Noel

"Christa," I called her coming up to the room where I had left her to sort the things out.

"Hey, are you done?" I asked leaning against the door as she was standing with a box in her hand.

"Yeah, it's a lot of stuff but I'm done. Someone from the organization will come and collect everything up tomorrow." She informed as she wrapped up something in a box.

"Tired?" She nodded to me to my question. She looked worn out, ready to call it a day.

"Just want to go home and lay down for a bit." She added giving me a sad smile. Now I was sure she was dead tired from all the work I had put her on today.

"No problem. Do you want me to drop you?" I didn't want her going alone. It was the least I could do with how all she had helped me today.

"No, I have just a small little shopping to do on the way back home for personal things. Hence, I would just get them and drive up to my home." She informed me hence I didn't insist on her this.  Soon she left leaving me alone to complete the rest of the work. I was selling off this house.

I had no regrets over it now. I was done with this house but I still had to check everything. This house has been a shrine so I had never touched anything. However, I was now selling off this house I had to make sure that nothing too personal went out of my hands.

I checked all the rooms and drawers, I didn't spare any part of the house whether it was the kitchen or the storeroom. I always had a knack to keep things here and there years back now not so much. It was always better to check than worry later on. I didn't want anyone to have a personal part of me anymore.

I entered the small room between the staircase and the doorway. I had no idea what was inside that room but I still decided to check it. Entering inside there wasn't a working light in the room and it would be a lie that I didn't feel a bit spooked out. Turning on the torch for my phone I looked around. It was a room filled with too much dust and no window at all.

There was nothing but a few boxes. With a very careful step, I picked out the boxes and brought them out in the light. I knew it was going to be nothing but a waste. However, I didn't want anything to go unlooked and I didn't know if the room was in the first place. Seven boxes later the room was almost empty.

Rummaging through the box I found newspapers, a few candles, and a matchbox. In another box were a few broken vases and rags. I went in for the last box and as I picked it up I saw a bag behind it. Rather than making another round for it I just put it over the box. With the phone light I looked for anything left unnoticed and there was nothing but dust.

The bag was covered with dust making me sneeze again and again. I almost dropped it as sneeze after sneeze took over me. Holding it with my fingers I waited until my sneezes stop with my other hand over my mouth and nose before looking into it.

Rather than putting my hand in I decided to empty it on the floor but I couldn't take another fit of a sneeze.

The contents of the bag fell to the floor and I stood there looking at the things until the realization that the clothes that fell out of the bag were splashed with blood. Bending down to my knees I picked up the cloth. It was a white shirt covered with blood. Turning it inside out I looked at the labels and it really wasn't mine. The size was small for me but more than that what was a shirt like this doing here.

Whose blood was this?

I picked up the black masks that I had fell out of the bag. there were two of them. Another shirt, this one too bloodied and not mine. I knew it wasn't mine. None of this was mine but whose.

Turning the shirt I was looking for clues when I heard the clank of something dropping from it. It was an automatic car key with a paper tag with it. The car number was still written over it though a bit wore off. I could still make out the numbers but it was the date that was written on the tag that left me stunned.

It was the same day of Richard's birthday party. The same day of when I was accused of something I hadn't done.

Suddenly everything started to click together. I picked up the shirt remembering where I had seen one of these shirts that night. It was Cheryl's favorite color turquoise blue. The memory was right there in the corner of my mind. For years I had wanted to forget that day but right now I wanted to remember.

This turquoise color shirt was worn by someone at the party that day. I saw it but just couldn't put a face to it. I didn't like the color but Cheryl had added it to my wardrobe. 

A distant memory flashed in front of me.

"It's a shame that you never this color. Even for me," Cheryl pouted looking at me as I dressed in a midnight blue color shirt rather than the one she wanted.

"I just don't like the color. It's a little bit dull for me, I think," I pointed it out to her but she just stared at me as I had gone crazy.

"It's brand new and still in the packet maybe you could gift it to someone." If it was possible I would have got that color out of my wardrobe was good. I liked the stone but the shade of turquoise she liked always seemed like a sad shade to me.

"I'm so going to do that," she wasn't happy but she had to deal with it. I had reminded her again and again of my dislike but she doesn't seem to care about it sometimes.

"Richard is going to love it though," she said drawing my eyes to her as I was buttoning my shirt in front of the mirror. I saw she was trying to make me jealous. It was one of her tricks to have her things her way. Sadly she didn't know that I was now immune to her tricks by now.

"And why is that?" I asked with a raised brow as she looked at me.

"Because unlike you he loves this color as much as me," she walked towards me with a teasing gleam in her eyes.

"I should have married him I think," I could feel the jealousy burning inside of me.

