SMITHEREENS

Early the next morning, Diri picked up his phone to send his usual texts of hope to Prisca. He saw a message notification from Prisca's DM.

It read: Hello good morning, I am very grateful for the messages you keep sending to me. It's good to know that someone out there still cares about me. It really means a lot. I love you very much❤️.

Diri felt his eyes were playing tricks on him. He read the text over and over again. So filled with excitement, he didn't know when he started jumping on the bed and making joyful noises.

He rushed out of the room and climbed down the stairs to the sitting room.

"Kevin! Jeffery!" He called.

The duo turned quickly toward his direction, wondering what would make Diri act in such a manner.

"What's the matter, dude?" Kevin asked,

"She replied, man, she fucking replied," Diri answered excitedly.

"Who replied?" Jeffery asked as he took a sip of hot coffee.

"It's Prisca! She replied to my texts at last," Diri answered.

Diri handed his phone over to them, still jumping with excitement. They peered at it and smiled simultaneously.

"This is great, bro!" Kevin said to Diri,

"I never imagined she would reply to your texts," Jeffery said, sipping his coffee.

"This is the beginning of something beautiful. I still can't believe this. She said she loves me," Diri said, smiling very hard.

"Everybody says that Diri," Kevin said with a chuckle.

"What should I tell her?" Diri asked,

"Anything, just don't make any annoying push," Kevin replied, picking up his phone.

"Well," Jeffery said as he dropped his cup of coffee, "I and Kevin were saying something before you scampered in."

"We know you are still bruised from your encounter with Tasha which was entirely my fault. We want to speed up your recovery. You'll be going with us to Drexy's."

"Guys," Diri said, scratching his head, "I appreciate the kind gesture. But…"

"We won't take NO for an answer," Kevin cut in sharply.

"You know I'm not the party or club type," Diri stated.

"You are from today," said Jeffery, throwing shopping bags filled with wears at him.

"Drexy's club is not a club for common gees. It's a club for dons, lords, and celebs," said Kevin.

"The place is filled with assorted bitches. Slim, thick, busty, Randy ass chics, whichever spec. All you have to do is to make your preference," Jeffery said,

"Or even preferences," Kevin added.

"I really don't want to do this," Diri said with a sad face.

"I'm afraid you have no choice," Kevin said with a shrug.

"We just want you to go there and have fun. Yes, shitty things happen most times, but you've got to move on. I'll cover your financial needs, you don't have to worry."

Diri took the bags and climbed up the stairs sluggishly.

"I could organize an orgy if…" Jeffery said but was cut off by Diri who yelled sharply, "Don't! Don't you dare!."

The duo looked at each other and laughed loudly.

***

Prisca woke up the next morning still in the clothes she wore to the party. She got up with pains all over he body, her head still woozy from what happened the night before.

She shifted to the edge of the bed and sat there, each horrible scene replayed before her very eyes over and over.

She wept, wondering why fate has meted out such punishments on her. Still in the sorrow of her mishap, she was given another reason to be in anguish.

She wiped her eyes and got out of bed. She shrieked with pain as she slowly made it to her feet. She felt like her joints were disjointed, and her feminine part hurt severely.

Mr. SK treated her to lunch in the afternoon. They were given an enclosed space to ward off selfie-thirsty throngs.

As Prisca ate her dish, she knew why Mr. SK asked her to lunch. She knew he had questions that needed to be answered. She also saw that he was bothered, yet trying very hard to conceal it. She pretended like she observed none of these things and continued eating.

"You didn't bother to ask how you got home yesterday?" Mr. SK asked with his hands clenched together.

"What? Yes, that's true," Prisca said, still thinking of how to answer her boss's question.

"I drove you home last night. Your security guard helped me put you to bed," Mr. SK said as he poured fruit juice into his glass cup.

"I thought I drove myself home?" Prisca asked, still eating.

"You were too drunk," he replied as he sipped from his cup. "Prisca!" He called.

"Yes boss," Prisca raised her head slowly and answered, it was time for Qs and A's.

"Before you left, you asked me why I brought you to the party. Did anything happen that I am not aware of? Yes, it was obvious that you were pretty stoned, but do you by any chance re-collect anything?" Mr. SK asked with concern.

Prisca stopped eating. She was so sure that he was going to ask this question.

"No sir," she lied, picking up her cutlery to resume her eating.

