Things would begin to make sense only for them to get worse.

Everyone wanted the truth but no one could handle it. The ultimate truth was: nothing was black and white. And most times, no one was completely right or completely wrong.

Sometimes the truth would hit you like a bulldozer.

Did you want the truth?

Then get ready to come crumbling down.

◈ ━━━━━━━ ⸙ - ⸙ ━━━━━━━ ◈

ＮＩＮＥ ＭＯＮＴＨＳ ＥＡＲＬＩＥＲ

Dele couldn't take it anymore, he asked Kasy to step away from the door. He went back and slammed his feet against the metal doors a few times before it bulged with a thundering sound as it swung open.

The duo immediately ran inside.

But it was already too late.

Only one man was standing.

It seemed like the world was spinning as they all stood at the rooftop, or maybe it was just the chilly wind.

Kasy had seen it, right after the doors and swung open, she'd seen Zehan push the other boy standing at the edge. At that moment as she slowly walked to the edge and looked down, looking at a lifeless Ismael in his pool of blood, Adam a feet away from the body, screaming, her head was spinning and she stepped back.

She couldn't even say anything. Dele had been the one doing all the yelling.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Dele was holding onto Zehan by the collar. Rage was the only thing visible in Dele's eyes. Zehan tried to push him off but his efforts were fruitless. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Zehan! Why did you push him!"

"Adam! Check if he's breathing!" Kasy yelled down at Adam who stood beside the body in shock after she found her voice. Adam was standing in front of the building when Ismael came falling. Kasy could only imagine.

Adam was shaking but didn't move an inch towards Ismael.

"Adam! Adam!" Kasy kept shouting his name. He could hear her but he was just standing there staring at the pool of blood grow bigger and bigger.

"I didn't push him! Leave me alone!" Zehan yelled back.

"You're a mad person!"

"Let me go!"

"Adam! Adam!"

Wham! A slap.

"Adam! Adam!"

"Bastard! Let me go, now!"

"You're a psycho!"

"Adam!"

Adam finally looked up with bloodshot, glassy eyes. He was still shaking. "His head is cracked open!" he snapped and Kasy's heart stopped.

She turned around and pushed past Zehan and Dele who already seemed to be in a fight. Zehan broke free from Dele and ran after Kasy. Dele followed suit.

In no time, four people were staring at Ismael's body. Kasy looked around to see if there was possibly still anyone in school that could help them. Adam looked like he would start crying blood any moment. Dele watched the creamy, thick substance that seeped out of the side of Ismael's head-his brain.

Zehan's breath hitched. He couldn't breathe anymore.

Kasy was able to get the school security officer but that was the last thing she remembered happening before the sound of the ambulance and Monica Essien's deafening wailing brought her back to reality.

Kendrick and her father were suddenly there.

Students who lived close by had returned too.

Someone must've called the police as well.

A police officer was speaking to Kasy but she could swear she couldn't hear him-not when she watched them cover Ismael's body after declaring him dead.

An officer stood in front of Dele and Mr. Akindele as well but Dele's eyes were too bloodshot and watery to see anything.

Ten people couldn't hold Monica Essien that evening.

Raheem sat on the floor, next to the blood, holding onto his chest and possibly trying to control breathing.

Zehan was nowhere in sight but Kasy was sure it was just her vision playing tricks on her. She didn't want to see his face anyway.

Adam was a crying mess, they couldn't get anything out of him either.

The school premises was packed all of a sudden. Where had all these people been when they needed them?

The siren of the ambulance seemed to be making Monica wail more and that made Kasy tear up too. Everything was happening so fast yet, it was happening in slow motion.

Dele sent a glare at Zehan's figure as he sat on the floor next to his father with his face buried in his palms before he got into the car with his father and left.

To Kasy, every voice had become mute. She watched he father say something as he caressed her cheek but to her, he was only moving his lips. She felt her brother's hands on her shoulder as he led her to the car.

She wasn't sure she'd ever been able to sleep again.

◈ ━━━━━━━ ⸙ - ⸙ ━━━━━━━ ◈

Casper Bassey sent a video.

Kasy turned off the volume of her phone and played the video. It was a Castron High basketball game and it was rowdy. She could see Casper on the court with the ball in his hands.

Turned out he has just sent the footage of him scoring because the video ended immediately after spectators went wild. He'd been spamming her with pictures and videos lately but she wasn't complaining, he seemed pretty pumped to meet her.

