Like I'd promised in the previous chapter, here's a second update.

Above is a picture of Happiness.

Enjoy.

                      ~°~°~°~°~

                      °Uyai's POV°

Home alone! I've always loved staying home.... Alone. It was the time I got to do crazy fun stuff without anyone insulting or laughing at me. I had just finished watching season five, episode eight of Lucifer, and couldn't wait for the next episode to air.

"If Judith was here, we would have been watching the show together." I immediately shook my head. "Happy thoughts Uyai, happy thoughts."

I reached for my phone and plucked in my earpiece, to listen to my favorite Kpop band. I just needed something to take my mind off of Judith.

My parents had promised to take T and I to see her parents, after the school's competition. My problem was Judith's parents. They would be shattered to hear about their daughter's death - well, I think they'd be.

I've never seen her mum nor dad actually care for her. Her parents were more like mine in the ghetto, if not worst. But still, I find it hard to break the news to them.

I mean, questions just like these might arise;

'Uyai, how are you alive?'

'Uyai, how are you two?'

'Uyai, what about Judith's scholarship?'

'Uyai, what the hell happened to my daughter, your best friend?!'

Why the hell would Judith take a bullet for me?! We were in the twenty-first century for crying out loud! Who still dies for others?!

My brain was going haywire, I needed to clear my head. I gently clicked on the play button on my music list and began to sing along.

"Cause I, I, I'm in the stars tonight. So watch me bring the fire and set the night alight. Shining through the city with a little funk and soul. So I'ma light it up like dynamite, woah-oh-oh" I moved out of my room, dancing with excitement. It helped served as a distraction. "Dyn-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na, na-na-na, life is dynamite. Dyn-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na, na-na-na, life is dynamite. Shining through the city with a little funk and soul. So I'ma light it up like dynamite, woah-oh-oh."

"You seem happy," I stopped all of a sudden, almost missing my footings. I steadied myself in time before I could stumble down the stairs. At the foot of the stairs, were my friends. I quickly composed myself, same time I turned off the music.

"She's back," Jeremiah said to me, pointing at T. "And you never found it fit to let me know?"

"It was last night," I said in my defence, as I approached him. "Plus, I never knew you guys would notice in just a day."

"Tatiana is a completely different person, irrespective of the exact same face." Jeremiah spoke up. "We knew even before the bell rung for assembly."

Wow.

Tatiana cleared her throat, gaining  the attention from others. "I needed to come back home cause I missed my friends. Do not blame my sister for not letting you guys know, it was short noticed."

"We missed you too," Omonigho admitted. "But you made a stupid decision for trying to kill yourself. Why?!"

"And that's what we're going to find out." Dami added, before helping himself by having a sit on one of the couches.

We mirrored Dami's action, by finding a spot on the couch. I sat beside T, Jeremiah sat inbetween Dami and Irene, while Omonigho sat with Jubilee. We all waited for T to fill us in with her issues.

"I..." T hesitated a bit, while fidgeting with her fingers. "I had a crush on Jubilee."

"Jubilee?" I asked pointing at Jubilee, while Dami was trying hard not to laugh out loud. "Yeah he's not bad looking, but have you seen this guy's stares?! They could make you pee your pants. They are like serial killer's look in a bloody movie. They are like that of Medusa's. They are like___"

"Uyai," Tatiana stopped me. "May I continue?"

I cleared my throat and nodded my head, so she could speak on.

"Like I said before, I had a crush on Jubilee. But apparently, he had eyes for someone else. Happiness." I listened as her tone held a bit of sadness in it. "Happiness was my best friend, was our best friend." Her gaze met Irene and Omonigho.

"Happiness was the only person that could understand me the most. She knew me better than I even knew myself. She was my best-est friend." T inhaled slowly, has she remembered the good things she did with Happiness. "For once, I wanted to think about her own happiness. I decided to bury my feelings for Jubilee and accept the one boy that had been asking me out for a pretty long time."

