(006a - Truth Part 1)

The gbas gbos in the comment session after Jidenna did what he did is so exciting 🔥🤸🏽‍♀️. So, I decided to give you guys a double update, mostly because this chapter is divided into two. Part two will be coming later in the day, so I won't leave you guys on the cliffhanger in this chapter for too long.

Also, our Lead Male will be showing his face for another little bit in this chapter 🌚😌.

P. S. Do you like the new cover?

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𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐘
(Hilary Idara Eghosa)

With tears flowing like a waterfall from my eyes, I barged into the empty classroom, and immediately, my legs gave way. I slumped to the tiled floor and burst into another round of tears. I let it flow, hoping I'd feel better but nothing could stop the ache in my heart. The ache Jidenna had left there.

How could he do that to me?

I screamed, curling into a ball at the corner of the wall and bawled my eyes out. There was nothing else I could do but cry. My mind on its own began to play in repeat the words he had said. The fact that he could say all of that without batting an eyelid shocked me to my core. So insensitive! So heartless!

... I didn't kill your brother, Hilary. Your carelessness did...

Those words kept playing on repeat, kept turning my mind upside down. The guilt I had managed to keep hidden and buried, came back in full force. He was able to remind me that no matter what, I was still the reason Henry was dead. But I never expected that from him, never expected it to rub it in my face.

Jidenna, why would you do this to me?

I wasn't even going to blame him for anything, neither was I there to guilt-trip him. I just needed to know why he was avoiding me but I guess I finally found out. But that, all he had said, they were just too much for me to comprehend. It still felt foreign, still shocked me that he sputtered such words out of his mouth at me. For what exactly?

Why! Why! Why!

Sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall, I hoisted my knee up and buried my face in it, crying again. From my classmates to this? All these in one day? It was all too much. I wasn't prepared for this at all. This heartbreak. This betrayal. I can't deal with it. I don't have the strength to.

He betrayed me.

The door of the class opened and I looked up with a start, seeing a shadowy figure make its way in. I couldn't see clearly because of my blurry vision, so I used the back of my hand to clean my eyes. I looked up again and my breath caught in my chest when I saw who it was.

Simisola was standing right in front of me and he was seeing me...

... like this

His gaze narrowed on me, staring at me as if he was trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Trying to clean the tears on my face, I looked away from his intense gaze when he wouldn't stop looking at me. I could still feel his gaze burning into my skin and I grew uncomfortable, keeping my eyes away from him.

He should just act like he didn't see me and walk away.

I thought to myself, getting somewhat annoyed that he was just standing there, staring at me. It was already getting awkward and it would be better if he just walked away and act like he didn't see all these.

Please go...

Please go...

Plea...

He walked in further, not saying a word and I turned back to watch him, trying to understand what he was doing here, why he was here. He stopped when he was right in front of me, his hands shoved into the pocket of his trouser.

I sniffed again, my gaze still trained on him. It was weird, me sitting on the floor and him standing in front of me, looking at me like that, like he was figuring me out. I waited for him to say something because I didn't have anything to say.

He didn't say anything but what he did next shocked me, surprised me to my wits. He bent down, just to be on the same eye level as me and my breath caught in my throat. I looked away, not liking the way he was close to me, the way he was seeing me this way.

What is he doing?

I felt him move, but I didn't look at him, low-key waiting for him to leave since I wasn't giving him any attention. But he didn't do that. Instead, he shoved something into my fist and that got my attention. I looked at my hand to see that he had given me a handkerchief, his handkerchief most likely. I looked at him, both surprised and confused.

"You have..." He started but stopped, only gesturing to his face as if to tell me that there was something on my face. That was when I realized that I had a running nose... and he had seen it.

Jesus!

I quickly shoved the handkerchief against my face, cleaning off any ounce of mucus and tears while flashing him a small smile of embarrassment.

"Thank you," I muttered, my voice barely audible. He only nodded and went back to standing upright. The next thing I knew, he was gone.

And I was all alone again.

I'm all alone.

