Xander POV
I know what I saw. That is perhaps what frightened me the most. I saw it with both my eyes. Jamal was no ordinary human being. I saw his birth; I saw his first kill which by the way was not a fish it was a big adult deer. Jamal was a wolf. I don’t know why I did not see that coming. He is good. He keeps his identity secret well. I saw the many battles he had fought. Jamal had been to war. Who or what he waged war against or who or what waged war against him I have no idea. I was not fortunate enough to see that deep but it had to be a serious matter because I saw Jamal kill. I saw him maim enemies, I saw him fight with valour. A man as Jamal had more backstory than I had anticipated, perhaps his backstory is too ominous that I’d rather not delve into but my curiosity as always, got the best of me and I found myself thinking deeply about how it was possible that a girl as innocent as Methis had had an affair with a man as dangerous as Jamal. They were like two opposite side of very different coins. How on earth did they even meet in the first place?
These questions and thoughts plagued my mind with sleepless nights and I knew that the answer was still somewhere. They came from two separate worlds so traces of their meeting had to exist on both worlds. I know it. If there was anything I’ve learned in my years here on earth and throughout my existence, it was that for everything we did – secret or open – there was always a mark left behind. It could be in the form of places, signs, text messages, call logs, or as I desperately wished in this case, in the form of actual people. But where to start? Where do I begin my expeditions?
My sister was a good starting point. I had to squeeze her as much information as I possibly could before I begun. She was Methis's best friend and even though Methis had told her the same story of her needing treatment abroad as an explanation for her missing year, for the most part of their relationship they had been on excellent terms and what she mostly told Sophia checked out so amidst all that truth from the previous years, they had to be one that was the key to unravel the lie.
I headed over to my sister’s room and knocked.
“Come in!” she called from across the room.
She was folding her clothes that had just come back from the dry cleaners. She had her wardrobe open and all her hangers sprawled on her bed. “What do you want?” she asked me.
“What are you doing?” I asked as if it wasn’t clear enough.
“Arranging my clothes, what does it look like I am doing?” she replied.
“No need to be rude,” I said in a false sad tone. I knew what I was getting at. I just needed patience. Loads of people refer to me as a playboy but there is a reason I’ve been one for so long without having any issues. I prided myself for my wits and hopefully, I’d use it to great advantage against my sister.
“Sorry,” she replied. I and my sister have been together like forever so she had seen a lot of my shenanigans so tricking her was usually not easy. However, today her tone betrayed her distress. I prayed a silent prayer of forgiveness for what I was about to do.
“What’s wrong, sis?” I asked.
“Nothing is wrong.”
Of course, how could I forget the usual ‘nothing’ answer? I sighed. “I can see you aren’t OK, Sophia. How is school?” Let me begin with throwing random questions until I channel it to my point.
“It is going well,” she replied.
“And the lab stuff you do?”
“It is good. Thank you.”
I don’t say a word. I just sit in silence doing nothing.
“What?” Sophia asked. She was stressed so she was getting pissed.
“What?” I replied, feigning innocence. “I’m just checking up on my sister.”
Sophia stopped folding, apprehending me. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“Why are you being nice to me?”
“You are my sister. I’ve noticed you. Lately, you have been more quiet. Like a lot is happening and you don’t have anyone to talk to.” I swallowed.
Sophia took a seat on her bed and faced me “It’s just…” she sighed, “I usually have Methis to talk to but lately…”
“Are you two fighting?” I asked. I knew they weren’t but if I pretended otherwise, I might open up a door to ask more about Methis.
“Not fighting but we have been a bit distant.”
“How come? You two are inseparable.”
“I thought that too. But with the new IT system introduced for journalism students, her job with you in the stadium. She’s just always busy.”
“Then plan a girls’ night out or something,” I suggested. If I added suggestions rather than just questions, it would look more like a conversation than an interrogation which it really is.
“She seems too busy for me.”
“Yeah? There’s this new bloke that just showed up.”
Sophia’s eyes bulged open as she adjusted. “So I heard. I heard he’s been taking her out.”
“The guy thought I was with her and he almost killed me.”
“No way. That’s awful.” Sophia was really getting beat with this conversation. Very soon, I would get to the point and I would have my first clue. But for the time being, I had to play it safe. “While she was at the stadium with you, did you guys hang out?” Sophia asked.
“Yeah. Quite a lot, I reckon.”
“Oh.”
If I were to be correct, I sensed jealousy but that was all part of it. Make her insecure about her relationship with Methis then make her regain her confidence.