Amaka raised her leg from the warm soapy water and placed her heel on top of the chrome tap. She inhaled vapour from the peppermint bath oil. Her eyes tingled. She raised her hand, skimmed the surface with her palm, and watched the water lapping against her skin in the dim light of a candle burning on the lid of the toilet bowl.
Her phone rang – the new one with her old number. She dried her hand on a towel on the rack, then leaned over the side of the bathtub. The caller display showed: Guy Collins. Her hand hovered over the device. She laid back into the water, stared at the ceiling, and let the phone continue ringing till it stopped. She became aware of her elevated breathing rate. She took deep breaths through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. She felt the vapour in her chest.
The phone beeped twice. She stayed in the water a while then she dried her hand and picked it up. She had a new voicemail. She lay back in the water and listened to Guy’s voice.
‘Hi Amaka. Eyitayo said you got your phone back. Amaka, the other day, when I got back to London and I saw your message that Malik had found you, I tried to call you back. I thought I should’ve never left Lagos. All I wanted to do was to fly right back to Nigeria. And I almost did. I was going to get a ticket when I called you again, and this time a man answered. People were shouting, screaming in the background. He said they’d killed someone, and they were beating you too. I begged him to help. He said there was nothing he could do. Then, he told me it was all over and he hung up.
‘When he said that, it was the most awful feeling I’ve ever had. I didn’t know what to do or who to call or what to think. Mel’s father lives in Nigeria. I called her and I told her what had happened. I asked if her dad could help; if he could do something in Lagos. Call someone, go to the police, anything. All the while I thought it was too late. I thought Malik had got you.
‘Mel said she’d call her dad. She suggested I come over in case he needed to talk to me. I was in such a state, Amaka. I couldn’t be alone. I took a taxi to hers from the airport. We stayed up late waiting to hear back from her father and talking about what had happened. I slept on the sofa.
‘Amaka, I was only at Mel’s place because I’d reached out to her for help. Nothing happened between us. Nothing could have happened between us. When I thought I’d lost you, it was the most horrible feeling I’ve ever known, and it made me realise that, even though we’ve only known each other a short while, I’m in love with you. Amaka, I love you. And if you think there’s a chance that maybe you feel the same way about me, please call me. If you don’t, I’ll understand. I’m just relieved you’re OK.’
She continued to stare at the shifting patterns on the ceiling, and then slid into the bathtub, fully submerging her head in the water.