LOVELORNED CHAPTER ELEVEN
530 Words
Chapter 11: Gone Again
Gone.
Again.
That word kept looping in my head.
Caleb’s phone: off.
His i********:: deactivated.
His publicist: “No comment.”
Kayla didn’t let me spiral.
She took my phone, made tea, and sat on my floor with me.
“He’s not ghosting you,” she said. “He just went dark because of Addison and the internet.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Because if he was gonna leave, he wouldn’t have posted that.
And he wouldn’t have called you for 2 hours last night.”
I wanted to believe her.
But the DM from Addison was still there.
“Wait till he gets bored and leaves you at another pier.”
It felt too real.
I didn’t go to class.
I didn’t eat.
I just reread Lily’s journal.
And the photo.
And the green envelope.
At 9 PM there was a knock.
Not downstairs. At my door.
I opened it.
It wasn’t Caleb.
It was a delivery guy.
“Package for Maya Johnson. Sign here.”
Inside: a small black box.
No name. No note.
Just a key.
An old, silver key.
And a new green envelope.
_“If you’re reading this, I had to leave.
It’s not about you. It’s about me.
I’ll explain everything.
Come to the library. 11 PM.
Bring the key.
Don’t tell anyone.
Please trust me one more time.
-C”_
The library.
The one that’s closed at 11.
The one where Lily and I used to study.
Kayla read it over my shoulder.
“Absolutely not,” she said. “This is serial killer behavior.”
“What if it’s really him?” I whispered.
“What if it’s not?”
I looked at the key.
It was small. Like a locker key.
Like the ones in the old part of the library.
The archives.
11 PM.
2 hours.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photo.
Caleb. Sitting in the library.
Alone.
Under the dim emergency light.
Holding the red umbrella.
Text under it: “I’m waiting.”
My heart slammed.
“Kayla, I have to go.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“No. If this is a trap, I don't want you in it.
If it's him... I need to do this alone.”
She hugged me. Hard.
“Text me every 5 minutes. Or I’m calling 911.”
Deal.
11:00 PM.
The library doors were locked.
Except one side door.
Cracked open.
I pushed it.
It creaked.
Inside: dark. Silent.
Smelled like old books and rain.
“Hello?” My voice shook.
A light flicked on.
Row 7. Archives.
Caleb was there.
Sitting on the floor.
Back against the shelves.
The red umbrella next to him.
Eyes red. Like he hadn’t slept.
In front of him: a stack of papers.
And Lily’s journal. Open.
He looked up when he saw me.
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
“For what?”
“For making you come here.
For lying to you.
For the fact that I’m the reason Lily was at Navy Pier that night.”
The world stopped.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Chapter 12: The Truth
- Writer
