THE ACCIDENT
520 Words
I spent the entire day thinking about one thing.The accident.
By the time school ended, I had already decided that I wasn’t going to let Daniel avoid the conversation.
I found him waiting behind the science block.He looked nervous.
“You came.”
“You told me to.”
He nodded.For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked the question that had been sitting in my chest all day.
“What happened?”
Daniel looked down.
“Last year, Maya and I were coming back from a party.”
I listened carefully.
“I wasn’t driving,” he continued. “My friend was.”
“Who?”
“Chris.”
The name sounded familiar.
Daniel continued.
“We were arguing about something when another car suddenly came into our lane.He paused.
“There was a crash.”
I covered my mouth.
“Was anyone hurt?”
“Maya was.”
My heart dropped.
“How badly?”
“She spent weeks in the hospital.”
I stared at him.
“And you?”
“I wasn’t seriously hurt.”
“Then why does everyone act like you did something wrong?”
Daniel looked away.
“Because the police thought I was driving.”
“What?”
“I wasn’t.”
“Then why would they think that?”
“Because when they arrived, Chris was gone.”
I frowned.
“Gone?”
“He left the scene.”
My eyes widened.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I haven’t seen him since that night.”
I was silent.
Then everything suddenly made sense.Maya thought Daniel had been driving.People blamed him.
And someone clearly didn’t want me knowing about it.
“But why would Maya break up with you?”
Daniel’s eyes became sad.
“Because she believed I lied to her.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
He looked directly at me.
“I loved her. But I couldn’t convince her that I wasn’t responsible.”
My chest tightened.
“What about the girl in the picture?”
“Maya.”
“I know.”
He gave a small smile.
“She was my girlfriend.”
I nodded slowly.
“And the person sending me these messages?”
“I don’t know.”
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed.
Another unknown number.I looked at the screen.You are asking the wrong questions.My blood ran cold.
Then another message appeared.Ask Daniel where Chris is.I slowly raised my eyes.
Daniel was staring at my phone.
“What did they say?”
I showed him.
The moment he read the message, his expression changed.
“Chris…”
“What?”
He looked around the empty school compound.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because…”
He swallowed.
“Chris has been missing for almost a year.”
I stared at him.
Then my phone buzzed again.This time, there was a picture.My hands started shaking.It was a recent picture of Chris.
Standing outside our school.And beneath it were four words.
He’s closer than you think.
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