I began to cry again, feeling the wave of loneliness wash over me. What was expecting? That he would stay with me and talk to me or console me. We don't even know each other that well. My friends were not even here. Even if they were, they won't understand this feeling.

No one really understands how I feel.

"Hilary!" Semeeha's loud call made me jerk with a start.

I looked up, just in time to see my friends barge in such force I couldn't fathom. Dawn, Semeeha, and Kizito. They were all here. The emotions I was feeling tripled and I felt my chest clogged with sobs. Dawn moved closer to me, sitting down on the floor with me.

"Hey! It's okay, it going to be okay." She cooed softly, gathering me in her arms and bringing my head to rest on her chest. I sniffed, wrapping my hands around her middle.

"It's not going to be okay," I mumbled, feeling the tears dropping from my eyes in beads again. Dawn sighed but said nothing, she just pulled me closer to herself while settled at the other side, holding me too. From my peripheral vision, I saw Kizito leaning on the wall, staring ahead. His jaw was locked and it was very obvious he was pissed.

But I also saw Simi. He was standing by the door, staring at the entire scene with an expressionless face. I didn't need anyone to tell me that he had called them here. I was surprised because Simi didn't seem like someone that paid attention to what was going on around him, so I wasn't sure how he knew exactly who and who to call.

Still, I was grateful to him for calling them.

His eyes caught mine and he held it for a few seconds before he just turned and left me with my friends.

"What did he do?" Kizito's voice boomed through the empty classroom, alerting all my senses and that of Dawn and Semeeha. I felt my heart pick up a beat. Kizito won't back down. He'll find out what happened and that means I'd have to open up to Dawn and Semeeha.

I wasn't sure I was ready for that.

"Kizi..." I started to say and he shot me a look, shutting up immediately. Dawn and Semeeha were confused, it was written all over their faces.

"What did who do?" Dawn asked in utter and complete confusion. I looked at Kizito, pleading for him not to let me do this. I wasn't ready to do this. He shook his head, his expression softening.

"You have to tell them, Hilary." He told me, pleaded with me. The tears began to flow again.

"Both of you know something and you are not telling us. That's not fair." Semeeha retorted.

"Whatever it is," Dawn started, shooting Semeeha a look of disapproval before looking at me with a soft look. "Hilary, if you are not comfortable with telling us now, it's fine.

"It's fine." I choked out, pulling away from Dawn and cleaning my face. "I'll tell you guys. I just need you to know that you won't judge me."

"Of course not," Semeeha answered in a heartbeat. "We'll never judge you for anything. Whatever it is, we have your back." She assured me, her eyes trained me so that I could see that she was being honest. I looked back at Kizito, who gave me a small, yet reassuring smile.

"It's going to be okay." He whispered, crouching down to my level. "We have your back." He said and I nodded again, looking down at my fingers.

I had to tell them.

"Jidenna and I just broke up." I deadpan, knocking the breath right out of all of them, including Kizito.

"What?"

"Oh my God!"

"What did that fool do?" Kizito growled out, the anger returned in full force. I sniffed, shaking my head. They needed to know from the beginning. They needed to know how everything came to this. I needed to tell them.

"There is something you guys need to know about my brother's accident."

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I was quiet throughout the ride home. Dad had been the one that picked me from school and as much as he was trying to strike a conversation with me, I wasn't giving him the same energy back. So he stopped and the rest of the drive home was quiet, the air pregnant with so much tension while my mind reminding me over and over again what my friends told me to do.

They wanted me to tell my parents the full story.

I can't do that. I can't tell my parents exactly what happened that night.

"Wait," Dawn stopped me, her doe eyes huge in shock and surprise. "Jidenna literally said those words to you. Like those were his exact choice of words?" She asked, trying to confirm what I had just said and I nodded, cleaning my face with the back of my palm. I had not stopped crying. In fact, it seemed like the tears would never stop.

"I'm going to kill that basta..." He wasn't even done with his words before he made to dash out of the classroom. Dawn and I screamed for him to stop, just as Semeeha stood up just in time to bolt in front of him, stopping him from going even further.

