The Truth About Mariam

Chapter 15

★★★

Asake.

I dug my hands into my coat pocket as i brought out my phone. It was 4:30. It was getting late.

I saw Hillary and a little girl walking towards me on the street. He waved at me with that cheery smile of his.

"Long time, no see heh?" He shook me, "This is my little sister, Noel, Asake,Asake, Noel."
I looked down at the little girl, she was really cute. "How are you?" I smiled at her touching her cheeks.

"I'm fine. I'm three years old" She said smiling back at me.

Cute.

Too bad her brother was a big jerk. "So any news about university?" He asks me and I look at me and shake my head "No, nothing yet, hoping"

"Found a job yet?" I ask him removing the coat and hanging it on my hand.

He nods his head, "Yes actually, I work as a teacher in a school just down this street. I've forgotten the name. Started work last week. And how about you?"

"I don't know yet, I think I want to go into a catering school for now, learn how to cook, the basis"

"Cool, Cool. Still on your little phase about finding Mariam's killer?" He asks me

"Yes and it isn't a phase. She was your friend too, why didn't you even bother to find out what happened to her?"

" Those things are meant to be handled by the police, not mere teenagers like us. I can't risk it, can't risk being traced by the killer. I don't want to end up like Mariam. Yes she was my friend but she's dead and we got to accept that."

This same discussion ...

"But, As I told you, you don't know about Mariam than I do. If you really want to help in finding her killer which I think you shouldn't because it's dangerous. Try to know a thing or two about Mariam and her family. It's messed up."

"Oh sure. Yeah, so i got to get going. Been a while, you are getting taller. Cute thing you have there" I smile back at Noel. Nice name also.

"Ouch, what does that mean? I am not cute?" He fakes a broken heart.

I laugh and playfully tap his arm, "You aren't cute, you are handsome. But not what we are discussing about now."

"Admit it!" He smirked.

"Admit what?"  "Admit that I'm handsome, say it, yes, come on"

I glare at him playfully, "You won't hear it from me the second time. So long sucker, and bye Noel." I wave at her and skip across the street.

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"Good, thank God you are home. I need to talk to you about something."
I closed the door and placed my bag on the chair as I hop to the couch beside my mom.

She was looking so pale, dull also. I bet she was crying, she had bags under her eyes and she didn't look healthy.

"Is dad home?" I ask her tapping the couch

She looks at me and sighs, "Your dad isn't coming back. He divorced me, your dad married another woman, he signed the divorce papers last week. He said he didn't want to do anything with any of us. He left the house for us and he parked his bags and left the house."

Wow, this was hard to process "So, all this why, Dad has been trying to leave us, forget us and abandon his children just like that. For what Mom?"

"I don't know. He said he wasn't happy with our marriage. He needs to go away, that we are a threat to him and I didn't even understand what he meant by all that."She sobbed and I hated to see her cry.

Why was Dad doing all this and why this time? After so many years, why?

The Dad I knew loved my Mom and also us, no dull moments with him. "Does Rotimi know about this too?" I ask her

She nods her head and mutters 'Yes he does, he heard everything and ran up to his room"

I left my mom and ran to Rotimi's room
"It's Asake, come on, open the door. Dad isn't here anymore. Just open the door"

And the door opened, he was crying, cleaning his nose with his shirt.

How was I going to explain to my brother when even I myself don't understand a thing that's going on.

I walked in and close the door, I sat down on his bed while he sat beside me.

"What did you hear? What did Dad tell you and Mom?" I asked him

He sniffed, "He didnt tell me anything, he told Mom. He told her that he was going to leave her, and the house belonged to us, he doesn't want to have anything to do with us. He was holding a paper and he said that he has signed him and Mummy cried harder when he said that.  Is it true? Is it true that Daddy is leaving us? Most of my classmates and friends also, their daddy left them, would that happen to me too?"

For a kid, he really was smart and had a sharp mouth.

I didn't know what to say, I couldn't give him any fake promises saying that Dad would be back, I can't raise his hopes up .

"It's for God to decide, I don't know, I truly don't know." I tell him honestly.

"Why is life unfair? First, your friend
Mariam died, then Dad leaves us."

"What! ,Don't say that ever. You are too young to say life is