Kasy K
Show off 😏
4:43 PM

"Is that Casper?" The familiar deep, husky voice asked beside her.

Kasy had forgotten for a second that Dele had been walking her home, and using the opportunity to take Scott for a walk as well.

"Yeah," she replied before turning off her phone and shoving it into her blazer pocket.

Dele tightened his grip on the dog's leash as it pulled forward, walking with haste and eagerness. He turned to look at Kasy. "So... You guys are really serious?"

When Kasy turned to look at him, he realized that must've been a stupid question to ask with the way she looked at him. He just wanted to know if he'd lost his admirer -as stupid as it sounded.

Strangely, knowing that Kasy had a crush on him always made him feel good...wanted, even. And he had only realized that after he found out she was dating someone. The news made him feel like she would no longer crush over him. Now he thought of it, that was the main reason he'd kissed her-to show her what she was missing.

His thoughts and actions weren't genuine or straightforward, he knew that but he just couldn't help it. He was just a confused, complicated person that shouldn't be allowed to socialize with human beings.

Dele should only be allowed to interact with dogs. Like Scott and Stiles, for example, there was no way he could hurt their feelings. Because it seemed that was the only thing he was good at and that might not be his fault.

"I mean, should we be expecting couple goal vibes from you guys next week? He's coming for the competition, right?" He smiled in contrast to the way he was feeling.

Kasy took a while to understand what he meant. Of course, everyone was expecting her and Casper to be dishing hot girlfriend-boyfriend vibes at the Olympics and Kasy was still trying to come up with a plan.

Maybe she should just ditch the whole thing entirely.

"Casper is like a very private person so don't expect anything...extreme." She forced a smile. She was pretty sure the devil himself would salute such an elegant lie.

"Of course," was all Dele said and equally forced a smile before looking ahead at the relatively empty street. The upper ring of Newland Estate was always like that: lonely.

Kasy phone vibrated nearly ten times in her pocket and she had to pull it out.

Casper Bassey sent a photo

Casper Bassey sent a photo

Casper Bassey sent a photo

Casper Bassey sent a photo

Casper Bassey sent a photo

Casper Bassey sent a photo

They were all pictures of his shirtless self. The pictures seemed to be taken at the gym as he posed for the camera-his well-outlined abs in full display.

Kasy gulped.

Casper Bassey
Now THAT is showing off 😎
4:56 PM

Casper Bassey
You like?
4:56 PM

Dele cleared his throat awkwardly. "Things must really be serious."

Kasy sighed. Why was he peaking into her phone?

She didn't say anything to Dele as she went ahead to reply Casper.

Kasy K
Wow😮
4:57 PM

Kasy K
❤❤❤❤❤
4:57 PM

Kasy K
GTG
We'll talk later
4:58 PM

She turned off her data connection and put the phone in her pocket once more before releasing a sigh.

"So, he's sending you nudes now?" Dele asked, turning briefly to look at Kasy.

Kasy threw her head back and groaned loudly. That made Dele chuckle.

"Please, just pretend like you didn't see anything," she pleaded but Dele wasn't taking her seriously with the way he smirked devilishly.

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds before Dele blurted out something he immediately regretted.

"So, does he know we kissed?"

He mentally face palmed himself and if he wasn't holding onto the dog's leash, he probably would've covered his mouth to avoid spitting out any more trash.

Kasy's eyes doubled size for a second as she tried to process his question and tried to find words to reply. "Err...uh..."

"Don't answer that, don't mind me." Dele chuckled awkwardly, saving Kasy from her misery. Of course, he didn't know they had kissed.

Dele had been having doubts about the whole relationship thing with Casper but now, he was witnessing it firsthand the way the guy was spamming her DM with shirtless pictures. He wasn't sure he liked this Casper guy.

He wondered what would happen if he found out he kissed Kasy. Food for thought.

"You're not going to tell him, are you?" Kasy asked as though she had read his mind.

Dele scoffed. "Why would I do that? That would be childish."

Kasy sighed out of relief.

No one said anything as they approached Kasy's house. They were now in her street and the sky was getting darker by the minute.

After they had gotten Stiles from the clinic, they went straight to Dele's house. They had talked a little about the debate and how ridiculous the topics were before finding something to eat. Stiles had been asleep by the time Kasy decided to go and Dele decided he should take the healthy dog for a walk while escorting her. He had changed into a plain black T-shirt and fitting red ankara shorts which Kasy quietly admired.

