"Caitlin, you are embarrassing the family and yourself. You are a celebrity. Do you have an idea what this would do to your reputation?" Mum yelled.
Funny how she made it sound like she was really worried for me when the only person she has never worried about was herself. I was amused and giggled at her statement. She even gasped at my audacity to laugh in her face, making me laugh more.
"Let me see, you say that I am embarrassing the family. How? How can having sex with two guys be an embarrassment when your marriage is a sham and everyone knows about it? Who on this side of Arizona doesn't know that Uncle Ron is your lover? You ain't just sleeping with the father of my future husband, you are also forcing me to marry the son of a man who raped me and you dare called me an embarrassment? How dare you!"
I didn't know when I started screaming but by the time I was done, my throat was hoarse and I was on my knees, wailing. I was crying so hard, it rocked my whole body.
"What?!" Mum gasped and ran over to me. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me until I was focused on her.
"What…what did you just say?" She asked in a shaky voice.
"What do you care? Please leave me alone, I am tired." I pushed her away from me as I tried to get back on my feet but my legs had turned to jelly. My strength was completely gone.
"Uncle Liam, please I will go in now. Help me." I whimpered.
Uncle Liam had already moved closer to me while I was talking. The moment I asked for his help, it was as if he was born ready. He scooped me into his arms, bridal style and turned towards the house. I rested my head on his wide chest and suddenly felt sleepy.
"Wait!" Dad called out, making him stop in his strides.
"I need to clarify things. Caitlin, what you just said, is it true? Ron raped you?" Dad's voice had never sounded that calm before.
I tried to speak but I couldn't. My throat was hurting. I had lost my voice and my eyes were heavy. So I just nodded my head.
"RON!" Dad screamed and went for the man but Uncle Ron already made his move the moment I started talking. If not, then where was he? He was gone. But Riley and Sophia were still there with their heads bowed, probably too ashamed of their own father.
"Where is he? Where is he?! I will kill him! I will kill him?" Dad kept screaming as he ran towards the front gate, looking for Uncle Ron.
"Take her inside." I heard my Mum say in a very gentle voice. It didn't sound like her at all. In fact it took my brain some time to process that voice and recognize it as hers.
Uncle Liam grunted a yes and took me to my room.
The moment he left, I locked my door and went to take a shower. I was spent and actually slept off in the bathroom. I woke up again sometime in the night and made my way back to my room where I slept butt naked hoping that the night would never end.
I had no idea how long I slept but when I woke up, my head felt like something was hitting me in the center of it and my body felt like I just got out of a large body of water after staying in it for too long. It was heavy. I was disoriented and tired but my pillow felt uncomfortably wet. So I removed it and picked another one. I felt so hot so I wanted to search for my AC remote but moving my body proved to be difficult so I just rolled myself on it while holding my head with my hand so it wouldn't roll off my neck.
That was when I saw the drip stand and line. There was also an injection tray on a small table beside my bed. I recognized the small table. What it was doing in my room instead of being in the kitchen was what I didn't understand.
Was I sick? When did I fall sick?
As I was trying to understand the reason why there would be a drip stand and an injection tray in my room, a floodgate opened in my head and memories of the other night exploded, making me groan as I held my head together.
'What in hell have I done!' was the first thing I screamed in my head. I dared not open my mouth because my head was really threatening to fall off.
I started thinking of how to get myself out of the mess I was in as I struggled to sit up. But then, my door opened and a stranger in white walked in.
Didn't I lock the door last night and who the hell is this?
She was slim and beautifully put together in a nursing uniform. I squinted at her cause I really couldn't see very well. It took all of my concentration to make out the injection tray by my bed side when I woke up and my vision was yet to get better. In fact, I thought I was getting worse by the minute. My headache kept getting worse.
"You are up. That's good." I heard the woman say. Each word she spoke was like the clang of a hammer on my head. I grunted in pain and grabbed at my head.
She walked over to me and tried to help me sit up.
"I will get someone to make something light for you." She continued.
I really appreciated her help but I wished she would shut the hell up.
"I can see you have a headache. Don't worry. Once you get something into your stomach and take your drugs, you would feel better."
All I could do was hiss in response.
I wanted to tell her to stop talking but she turned around and left the room.
Just to sit up on the bed and all my strength was gone. I was heaving like someone who had done a sprint.
I don't know how long she was gone but she came back too soon with Uncle Liam behind her, bearing a food tray. I could make up a bowl and a sauce with something in it. The smell though was what gave the dish away. It was mashed beans and wheat congee. It was one of those food combos that I obsess over whenever I fell ill.
As the aroma of the beans reached me, my stomach grumbled and I was hit with another bout of dizziness. This time from intense hunger. It was like I have not eaten for days. Uncle Liam walked over and set the tray on the table. I was really hungry but I couldn't move. I was scared of moving my head.
"Try to eat some. It is not that hot. You will feel stronger after eating." The nurse said to me,
All I could do was move my head from left to right as slowly as possible, trying to tell her I can't. Somehow, she got the message, took the spoon and tried to feed me. I was so happy. I watched her blow on the wheat meal but when it was time to take it from her, I almost spurted out the food. It was bitter. I managed to swallow that but refused to take anymore.
The way I grimaced must have suggested that I found the food tasteless because Uncle Liam told her to wait, went out and came back with an old sugar tin. He scooped some sugar into the bowl and asked her to try again. She fed me the food and I readily took it slowly. It was still bitter but manageable.
As I was eating, I started sweating profusely and it was very uncomfortable.