THE STORY 2 EP. 12

 EPISODE TWELVE

THE STORY 2

BY PRAISE UMORU

(Flashback)

“How are you doing?” Tim asked Jeremy who came to visit him.

“I’m holding up” Jeremy replied downhearted

After a brief silence, Tim was forced to speak

“Com’on man, what’s going on? Why do you wanna plead guilty? Everyone is freaking worried about you and trying to get you out in every possible way we can and you repay us by pleading guilty?” Tim sounded irritated and angry

Jeremy couldn’t find the words to lay out to his friend so he kept mute with his head hung low

Timothy bounced on the table with his hands releasing a loud noise that startled Jeremy “dude answer me?!”

One of the warden stepped into the cubicle checking if everything was alright after hearing the noise from the table. Tim and the warden exchanged eye contact which forced Tim to keep his cool but Jeremy wasn’t still talking

“Jeremy common, what is wrong with you? Have you seen Malia lately? Before she came checking up on you yesterday, she has been worried sick about you. Right from the moment you were arrested, she has been restless because she knew you were never capable of such an accusation .she has been the anchor on your release, and when she comes to see you, you send her away, what the heck is your problem dude?” Tim snapped again but this time Jeremy snapped back

“And what if she seems to care, I don’t need her petty little pity. She wasn’t here because she cared but because she felt guilty. Don’t try to preach to me cause you have no freaking idea what I’m going through!”

Tim was both confused and irritated at Jeremy’s outpour

“You can’t keep speaking in riddles if you want people to understand what you are going through. Pick one mhen. Do you want to rot here or die because of your ego or do you want to get the hell out of here and sort things out”

“There is nothing to sort out Tim. I got nothing to sort out with betrayal. How dare she look me in the eye and tell me she loves me when she slept with Frank even when we were together, HOW DARE SHE?!!!” 

Jeremy slammed the table with rage uttering another immediate visit from the warden. This time, he got furious by the noise and attempted to drag Jeremy back in but Tim pleaded with him aside, apologizing for the noise and requesting for some more time. The warden was skeptical, but Tim slip a little something into his hands, which he collected secretly but assured them of just five minutes extra.

Tim returned back to his seat feeling drained and most confused. He spoke to Jeremy with an exhausted tone “okay mhen… could you explain to me, what the hell you just said”

Jeremy fisted the table but with a light but furious punch as he didn’t want to attract another visit of the warden. He was both irritated and enraged. When he finally calmed his nerves, he tried hiding the ball of tear that attempted to fall with a quick wipe but the second side of his cheek already accommodate the line of tear that fell

He clasped his hands over his face inhaling and exhaling in pain. “I don’t know where I went wrong. I don’t get it. I tried to be there for her, I tried… I tried to prove to her that I was worthy of her some way… I tried to do what pleases her… but it was never enough” he clenched his teeth as he let the last phrase got out of his mouth

Tim was still in disbelief as he let his fingers go up and down his hair “are you telling me… that Malia and Frank …” he hesitated as he didn’t know how to let the words come out in disbelief “Jeremy you have got to be kidding me.”

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Jeremy broke down. His teary dam broke out “my sister needs a heart transplant.” 

“What?” Tim gazed at Jeremy bewildered and a sense of disbelief

Jeremy felt like the world was closing in on him. He kept inhaling and exhaling the hot air around him trying to reduce the excess tears that fell profusely but was to no avail.

“Is that why you want to plead guilty?” Tim asked seeming to understand his reason. Jeremy must have known his inescapable consequence for murder and on the victimized family, was a death penalty. And that after his death, his heart could be given to his sister”

“She is just nineteen…” Jeremy spoke with tears “she still has so many things she hasn’t done yet. I on the other hand have nothing…”

“What are you saying?!” Tim stood up with hurt and rage “you got me, Jeremy, you got your dad! What about him? What about the promise you made to you mom. What about that vision you have to save life and that of your father! Do you want to throw all that away?”

“What do you expect me to do” Jeremy reacted back. His eyes was painted red. His words were full of hurt and agony “you don’t expect me to watch my only sister die. My mom is gone and gone for good! She is never coming back no matter how I try to think otherwise. My sister couldn’t handle it, neither could my dad. He got stroke because he couldn’t withstand the pain of losing his wife, and now the only lady that reminds him of her, the only lady that makes him wanna smile and have hope in life, is also going to die. How do you expect me to live with that…?!!!” 