"Calm down, Kizi." She told him, her voice soft in hopes of calming him down. He was pissed and he looked deadly, it was so scary. But I didn't want him beating up anyone. This was our last year and I didn't want him jeopardizing anything.

"Kizi, don't. Please." I begged him. Thankfully, he listened and turned around, but he still looked very angry.

"I warned him not to hurt you." He growled out. "I told him what I'd do to him if he hurts you and he still has the goddamn balls to say something so insensitive to you? After everything, he put you through these past weeks? And you still don't want me to beat the living daylight out of him?"

The fact that they were not even talking about me being the reason my brother was dead baffled me.

"How are you guys not seeing that I'm the problem here?" I asked incredulously. "I'm the reason..."

"Don't you dare blame yourself for what happened to Henry!" Semeeha fired, something close to annoyance and pity evident in her tone. "You made a mistake, but you didn't kill your brother."

"Everything that happened that night doesn't justify what Jidenna did or said to you!" Dawn chipped in. "I'm disappointed because I expected more from him. I see TK written all over this." She muttered the last sentence so casually, I was surprised she didn't cringe as she called that name.

"I agree. This is all Tekena Tamuno. That asshole." Semeeha spays out in utter disgust.

"But still, Jidenna should be able to think for himself. This was outrightly insensitive of him, and he'll hear from me." Kizito said, the determination in his voice evident.

"I feel breaking up with him was a very good decision. After what he said, I can't look at him the same way again." Dawn stated matter-of-factly, sighing afterward.

"Especially for the fact that he was first your friend, our friend before you guys started dating. He should have considered that at least." Semeeha chipped and I sniffed again, my tears already subsiding.

"Funny how if he had asked us to break up, with everything that has happened these past weeks, I wouldn't have blamed him at all," I told them and they hummed in understanding. "But the way he went about it? Avoiding me, ignoring me, and saying insensitive things to me? That was just too much."

"What are we going to do now?" Semeeha asked and I shrugged.

"Hilary, I think you should tell your parents the whole truth." Dawn deadpan. I jerked away from her and looked at her with my eyes bulging out of their sockets.

"What?!"

"We are home," Dad's voice jerked through my mind trip. I looked out the window and saw that we had gotten home, Dad's car parked under the pavilion. I must have gone so far in my thoughts that I didn't notice us move on the road and get home.

Dread began to wash over me when I realized yet again that I needed to make something right and I wasn't sure what will come out of it. Wasn't sure how my parents will take it.

"Hilary," Dad's voice called out again, causing me to turn to him. His worried expression told me that I trailed off again. "Are you okay?" He asked, the concern in his tone very evident. I sighed, trying to muster a little smile.

"I'm fine, dad. I'm just tired." I answered. It wasn't a lie because I was honestly tired. Tired of everything. I just wanted to sleep. Dad watched me for a bit, trying to read me, and knowing him, he will do it successfully.

"Did something happen in school today?" He asked and my heart picked up the beat. I swallowed, looking away from him.

A lot of things happened in school today, Dad.

A whole lot of things.

But I couldn't tell him that. I didn't know how to tell him - tell them without revealing everything to them. And I was still finding that hard to do.

"I should go in and rest," I muttered, more to myself than to him. Before he could stop me, I dashed out and bolted into the house. Mum, who had probably heard us come in, was already making her way out of the Kitchen all smiles.

"Hey, how was..." I didn't even let her finish before I brushed past her as well and ran up the stairs, ignoring her soft calls.

I rushed into my room, locking the door behind me. Throwing my bag on the floor, I plopped on my bed and burst into another round of tears, feeling extremely overwhelmed by all the emotions of today.

Betrayal.

Hurt.

Break up.

Everything.

How can someone feel all these emotions in just one day and be able to handle them? It made me feel so weak. And telling my parents the complete truth, I wasn't so sure how that would make them feel but I knew for sure that things won't remain the same. This realization made it even harder for me to tell them.

God, this wasn't what I wanted.

A knock came against my door and I sat up with a start. I should have known that it was just a matter of time before my parents would come and try to find out what was up with me, especially after bolting the way I did. I was still contemplating whether to open the door for them when a knock came again, followed by my mum's soft call.

