Chapter 5 Undone

My hands wouldn't stop shaking.

I played the video again.

"If Luna has hurt you-"

Pause.

Ain't no fucking wayyyy...I almost yelled

But the words were only resounding in my head,but they weren't leaving my mouth.

I tried to breathe. Inhale. Exhale. But the air in the room felt inexistent or maybe poisoned, thick with betrayal. Luna. The girl who held me when I cried. The girl who made me soup when I wouldn't eat. The girl who looked at me like I was her entire world... had secrets.

I didn't know how to confront her, not yet. So I did what any sane person wouldn't. I buried the envelope and flash drive under the loose floorboard in my room, right beside the broken piece of mirror I used to stare into when I felt like nothing.

Then I lay on my bed, eyes wide open until morning.

---

Zaria was waiting by the time I reached the cafe. She sat by the window, swirling a spoon in her iced tea like she was stirring time itself. Her dark curls framed her sharp cheekbones, and she looked up at me with an unreadable expression.

"You look like hell," she said.

"Thanks. Good morning to you too."

"Sit. Talk."

I slid into the booth opposite her. "Something's off. With Luna. With everything."

She tilted her head. "Define 'off'."

I bit my lip. "My dad left me a video. A letter. He mentioned names. People I know. People close to me."

Zaria's brows knitted. "What names?"

I hesitated. "I can't tell you yet. I need to be sure I can trust you."

Her eyes didn't flinch. "Then let me earn it."

I reached for her hand across the table. Her fingers curled around mine. Warm. Firm.

"Can you help me investigate something? Quietly?" I asked.

She nodded. "Always."

---

Later that afternoon, I returned home to find Luna pacing in the living room. Her phone was pressed to her ear, and she looked pale, frantic. She ended the call the moment she saw me.

"Where were you?" she asked sharply.

"Out. Needed air."

"You should've told me. I've been worried sick."

"You were on the phone. Sounded intense."

She blinked, then forced a smile. "Just... family stuff. You know how it is."

"Sure," I lied. Then I asked, "Who's Zeke Aladimeji?"

She froze.

Only for a second, but I saw it. Her eyes widened, just a flicker, and her hand tightened around her phone.

"No idea," she said too quickly. "Why?"

"Just a name I heard somewhere. Doesn't matter."

But it did. It mattered so much.

---

At night, I met Zaria again. We sat in the back of her car, parked near an abandoned school ground. There was something thrilling about the secrecy, about being wrapped up in each other where the world couldn't see.

She kissed my collarbone. I arched into her touch. Her lips trailed fire across my skin.

"Do you want to stop?" she asked.

"No. God, no."

Clothes were undone. Breaths tangled. For a moment, I wasn't a girl mourning her father. I was just Skye, and she was just Zaria, and nothing else mattered.

Afterward, tangled in a sweaty heap, I whispered, "He said Luna hurt him."

Zaria stiffened. "What?"

"My dad. In the video. He said if Luna hurt me... he knew."

Zaria sat up. "Then you have to get proof."

"How?"

"Play along. Act like everything's fine. Watch her."

I nodded. My heart felt like it was splitting in half.

---

Two days later, Officer Kalu showed up at our door. Broad-shouldered, crisp uniform, kind eyes that felt too kind.

"Miss Skye," he said. "Mind if we chat?"

Luna welcomed him in with fake sweetness.

"We were just talking about you," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder a little too familiarly.

They exchanged a look. A subtle one. My stomach twisted.

He sat across from me, flipping open a notepad. "Any developments you want to share?"

I shook my head. "Nothing new."

He leaned forward. "Sometimes, killers are closer than we think."

Luna coughed beside him.

He smiled. "Anyway, I'm always around. Call me if you remember anything."

As he left, his hand brushed against mine.

Later that night, he texted me.

"You're too smart for your own good. Meet me. Alone. Tomorrow night."

I stared at the message until the letters blurred.

---

And then, I heard Luna on the phone.

"Yes, she knows the name. No, I didn't tell her. We have to handle this... before she remembers more."

My blood ran cold.

I hit record on my voice memo app.

War had begun.

---

The next day I dressed in black jeans and a hoodie, a dagger of anxiety stabbing through my ribs. I told Luna I was meeting Zaria for study prep, but I headed toward the address Officer Kalu texted instead.

It was a rundown motel on the edge of town.

Inside, the hallway smelled of mildew and secrets. Room 14. I knocked twice.

He opened the door shirtless.

"You came," he said, stepping aside.

I remained at the threshold. "Why am I here?"

He looked me over, slowly. "Because I know things. And you want answers."

I stepped inside, cautious.

"Zeke Aladimeji," he said, closing the door behind me. "He paid me to monitor your father's murder case. Paid a lot. Said it was just to keep it under wraps."

"Why?"

"Because your father was about to expose a political secret. Zeke couldn't let that happen."

"What kind of secret?"

He smirked. "You don't need all the pieces yet. But Luna? She was never who you thought. She was the bridge."

"Bridge to what?"

"To you."

I took a step back. "You were his informant. You used me."

"Still am. And if you don't shut up, you'll be next."

That was it.

I bolted. Ran all the way to Zaria's.

Burst into her arms.

"We need to get out," I whispered. "We need to run."

But there's no escaping truth.

And the truth was closing in.