Talk To Me

15. Tell me your secret

"She's not a bad person, just a bit... wounded, you know?" Swalha said, as if she'd discovered the cure to everything. "She keeps acting out with Kind because she wants to be punished by you, Kind. It's glaringly obvious what she's up to, I don't know why none of you can see it."

Kind had called her earlier to check on Cherry, but Swalha had sneakily invited him over, claiming she had something important to discuss.

Cherry, for his part, looked utterly perplexed. "What do you mean she's hurting? I'm the one with a sprained nose! I couldn't care less if she was in a blind rage or having an existential crisis, Swalha. You should've seen her. She was like a wild animal. I hardly recognised her!" Cherry's voice trembled as he spoke, clearly still shaken from the incident. "I need time away from her. I need to reconsider this whole relationship," he finished, shooting Kind a glance that was loaded with accusation. Kind, bewildered, turned to Swalha.

"What did I do?" he asked, confused.

"Cherry, enough with the death stares, it's not his fault," Swalha interjected, before turning to Kind with her usual nonchalance. "He thinks Wale's in love with you."

Kind blinked. "What? What on earth made him think that?"

Cherry observed the two of them, her eyes narrowing. Kind looked like a deer caught in headlights, while Swalha was far too blasé, as though this was just a casual Tuesday revelation.

"You're both hiding something," Cherry concluded, crossing her arms.

Swalha sighed, as if she had been waiting for this moment for years. "Look, Cherry, I've been telling you for years that your fiancé isn't playing with a full deck, and you've brushed it off every single time. The same goes for you, Kind. I don't claim to know all the details of Wale's childhood, but I do know enough to say she's still carrying a boatload of trauma. Not to excuse her behaviour, let's be clear on that, but if we want to get to the bottom of this, we need to face facts. Wale needs help. Professional help. Unfortunately, of course, the only person she'll probably listen to is you, Kind."

The room descended into a heated debate for what felt like hours, but eventually, Swalha managed to get the pair to listen. "Look, Wale's behaviour follows a pattern when it comes to you, Kind. It's as if you're her emotional anchor. I'd say 'oxygen,' but I'm trying not to provoke Cherry into a jealous rage." She glanced at Cherry, who remained stoically silent, so she pressed on. "Every time you're absent, it shakes her up. To you, she's just a girl, but to her? You're her whole world. You're the only thing keeping her tethered to any sense of sanity. When you came into her life, it was as if her first taste of trust after a lifetime of betrayal came to fruition."

Kind and Cherry exchanged baffled looks, clearly struggling to make sense of what Swalha was saying. It all sounded like something out of a bad soap opera.

"Questions?" Swalha asked, her tone almost too cheery.

Cherry raised his hand like he was in school. "Yes, just the one. Are you suggesting I've been engaged to a full-blown psychopath all these years? And if so, where does that leave me in all of this? I payed a dime for our engagement rings!"

Swalha sighed. "Again, Wale isn't beyond help. She needs to speak to a professional, someone who isn't me mind you, but, of course, Wale being Wale, she won't agree to that. I've suggested it before. Multiple times, actually. She brushed it off every single time. Even so, the fact remains, you might be the only one who can actually get through to her, Kind. You were the first person she opened up to after her parents died. Have you ever asked her what happened?"

Kind paused. He had asked, years ago, but Wale had always deflected with some joke about being allowed to call him 'Bunny' in exchange for a proper answer. Kind had never let her, and after a while, she'd stopped asking. Things had only gotten more complicated once his feelings for Wale shifted into... well, more-than-friendly territory, and then when Cherry entered the picture during their university years, everything became a mess.

"I've probably made things worse," Kind admitted, his voice low. "There are things I can't talk about, things she told me in confidence, but Cherry, I don't think you're right about Wale's feelings for me. I found her this morning, passed out on the couch with an old photo album of the two of you. She hates sleeping on the couch, and she hates being alone. If she were really into me, would she be torturing herself like that?"

Cherry blinked back tears. "I came by last night, around midnight, to grab a few things. You were asleep in your old room, but I saw her in the living room. She looked... lost. Just sitting there, staring into space."

His resolve crumbled as Kind's words sank in, and the tears finally spilled over. "Swalha, if what you're saying is true, she does need help. As a man, I'm embarrassed to say this but I still think there's something between her and Kind that goes beyond friendship. I always thought of you two like siblings, but now... I don't know. Maybe I've been blind, but she cares about you more than anyone else, including me and as you know, a jealous man is a dangerous man. I don't know what I would do to you if I discover my suspicions correct."

The room fell into an awkward silence. Swalha, ever the pragmatist, decided it was time to lay all the cards on the table.

"Look, if we're going to pull Wale back from the brink, we need to face some uncomfortable truths. Each of us is hiding something. It's time we air those secrets, even if they hurt. Are we all on the same page?"

The silence stretched on, thicker than treacle. Kind knew what Swalha was asking. He could keep quiet, say nothing, and run off to Todo. Or he could come clean, but that would mean confessing something that would likely have Cherry hating him for the rest of his life. He was tired of running, though. He owed Todo, and himself, the truth.

Taking a deep breath, Kind looked directly at Cherry and said, "I've been in love with Wale since I was sixteen."

Swalha almost smiled at his sudden bravery. It wasn't the gradual confession she'd hoped for, but she understood the weight of Kind's burden. He had been holding on to this secret for over a decade, all while playing matchmaker for the person he loved. No wonder he'd bolted with Todo; he'd been suffocating under the pressure.

Cherry's face hardened. "I knew I had a reason to despise you," he spat. "I've never liked you, not since the day I met you."

"Cherry, calm down. This is a safe space," Swalha said, ever the mediator. "You owe Kind a secret too, remember?"

Cherry shot her a glare that could have melted steel. "Swalha, if you say one word, we're done. For good."

Kind watched them, curiosity piqued but hesitant to push further.

Cherry exhaled sharply. "Fine. I'll say it. I've been approached by Wale's family, repeatedly, to... betray her, and I have. I've given them information on her, multiple times."

Kind recoiled, shocked. Even Swalha looked stunned.

"And," Cherry continued, his voice bitter, "I convinced her you were the mole, Kind. That's why I'm convinced she loves you. Despite thinking you were betraying her, she still went after you. How could I compete with that? So I settled for being second best, keeping a close eye on you."

He reached up, resting his fingers along the back of Kind's neck where Wale had left her mark. "Are you seeing your girlfriend after this?"

Kind, bewildered by the sudden shift in tone, nodded. "Uh... yes?"

"Good," Cherry replied with a too-sweet smile. "Then I suggest you be on your way."