No.
Was he alright?
I started towards the door, but my phone buzzed. As I opened it, three messages were already there, making me swallow hard.
Dad:Adek, I’ll be staying at a friend’s house again tonight. Tell your brother not to pick me up.
Mas Bibu:Where are you? Where did you go with Zioh? Share your location now, Tshabina.
+6289765: *photo*
49
Zioh
Voices echoed as if I were underwater.
My body moved, but it didn’t feel like mine; everything around me felt a step too far.
I stared at Tshabina.
Her face was etched with pain—and yet, still full of trust in me.I’m so fucking sorry.
I took a breath. Once. Twice.
I couldn’t believe anything inside me. I didn’t have anything to hold on to. I remembered her words that night, when she told me that someday she wouldn’t have anything left to stay for. That was why I couldn’t make another mistake, because this time, I’d lose her for good.
She’d see me differently.
Like they all did.
She looked at me, and those hazel eyes made me remember how to breathe again. She calmed the storm, like a string holding me back from the abyss.
As the silence fell between us, the overwhelming weight and the noise crept back to consume me.
I shoved my hand into my pocket and grabbed my phone.
Him. Her.
They plotted something.
Everything was always right.He wanted to torture me in the worst way.
I opened the CCTV app and scrolled through the hundreds of feeds from that house. My fingers shook as I tapped into the dining room. Empty. No one was there anymore. Scrolling again, I found Living Room 3, beside the dining room.
There they were. Zaeem, Zeraiah, and Cindy.
My body went stiff. I tapped the speaker icon and plugged in my AirPods. Their voices split through—shouts, curses.
Zaeem dragged Cindy towards the lift, ordering her to leave. But she fought like a demon, thrashing and screaming, making Zeraiah shout back at her.
“ARGHHHHH!” Cindy’s scream cracked the air as she shoved Zaeem back.
She tore open her bag, rummaging like a lunatic. Then she yanked out a few brown file folders, waving them high, her eyes sharp with triumph. “I have plenty! Plenty! So don’t you dare mess with me!” she shrieked.
I stared at those file folders, and my heart stuttered. The contents were easy to guess—there were only three possibilities. Something about me. About Zeraiah. Or about… Mum.
Zeraiah lunged at her again, fury in every step, and Zaeem had to restrain him once more. I shut my eyes as unease circled my mind and unbearable tension ripped through me.
