Cont'd Of (The Explanation)
732 Words
Chapter 3.
The night I broke up with you wasn't the first time someone warned me to stay away from you.
I couldn't speak.
Who?
He didn't answer.
Damian.
His eyes held mine.
I need time.
I almost laughed.
Time?
Yes.
You've had three years.
I know.
Then why didn't you tell me three years ago?
His face hardened.
Because I was trying to make sure you stayed alive.
The words hit me like a slap.
Everything inside me went still.
What?
He looked away.
And for the first time, I noticed something I'd never seen before.
Fear.
Not regret.
Not guilt.
Fear.
Real fear.
He looked back at me.
I should never have let you believe I stopped loving you.
My voice came out barely above a whisper.
Then what should I believe?
He didn't answer.
I walked away.
This time, he didn't follow me.
And somehow, that frightened me more than if he had.
---
By the time I got home, my hands were shaking.
I dropped my keys on the table and stood in the middle of my living room.
Your father knew.
Someone warned me.
Stay away from you.
Alive.
The words repeated themselves until they stopped sounding like words and started sounding like fragments from a nightmare.
My father had been dead for six years.
He had nothing to do with Damian.
Nothing.
At least, that's what I thought.
I reached for my phone.
There was a missed call from Nia.
I called her.
She answered immediately.
Are you okay?
No.
Silence.
What happened?
I sat down.
Damian said something strange.
What?
I swallowed.
He said Dad knew.
There was silence on the other end.
Not the confused silence I expected.
Something else.
Something heavier.
Nia?
She didn't answer.
Nia.
Finally, she spoke.
What exactly did he say?
I repeated everything.
When I finished, she was quiet again.
Nia, say something.
I don't know what he's talking about.
You're lying.
I'm not.
You are.
She sighed.
Amara...
What?
I think you should stop talking to Damian.
My stomach dropped.
Why?
I just do.
That's not an answer.
It's the only one I have.
No.
I stood.
You know something.
I don't.
You know something.
Amara
Why did you go quiet when I mentioned Dad?
She didn't answer.
And in that silence, I understood.
There was something.
Maybe she didn't know what it was.
Maybe she knew exactly what it was.
But there was something.
Tell me.
I can't.
Why?
Because I promised.
My blood ran cold.
Promised who?
Nia didn't answer.
Nia.
I have to go.
Don't you dare hang up.
The line went dead.
I stood there with my phone pressed against my ear.
My sister had never lied to me well.
She had never been good at secrets.
But that wasn't the part that scared me.
The part that scared me was the word she had used.
Promised.
I walked to the window.
Outside, Lagos moved beneath the fading afternoon light.
People were going home.
Cars filled the road.
Someone was selling roasted corn across the street.
Everything looked normal.
But my life no longer did.
Three years ago, I thought Damian Cole had broken my heart because he stopped loving me.
Yesterday, I thought seeing him again was the beginning of an old wound reopening.
Today, I wasn't sure of anything anymore.
Because maybe Damian hadn't walked back into my life to ask for forgiveness.
Maybe he had come back because the truth was finally tired of being buried.
And somewhere in that truth was my father.
My sister.
A warning.
And a reason Damian had been willing to let me hate him for three years.
I looked down at my phone.
A new message appeared.
From Damian.
Damian: I'm sorry.
I stared at it.
Then another message arrived.
Damian: But there's something you need to know before you decide whether you ever want to see me again.
I didn't reply.
The third message came.
Damian: Your father didn't die knowing nothing about what happened to us.
My breath caught.
I read it again.
And again.
Then I sat down slowly.
For three years, I had believed my father had died without ever knowing what Damian had done to me.
Now, for the first time, I wondered if perhaps he had known all along.
And if he had...
Why had nobody ever told me?
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