There had always been something about Dele's home clothing that Kasy was curious about. If it wasn't Ankara shorts, then it was Ankara shirts to match or simply plain coloured shirts with Ankara print pockets sewn onto them. She'd asked him once and he simply shrugged and laughed it off.

There were only three streets in the upper ring of the estate and Dele and Annika lived on the last on one. Kasy lived on the first.

One could hardly tell when they'd entered a new street because they all were the same. Extravagantly huge houses, sky-high gates, smooth, one-way roads, and an extremely quiet atmosphere. It was almost like no one lived on the side of the estate but the spotless, brand-new-looking vehicles that occasionally sped past proved that theory wrong.

"Do you think," Kasy started, ending the silence, "that Zehan is still angry with us? It's been like...more than a month since he came back. He seemed to have cooled off."

Kasy watched Dele shrug as he stared ahead. "What's my business? The dude is sick somewhere and he's been doing a good job at staying out of my way, thank God."

"That's exactly the point," Kasy breathed out, "he's been too...calm. Especially since he wanted revenge and all that."

"Abeg," Dele rolled his eyes slightly, "let me hear word. He can't do more than a housefly. He was just saying things as all mad people do. I don't know why you're worked up about it."

Kasy shrugged as well. Maybe Dele was right. He had just said things out of anger. Zehan seemed better off now. They might never be friends again, or ever be in speaking terms but he was good-that was all that mattered.

She was going to tell Dele how she missed their friendship but she thought against it. She seemed to be the only one missing it because Zehan and Adam were closer than ever and Dele had found a new clique, she was the odd man out.

Kasy only realized they'd gotten to her house after Dele and his dog had stopped walking.

Dele looked up at the tall yellow-painted building behind the brown gates. He sighed and his lips tugged at the corner in a smile. It had been a while.

"So... I'll see you tomorrow?" Kasy said, adjusting the straps of her backpack as she stood in front of her gate.

Dele smiled warmly. "Sure," he said.

For some reason, Scott was barking at the brown gate as Kasy disappeared inside after the gateman responded to her knock.

Dele turned in the direction they had just come from and they continued their walk back home.

• • •

Kasy stood in front of her mirror trying to take a decent mirror selfie she could send to Casper. It wasn't turning out as good as she'd hoped.

She turned on the royal blue lights in the room and wallah, there it was.

She took a couple of snaps before she heard her father yelling her name from wherever he was. She let out a loud groan as she quickly sent the pictures to Casper.

"Nkasi!" the man's voice was too loud for her liking.

"I'm coming!" she had yelled back or else he wouldn't give up.

She was about to drop her phone and head out but she didn't get the chance, because the next thing she knew, her door flew open and Kenneth Kanayo stood there wearing a white vest and black shorts.

"Dad-" Kasy didn't finish her sentence because her father had lifted her off the floor and thrown her over his right shoulder. She could only scream as they left her room.

"Since you refused to come willingly, you'll come by force," he said amidst her screaming.

Kasy laughed and screamed at the same time. He was fond of doing things like this but he had to understand that she wasn't a child anymore.

They got to the stairs and he ran down the stairs as though he wasn't carrying a sixteen-year-old on his shoulder. Kasy screamed more. "Daddy, take it easy!"

She could only see things after he'd walked past them and before she could say Jack Robinson, her butt landed on a chair at the dining table.

It took a few seconds to recover from her dizziness but when she did, she took in the sight before and my, it was such a sight to behold.

"Wow," Kasy breathed out, "this is a lot." She was referring to the food.

Jollof rice, fried rice, vegetable salad, fruit salad, and most importantly, the well-garnished turkey that lay majestically in the middle of the table.

Where had he found the time? And besides, the food might have looked good but did it taste good? They both knew he was a chef in the making. Kenneth Kanayo loved to try out new things and a while back, cooking had piqued his interest.

"Bon appetite," he said, grinning from the other side of the table. "Or, no don't eat yet. Wait a few more minutes." He suddenly changed his mind.

The lights in the dining area were a dim yellow and it made everything glow in the dark, just like candles. The unnecessarily large sitting room before them was intentionally poorly lit as well. The huge flat-screen TV was the main source of light. It had always been that way and Kasy wasn't coming, it made everything cozy.

"So you carried me here to come and eat with my eyes?" Kasy chuckled, she didn't know how much longer she could sit there without grabbing the turkey leg she'd been eyeing.