"Kingsley," I involuntarily said. "How could you accept a three hundred University student, who's supposed to be in his four hundred now. I mean, you were just in Ss2."

"Like I said, I needed a distraction." I felt pity for T. I began to wonder if in my life I'll ever take such desperate decision cause of a boy. "Happiness pushed me away countless times from dating Kingsley. I also knew she was aware of my feelings towards Jubilee. She was ready to let go of him, but I just couldn't let her sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of mine."

"Kingsley invited me to a club, but I didn't wanted to go alone. I finally invited Happiness to tag along with me." T took her time to explain things to us.

"Where were we when all these happened?" Irene asked confusingly.

"I was closer to Happiness, so I couldn't let you guys know about the deep things going on in my life." Irene wasn't too happy with T's words. She rested her back on the couch and folded her arms across her chest.

"At the party was Kingsley and his college friends. He handed both Happiness and I bottles of alcohol, but we refused. Kingsley walked away with the alcohol and came back with soft drinks." Tatiana said, as she looked down at her hands. "I would have known better, I wouldn't have let Happiness drink that drink."

"I took in a small sip, cause I wasn't too thirsty. Happiness whom had a scratchy throat, gulped the contents down her throat." I knew that meant something bad was going to happen, even before T continued her past events. "Kingsley all of a sudden, began to drag me away from Happiness, reasons unknown to me."

"I remembered asking him why he was dragging me, he replied saying he only wanted to have an alone time with me. I asked about Happiness, but he said she would be fine. He said his friends would protect her from bad guys." T inhaled and exhaled a few times. It was clear she was getting less comfortable when remembering the past. "Why was I so stupid?"

"He led me into a room and I began to get panicky when he locked the door behind us. Soon he began to move towards me and I tried to escape from his dangerous strides." She held her school uniform's jacket subconsciously. "H-He finally got a hold of me. His hands went straight to my bum and after that, began to undress me."

"Since I had taken a small sip, I wasn't that intoxicated. I found a beer bottle on the floor, and used it to smash his head. He fell to the ground, holding his head in pain. I used his present state to get out of the room and go look for Happiness." My hands reached for her back, as I rubbed it soothingly.

"While fastening my buttons, I let my eyes roam the club. I eventually found Happin__" T's voice broke, as she subtly wiped a tear out of her cheek. "When I found Happiness, she was out cold. Her clothes were torn, her legs were wide open and her underwear was ripped." Tatiana turned to look at me with watery eyes. "My best friend was gang raped by Kingsley's five college friends."

My mouth slightly opened, as I tried to imagine what Happiness must have passed through that night. "I quickly called for Help and rushed Happiness to the hospital. After the doctor had examined Happiness, he advised me to make a call across to her parents, which I did."

"The doctor informed Happiness' parents that Happiness, had lots of injuries on her private parts and that she needed to stay back at the hospital for more tests and treatment." Tatiana's eyes shifted to meet Omonigho and Irene.

"Remember? We normally went to the hospital to visit Happiness," Tatiana spoke to Omonigho and Irene, as she gave a watery smile. "She was always happy seeing us."

Irene and Omonigho smiled, as if remembring Happiness' smiling face. Tatiana decided to speak on. "Two weeks went by and the doctor informed that Happiness was HIV positive."

"I remembered that," Omonigho muttered, while I wiped off Tatiana's tears. "You cried so hard when you heard the news, even more than Happiness herself."

Tatiana nodded, as If remembering the scene. "Happiness told me everything was going to be alright. She told me not to ever blame myself, cause she would never blame me." Tatiana stopped talking, as she pressed her lips to form a thin line. "A month went by and the doctor gave a shocking announcement. Happiness was three weeks pregnant."

I gasped softly when I heard that. I immediately got up from my side of the couch after patting T at the back, so I could get us all some drinks. Moving to the kitchen, I heard T raise her voice in sadness. "That shattered my heart. She was just fifteen and it was likely for her child to contact the virus. I couldn't just forgive myself!"