"I want the truth, Prisca, so I can help you get over your grief as quickly as I can," Mr. SK said.

She instantly regretted lying, knowing that Mr. SK was very witty. But what difference would it make?

"Even if I told you, you won't believe me," Prisca said, dropping her cutlery.

"No matter how bad it may seem, I will understand," he insisted.

Prisca heaved a sigh, contemplating whether to tell her boss about Clem's awful deeds. Aware of the risks involved, she took the bull by the horns.

"I was raped," she spoke coldly

"What?" Mr. SK exclaimed, "Raped? how do you mean?" He asked.

"Yes sir, I was raped last night, by Clem," she said boldly.

Mr. SK sat back in his seat and asked, "Clem? How are you so sure?"

"He walked into the restroom with a pistol and forced himself on me. I tried to shout but he threatened to shoot me," Prisca explained.

"This is a very big allegation, Prisca, and the fact that you were very drunk yesterday makes it very hard to believe. Maybe you got down and dirty with some guy in your boozed state," he stated, trying very hard to sound polite.

"Exactly what I said, you won't believe me but I am telling you the truth boss," Prisca said.

"We can't prove that," her boss shrugged.

"The CCTV recordings can prove that," she suggested.

"Look, I know Clem can be careless with his job sometimes, he has stepped on my toes a few times but I don't think he has the guts to do this."

"Besides, he is in no way close to your level, so why would he even think of such, let alone do it?" Mr. SK said.

These words made her realize how big of a fool she was for giving herself to a lowlife like Clem.

"Nevertheless," he continued, "I will investigate myself, if I find out that your allegations are true, I won't spare him. Are you okay with that?"

Prisca gave a slight nod. They continued with their meal and spoke no further.

****

Prisca's phone rang as she sat at her balcony in the cool of the evening.

"Good evening boss," she greeted as she received the call.

"Good evening Prisca," Mr. SK replied to her greetings. Without wasting time, he continued,

"Concerning our discussion earlier, I made my investigations and I couldn't find anything pointing to the allegations you made."

"That can't be possible, sir," Prisca said, sitting up with alacrity.

"I checked the CCTV footage and found nothing, I also asked the sound crew if Clem left the sound room at all, and the response was negative," Mr. SK continued.

"Sir, I think this whole thing was thought through, there has to be…"

"Prisca," Mr. SK interrupted sharply, "you were very drunk that night, perhaps you had sex with someone and the whole thing still seems unclear."

"I would advise you to reduce your drinking, Prisca, you have a wonderful career at hand and a beautiful future ahead of you. Don't ruin it. Goodnight," he said and hung up.

Prisca was dazed. How could that son of a bitch commit a grave sin and get away with it very easily? He was now seen as the innocent one, a pure man with no sin while she was the sex-crazed whore, a psychopath who spends her life on whiskey.

She started feeling a sharp pain in her head. She was so sad that she wanted to drink herself into a stupor. She headed over to the wine rack to get some whiskey, but to her disappointment, there was none.

The wine rack was empty, save a few bottles of fruit wine. She shouted with rage and pulled the wine rack to the ground, causing the bottles to crash and spill their contents.

She called the house servant to clean up the mess. She climbed up the stairs and stormed into her room, stripped herself naked, and stepped into the shower.

She turned on the shower and stood under the intense pouring, weeping helplessly. Was this the price she had to pay for being famous? Yes, artists and celebrities have had their down moments, but hers seemed to be very harsh.

After her shower, she put on a red silk dress and sprayed herself with the finest perfumes she had. She put on a pair of stilettos, grabbed her car keys, and dashed out of the house.

Her life was full of sorrow and utter regret. If she could wish for anything, she would wish she never met Clem or even have anything to do with him. She needed to drink her sorrows away, and she knew where she could get lots of alcohol, at Drexy's.

****

"Here we are, Drexy's," Kevin said as they alighted from the car. The three men were decked in expensive tuxedos, the rosy scent of their cologne filled the air.

"I don't feel comfy in this outfit," Diri said, feeling very uneasy.

"An educated man like you doesn't like tuxedos, who doesn't like tuxedos?" Jeffery scoffed.

"Dimwit," Diri cursed as he adjusted his coat.

Jeffery made an obscene gesture with his fingers at Diri, then they walked into the club.

****

"More whisky, Mr. Bartender," Prisca shouted, slamming the base of her glass cup against the table.