Tim watched his twenty five years old friend cry in front of him like a helpless little baby. Jeremy was always used to holding the pain within, behaving like it didn’t hurt, but right now, Tim saw his friend lay out his pain in tears. He really had piled them up for a long time

“I will never be able to live with myself if I lose the only family I have left. I know I wanted to become a doctor to save my dad and reduce the death of cancer just like in my mum’s case, but I’m not sure I would be able to achieve that goal if my motivators are gone.”

 Jeremy bowed his head low trying to recuperate himself. Tim couldn’t lay out a word. Everything was all complicated. With all that’s going on in Jeremy’s life, he now understands why Malia’s case hurt him more. She was supposed to be a family to him, to stand by him and pull him through this hard time, but just when he needed her the most to heal, she added another wound.

*****

“You knew all this while and you said nothing!!!” Quinn lashed out at Tim after he narrated the outcome of his visit to Tony, Eli, Quinn, Tayo and Irene

Irene had returned from her visit with Jeremy and decided to fill in the crew on the outcome after they returned from the Sanji journey that same day.

Irene had brought back distressing news about the death of Jeremy’s younger sister. The crew fell apart on hearing the news but mostly Timothy. His guilt had enveloped him for not telling the crew about his meeting with Jeremy sooner. Jeremy had told Tim to keep their discussion private since the crew wouldn’t want to see reasons for wanting to give up his life. He made Tim promise against his will to keep his visit a secret from the rest, hoping that before the crew would know about his plan, the first trial would have commenced and he(Jeremy) would plead guilty which would speed up his death sentence in order to save his sister before she ran out of time.

Tim didn’t know about Irene’s postponement of the trial as she came into the Centre after he had made his visit to Jeremy earlier on before her arrival. He couldn’t return to Jeremy to inform him about the new outcome because visiting days were only once a week, neither could he speak to Irene because of his promise and confused state of mind and just when he needed time to plundered on the things going on, the Sanji travel came up and now, Jeremy’s sister was dead.

After Timothy heard the down hearting news from Irene, he felt torn inside, knowing the pain Jeremy was feeling and the guilt that ate him up for not opening up to the crew made him speak up

“I didn’t mean to I swear!” Timothy’s voice had a pleading and remorseful tone in his response to Quinn outpour “Jeremy made me promise not to say a thing. What was I supposed to do?”

“You were supposed to speak up!” Eli cut in “you were supposed to tell us. That way we would all had figure out something together!” Eli who has had her own unfortunate share of losing a loved one understood what Jeremy would be going through and couldn’t help but also lash out at Tim

“I had to keep a freaking promise!” Tim snapped back. He turned to Irene and continued “when I knew she had postponed the trial, there was nothing I could do to get to Jeremy because I had already gone to see him before she came over and visiting day was just once a week. I was confused”

“But you should have come to me” Irene chirped in “I would have figured out something”

Tim gave a flabbergasted and irritated expression at the same time “I should have come to you?!” Tim spoke rhetorically “Seriously, and what would you have done?!! You above all people admitted that he wasn’t guilty, you affirmed to it right in front of us, yet you did nothing to get him out,  and now you want me to come to you, so you will be gazed upon as a hero?” Tim’s words shocked everyone that heard his words especially Irene. She was struck dumb by the words he spoke, she became stiff as he didn’t seem done but Quinn immediately interrupted

“Tim stop it. This isn’t the solution or the right way to go about things”

“Don’t” Tim felt a sense of disgust run through him as he gazed upon Quinn “you are the least person that should lecture me about a solution or the right way to handle things, So don’t Quinn, don’t try to act like you can solve everyone’s problem when you can’t even handle yours”

Tim’s words hit Quinn like a dart that retorted to her swallowing her boldness down with her saliva downheartedly

 “That’s the problem with you all.” Tim continued in the room full of ashamed silent zombies “You all like to behave like saints. You pass the blame to everyone else except yourselves…”

Tim picked up his bag “you all sicken me” he stormed out leaving a heap of shock and silence behind.

To be continued…

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