“Ariana” i hadn’t realized I was lost in my own thoughts until Mike nudged me on my shoulders. I opened my eyes to scrutinize my environment. He was already slowing down his truck and smiling at me.
“So, do you like this place?” He said and finally parked under a tree that had only few leaves. It was already drying up. Where he was parked was neither home nor Dr Brown’s. It was a beach somehow. There was a lot of open land with tall trees that had almost no branches. There were very many birds chirping above our heads and the soil was so smooth. The sky above was starting to darken but it was still beautiful. Beautiful, deep blue sky. There was also a pool, some metres away from us that rippled from time to time, it was a very clean and large body of water. There were some old tent houses on the bare land with fine soil. That area was a very quiet, peaceful place. Not a soul was there. It looked to me like my dream environment, I was so relieved at once that I just wanted to scream. I wondered how Mike discovered this place. What did he mean by did I like this place? No, I love this place! I didn’t want to leave! I almost resorted to settling there. I wondered if we were going to swim. Swimming invited bad happenstances.
I ran up to Mike and hugged him tight. He picked me up and rubbed my hair. “Thank you for not taking me home or to Dr Brown’s” I mumbled, with so much excitement and relief in my voice.
“Of course. You needed a break. I don’t know if you’ll like to swim. I was indecisive about bringing you here or taking you to the cinema” he said. I just stared at the water and smiled. “Shall we?” He said and put my feet back on the ground
“Do you like this place?” He asked again as I took in the beauty and serenity of my environment.
“I love it!” I yelled, held his hands as we walked towards the water. In my mind, I was going to have a very good, fun-filled day with Mike. Little did I know what fate had in store for me.
As soon as we got to the water, he released my hands, stood with his hands akimbo and quizzed: “Wanna give it a try?” I looked at him and looked back at the water. I was unsure of what we were about to do. I still feared swimming, and although that place looked safe and peaceful and with Mike right by my side, I still hesitated.
“What? You don’t want to swim or you don’t know how to swim?” He asked me, slowly lowering his weight on a jagged rock that had a smooth surface. I remained standing, staring at the water. Staring at it alone was therapeutic for me. It let me think of good things and gave me a hope of a bright future. As much as I relished the imagination of swimming in this water for as long as I wanted, with Mike and with no intrusion from anywhere, anxiety stood at the back of my thoughts withholding me.
“Huh?” Mike asked again. “I thought swimming would make you feel better, you know you have not been in a good mood since the drive down here” he said. “Whatcha think?” I shook my head, uncertain.
“Can I touch the water?” I asked. I wanted to see how deep and how warm it was. He said “Of course. It’s very safe. I’ve been here like thrice myself” , So, I bent down and touched the water. It was cool, neither too cold nor too warm. It was just perfect for the weather. I then slowly put my right feet in it, it was not so deep although it was not shallow either. I put my other feet in it and the water swallowed my ankle.
I laughed and threw my hair back, my long, black thick hair. Then I raised my two hands towards the heavens. Mike laughed out loud at my reaction.
“It’s just perfect. I think I’ll give it a try, Mike” i said. As soon as I said that, he did three things at once– he stood up immediately, clapped for me, and took off his vest revealing his toned abs
“Wait, Mark, what will I tell Mom about my uniform getting wet?” I asked him.
“Don’t worry, mom won’t know we came here. It’s a secret outing” he said and laughed.
“What?”
“I mean, mom won’t have to worry about your uniform getting wet because you’re not gonna swim in it” he said and then stretched forth his hand to me. He was giving me his vest. I was shocked, it was intriguing. I took the vest from his hands and put it on my nose. It smelt of his cologne. It felt weird for me to wear it but it wasn’t so bad to do, so I took it.
“Wear it and join me in the water” he said and dived into the water. I turned away from him and took off my uniform quickly but I left my inners on. I also made sure I took off my socks and shoes. Then I slipped into his vest. It was like a gown on me but it didn’t look so big. Then I stepped into the water and joined him.
It was so much fun because of the temperature of the water and because it eased my mind. We were there until 6pm. I wondered if mom was already worried about me.
