

"Okay" I muttered and grabbed my mug, dropping five huge spoonful of milk. I walked towards the fridge and took out a jug of cold water and poured it into my mug and then added some crushed chocolate powder.

"Don't you ever feel choked?" I turned to him and shook my head honestly. I liked my space and mom gave me just that. I returned the jug to the fridge and pulled out sandwiches that my mom had packed up for me before she went to the hospital.

"You're never curious? You're satisfied with what you see from looking outside the windows, the TV or mom's phone?" He asked and obviously he was hinting at something.

Well, the hairdresser came on some weekends whenever I needed to make my hair but I assumed he didn't know that. The nurse came at the end of every month for my check-ups too.

"Tolu. What is your point?" I cut a piece from the bread and ate some of it.

"My point is that that fucking insane woman has locked you in his house for nineteen years of your life! You're so naïve and it's annoying" he yelled out causing me to scoff

"Again, what's your point?"

"You're stupid, Olorun gbo[God is listening]" he muttered and walked out of the kitchen causing me to shrug as I carried my breakfast to the living room.

My mom worked as a nurse all morning and only a few nights. I wasn't complaining and like I said, I enjoyed the space.

I turned the TV on as began to watch an episode of SpongeBob. Unfortunately, it did not last because ten minutes into the cartoon, Tolu began to play songs that I believed the entire universe could hear.

With a hiss, I walked back into my room and shut the door before settling down at my reading corner which had a plastic table and chair with lots of soft pillows.

Hello to you too...👀
We're getting into it, calm down. There you have it! Wuraola!
-Aduke🌹