After Rain ✅

[ twenty two ] foolish in love

After Rain 

Chapter Twenty Two 

Keith had been here ever since he stopped contacting us and it was Umair – no, Jalaal Nasir who had helped to come back home. Apparently, dad and Mrs. Marshfield had no idea where he was and they were going crazy over this. Just like I went a little crazy when I saw him. I had no idea what was going on now and I felt like my head was going to explode from the bizarreness of all these events.

''Is there a place where you can go?'' Jalaal asked me while we drove away from our block and away from Ronnie.

''Why can't I go home?'' I spat at him. Keith who was sitting in the front flinched,

''Dad knows what you guys are up to; that's why.'' He told me, glancing back. So my guess was right. Keith continued to explain in a small voice, knowing just how annoyed I was with him.

''Ronnie was trying to find CCTV footage in his office and he came home and caught her.''

''Wait what? Come again?''

He repeated it more slowly this time and I scowled.

''How do you know?'' I asked,

He turned back a little, looking at me with an apologetic expression, his eyes a little downcast, ''She told me.'' Ronnie knew? I narrowed my eyes. Things kept getting stranger every time they told me something new and now I was afraid of what I was going to hear next. Keith seemed to know what I was thinking and didn't waste a minute in explaining himself.

''I met her only few hours ago Nic, we didn't expect dad to catch her like that.'' As if that was supposed to comfort me and make me stop worrying about her. She was alone in that house and God knew what dad was planning now.

''What the hell was she looking for anyways?'' I cried, realizing how it was Ronnie's own stupidity that had gotten her into trouble. Didn't we think about all possible clues about Keith's absence in past month? We looked through everything and despite my warnings, Ronnie had also sneaked in dad's office at work in hopes to find something.

''The day I left,'' he answered, the ghost of the memory lingered on his face, ''that night we had a conversation in his office...you remember right? There was plenty he said and it only occurred to me later that the footage could be used for the investigation. The recording in the camera was a solid proof.'' The investigation...he knew everything that had happened in his absence. Jalaal must have kept him updated, but the major question was; where had he stayed the whole time? And what was he doing? Just living in hiding? What if someone had seen him?

''I thought he only asked you to leave that night!''

''He threatened me to leave Nic,'' He corrected me bitterly, ''because he knew that I and Maleeha were digging out everything and how we knew the truth about the fire.'' In front of me, I saw Jalaal tensing at the mention of Lee's name. There was so much going on now that I had forgotten his relationship with her. Knowing that he was in the same pain as I was, my feelings towards him eased a little, but not enough to bite down my anger.

Keith suddenly looked sad, ''Speaking of which, I'm really sorry about what happened. I couldn't be there for you when you needed me the most. She would have been alive if we have kept things to ourselves.'' With we, he meant him and Jalaal. His voice was dipped in remorse and I knew he was being sincere, the thought that either of them were living with the burden of the guilt never occurred to me.

''It wasn't your fault.'' Jalaal told him before I could, his voice stern, like they had already have this same conversation a million times.

''But how did you two meet? I know all of your brothers and Um- I mean Jalaal wasn't any of them!'' I asked them, sensing an old connection from the way Jalaal had reassured Keith.