I reached for an orange juice pack and placed it on a plastic tray, along side seven glass cups. I moved back into the living room and poured the content on each cups, before taking a hold of T's and I.

I handed her a glass of juice, and she only took in a small sip. "Happiness on the other hand reminded me not to blame myself. I mean, she even told her parents not to blame me too. Then the night before Hapiness' death, I received a call from her."

T stopped and my hands immediately wrapped around her's. I wanted to give her some encouragement to speak on. "She informed me she wasn't going to keep her baby. I.... I tried asking why, but she chose not to tell me. Her last words to me was; whatever decision she had decided to make, I should know it wasn't my fault."

Tatiana's little fist balled into a tight fist. "I rushed over to mum and dad and pleaded with them to let me see Happiness, but your parents wouldn't let me go!" T pointed at my chest. "If I would have gone that night, maybe I would have talked her out from committing suicide!"

"Dad told me I was an embarrassment and I shouldn't come close to him. I mean I was, right? I had just ruined someone else's life." Tatiana released her balled fist. "Mum on the other hand was more understanding. She'd told me she would drive me over, first thing in the morning."

"First thing the next morning, mummy drove me over to Happiness' home. Stepping out of the car to my dismay, Happiness was seen dead. Her throat was cut and a note which was written in her own blood, was directed to me." Tatiana turned to look at me with bloodshot eyes.

"She'd said she'll never forgive me, Uyai." Tatiana said, the tears already flowing down. "Uyai, Happiness said she'd never forgive me!"

I breathed out and put an arm around her, bringing her close to my chest. "Both mother and Happiness' parents thought it must have been a mistake and I shouldn't think twice about the note." Her voice muffled, as her face was buried in my chest.

"But the guilt was killing me," T went on, not stopping for a second. "Kingsley drugged our drinks. Happiness got gang raped, had HIV and was pregnant. It was all my fault, I had destroyed my best friend's future!"

There was silence. Omonigho looked like she wanted to wrap T in a big hug. Irene looked like she blamed herself for not being there to help.

Tatiana lifted her head from my chest, so our eyes could meet. "But then I met you and I realized I could actually take my own life without thinking about mum and dad, not having a child in this world."  Tatiana licked her bottom lips, then closed her eyes. "I could actually take my life without thinking of all those disturbing threat notes."

"I didn't send you those threat notes," Jubilee quickly added, his voice a little bit lighter.

Tatiana gaze at him and gave him a smile. "I know. I never one day suspected you, I knew your hand writing like the back of my hand." Tatiana dragged her eyes to look at Jeremiah. "Someone wanted me dead, but I never stayed to find out."

Jeremiah whom had been quiet for quite some time, finally spoke up. "I don't think Happiness wrote that letter in her own blood. She slit her own throat, right? She wouldn't have the strength to write down a letter. That shit happens only in movies."

"Happiness died of hanging," Tatiana reminded us. "Meaning someone must have walked into her dangling dead body and slit her throat open."

"That must be the same person threatening you," Dami added, rubbing his chin. "But why?"

"It can't be Kingsley," Omonigho said from across Tatiana and I.

"Nor Jubilee," Irene added, looking at Jubilee.

"And I believe her parents don't have a hand in it," Jubilee leaned against the couch, staring at T.

Dami leaned forward, and scratched his head like someone who was about to go crazy. "Then who?"

Everyone was silent, we were at a dead end. I turned to look at my sister. Though her eyes were still bloodshot, she was no longer crying.

"Tatiana, there's something you need to know." Yeah, I had filled her in on what had happened in her absent, but I still omitted some parts. She had the right to know, it was her life after all. "Kingsley's dead."

Tatiana didn't look stunned. If she was, then she was pretty good at hiding it. She nodded her head at my word and leaned back against the couch.

"Then I'm next."

Eddy : Poor Happiness. Do you think she's actually dead or alive?

Who do you feel is doing all this and why? The gang doesn't seem to know either.

Don't forget to vote, comment and also share. This chapter was hard to write.

Till next time,

Much love,

X
-Eddy.