Three years ago
1390 Words
“Why she disappeared.”
Raven’s words followed me for the rest of the day.
They followed me through math class.
Through lunch.
Through the crowded hallway.
Even when I got home, they were still there.
I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the ceiling.
Three years ago.
I tried to remember.
I was thirteen.
What could possibly have happened when I was thirteen that involved Raven Cross, Elise, and a missing girl?
Nothing.
At least, nothing I could remember.
I grabbed my phone and searched his name.
Raven Cross.
Dozens of results appeared.
Most were useless.
Rumors.
Posts.
Comments from people who apparently knew him.
I kept scrolling.
Then I saw it.
LOCAL TEEN MISSING FOR NEARLY ONE YEAR.
I tapped the article.
Elise Morgan, seventeen, had disappeared eleven months ago.
The article included a photograph.
She was smiling.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A small silver necklace around her neck.
I stared at the picture.
Something about her face felt familiar.
Not because I’d met her.
Because I’d seen her somewhere.
I scrolled.
Police have not named any suspects.
Elise’s boyfriend, Raven Cross, was questioned but released.
My heart beat faster.
Then I saw a sentence that made me sit up.
Authorities believe Elise may have been planning to leave town before her disappearance.
Why?
I kept reading.
Nothing.
I searched her name separately.
More articles.
More rumors.
Then I found an old school forum.
Someone had posted a picture of Elise standing beside another girl.
The caption said:
Elise and Avery — best friends forever.
My blood ran cold.
I stared at the screen.
The girl beside Elise wasn’t some random Avery.
It was me.
I dropped my phone.
“No.”
I picked it up again.
The photograph was old.
I was younger.
Much younger.
But there was no mistaking my face.
I zoomed in.
Elise had her arm around me.
Both of us were smiling.
I couldn’t breathe.
I had never seen that picture before.
Or at least, I didn’t remember seeing it.
My bedroom door opened.
I quickly locked my phone.
My mother looked inside.
“You’re home early.”
“Yeah.”
She studied me.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
“I’m just tired.”
She nodded.
“Dinner in twenty minutes.”
“Okay.”
She closed the door.
I waited until I heard her footsteps disappear.
Then I opened the picture again.
There was something written on the back of the photograph.
A date.
Three years ago.
My hands started shaking.
I needed answers.
And there was only one person who could give them to me.
Maya.
⸻
I called her.
She answered on the fourth ring.
“What?”
“You knew.”
Silence.
“You knew about Elise.”
“Avery—”
“You knew she was my friend.”
Another silence.
“Where are you?”
“Home.”
“I’m coming over.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because we need to talk somewhere private.”
“Then come here.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
She hesitated.
“Because someone is watching me.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
“I’ll explain tomorrow.”
“Maya, I just found a picture of me and Elise.”
She went completely silent.
Then she whispered,
“You remembered?”
“No.”
My voice shook.
“I found it online.”
“Oh.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Maya—”
The call ended.
I stared at my phone.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
⸻
That night, I couldn’t sleep.
At 2:13 a.m., I heard something hit my window.
I froze.
Another sound.
Tap.
Tap.
I slowly got out of bed.
My curtains were closed.
I didn’t want to open them.
But curiosity won.
I pulled them apart.
Raven stood in my backyard.
My heart nearly stopped.
He looked up at my window.
Then he raised one hand.
I opened the window slightly.
“What are you doing here?”
“Come downstairs.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Avery.”
“How do you even know where I live?”
“Your address hasn’t changed.”
My blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
He looked around.
“Someone is following you.”
I stared at him.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because they’ve been following me too.”
I looked behind him.
The backyard was dark.
“Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t.”
That answer caught me off guard.
“Then why are you here?”
“Because I need to show you something.”
“What?”
He reached into his hoodie pocket.
For a second, I thought he was pulling out a weapon.
Instead, he held up a photograph.
Even from my window, I recognized it.
Elise.
And me.
My stomach dropped.
“Where did you get that?”
“From her room.”
“Her room?”
“Before she disappeared.”
I stared at him.
“You knew her.”
“Yes.”
“You were her boyfriend.”
“Yes.”
“Did you hurt her?”
His expression changed.
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
He looked at me.
“I don’t know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
He stepped closer to the house.
“But I know one thing.”
“What?”
“Elise wasn’t supposed to disappear.”
“What does that mean?”
“She was supposed to meet someone that night.”
“Who?”
He looked directly at me.
“You.”
I stopped breathing.
“What?”
“You were the last person she tried to contact.”
“No.”
“You don’t remember.”
“I would remember something like that.”
“Would you?”
I stared at him.
“What are you saying?”
Raven’s voice became quieter.
“Three years ago, something happened to you.”
I shook my head.
“I was thirteen.”
“I know.”
“You knew me then?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
He looked away.
“Because I was there.”
My chest tightened.
“Where?”
“At the hospital.”
The world seemed to tilt.
“What hospital?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said,
“The night you forgot.”
A cold feeling spread through me.
“What did I forget?”
Raven looked at me like he was afraid of the answer.
“You were in an accident.”
I swallowed.
“What accident?”
“Elise was with you.”
I stepped back from the window.
“No.”
“She survived.”
My heart pounded.
“But you didn’t remember her.”
I shook my head.
“This isn’t possible.”
“It is.”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“Because your parents didn’t want you to know.”
I stared at him.
“My parents?”
“Yes.”
A thousand questions rushed through my head.
Why had I forgotten?
Why had my parents never told me?
Why did Maya know?
And most importantly—
Why had Elise been with me?
Raven looked toward the street.
“We need to go.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“How do I know you’re not lying?”
“You don’t.”
He turned away.
Then stopped.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
He looked back at me.
“Elise wasn’t the only person who disappeared that night.”
My blood ran cold.
“What do you mean?”
His eyes locked onto mine.
“Someone else was there.”
“Who?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he walked into the darkness.
I stood at my window long after he was gone.
And for the first time in three years, I wondered what had really happened on the night my memories disappeared.
Because if Raven was telling the truth…
then the biggest secret of my life wasn’t something I had forgotten.
It was something someone had made me forget.
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