Chapter 573 - The secrets...

The girl was now feeling extremely nervous, owing to the man's extreme closeness to her body. She had never experienced something like this before. For the first time, she had allowed herself to get close to a man, and it was not troubling her to a level of fear or anxiety, she usually experiences at mere presence of a man. She was only nervous but some where deep down inside her heart she was also feeling intense happiness and a sense of security and well being, in his presence. Her mind and heart were currently playing a fiesty war, making her feel confused to the core.

"Do not think so much. Just feel this precious moment. I promise, you will not regret it." Kareem smiled looking at the perplexed girl who was yet sitting stunned at the man's actions towards her. Kareem now placed his forehead on the girl's shoulder and let out a big deep yawn. "Can you just hug me and simply sleep? I promise I will not do anything else to you, not until you are comfortable. But I want to sleep peacefully and with you around me, I tend to sleep much more peacefully." Kareem rubbed his teary eyes, with the girl's thin fabric on her shoulder.

Sheryl could clearly see how tired and sleepy the man looked. As if he has not had a good sleep from so many days. "You seem to be experiencing some re- occuring nightmares. You tend to get scared in your sleep a lot, like you are seeing something really dagerous." Sheryl finally turned her head to look at the man.

"Yes. I do see strange and violent things in my dream and I can not even tell it to anybody. I feel so helpless at times." Kareem spoke in an extreme distress, now a bit relieved at having found someone to share his deep fears, besides his best friend James. 

"Then why did you share it with me so easily?" Sheryl looked at the man's lazily resting head in confusion.

"With you their is no secret or barriers. It came out just naturally. I do not fear of being judged of being a wrong man, when I tell something to you. I believe from amongst all people, you will understand me. As if you know the real me and will never accuse me of being wrong." Kareem looked at the girl with extreme seriousness on his face. The truth of his words, could be seen clearly in his eyes. He was not joking about what ever he said to the girl. 

Sheryl looked at the man in surprise, some how easily believing his words. "It is fine. We all have some or the other fears in our hearts, what we are truely scared of. We might not show it to the world, but it secretly crawls in our bodies, ready to disturb our mind any second." Sheryl let out a big sigh emphathising with the man.

Kareem looked at the girl who now looked a bit sad. "You too have a major fear in your heart? With me you do not have to worry about anything. I will protect you from everything, everywhere."

Sheryl smirked a bit and turned to look at the kind man. She had a very sad smile on her face, which instantly caused Kareem's heart to ache. "You are too late Kareem. The fear is due to something that has already happened in my past. Nobody can help it, nobody can change it. Even my mother could not." Sheryl let out another big sigh, once again thinking about the horrific night when she was brutally r.a.p.ed by those group of men.

"Huh? What do you mean? What happened in your past? If you feel comfortable you can tell it to me.Though, I am not forcing you to tell me." Kareem no longer had rested his head on the girl's shoulder. He was now looking at the girl's face in curiosity. Suddenly he spotted a tear drop falling from the girl's face and his heart ached even more. He gently wiped the girl' tear with his figer and patted her shoulders lovingly, trying to calm her down.

"I have been r.a.p.ed by a gang when I was ten years old. You must be knowing that Mr. Wilson died, fighting a gang who came to take rveenge from Mrs. Wilson regarding a r.a.p.e case she was fighting. I am the girl, whose case she was fighting and eventually won. It was me, who was r.a.p.ed." Sheryl suddenly broke down in un- controllable sobs. This was the first time she had told somebody about her horrific past. She knew that Lillian and Elizabeth would never tell their kids or anybody else about the identity of the girl who was r.a.p.ed. But today due to some unknown reason, she had trusted Kareem to a point, where she had shared her darkest secret with him. 

Kareem was stunned to hear Sheryl's words. He knew that Rose's father died, fighting for a family, but he never knew who the family was. In his own dreams, he could have never guessed that the girl was none other than Sheryl herself. He looked at the girl with a helpless look on his face. Even in the last birth he could not save the girl from the physical harm and now something similar happened to her in this life- time too.

"I am not fit to be loved by anybody. Now that you know my dark past, you will never have the courage to love me. Do you have the courage? I know, nobody does. Also, I am so scared of men. Nobody has the courage and will to take me out of my shell. You should stay away from me, Kareem. I will make your life a constant struggle and I can never give you the love and happiness that you deserve or expect." Sheryl wiped away her tears, looking blankly at the lamp stand in front of her.