"Hilary, please open the door." She pleaded and I sighed, still feeling reluctant.

You can't avoid this forever. You have to tell them, they deserve to know the truth. The small voice in my mind told me and I took another deep sigh.

They did deserve to know what made their sun go out that night. That very unfortunate night.

So with my mind made up, I stood up and made slow steps to the door, still trying to look for something in my mind that would make me change my mind but there was nothing. I had to do this. I got to the door and opened it, revealing my mum and dad behind it. The concerned and worried expression on their faces had me almost breaking down again.

Take a deep breath, Hilary.

"Hilary..." Mum cooed softly as I opened the door further for them to come in. Dad looked more confused and conflicted, watching my tear-stained face.

"You have been crying." He stated, coming closer to me. "Why are you crying? Did something happen in school?" He asked again, drawing me closer to him while exchanging a confused look with mum.

"It's something that happened in school. Tell us what happened and we'll be able to fix it." Mum said but I shook my head.

"It's not something that happened in school," I told them, drawing away from Dad with my gaze fixated on the ground.

Can I do this?

"Then what's going on? Why are you crying?" Dad asked, his conflicted look deepening. Mum looked extremely scared and it pained me to see them like this. This was all because of me.

Which is why I needed to tell them.

"Mum, Dad..." I trailed, finally looking up at them. It got harder, telling them got harder and I prayed, I prayed this revelation would not change anything.

"Hilary..."

"There's something you need to know about the night Henry died," I said softly.

Immediately, I felt the atmosphere change, tension arising. The change in my parents' expression was so drastic, it scared me to my wits. Especially my mum's, it seemed like she just stopped.

God, this was a bad idea.

"The night Henry died?" Dad repeated as if to confirm what I had said. I nodded, looking away from his scrutinizing gaze.

"Let's go and sit down first, hmm." Mum finally spoke, her voice so hoarse and I haven't started revealing the truth yet.

We moved to my bed and the three of us sat down on the bed. The air suddenly became pregnant with uncomfortable silence. I was trying to gather my thoughts but I wasn't sure what was going on in my parents' minds. I just kept hoping, praying that things don't spiral out of control from here on now.

"What happened the night Henry died, Hilary?" It was Dad that spoke again, his voice controlled like he didn't want to give away his emotions. Mum on the other hand just sat on the bed, immobile and staring at me. I knew bringing Henry up was very much triggering but this, was scary.

Fear shouldn't stop the truth from being revealed.

"I-It was a l-lie." I started, my voice coming out in stutters. "I-I didn't tell y-you the truth."

"You have to stop speaking in riddles because I don't understand what you mean. Hilary, whatever it is, you can tell us. We are your parents." Dad cooed softly. I took a deep breath, shaking my head.

If only it was that simple.

"We lied, Henry and I. We didn't go out for a drive that night." I revealed. Mum eyes was still intently trained on me, her face void of any emotion.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her voice still hoarse. I felt sobs clog my throat again, so I had to clear my throat. I can't cry now. But at the end of the day, I probably won't be able to help the tears from flowing. Not after what I'm about to reveal.

"H-Henry... He came to get me." I started, clearing my throat yet again. "I had snuck out to meet up with Jidenna earlier even after you told me not to go out. Henry found out and came to get me so that I wouldn't get into more trouble with you.-

And that was when it happened."

"Oh my God," Mum muttered, clasping her palm over her mouth.

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Hilary is finally going to tell her parents everything that went down the night of the accident. You'll finally figure out the part Jidenna played in the events that led to the accident. But then, when you see it, you'll realize that it didn't warrant him acting the way he did😒.

Thank God for the kind of friends she has, because with everything that is going to happen after this, She'll really need them.

The next chapter will be majorly the recap of every single thing that happened the night of the accident. You'll meet Hilary and her parents, Jidenna and then, Henry. It's sad that that beautiful boy had to go even before everyone got to really meet him😪💔

Expect the second update before the end of today. Remember, no ghostreading. If you can't comment, please vote. But my motto will always be Don't forget to VOTE! COMMENT!! SHARE!!!