Chapter 40: Not Who I Thought
1448 Words
Kael's POV
I couldn't stop thinking about the message. Ask Justin where he really was last night, wrong suspect.
It had been sitting in my head since yesterday. I didn't know whether to believe it. The person behind all this had lied before. They could be trying to point me toward Justin just to keep me distracted.
But if Justin really had something to hide… I needed to know. I needed to question him again.
I found him before morning classes started. He was standing near the basketball court with a few guys, laughing like nothing in the world bothered him. The moment he saw me, his smile faded slightly..I walked toward him.
“Justin.” He looked at me.
“Kael.”
“We need to talk.” One of the guys beside him looked between us. Justin sighed.
“Give us a minute.”.They walked away. I crossed my arms.
“Where were you last night?” His eyebrows lifted.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” He chuckled.
“Why are you suddenly interested in where I spend my nights?”
“Just answer.”
“I was home.”
“Doing what?”
“Sleeping.” I stared at him.
“Adrienne checked.” His expression changed. Just slightly. But I noticed. “Checked what?”
“That you weren't home.” Justin looked away.
“Maybe I stepped out.”
“Where?”
“Why does it matter?”
“Because someone is threatening people around me.”.His eyes returned to mine. For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then he laughed quietly.
“You really think I'm behind that? I told you yesterday that I was at home.”
“I didn't say that.”
“You didn't have to.”.He stepped closer.
“If I wanted to hurt you, Kael, trust me, you wouldn't need an anonymous message to figure it out.” I clenched my jaw.
“Then where were you?” He stared at me.
“Somewhere you don't need to know about.”
“That's not an answer.”
“It's the only one you're getting.” He walked away. I watched him. Something wasn't right. I just didn't know what.
>>>>>>>>
Akira's POV
I had barely entered class when Camila rushed toward me. “You're late.”
“By two minutes.”
“Still late.”.I laughed. “Good morning to you too.” She looked at me carefully.
“You look tired.”
“I didn't sleep well.”
“Again?” I shrugged..She lowered her voice. “Another message?”.My smile disappeared.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I didn't tell her about the note..I didn't tell her that I had barely slept because I kept wondering who was watching us. And I definitely didn't tell her about the way my heart still raced whenever I remembered Kael holding my hand.
That was a completely different problem.
“Akira.” I looked at her.
“Hmm?”
“You're smiling.” I immediately stopped.
“I am not.”
“You were.”
“I wasn't.”
“You were thinking about someone.” I rolled my eyes.
“Camila.” She laughed. “Okay, okay. I'll leave you alone.”.Before I could respond, Justin entered the classroom..His eyes immediately found me. He smiled.
“Morning.”
“Morning.” He walked over.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure?”.I nodded.
“You look tired.”
“I didn't sleep well.”
“You should get some rest.”
“Thanks.”.He smiled. Then his eyes briefly moved toward Kael's empty seat. I noticed, but I said nothing.
>>>>>>>>
Kael's POV
I found Milky beneath the tree behind the library after class. She was reading, or at least pretending to. She kept staring at the same page.
“You're not reading.”.She looked up.
“I am.”
“You've been on that page for about three minutes.”.She frowned. “Maybe it's a very interesting page.” I laughed.
“Sure.” I sat beside her. For a few seconds, neither of us spoke. Then I asked, “Did you get another note?”.She went still. I noticed immediately.
“Milky.” She sighed.
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I knew you'd do exactly what you're doing now.”
“What am I doing?”
“Investigating.”
“I need to.”
“No, you don't.”
“Yes, I do.” She closed her book.
“Kael, I'm scared.” The words came quietly. Almost like she was ashamed of saying them. I looked at her. “You don't have to be.”
“You can't promise that.”
“No.” I paused.
“But I can promise I'll be careful.” She looked at me. “That's not enough.”
“It's what I've got.” She smiled faintly. I reached toward her hand. This time, she didn't pull away. Her fingers slipped into mine. Warm, small, shaky.
I looked down at our hands. Then back at her.
“You know,” I said quietly, “you're really bad at pretending you're not scared.” She smiled.
“And you're really bad at pretending you don't care.” I froze. She froze too. Neither of us spoke. Then she slowly pulled her hand away.
“We shouldn't do this.”
“Why?”
“Because we're supposed to hate each other.” I laughed.
“Are we?” She looked at me.
“I don't know anymore.” Neither did I.
>>>>>>>>
Akira's POV
I walked home that afternoon with Camila.>For once, nothing happened. No strange messages, no threatening notes, no one following us. I almost started believing things were finally getting better.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number. My steps stopped. Camila looked at me.
“What?” I slowly opened the message.
You think you're safe because nothing happened today? My heart dropped. Another message appeared.
You're not.
I immediately locked my phone..“What is it?” Camila asked. “Nothing.”
“Akira.”
“I said nothing.” She sighed.
“You're getting worse at lying.” I forced a smile.
“I'm fine.” We continued walking.
But I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching us.
>>>>>>>>
Kael's POV
I got home that evening and immediately checked my phone. Nothing. For the first time in days, there was no anonymous message waiting for me..I should have felt relieved. Instead, I felt uneasy. Silence had become suspicious..I walked upstairs. As I entered my room, I noticed something on my desk.
A folded piece of paper. My heart stopped. I hadn't left anything there. I slowly walked toward it, I picked it up. There was no name. No handwriting I recognized. I unfolded it. You're looking in the wrong direction.
My jaw tightened. I turned the paper over.
Nothing..Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
A picture..My eyes widened.
It was a photograph of me and Milky beneath the tree..My heart stopped. Someone had taken it today. Someone had been watching us.
The picture showed the exact moment our hands were together..My blood ran cold. Then another message appeared.
You really should have listened. I stared at the screen.
Another message. She is not the one in danger.
My heart pounded. What the hell did that mean?
Before I could process it, another message came through. You are.
I stood completely still. Then my bedroom door slowly creaked open behind me. I walked around. Nobody. Just darkness filling the hallway, my breathing became shallow. I stepped toward the doorway.
“Who's there?” Silence.
Then— Knock. I froze. Another knock. This time, from downstairs. I grabbed my phone and rushed out of my room.
“Gerald?” No answer..I reached the stairs..The house was completely silent..Then I heard something..The sound of the front door closing, I ran downstairs. But whoever had been there was already gone. I reached the door and pulled it open.
Nothing. Only the empty driveway.
I looked down. Something lay on the floor.
A small brown envelope. My heart dropped, I bent down and picked it up. There was one name written across the front.
AKIRA OWENS..I stared at it.
Why would someone leave Milky's name at my house?.My fingers tightened around the envelope. Then I noticed something else. There was a second line written underneath her name.
Three words that made my stomach turn.
She knows everything.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD