The Cute little Devil II – Short story

Please read the first part of this story here

Joseph managed to raise himself off the bloody mess on the red rug that had been his adversary. He was grotesque. Already his eyes were swollen over, and bloody spit drooled from his partly slack jaws. The three men did a number on him.

He was now as revolting as he should be, finally the outside reflects the man within. He alone disagreed. He couldn’t raise his eyes to look at anyone, he didn’t want Kate to see his bloodied and beaten state.

He thought about running out and away from the loathing lot, but he was certain that his muscles won’t get him far enough to his car. Even if he managed to by some super-power the scars would linger on forever. He could hear Kate’s muffled sobs a few meters away. How did things get this bad, so quickly, he wondered?

“Oga, please stand up” The woman ordered. The politeness was just for formality. Joseph imagined that it offered a glimmer of hope that he could defend himself.

The woman was the grandmother of the celebrant. Joseph remembered her stately and no-nonsense look when he was introduced to her an hour earlier.

“You boys should be ashamed of yourself” she started to say to the three men who had practiced kick boxing on him.

“You fight a man that is down, and you are all grunting like pigs” Her voice had the calmness of a judge, yet her words stung.

“Look at your knuckles, all bleeding. One would have thought you were the victim” She pointed her hand fan at the one with the potbelly.

“Call that young girl to narrate her side of the story again. I want to hear what they say this young man did to deserve jungle justice in a civilized home” she ordered.

Joseph had his head bowed while he leaned on a chair next to the marble dining table. His bloodied face was a gory sight to behold. No one spared him a pitied look. He was grateful for it as blood dripped off his head.

He could see Daniella’s party shoes as she walked within his view.

“Oya, tell everyone here what you told your mother earlier” The grey-haired grandmother reiterated.

There was silence. Joseph could hear soft whispers encouraging Daniella to speak. She broke into a sniffle, and then prolonged silence.

“Its okay to tell them what you told me” that was Kate’s voice.

“He touched me …………and forced himself on me when we were alone……..at the house” Danielle stammered.

“Ehhhh” exclaimed all present in unison.

“You should be ashamed of yourself” one woman barked the loudest.

“How can you leave your daughter alone with a grown man?” another accused Kate of negligence.

“Pedophile” Hissed another mother. The one Joseph thought looked beautiful for her age.

One tossed a plastic cup at him. Joseph didn’t bother to duck. It barely hit him.

“Please behave yourself. Let the girl talk” ordered the grandmother.

“He should be beaten some more. He isn’t even remorseful. Oloshi” cursed one teenager who knelt to greet him when he arrived the venue earlier that afternoon.

Silence again.

Daniella continued.

“I told him to stop……….he said he was going to kill me if I didn’t allow him” More sobs and then silence.

The air in the living room was heavy with disgust and anger.

“A six-year-old girl kwa. Why not pay a prostitute? Fine man like you” another spoke in anger.

Joseph was tempted to find the face that matched the voice. But it would cost him so much pain to look up.

Daniella resumed sobbing, and the Kate pulled her daughter away from the crowd.

The room was starting to get hot.

“I have called the police. This idiot deserves to rot in jail” One of the three guys who disfigured him announced spitefully.

“Let’s hear from him biko” the grandmother showed genuine interest.

Joseph was now torn between telling his side of the story or just saying things as it happened. Either way, it would be difficult to believe whatever he had to say against a sorry looking girl like Daniella- the she-devil!

His mind wandered back to the moment electricity was turned off in Kate’s apartment hours ago.

*********

The moment electricity was turned off, darkness came like the thick velvet curtains of the theatre. Joseph struggled to make out Daniella’s silhouette even as she was seated on the centre rug closest to the television. His first instinct was to find the nearest window to let rays of light into the house. He sure needed to use his phone so he wouldn’t run into pieces of furniture on his way.

The rain had started almost without notice, no spiraling wind to announce its arrival, no thunderstorm, no flash lightening. It started out heavy and intense with the roof of the house pelted relentlessly with raindrops as though they were hailstones.

The downpour was so heavy that to be caught unawares meant being drenched to the skin. Joseph feared for Kate and wished she was here.

“Stay still Daniella” he shouted above the noise as his hands rummaged the sofa for his phone. He turned on his phone touchlight to illuminate the room.

Soon, the silhouettes were already more discernible than they were only a short while before, but he couldn’t find Daniella where he thought she was seated.

The loud crackling of the thunder sent shockwaves through the whole house followed by streaks of lighting that flashed through the window blinds. Even Joseph was shaken. He was never a fan of thunderstorms, it gave him nightmare as a kid.

“Uncle uncle” Daniella panicked as she jumped right into his laps from nowhere. She clung on to him with her small arms wrapped around Joseph’s neck like her whole life depended on it. She had the scent of apple berry splat mixed with a trail of sweat.

“It’s okay. You are safe” Joseph reassured her.

*****

“Speak up young man or you want these men to beat the living daylight out of you” The grandmother’s voice had an edge to it.

All Joseph could do was to shake his head in regret.

Regret can be an incredibly painful emotion and Joseph was starting to regret everything that happened that afternoon. Why he didn’t smack Daniella’s roving fingers harder than he did when she touched his crotch. Why he didn’t punish her for such a despicable act after he had given her only a mouthful. Why he yielded to her plea not to tell her mother and why he suppressed all logical reason and kept it away from Kate.

He regretted everything that moment. What was there to say!

“I didn’t touch that girl. I didn’t touch that girl” he shook his head repeatedly as he spoke.

Two stern looking police officers walked into the living room with batons and handcuffs. His time was up.

His shot was now truly misfired.

***The End***

Post Script

Joseph was arrested that afternoon and taken to the police station where he was registered as a sex offender. He was too shaken to fight in his defense and was brutalized in police custody for two straight weeks before all charges were suddenly dropped.

Daniella – Confessed to her classmate and bestfriend what she had done.  She informed her mum and Kate found out that Joseph was innocent only two weeks after the incident.

Kate – Broke things off with Joseph that afternoon and blocked all contacts with him including social media until she learned the truth. She was gutted and heartbroken. She tried to mend fences with Joseph but he was unforgiving.

The Grey-haired Grandmother – Had a heart attack after she learned that they had miscarried justice. She never forgave herself nor recovered from the incident. She died a month later.

The three men who beat Joseph up? Two of them were arrested and charged for assault. 

Did you ask if the party ended that afternoon after the incident? – YES it did!!

Why did Daniella contrive to lie against Joseph?

She didn’t like the gift he got her. They were just too cheap!

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