KILLING HELEN

BLACK SHADOWS

"What happened to him?"

"Am on my, which hospital?"

She immediately scribbled something down with the pen and paper she had brought out from her back.

Helen was in total awe hearing about what happened to Charles, she had to round up her gymnastics before going to the hospital. She was absent-minded throughout the remaining workout. Getting herself back to normal was not at all easy since her breakup with Eddy, her sister though married was more of a help to her. Her instructor in the gymnasium seemed to be good on the part of the distraction.

"What is wrong" The masculine voice came from behind and was so close to her as she turned to look at him, she could feel his breath and could smell his sweat which was that vanilla scent

She was taken unawares and didn't notice his approach, she wondered if he was sent to disturb her life to leave this world. His closeness to her got her shaky and perturbed, she hated that feeling.

"Am perfectly fine, thank you" She needed the pretense, the last thing she ever needed was another relationship. She decided to walk out on him.

"Sorry if I got you upset, or probably we met on a wrong foot, can you give me a chance to know you at least?"

What is this guy saying, he's wasting his time if he feels he was going to ask her out to eat her money, what a lowly beggar.

"Forget it, I am not interested" Helen immediately spat out as she succeeded in walking out on him. She could see his disappointed face.

****

Still in the hospital, she tried removing Michael's picture from her head. For crying out loud, he was her instructor, mixing business with pleasure was not her kind of thing. Though he was handsomely built, she assumed he was 6.5ft tall, with a broad shoulder and hard chest. She could not forget how she stumbled into him during their first meeting.

"Ma, Mr. Charles has woken up and requested to see you".

" Thank you, my dear," She immediately followed the nurse to Charles's room.

"Ohhh Charles, what happened?"

She shouted on seeing Charles's bandaged nose. "Who did this to you?"

" It's nothing, just.....a...a small accident,"  Charles said with an unstable voice.

He still could not figure out who attacked him, not even recognizing the voice behind the mask. He intentionally could not tell Helen what he used her money for, he could not tell her how such a gambler he was. She would stop giving him money if she was aware of who he was. He wondered how his attacker got to know about the money, he felt he was being monitored, but who would dare monitor him.

"Charles, are you in some kind of trouble?" Helen's voice brought his mind back, he could see she was observing his face as well as trying to read his mind.

"Helen dear, don't fret, you know me very well"

"Ya, but to some extent". She replied not hiding her suspicious voice.

" Just leave it to me, I can handle it"

"Always remember that you got me by your side Charles".

" I know". He immediately brought out his fake smile. She would not be saying this if she knew who was behind her dates set up.

"I bought your favorite Jellof rice from Mr. Biggs, hope you would like it?"

"Why not?"

Just immediately his three friends Robbin, Bobby, and Laycon arrived, and they were all putting up sad faces.

"Charlie what's up with you, your girlfriend broke your nose again?" Everybody burst out in laughter at Bobby's joke.

"Girlfriend will kill you there Bobby, you know I don't do girls".

" Meaning?" Helen said as she eyed him.

"No Helen na, I never meant you, you are an exception"

"Ohh really?" She pretended like she didn't know

"Yes na, you are my dearest"

"Ewwww, am blushing". She found herself giggling. " Well, I got to jump now guys, have got a whole messed up house waiting for me to tidy up"

"Can I help?" Charles teased

"No, u silly, you need all the rest you can get".

" Go, before I change my mind". Charles tried doing his saddening face which made Helen immediately rush out of his room.

"Guys, how far?"

"Charles you need to be careful and we need to find out if she doesn't know about our plans or if she was not the one who sent someone after you" Bobby stated seriously.

"Well, for all I know she was not the one, she is too naive for that. She won't have the slightest clue if we don't give her".

" Yeah, yeah, you can keep on deceiving yourself but this girl is smarter than you think" Robbin grotesquely stated.

All this while Laycon had been all mute and unperturbed but they all knew something was up with him. Laycon only kept quiet when things were in his mind when he was clutched onto something, that was why he was their leader, he had the matured sense of reasoning that none of them altogether could attain. There was a short silence as everyone turned to observe Laycon's silence.

"Laycon are you with us?" Charles decided to break the silence by speaking up.

"Am okay. Someone must have known about us to have the guts to hurt one of us".

" I agree with you, my man". Bobby nodded in agreement with Laycon's statement.

"Where were you last night Charles?"

"What do you mean by that? I was catching a cruise in my house".

" Cruise, hunh? To who if I may ask?"

"It's none of your business what I do " Charles found himself shouting and trying to reduce the tension in his voice.

"It's none of my business hunh? You still don't get it?  we are into this together. You get hurt, I get hurt".

"I was in the house, you can ask my brother". Charles stated and wishing Laycon never gets to call his brother. He averted Laycon's stare, it was as if he was looking through him. He would be doomed if they found out his story tales were all lies.

" Come on man, I will be careful this time around, it's my word".

"I hope so Charles, we won't get this time to talk if it happens the second time".

" Ya I grab, I will dig on it as soon as possible". Charles immediately replied.

"Enough of all this, I got to bounce go see my woman, see you all later". Bobby was already on his feet as he announced it.

" We are going off together, Charlee we gonna see you later, be alert". Robbin added. Laycon decided not to add to it, they left leaving the room quiet and all alone for Charles.

Charles saw something none of them had seen, he was not imagining it, he saw his attacker. Nobody else but one of his friends was his attacker, but how can he explain to the rest for them to believe him, he had no proof. That scar was not mistaken, he gave his attacker the scar right before he passed out.

The note he saw got him more confused, he was given three days to produce or he dies. He knew he could never face his attacker directly else it could be his dug grave. He knew he had to think about something, he had to do something and just then a slept off.