cracks.
783 Words
Chapter 5
The smile on my face lasted all the way home.
I replayed the day in my mind—the hugs, the laughter, the cake, the way Afolabi had smiled when he said, "We made it."
For a few hours...
I had forgotten what home felt like.
I pushed open the front gate quietly.
As I walked toward the front door, voices drifted from around the side of the house.
One of them belonged to my stepfather.
The other...
Wasn't my mum's.
Curiosity slowed my footsteps.
I turned the corner.
There he was.
Standing far too close to another woman.
He reached for her hand.
She laughed.
Then he leaned in and embraced her.
My breath caught in my throat.
For a moment, the world went completely silent.
The same man my mum defended...
The same man she expected me to respect...
Was smiling at someone else the way he never smiled at us.
I stood frozen, unable to move.
I hadn't meant to see it.
But now...
I couldn't pretend I hadn't.
My lips parted...
But no words came out.
I couldn't say anything.
Not because I was afraid of him.
But because I already knew what would happen.
Mum wouldn't believe me.
Or maybe she would...
And somehow, it would still become my fault.
So I stood there, hidden behind the corner, watching a truth that was never meant for my eyes.
A strange ache settled in my chest.
I wanted to cry.
I wanted to scream.
Instead...
I wiped the tears that had begun to gather in my eyes, took a shaky breath, and quietly walked to the front door as if I had seen nothing at all.
Some secrets don't stay hidden because they're impossible to tell.
They stay hidden because telling them changes nothing.
That afternoon...
I chose silence.
Not because it was easy.
But because it was the only thing that felt safe.
I was about to walk away when something caught my eye.
The woman laughed as she adjusted the cardigan draped over her shoulders.
My heart stopped.
It wasn't just any cardigan.
It was my mum's.
The tiny tear near the sleeve...
The faded button she had promised to replace...
I knew it.
I had seen her wear it countless times.
My fingers tightened around my school bag.
How did she get it?
My stepfather noticed the cardigan and smiled.
"It looks better on you anyway," he said.
The woman laughed again.
The sound echoed in my ears.
I looked away.
I couldn't watch anymore.
With trembling hands, I unlocked the front door and slipped inside as quietly as I could.
Somehow...
The silence inside the house hurt even more than what I had just seen outside.
Just as I reached for the front door...
Honk! Honk!
My mum's car horn echoed from the gate.
The woman froze.
For a split second, panic flashed across her face.
Then she took off.
She hurried across the compound, clutching my mum's cardigan against her chest, disappearing through the back gate without looking back.
My stepfather quickly straightened his shirt, ran a hand through his hair, and forced a smile onto his face as if nothing had happened.
I stood there, unable to move.
Moments later, my mum walked in, carrying shopping bags and wearing the same warm smile she always reserved for him.
"You're home!" she called happily.
My stepfather walked over and kissed her forehead as though he hadn't just betrayed her a few seconds earlier.
I looked from him...
To my mum...
Then lowered my eyes.
The truth sat heavily in my chest.
But I couldn't say a word.
I swallowed everything I had seen.
Every question.
Every tear.
Every word.
I buried them deep inside me.
"Mum..." I called softly.
She looked up from unpacking the shopping bags.
"Hmm?"
A small smile found its way back onto my face.
"I... I got selected as a prefect today."
For a second, I waited.
I waited for her to smile.
To tell me she was proud.
To hug me.
To say "Congratulations."
Instead, she shrugged.
"So?"
The single word hit harder than I expected.
"It's just a prefect position, Luna. Don't act like you've won an award."
I felt my smile slowly disappear.
"I just thought you'd be happy for me."
She didn't even look at me.
"Go and keep your bag. There's work to do."
That was it.
No congratulations.
No excitement.
Nothing.
I nodded quietly.
"Okay, Mum."
As I walked toward my room, I realized something.
The people who celebrated me today...
Were the ones who weren't even family.
And the person I wanted to hear 'I'm proud of you' from the most...
- Writer
