LIMITLESS

Chapter XXIII

Five months later

"I'm not going to yell at you." Rayan began. "I just want to know the truth."

"I told you the truth." Omar said as he sat on her couch. He had randomly called and asked to stop by about an hour earlier. Rayan was surprised yet somewhat relieved to hear from her older brother. But she had a lot of questions that needed answers. She had been trying to get the truth out of him since he showed up. "I left and moved in with a few friends."

"What friends?" Rayan asked.

"Why do you care?" Omar asked as he looked at her. "I just stopped by to check on you. I felt bad for leaving while you were in the hospital."

"Because you've been gone for eight months." Rayan shook her head. "You don't talk to us for eight months and you expect me not to ask you any questions. You need to go see abo. He's been worried sick. You should see how much he's aged since you left!" she exclaimed.

"Don't try to make me feel bad." he shook his head. "I couldn't live there anymore."

"Where were you staying?" Rayan asked for what felt like the millionth time.

"Where's your bathroom?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"Right behind you." she pointed to the door behind the living room. Omar quietly stood up and went into the bathroom. Rayan quickly shifted her gaze to the table where Omar had left his phone. She dived for it and tried to guess the password. She tried his birthday, his birth year, his graduation year, but none of it worked. But a message did pop up from an unknown number.

"There's 5k with your name on it." it read.

"Five thousand what?" Rayan whispered to herself. It couldn't be dollars. Where would Omar be making that money?

"Meet them at this address at around 6." the next message read. Rayan's eyes widened. The address popped up on the screen and she shut the phone off. She put it back on the table and repeated the address to herself before she forgot it. She pulled out her phone and typed it into her notes. Omar walked back into the room and returned back to his seat on the couch.

"I'm telling abo that you're here." she said as she crossed her arms over her baby bump.

"Go ahead, I'll just leave again." he shrugged. "What part of I don't want to talk to him do you not understand? I came to visit you, not him."

"But why?" she asked. "You hate me. There's no way that you would come back to see me and not him."

"You've gotten huge." he said as he looked her up and down.

"I'm pregnant." she squinted. "You've changed, Omar. Why are you acting so weird?" He leaned over and grabbed his phone. He checked his messages and stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

"I have to go." he said as he stood up. "It was nice seeing you, sis."

"Quick question." she said before he walked out of the door. "Did you find hooyo?"

"Do you want to meet her?" he asked.

"Not really." she shrugged. "I was just wondering if that's where you've been this whole time."

"I wasn't with her." he said as he stepped out of the door. "I haven't even looked for her."

...

Hani sat in class and looked down at her book. The page was covered in tears but she didn't mind. As long as nobody noticed her crying. She had already gone to the bathroom twice. If she stood up and left now, everybody would suspect that something was going on.