Secrets
264 Words
Talking to Liam Carter became the easiest mistake I had ever made.
It started with one message.
Then another.
Then somehow it became every night.
We talked about everything.
Except the past.
That was the one thing he avoided.
And I noticed.
Because Liam noticed everything about me.
“Bad day?”
I looked at my phone.
How do you know?
His reply came instantly.
You use shorter messages when you’re upset.
I stared.
Nobody noticed things like that.
Not even Ethan.
I typed:
You’re strange.
He replied:
You say that like it’s bad.
I smiled.
It is.
You’re still texting me.
I had no response.
Because he was right.
───
The next day, I saw him at the hockey arena.
I wasn’t there for him.
That was the lie I told myself.
I was there because Ethan was practicing.
But my eyes kept finding Liam.
On the ice, he was different.
Focused.
Confident.
Everyone followed him.
But then a younger player made a mistake.
Everyone expected Liam to get angry.
Instead, he stopped.
Helped him.
Encouraged him.
I watched quietly.
This wasn’t the person everyone described.
“You’re staring.”
I turned.
Ryan stood beside me.
“I’m watching practice.”
His smile was small.
“Same thing.”
I ignored him.
“You don’t like Liam.”
“No.”
“Why?”
His expression changed.
“Because I know what he’s capable of.”
The answer was too serious.
“What happened?”
Ryan looked away.
“Ask your brother.”
And then he walked away.
Leaving me with more questions.
- Writer