She sat with a fellow celebrity, Lisa Jackson, an actress who seemed to be going through some shit of her own. Both women were so drunk that the only place they could recognize was the bartender's table.

"More whisky please, let me drink away my misery. My life is a fucking mess," Prisca said again.

"More whisky for me too," Lisa said,

Their eyes were so heavy that they saw blurry figures. They took another hard gulp of whiskey and exclaimed with satisfaction.

"Yes! That does it!" Lisa said, holding her cup up.

"Tell me bitch," Prisca said, turning to Lisa in such a manner that she nearly fell from her seat, "How fucked up has your life been? The way you drink, it seems like we have something in common?"

"You really want to know?" Lisa asked, rolling her eyes.

Prisca gave a drunken nod and took another gulp.

"People see celebrities and think they have the best lives, everything is working fine for them. The money, the fame, all of that bullshit," Lisa said,

"But no, a celebrity's life is full of shit. A celebrity's life is always fucked up. Let me share a shitty experience with you."

She let out a deep burp and continued, "I was given a role in the movie "Sacred". I was very excited and willing to work with everyone, but the director had some shitty agenda."

"Motherfucker asked me to fuck him, I told him to go fuck himself. After trying all he could and seeing that I wasn't willing to let him have me, he forced himself on me."

"Fuck!" Prisca exclaimed loudly, spilling whiskey from her cup.

"He met me in the costume room, mauled and bent me over the table," Lisa narrated, now shedding tears.

"What else did he do?" Prisca asked with a drunken stare.

Lisa hissed and answered, "Motherfucker shoved his dick up my ass."

"Shit!" Prisca exclaimed again.

"Yeah, he fucking did it! I thought it would end after that day. I never knew he recorded the whole thing. Anytime he wanted to fuck and I was giving an attitude, he'd threaten to upload the video to the internet, I couldn't help but oblige."

"He continued this till I had enough of it, and the pig uploaded the video without a second thought."

"I knew we had something in common," Prisca said, giving a drunken smile. Then she continued, "I fell in love with the son of the devil, gave him my time, my money, and my body. Can you believe after everything I did for the dick, he fucking sold me out?"

"It was all over the place, bitch. You do know how to take a schlong," Lisa said as she took down a glass of whiskey.

"Fucking bitch!" Prisca cursed, took a gulp, and continued, "The fool took no pity on me for the shit he did. He fucked me again at my boss's birthday party, made me swallow his cum."

"Men are motherfuckers! All of 'em!" Lisa said and proposed a toast, "To a fucked up life!"

"To a fucked up life!" Prisca said, hitting her cup against hers, "They won't escape hell."

****

Jeffery and his friends saluted people as they walked into the club. The place was filled with made men, celebrities, actors, actresses, artists, influencers, business tycoons, men with class, all were gathered there.

Diri felt very uneasy with this kind of environment but since his friends made it mandatory, he was helplessly without an option.

"Ah! The beautiful donna!" Jeffery called as they walked into a lady who was sipping a glass of red wine.

"Hi handsome," she greeted in a sexy manner. She was a slim brunette with a fine figure, blue eyes, and sexy lips.

Jeffery walked over to her, kissing her hand as she held it out to him. She greets Kevin in the same manner and notices the oddness of Diri.

"Who's the new guy? Never seen him here before," she asked,

"He's a friend, more like my brother," Jeffery answered, hanging his arm around Diri's shoulder.

"Diri, meet Lola, the daughter of Mr. Kola Wuye, the owner of Koye Petroleum company," he continued, "Lola, this is Diri."

"Son of who?" She asked, offering a handshake.

"Don't think that's necessary, ma'am," Diri answered, feigning a smile and accepting her hand.

"You have a very handsome friend, Jeff," Lola said in a slow and sexy manner, biting her lips as she said so.

"Thank you, and you are…." Diri said but stopped when it looked like he took notice of something or someone.

"Anything the matter, fine boy?" Lola asked, noticing that Diri had lost her attention.

Diri gave no reply. He just stared blankly with his mouth agape. Then his lips started to broaden, and a smile slowly appeared.

"A moment please," Kevin said to Lola, drawing him away from her. They both walked towards a corner as Jeffery walked behind them.

"What's the matter? Why are you staring like you saw a ghost?" Kevin asked,

"It's Prisca! She's here," Diri answered, turning his head in the direction he saw her.