When the doorbell rang, Kasy suddenly noticed the plate placed in front of the empty chair beside her. "Is someone joining us?" she asked her father but he was already bolting towards the door to receive his guest.

Whoever it was didn't wait for Kenneth to get to the door because Kasy heard the door creak open before he dad even got there.

There were muffled voices of what seemed to be a very awkward exchange of pleasantries and Kasy was disappointed when she noticed their visitor's figure belonged to a male.

Just when she thought her father had gotten a serious girlfriend.

Come to think of it, for the past few weeks, her dad hadn't brought home any of his numerous one-night stands.

Kasy didn't need to look any further because both men approached the dining and soon, she could make out Kendrick's face.

Her face immediately lit up and he smiled on seeing her as well. She never thought her brother would ever step foot in their house again. Her father must've taken her advice and sorted things out with him. Or maybe that was still a work in progress judging by the way both men were just acting awkward.

Kasy couldn't stop staring at her brother as he took the seat next to her. She just couldn't believe it.

Their father about getting wine and he disappeared from the dining soon after. Kasy turned to face her brother. She slapped his shoulder hard with the back of her palm.

"You!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming! I thought you swore to never be caught dead here," she joked and Kendrick gave her a look that said he'd never said such.

"I didn't know I was coming either." He shrugged. "He just appeared at school after dismissal and cornered me in the lab. He wouldn't leave until I agreed to come."

That must've been after Kasy had left with Dele. Her father had never informed her of his plans or else, she would've stayed back.

"Awww!" Kasy cooed and Kendrick eyed her. "No wonder he cooked all this. And here I thought he had cooked for me." She pouted.

"He...cooked all this?" Kendrick looked shocked.

Kasy only nodded in response before the man in question returned with a bottle of wine and a grin on his face.

"Okay!" Kenneth rubbed his hands together. "Let's eat!"

Kasy didn't hesitate at all, that turkey leg was all hers but it looked like Kendrick had the same plan as well because they had both reached for it at the same time.

She faked a smile. "I first you."

"I'm older than you," Kendrick deadpanned.

"I'm the last born," Kasy countered.

"There's only two of us, don't use the word 'last'" Kendrick scoffed.

"Well, I reached for it first."

Kendrick smirked that wicked smirk of his. "Leave it or you're going to fail the next Computer Studies test."

Kasy mouth hung open as she immediately withdrew her hands from the turkey. She couldn't believe he had blackmailed her.

Kendrick smiled to himself after taking the turkey leg and wiped imaginary dust off his shoulders. "Still got it."

"Daddy, are you seeing what's happening?" Kasy turned to their father who was sitting across from them, smiling. "Kendrick hasn't been back for five minutes and he's already bullying me. Tell him to give me the turkey leg."

Kenneth looked from Kendrick who was already eating his food, to Kasy who was waiting for him to bark orders at his son. He chuckled awkwardly. "Sweetheart-"

"Oh, no!" Kasy groaned, throwing her head back. Once her father started the sentence with sweetheart, forget about it, she'd lost and Kendrick knew that. That's why he'd laughed at her with his mouthful.

Her father continued, "sweetheart, you know I love you but Kendrick is our guest for tonight. He won't be here for long. Ewena iwe, biko."

Kasy turned to glare at Kendrick who ate like a caveman. "It's when I'll not get my full mark in that test. Blackmailer!"

Kendrick didn't respond. Their father took the liberty of placing another equally huge part of the turkey on Kasy's plate, hoping to make it up to her.

"This is delicious," Kendrick managed to say to no one in particular with the food in his mouth.

The way Kenneth Kanayo's face lighted up like a bulb almost made Kasy laugh. He mouthed a "did you hear that?" to her while Kendrick wasn't looking and Kasy nodded, chuckling at her dad's goofiness.

They all ate in silence for a while, Kasy occasionally exchanging glances with either brother or her father and smiling for no reason.

Kenneth cleared his throat before he grabbed the bottle of wine, popped it like a pro, and began filling all their glasses. "There's actually something I want to tell you guys."

Kasy and Kendrick looked up at their father at once, eager to hear what he was going to say.

Kenneth set down the bottle and stared intently at his kids. "I'm...seeing someone. And it's... I think it's serious."

"Serious, as in, wedding bells serious?" Kasy asked immediately.

"Seriously?" came Kendrick's voice.

Kenneth chuckled. "Yes, I think so. It's been going on for a while now and I didn't want to take you guys unawares when-if-it gets to...wedding bells."

