The Chapter We Closed

5. Hidden Secrets

Nash

I came home early from work to find that Nan was sleeping and Mom and Nora were out. After changing and making myself lunch, I sat down on a couch as Dad's words came back to me. "The truth isn't always what it seems to be." And the most shocking part was that he knew I was being stalked. "The past is coming back to us, Nash, the stalker isn't just any random person." Anger boiled inside me even though more than twenty-four hours had passed since I had met Dad.

My parents got divorced when I was seven for reasons both of them never found appropriate to tell me. The only thing they told was that they weren't meant to be and to avoid further problems they took this decision. The memories of my childhood were mostly disrupted and even though I tried hard, all I could remember were small fragments of jumbled up scenes. This was partly because of the therapy my Mom had me take back then to erase all the bad memories.

Annoyed at being kept up in the dark for so long, and sure of the fact that my stalker had something to do with that past everyone was hiding from me, I silently went up to the one place I wasn't allowed to go in. So much for being an obedient son. I went inside the storeroom and using light from my phone I guided myself to the one box that was in the room. It was huge and dusty as if it had been ages since anyone had opened it. Little yellow light was coming from the cracked window. I sat on my knees and stared at the box which had one word scribbled to the side "Swayers".

I opened the box and apart from antique decoration pieces, there were pictures, loads of them. The first few pictures were of my parents wedding and then someone else's wedding soon followed. There were my childhood pictures with my Dad's family in their house. And then in most of the pictures, there was a girl next to me. She was thin and pale with high cheekbones and black eyes and hair. And oh, she looked just like Isabella. No wonder I had a gut feeling I had met her before. I moved on to picture after picture and it was the two of us with my parents and the couple who got married after them.

I assumed the couple to be Isabella's parents. Her father and my father had such a striking resemblance that after a few more pictures, I was sure that they were brothers. I didn't knew much about my Dad's family as Dad was far away from my life until a few weeks ago. This made Isabella my cousin. Did she know? She didn't recognize me that day though, or did she? I looked through the photos as they stopped when we turned seven. We had a combine birthday celebration and after that there were no more pictures.

What happened back then? It was the same year my parents got divorced too.

I was in the storeroom, sweaty and crying as Mom came in. I huddled into a corner and stammered, "W-what ddid y-you do to himm?
"Your dad did it, sweetheart. Come to me your safe with me." Mom replied softly.
"I didn't e-even m-meett herr."
"She's gone too, Nash. Now be a good boy and come to me."

The memory hit me hard and though it was still not clear, a sense of heaviness appeared in my chest. Something was wrong; something went wrong 18 years ago that erased the smile from everyone's faces. I needed to know the truth. The truth I hadn't known for years. Questions filled my mind as I decided to confront Isabella. I got the pictures, put them into a folder and head out of the mansion.

Nan called after me but I said there was an emergency in the hospital and they needed assistance. I practically ran my way to Isabella's clinic. We had two cars and both were taken by Mom and Nora for now. Tears threatened to escape my eyes as my hands shivered in the cold. Something in me said not to trust anyone, especially my family. Mom and Dad both blamed eachother for everything. Confused, I barged into the clinic and quickly asked for an appointment.

"Due to some emergency, Dr. Isabella is gone out of city. We do not know when will she be back, but it wouldn't be soon." The old man told me. No, it couldn't have happened when I was so close to finding the truth. Did she run away because she feared I was remembering things? Anger, I felt so much anger at everyone. I wanted to punch someone on my way out. As I walked home, a wave of disappointment hit me. I was so close, yet so far. I should have talked to Dad but I knew it would be of no use. He told me to find out things myself, or he would be blamed again.

Then I saw her. My very own stalker, sitting under a tree, her face hooded and sunbathing. She looked at me, or that's what I assumed as her head turned towards me but her eyes were hidden. I ignored her and kept walking. Next time, I needed to have a knife with me; she was not safe to be around. "Another heartbreak, sunshine?" Her tone made my insides burn further. Continuing on ignoring her, I walked further. I sensed her behind me now.

"What do you want, will you just say it already?" I screamed all my anger out. She apparently just looked at me as I stared back, increasingly annoyed. "What's with the screaming?" It seemed for a moment as if there was care in her voice. But why would there be, she was bent on ruining my life just like everyone else. "What did I ever do to you? What did I ever do to anyone?" I shouted louder, as if my vocal cords would burst out. She did not move. Tears that I was contolling pooled out, burning against my cold cheeks. I did not know why I was crying.

I started walking back home, wiping my tears with my ice cold hands. "Nash" I heard her voice again. It was the first time she used my name. I stopped but did not look back at her.
"An eye for an eye, and I don't give a damn if you go blind."
I turned around to look at her, but she was gone, again. Exasperated, I ran into the mansion and straight into my room, crying my heart out in my pillow.