"Maybe I should make you remember why I'm better yet again," I whirled her around catching her in my arms My fingers tickling her and taking her to bed making her remember of my love again and again.

The image of Cheryl dancing with Richard hit me up and I remembered that it was him who was wearing that shirt. He was dancing with her wearing the same turquoise shirt that was in my hand. I fisted the shirt in my hand as anger burned inside of me.

Anger because he was the one who had set me up. I wanted to burn him away for doing this to Christa and me. However, for the first time, I realized that I wasn't mad at him for taking Cherylaway from me. She didn't trust me to begin with. Not even a chance to give me an explanation. He might have pushed her for not hearing me but we were goddamn married and I should have been given a chance.

I was mad at Richard for hurting me and Christa. For degrading Christa. She was like a sister to me and he had battered her image in the whole society. Taken her family away from her and left her with nothing. For the sake of love, he had for Cheryl he had destroyed people. tarnished them.

I wanted to break things in order to control the rage that was brewing inside of me. The memories of the devastation I had to face, the number of tears I had to shed. The sufferings I had gone through. All the blame was put on me. How my parents had faced away from me added the way I had to been outcasted by society. The rumours spreading like fire about me that I had cheated on Cheryl with her sister had made me lose my self-esteem.

Everything I had was ripped from me because of him. Those painful nights when I had no one to rely on. The day where I had to take my own life. Everything hurt.

The pain Christa had to suffer, the tears she had shed and the blame she was forced to take. We both had been outcasted. Her family had left her in the middle of pain and suffering all because of him. So much misery we had drowned in that we didn't even have each other to rely on. I had burned inside out in the pits of misery and agony for so many years that it felt endless.

I wanted to kill him, wrap my hands around his bare neck and watch as I took the life out of him slowly. If I could I would skin him alive, burn him in the same misery Christa and I suffered in.

Picking the same bag they had come from I found that it wasn't empty yet. There was something in it. Taking it out I found it to be the lost bracelet of Christa one I had given on her birthday after I had discovered her addiction.

My eyes watered from all the pain Christa had to suffer. First all the addictions and depression and then being kicked out of her own family. She was painted into the black sheep when she was already suffering too much all alone. No one had cared to even look after her even before the incident. All alone she fought everything. Hurt and broken she suffered, with no one to rely on and take care of her.

Tears welled in my eyes thinking about all the pain that she had to go through alone for years. Cheryl had overpowered her and in the shadow, she had lived and suffered all alone with no one there for her. When I had stepped in like a big brother to take care of her I had been ripped away from her. The brotherly love I held for her had been twisted to something so shameful that I couldn't even look into her eyes, to begin with. She had stood up for me only to face the cruelty of her family and me leaving her alone because I didn't want to cause problems for her.

Pocketing the key after clicking a photo of the tag and the bracelet I put the shirts back in the bag. I had sent the tag of the car key to my security head to find out whose car it was. the number was still clear on it and I knew he would be able to find something about it.

Christa needed to know of this. She had every right to know of who had been behind the misery that had dawned upon us. She needed to know before I went forward to destroy Richard and whoever had helped him. I would humiliate him and whoever was involved with him in the worse way possible.

I moved out of the house closing it. Christa had left around twenty minutes back and even she had gone shopping she might be home soon. It was something she had to know and maybe she could help in pointing who the other number was. Christa and I were the only two people who could solve this up and I wanted to do this because the one who did this to us deserves to be punished. We both should be able to live without any regrets.

I had just reached Christa's building before I called Alex asking him to find whom id the car belong to as I send off the number to him. Whoever the car belonged to was involved in this too.

Getting up to Christa's house I knocked at her door to only have Allison open it. Her eyes looking at me worriedly. I could see it on her face that something was wrong.

"What happened?" As I asked the sound of Christa's sobs hit me. My eyes widened looking at Allison. Moving past her I get to where Christa was only to see her crying out with her face in her hand.

"Christa," I called out her name and saw her head shot up. A fresh set of tears rolled down her cheek. She stared at me with so much pain in her eyes that I didn't know what to do.

"You need to tell him, Christa," Allison said coming behind me and looking at her. Another set of sobs escaped as Allison looked at her.

Nothing could have prepared me with what was to come. The truth doesn't set us free. It either kills you or makes you kill someone.

....................................................................................................................................

I know it has been a long time but I won't lie I had been stuck.

There was something missing and I just couldn't grasp what it was however I was able to move through with it.

Would Noel and Christa be able to sort out what the truth is?

Who else is involved in this?

Whose car key it was because the people who framed them couldn't have gone back on feet.

Would Allison be able to help them and how?

How should they get their revenge over them?

I hope you tell me how you feel about the chapter because if you tell me only then I would be able to write.

Hope you would help me and keep me going in write this story and complete it.