No wonder he'd stopped his one-night stands.

Kasy turned to see Kendrick's reaction. There was none. She turned back to her father and shrugged. "I'm happy for you," she said, genuinely.

Kenneth smiled warmly at that before they both turned to Kendrick to hear what he was going to say.

Kendrick saw the pairs of eyes on him and took it as his cue to say something. "If it's what you want," he shrugged as well, "and if it makes you happy...sure, I'm with you."

Kasy nudged her brother and he turned to meet her sheepish smile. "Awww!" she cooed again and he rolled his eyes.

Kenneth breathed out in relief. "Thank you. Thank you both."

Kasy didn't see why her father would need their approval or permission-they were after all in the part of the world where parents didn't care about their children's opinion-but her father wasn't like that. This only showed how much she and Kendrick meant to him.

Unlike their mother.

Kasy's smile faltered for a second as she thought of their mother but she let the thought fade away.

• • •

The night saw Kasy and Kendrick sprawled on the brown leather couch opposite the large screen TV as they watched a horror movie after dinner.

Kasy had managed to convince Kendrick to stay the night. But it wouldn't end there. When the next day came, she would still persuade him into staying for the entire weekend and they could go to school together on Monday. Kendrick probably already knew of her secret plan but that didn't mean it wouldn't work.

"This movie is not even scary," Kendrick said, motioning to the TV.

"Speak for yourself," Kasy replied, "I'm just thinking of how I'm ever going to sleep this night."

They silently watched ten minutes more of the horror movie which Kendrick had deemed unworthy to be called a horror until the television suddenly went off and the room consequently went dark.

The remaining source of light was dim and hardly lit the whole room. They didn't understand what was happening until they were ambushed with water shooting at them.

It took Kasy a while to scream and try fruitlessly to block the water before she looked up and made out the figure of her father, standing before them, holding two water guns as he shot at them while doing his villain laugh.

Kendrick immediately got up and ran after him. It didn't take long before he tackled Kenneth to the floor and managed to steal one water gun from him.

For a while, father and son shot at each other, running around the house like little children until suddenly, as though they had planned it and maybe they did-they faced Kasy's direction and she was baptized.

Her yelps didn't even do anything in making them have mercy on her. They laughed at her instead as she ran around like a wet rat and they chased her, probably having the time of their lives.

Kasy headed up the stairs and dashed towards her father's bedroom. She knew where he kept the water guns and she planned on having her revenge.

She locked the door behind her and bent over.

Why did a grown man in his late thirties have a dozen water guns under his bed? Don't ask because Kasy didn't know the answer to that either.

She grabbed two of the biggest ones and went into the adjourned bathroom to fill them with water-extremely cold water. She was going to show them.

When she was done, she unlocked the door and stepped out. As expected, her father and brother were waiting for her outside and they immediately positioned their guns to continue firing and she did the same.

The men pulled the trigger but nothing came out. Kenneth and Kendrick exchanged wide-eyed looks, just releasing that they'd run out of water.

Kasy cackled like a madwoman, throwing her head back and having the last laugh.

They made to run away but it was too late. They were already drenched in cold water by the time they could even make it to the stairs.

They could run but they couldn't hide.

By the time they were all in the living room again, Kenneth turned around and pushed his son in the direction of Kasy and Kendrick tumbled and landed at Kasy's feet while their father took off.

Kasy threw her head back and laughed like an evil witch again, ignoring her brother's pleas. She bathed him as he tried to crawl back up to his feet. "That's for taking my turkey leg!"

• • •

"I have an evil father!" Kendrick yelled for the umpteenth time and Kasy laughed. He was intentionally shouting it for their father who was in the kitchen to hear him.

Kasy and her brother laid on the furry creamed coloured rug in the middle of the sitting room after they had mopped all the water. They had all also had hot baths and changed clothes.

"I have an evil father!" Kendrick shouted again, aiming to get a response from his father but Kasy couldn't only hear the man laughing from the kitchen. "You saw the way he pushed me, right?" Kendrick asked Kasy. "Even Abraham didn't sacrifice Isaac like that!"

"He wanted to save himself," Kasy managed to say in between laughter.

Their father walked into the sitting room, carrying a tray with three cups of hot tea on it. "In every war, there's a casualty. Don't take it personally." He smirked at Kendrick who scoffed in return.

No one found it weird how they'd ditched the couch and glass table and settled on the floor instead.

