Chapter 18 Before Liam Arrived
1242 Words
“Ask your brother what happened before Liam arrived.”
The words on my phone seemed to burn into my mind.
I looked at Ethan.
He was still staring at the corner where the black car had disappeared.
“What does that mean?”
He didn't answer.
“Ethan.”
His shoulders rose with a slow breath.
“Go inside.”
“No.”
“Sophie, please.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You knew about the investigation.”
“I knew there was a possibility someone could reopen it.”
“You knew someone was threatening you.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn't tell me?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
The words came out automatically.
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course you were.”
Ethan flinched.
“That's not fair.”
“Neither is lying to me.”
“I didn't lie.”
“You kept things from me.”
“Because you're my sister!”
His voice cracked through the quiet street.
“I've spent years trying to make sure nothing like that night ever happens to you.”
I stared at him.
“What happened that night?”
His face changed.
And I knew.
He was finally going to tell me.
At least, I thought he was.
Instead, he looked away.
“I can't.”
My heart sank.
“You can't?”
“Not yet.”
I shook my head.
“Why?”
“Because if I tell you everything, you become part of it.”
“I already am.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“You're not.”
His eyes were pleading now.
“You're the one thing from my life that isn't connected to that night.”
I swallowed.
“What does Liam have to do with it?”
Ethan looked at me for a long moment.
Then he whispered,
“Everything.”
───
I didn't sleep.
Again.
My room was dark except for the light from my phone.
I had reread the anonymous messages so many times that I knew them by heart.
You shouldn't be asking questions about that night.
Some secrets are buried for a reason.
You can't protect her forever.
And now...
Ask your brother what happened before Liam arrived.
I couldn't stop thinking about that last one.
Before Liam arrived.
Meaning Liam wasn't there when it started.
Meaning there was something before the fight.
Something Ethan had never told me.
My phone buzzed.
This time, I knew who it was.
Liam: Are you safe?
I stared at the message.
I wanted to tell him everything.
Instead, I typed:
Ethan got a message too.
The typing bubbles appeared immediately.
What did it say?
I sent him a screenshot.
His response took longer.
Don't leave your apartment tonight.
I frowned.
Why?
Because whoever sent those messages knows more than we thought.
I sat up.
Liam, what aren't you telling me?
Three dots.
Then nothing.
Liam?
Still nothing.
I waited.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Finally:
Tomorrow. I'll tell you everything I can.
I stared at the screen.
Promise?
The reply came almost instantly.
I promise.
For the first time that night, I allowed myself to breathe.
───
The next morning, Liam wasn't at practice.
I knew before I even reached the arena.
His teammates were gathered outside, speaking in low voices.
One of them spotted me.
“Sophie?”
I approached.
“Where's Liam?”
The guy exchanged a glance with another player.
“Didn't you hear?”
My stomach tightened.
“Hear what?”
“He didn't show up.”
“What do you mean?”
“He didn't come home last night.”
Everything inside me stopped.
“What?”
“He left the arena with Coach Reynolds yesterday.”
I shook my head.
“No. He texted me last night.”
“When?”
“Around midnight.”
The player's face changed.
“Sophie…”
“What?”
He looked uncomfortable.
“Coach Reynolds said Liam never went home with him.”
I stared.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“I know.”
My hands began to shake.
“Did anyone see him leave?”
He nodded slowly.
“Someone did.”
“Who?”
Before he could answer, a voice came from behind me.
“I did.”
I turned.
Ryan stood there.
His expression was unusually serious.
“I saw Liam leave.”
“With who?”
Ryan's eyes met mine.
“Alone.”
My heart dropped.
“Where did he go?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
His eyebrows lifted.
“Sophie—”
“You know something.”
“I don't.”
I stepped closer.
“Then why do you look scared?”
For a second, something flashed across his face.
Then it disappeared.
“I think you should come with me.”
“No.”
“Sophie.”
“I said no.”
His voice softened.
“I can help you.”
“I don't need your help.”
His jaw tightened.
“Liam isn't here.”
“I know.”
“You don't know where he is.”
“I'll find him.”
“How?”
I didn't have an answer.
Ryan stepped closer.
“Let me help.”
I stared at him.
There was something strange in his eyes.
Something I couldn't place.
Concern.
Fear.
Maybe jealousy.
Or something else.
“I know you care about him,” he said quietly.
I froze.
“But you need to understand something.”
“What?”
Ryan looked toward the empty rink.
“Liam has been lying to you.”
My heart clenched.
“How do you know?”
“Because I know what happened that night.”
Everything went silent.
“What?”
Ryan looked at me.
And then he said the one thing I never expected.
“I was there.”
───
I couldn't breathe.
“You?”
Ryan nodded.
“Three years ago.”
My mind raced.
The Winter Classic.
The ambulance.
Ethan.
Liam.
The missing witness.
“You were the witness?”
His expression changed.
“No.”
“Then what were you?”
He looked away.
“I was the person who found Ethan.”
My heart pounded.
“Before Liam?”
“Yes.”
The anonymous message flashed through my mind.
Ask your brother what happened before Liam arrived.
I took a step back.
“What did you see?”
Ryan didn't answer.
“Ryan.”
He looked at me.
“I saw Ethan fighting with someone.”
“Who?”
His eyes held mine.
Then, very quietly—
“Someone who wasn't Liam.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who?”
Ryan opened his mouth.
But before he could answer, his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face went completely white.
“What's wrong?”
He didn't respond.
I grabbed his wrist.
“Ryan?”
He slowly turned the phone toward me.
A message had appeared.
You were supposed to keep your mouth shut.
My heart stopped.
Another message arrived.
Now she knows.
Ryan looked at me.
And for the first time since I'd known him...
He looked genuinely terrified.
But there was something else.
Something I couldn't understand.
Because beneath the fear...
I saw guilt.
And suddenly I wasn't sure whether Ryan had been trying to protect me all this time.
Or whether he'd been trying to keep me from discovering the truth.
- Writer
