Dark Secrets ✔️

Chapter 15

Afrah's POV

"How was your trip?" Aidah asks carrying my suitcase for me.

"It wasn't bad. How's little Malik doing? I hope he hasn't been annoying you while I was away." I gave her a hug before we walked to my room.

"No, he's been a good boy."

"Good to hear. Where's my brother?"

"At work. But he's been very quiet lately. Did anything happen in Canada?"

"Um, I don't think so. It's probably just work stress." I don't want to stress her with our family matters.

"I thought so. Especially after I told him I was going to go back to work, although my leave term isn't over yet."

"Why are you going back?"

"Things have been very busy at work. As you know I assigned Ismail as the temporary chief detective of drug dealing Unit 1 until my leave was over. I don't want to burden him with a lot of work for too long. Nobody deserves to do a two person job. Also they are having complications with the drug dealers. I know that area more than anybody since I have worked there for a couple of years already, I should go now that they need me." She explains and I nod.

"What about Malik?"

"He's going to stay with his grandmother. She always begs me to take him there, so now she will be able to spend almost every day with him."

"Must be nice." I smile. "I'm going to go shower. I haven't prayed zuhr yet, I will be back down to make you company once I'm done praying." I tell her and she nods smiling before leaving my room.

So my brother has been quiet lately? I hope it really is just for Aidah returning to work, and not because of what I asked him.

I unpack my clothes and get them ready on the side to put them in the wash machine once I go back down.

I pray zuhr and when I am done I just stay seated on the prayer mat. Sometimes I feel better sitting on the prayer mat than on a chair or a bed. It's just more peaceful and comfortable for me. When I was younger my brother even used to carry me up to my bed because I used to fall asleep on the prayer mat after praying.

Talking about my brother, I need to see what he is up to. I fold the mat and leave towards my brother's room to see him remove his jacket.

"Where's your uniform?" I ask because he was in his normal clothes.

"I worked undercover." He answers without looking at me.

"Are you still upset with me? I mean, for what I asked about our parents? I get it if you don't want to tell me anything, although I deserve to know the truth. But I will respect your decision."

"Are you okay?" He suddenly asks.

"For what?...Oh, did Junaid tell you about the hotel thieves? I'm fine, I wasn't there."

"Quit that job." He says as he walks to the top shelves and takes out a folder.

"Don't worry. We're in England now, I'm sure they didn't follow us here."

"I don't want to see you in danger." He walks to me.

"You're just trying to change the subject so you don't have to answer to my questions." I interrupt him and he looks at me before taking something out from the folder then handing it to me.

"The picture you asked for." He says and my mouth went wide in surprised.

"Are you serious!!?" I smile, holding the photo.

There was my mum, me in between my two brothers, and dad at the end. We were in front of a house. Ismail was to my left while my second eldest brother was to my right. Which I suppose was the house we lived in when our parents were alive. Without realising, tears were already escaping from my eyes.
Although ten years old, I was too short for my age. And now I am so grown up.

"Is this me?" I point at the girl in the picture and my brother nods.

"So, the girl in my flashbacks has always been me when young." I remember the little girl I always see in my flashbacks.

"Flashbacks?"My brother looks at me in confusion.

"I keep having memories of when I was young,"

"What do you mean? How?"

"I don't know. It happens at specific moments. Either because I'm talking about my past or because I am experiencing something I have lived."

"That's not possible." He looks distant as if thinking about something.

"Why isn't it possible?...I have been meaning to ask you why is it that I can't remember a thing from my past? I couldn't even recognize myself, even less remember mum and dad. I wasn't that young when all of this happened." Now that he is opening himself up to me, I should just ask away anything that I have been wondering. I don't think he will run away, at least not now.

"You suffered from an accident when you were ten." He says after a while.

"What?...how?...when?...what?" I was so confused right now.

"A month after mum and dad died, you suffered from a car crash and the doctors diagnosed you with partial amnesia, which is when you forget certain things but remember others. After the accident, all you remembered was me and yourself. I guess you remembered the most recent faces you had seen before the accident." He explains, although I still remained confused.

"Was I in the car with two adults and another child?" I ask remembering the memory I had when I was in the car with Junaid while he was accelerating.

"Do you remember that?"

"Why didn't you tell me anything all these years? Why did you keep it from me? Why didn't you even help me try to remember and have my memories back?" I find myself tearing up more as I try not to raise my voice. "This had nothing to do with mum and dad, so you can't say that it made you uncomfortable talking about it. It had to do with me and you had no right to hide something like this from me. Why did you do it?"

"To protect you. I'm sorry but I believed you would be happier without all those bad memories. I didn't want you to go through what I was going through."

"Happier? Do you think I have been happy watching you on the verge of breaking down every single night?" I say and he looks at me. "You had no idea but every night I used to come out of my room and see you suffer all alone. I kept asking myself what was it that made you so sad. And that, broke my heart. Do you really think I was happy all these years. If you had told me the truth from the beginning then I would have been happier. At least I would've felt that I did my part in helping you raise me. We would've shared the pain...I could've helped you." I end up sobbing helplessly. This is not how I wanted it to end.

"I'm sorry ." My brother approaches me and pulls me gently for a hug. "I'm so sorry." He speaks as I sob into his chest.

"Promise me..." I try to breath calmly to stop the sobs, "No more secrets. Whatever that it is, I can deal with it with you." I lift my head to look at him and he nods agreeing.