It was already nearing midnight but it didn't seem like any of them were sleepy. That was probably one of the best nights Kasy had had in a while. She wanted every night to be like that.

"So, I'm guessing you're going to come back now everything is...good?" Kasy was brave enough to ask, setting down her cup of tea.

Kenneth looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Uhh..." Whatever had been said, it changed her brother's demeanor. He was back to being moody. "No."

"Why? You're not fighting anymore-"

"Nkasi..." Kenneth tried to get the girl to shut her mouth. When she turned to him, he whispered, "you're moving faster than your shadow."

But Kasy wasn't having any of it. "What I don't understand is what you're fighting about. And why you can't make up!"

There was silence after she had said that.

Kendrick looked up at his father who was only looking into his mug. His eyes were now hallow but carried a lot of emotions in them. "Do you want to tell her? Or should I?"

"Tell me what?"

Kenneth sighed. He shook his head slightly before looking up at Kendrick, holding his gaze for a while before turning to Kasy. He looked just as miserable as Kendrick.

Maybe it was time she knew what happened.

Kenneth cleared his throat. "A few years back," he started, "that was Kendrick's final year in secondary school. One night, one of his friends came here. I was a little bit familiar with her, she was good friends with Ken.

"I was surprised to see her at that time of the night. It was already past ten, she came looking for Kendrick, and to make matters worse, he wasn't even at home. It was one of those times your mother took you both for the weekend..." he paused and released a sigh. He stared down at the tea going cold by the minute as he spoke.

"She wasn't alright. I could tell. She wasn't herself. I suspected she was drunk and she was still wearing her uniform. I remember it was a Friday." He finally looked up and stared back intently at Kendrick who was equally glaring at him. "I told her you weren't at home and she left. That was what happened." Kenneth said the last sentence through gritted teeth.

Kasy turned to Kendrick. Maybe he had something to add?

He did.

"She was the daughter of a well-known senator," Kendrick started, "it was all over the news. It was only a few days later that I found out she was..." he trailed, his eyes turning glassy, "she was...sexually assaulted. That same night.

"She couldn't remember anything at first. I was devastated. She was in shambles. I didn't know how to help her and...she couldn't even remember anything from that night asides from the fact that she was defiled-that, she was sure of.

"Suddenly, it all came back to her. She told me she had come looking for that night, she didn't say why. But she recalled meeting my father, he said I wasn't around...and that was the only thing she remembered. The next she remembers is waking up in a hospital." Kendrick looked up at his father and the man averted his gaze immediately.

"I asked him if what she said was true. If she had come here that night, he confirmed it and told me the crap he just spilled out now. And funny enough, I believed him at first." Kendrick was spitting venom now. "But something didn't add up. I remember dad had a cut in his arm after we returned that weekend. He gave a silly excuse then, I believed that as well.

"It wasn't until about a year ago that I found out that daddy dearest was once charged with sexual harassment-"

"That was so many years ago," Kenneth cut in.

"Still!" Kendrick snapped. "It began to add up." He scoffed. "You didn't send her home... She was not in the right state of mind, probably drunk or drugged and you took advantage-"

"That's not what happened!"

"Then tell me what happened! Because you're clearly hiding something," said Kendrick.

Silence.

Kasy didn't even know what to say. She was trying to make sense of everything and that was proving impossible. One thing was for sure though...

"This girl...your friend. Is Ms. Isong, right?"

Kendrick's silence was speaking volumes.

She turned to her father. He opened his mouth to say something but the familiar ringtone of his iPhone stopped him. He looked like he was going to ignore it but then he glanced down at the caller ID and his expression became worse than before.

Kasy didn't get a look at his screen-she was too confused to do anything-but she watched him pick the call, stand up, and go into the kitchen.

Kendrick looked like he was trying way too hard not to cry.

Their father could be heard talking to whoever he was talking to on the phone.

Maybe Kendrick was wrong about him raping Ms. Isong-even if he was once upon a time charged with sexual harassment?-but Kasy knew her father was not telling the full story.

He'd said it himself. He knew she wasn't fine, she was probably drunk or something but definitely not herself, at that time of the night.

The Kenneth Kanayo anyone knew would never see anyone in such a situation and let them go just like that. There was more to the story.

Kenneth walked back into the living room with a disturbed look. He sighed and massaged his forehead for a while. Bad news was coming.

"Your mother is returning first thing tomorrow morning."

Oh, no.

I lost all my graphics so I'm sorry that the banners are no longer available.