“Your mom won’t be back until 7, so we have to take you home before 7pm” it was about to rain. Just one of those sparse rainfalls in summer. At a point, I started to feel uncomfortable in the water because Mike’s body was too close to mine. As a matter of fact, I struggled to breathe but he’d not stop holding me tight. It felt weird because I was wet and my body was sticking to his.
He held my waist from behind and immersed me into the water and then pulled me out again. Laughing as he did so. After a while, rain splatters began to fall on us. I told him that it was time to go but he held on to me and urged us to wait a bit more.
I’ve never felt more uncomfortable in my life. Imagine feeling good and comfortable for a long while and then all of a sudden, the person who made you feel this way started to make you feel otherwise again.
I struggled to free myself from his grasp but he would not let me go, claiming that we only just started relaxing in the water. At a point, we were so deep in the water that only his shoulders and head were visible and he lifted me so I’d not sink because I was obviously much shorter than he was.
Then, I felt his hands slipping into my panties. I didn’t think too much about it because I thought it was a mistake. But then he started to stick his fingers into my private part. He did it so roughly that it hurt me so much. It hurt so much I cried. At a point, I couldn’t take it anymore, so, I turned towards him quickly to stop him, but that let him lose his grip on my waist and I began to sink. I screamed but it only caused more water to rush into my mouth. I didn’t sink so much before his hands fetched my arms and he lifted me onto the surface again. Water was dripping from my nose and eyes. But I was okay.
“Sorry” he said. “Sorry” he said again, pulling my hair back, so he’d see my face properly.
“Are you okay?” He asked, his voice full of concern. I just wanted to run away, because I could not look at his face. I felt defiled. So, I left him and swam to the shore, then walked swiftly towards where his truck was parked. There, I hurriedly changed into my uniform and entered the back of the truck, hiding my face from the side mirror. Mike was shouting my name but I didn’t answer him. I needed to let him know I didn’t like what he did, and that what I felt was shame and not ecstasy like he felt. He probably thought I was running away on foot. Well, that was my plan initially but it’d cause me more harm than good because I didn’t know how to find my way around there. I’d be lost and probably get into more trouble.
So, I went into his truck instead but didn’t sit in the passenger seat. He soon came up to me, panting. He came into the truck beside me, holding my socks and shoes with one hand, and with the other, he grabbed my own hands. I let him because I wanted him to tell me it was a mistake. I was so disappointed in him and so I looked out of the window. I still felt the pain down there even though his fingers were no longer poking me.
“I’m so sorry” he said silently, like a repentant sinner. “Ariana, are you mad at me?” He asked. I started to sob, still looking out the window. Was that even a question? He must have probably thought I’d find it normal. He didn’t know mom taught me about this stuff everytime
“Please just drive me home” I pleaded, refusing to look at him. “i want to go home” i repeated.
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry” He kept saying over and over, without moving an inch and still holding my fingers. Those filthy fingers.
“Stop telling me that” I told him. My voice was breaking. If anyone told me Mike would do something like this to me, I’d hit whoever said so.
“It was a mistake. You know I’d never hurt you” he said. In a way, I warmed up to that but I was not totally convinced. It was true–Mike was a kind of person that’d never hurt you on purpose. Everyone knew him to be a good, kind gentleman. I’ve known him as at then, for eight years, so I knew that was true. But this? I was not sure anymore. He made me scared of him the moment he held me tight in the water.
“I want to go home please” I begged.
“Please look at me, Ariana. I won’t do it again, I promise. The pain will go, don’t worry and I won’t try it again. Please”
I kept looking out the car. “Mom will be waiting. Drive me home” i said instead, still looking outside.
So, he got out and went to start the truck. On our way home, he kept saying sorry. Only God knows how many times he said it. If I was counting right, maybe a hundred and seventeen times. He looked so remorseful and he only stopped saying sorry when I told him “It’s okay. I’ll take it as a mistake”
When we got very near home, he slowed down and made me promise not to tell my mom about it. He was so persuasive that I had to agree to his wish. I wasn’t going to tell Mom anyway. I wasn’t planning to.