The first time they came to this house, I was the one they came to meet. A young man and a woman who looked like they were madly in love. They held hands while we talked. They were touchy and smiling at every given opportunity. There was an unoccupied apartment in the house, and they had come to check it out. The landlord doesn’t live in the house with us, and as the oldest tenant, he gave me the keys to take people around for inspections.

After doing the inspection, they thanked me and said they would talk to the landlord afterwards.

When they moved in, I helped them carry their things and also helped them arrange them. When they needed anything, they came to knock on my door. My door is immediately adjacent to theirs. Everything felt like they were about to get married and were looking for a place where they could begin their life together.

READ ALSO: I Used My Father’s Coffin Money to Play Aviator

Once they moved in completely, I didn’t see the guy around again for a very long time. One day, he came around. I called him bro, and he responded, “Bro.” He was very jovial and more communicative with me than the lady. Because he was wearing a Chelsea shirt, I presumed he was a Chelsea fan. So we talked about football and connected somehow.

I got to know he worked in Takoradi with his fiancée until his fiancée got a transfer to Accra. He told me they were preparing to get married, and I congratulated him. Anytime he came around to visit, he would knock on my door and tell me he was around.

I got his name as Eto, and the lady was Ann.

It got to a point where, deep in the night, I would hear a buzzing sound coming from their room. It could be loud sometimes, and other times very faint. You needed to stretch your ears and imagination to hear it. I knew what was going on. She was busy with a toy. I didn’t judge her. I didn’t think anything bad of her. I felt it was better than cheating on her man who lived far from Accra.

A little over six months later, I thought I heard movement in the corridor at dawn. Then I heard hushed voices. I thought Eto had come, but in the morning, I didn’t see him.

This went on for a while. Once a week, her door would swing open at an ungodly hour, followed by hushed voices and footsteps that didn’t feel like they were coming from one person.

Then one night, while praying with Alpha Hour, I heard the footsteps again and then the hushed voices. The door shut and didn’t open again. The gossip in me got curious. I wanted to know what had been happening, so at dawn, around 4 a.m., when I heard the footsteps and hushed voices again, I got up to see what was happening.

When I opened my door, I saw the back of a man going down the stairs. He had come from Ann’s room.

I shook my head and went back inside.

Not long afterwards, I was coming home very late when I saw this same man getting out of his car and entering the house. I allowed a gap between us until he entered our corridor, and then I followed. He disappeared before I got to the corridor.

I needed no more evidence that the man had been coming to Ann’s room.

So when Eto came on his next trip, I told him what had been happening behind his back.

“A man comes around when you’re not around.”

He smiled and then stayed still. He asked if I was sure, and I told him, “At least once every week, he comes late and leaves very early. I’ve seen him and heard them several times.”

His smile faded, and his demeanour changed to a worried one.

He said, “Herrrh, you’ve worried me papa. Now I don’t even know what to say or do. You’ve worried me ooo. Hmmm.”

I was confused. I told him if he didn’t believe me, he should keep his eyes on the floor and his ears in the air. He would catch them very soon.

Then one late evening, he came to knock on my door. He had come unannounced to see if he could catch them. He opened their door, and Ann wasn’t there.

“Oyiwa!” I screamed. “Didn’t I tell you? You didn’t believe me, right?”

So that night, we both waited at the door, waiting to see when she would come in. We would go downstairs and stay in front of the house to see the car that would drop her off.

He told me their story, how they started small from Beach Road, where Ann had gone to do her national service. How, for the past two years, they had built together.

“Bro, I’ve done knocking ooo. Everyone in her family knows I’m the one marrying her. I paid for this place even though we are not married yet. As we speak, I’m looking for a job in Accra so I can join her before we marry.”

Ann came home around 8 a.m., looking like she had been chilling all night. Once she alighted from the Uber, I walked to my room and left them there.

They both rushed into the room, and the argument was heated. I could hear him shouting, “Where are you coming from looking like a whore? You think I don’t know what you’ve been doing?”

I was scared something might happen and my bro would end up behind bars. His voice had terror in it. I went to knock.

I said, “My man, I’m scared. Everyone can hear you. I beg, no matter what, don’t hit her, I beg.”

No matter what I said or how long I waited, he didn’t open the door.

Soon, all I heard was the sound of things falling down. I went out, and Eto was throwing her things out of the room. She was begging and crying. She asked me to beg on her behalf.

“I will leave if you want me to leave, but please give me time. I will pack out. I beg you in the name of God.”

What Caused The Breakup Between You And Your Ex?

He locked the door and stepped out. When the car came to carry her things out of the house, I was the same person who helped her out.

The keys have come back to me again. Eto says I should look for someone to rent the place so he can get his balance. There are fridges, a TV, microwaves, and other electronics she left behind. Eto said he bought them, so if I can sell them for him, he would be happy.

Sometimes, I feel very bad about the outcome of events. I have become the biblical stumbling block that destroyed what was meant to be together.

It’s lonely here these days. No Ann. No buzzing sound. No dawn footsteps. And no Eto to call me bro. I will forever be at the centre of their breakup, and that also worries me sometimes. But bro is a bro, and no bro deserves to end up with a hoe.

—Aarnold

This story you just read was sent to us by someone just like you. We know you have a story too. Email it to us at [email protected]. You can also drop your number and we will call you so you tell us your story.

******