Daddy's little Secret

part SIX

Confused.

After Tolu's funeral, Wale drove me home. The awkward silence between us had made the drive seem longer than it was. I knew it was my fault, I knew that I had to apologise because it wasn't his fault that two people I cared for were dead. But I was so sad and I had been carrying so much misplaced anger.

I had answered him earlier in such a way that was uncalled for, when all he wanted to know was if I was okay, like he was responsible for my grief.

Usually he would've asked to come in to stay for a while, it was his means of checking on me. But today, he hadn't.

Instead when we got to the front door, he placed the keys to my dad's jeep in my palm and proceeded to walk away. I felt so bad, I had to say something.

"Wale, wait. Please."

Ever since my sister had died, Wale had been the only one that stuck around. I tried to understand why considering how he didn't have any reasons to but I didn't have anybody else, so I stopped trying to create one for him.

"I'm sorry." I said.

He stopped walking but kept his back towards me so I couldn't see his face. His hands were in his pocket and his head facing the ground.

"I shouldn't have spoken to you that way. I was angry and you didn't deserve that. If anything, you're the only person that has cared to stand by me during this time."

He turned and looked at me for some seconds, right into my eyes. I felt uneasy so I broke the contact and continued to get things off my chest. "Thank you for everything and I'm so sorry Wale, you're like a brother to m-

My words were caught off by his urgent strides towards me and the hug he delivered that was so tight, it almost knocked the wind out of me.

The thing is, these past weeks, Wale always knew when I was done speaking. I don't know how, but he did, every single time and he always let me finish before he did or said anything. So today, it wasn't all right.

I stood there in his embrace, frozen and flummoxed, with his face buried in my neck. He must've sensed my lack of reciprocation because he then withdrew but still stood so close to me.

When he eventually broke the silence, he said words I didn't understand. "Fola, I'm not your brother and you're not like a sister to me."

I stood there dumbfounded and perplexed, then I watched him walk away from the house.

"Kilo n'sele?" I whispered to no one.

I could only wonder within me what he meant by those words. I didn't even want to consider the implication of them because he was my sister's boyfriend, my dead sister for goodness' sake. And today was just the fourth day since she'd been buried.

I didn't want to consider anything so I stopped clutching my chest and unlocked the door to my father's house, and pretended that Wale's words weren't playing in my head.