The Boy Everyone Blamed
1293 Words
The day of the funeral didn’t feel real.
It felt like I was watching someone else’s life from a distance—like none of it was actually happening to me.
People filled the house early in the morning. Relatives, neighbors, people I barely knew. Their voices blended together into a low, constant noise that made my head ache.
“I’m so sorry.”
“She was such a beautiful girl.”
“If you need anything…”
The same words, over and over again.
I nodded when I was supposed to. Said thank you when I remembered.
But most of it didn’t reach me.
I was just… there.
---
By the time we got to the funeral, I felt numb.The sky was dull and gray, like it couldn’t decide whether to rain or not.
I stood near the front, staring at the coffin.
Lucy.
Inside that wooden box.
She wasn’t supposed to be there. She was supposed to be next to me, whispering something inappropriate and making me laugh when I wasn’t supposed to.
My hands tightened at my sides.
---
“Jess.”
Michael’s voice was soft beside me.
I hadn’t even noticed him step closer.
He reached for my hand, squeezing it gently.
“I’m right here, baby.”
I nodded, but I couldn’t look at him.
If I did, I felt like I might fall apart completely.
“I don’t think I can do this,” I whispered.
“You can,” he said. “Just stay with me, okay?”
His thumb brushed slowly over my hand.
I held onto that feeling.
Because everything else felt like it was slipping away.
---
The ceremony started.
Voices spoke, but I barely heard them.All I could focus on was the coffin. On the finality of it.
On the fact that this was goodbye. Forever.
My chest tightened painfully.
I couldn’t breathe properly.
“Jess,” Michael murmured, leaning closer. “Look at me.”
I shook my head slightly.
“I can’t…”
“Yes, you can,” he said gently. “Just for a second.”
Slowly, I turned my head.
His eyes met mine—calm, steady, reassuring.
“Breathe,” he said quietly.
I followed his voice.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
The tightness in my chest eased just a little.
“That’s it,” he said. “I’ve got you.”
I nodded, holding onto his hand tighter.
---
After the ceremony, people gathered around again. It was overwhelming.
“I need some air,” I said quietly.
Michael looked at me. “Do you want me to come with you?”
I shook my head. “No… I’ll be okay.”
He hesitated, like he wasn’t sure.
“Don’t go far,” he said finally.
“I won’t.”
---
I walked away from the crowd, my steps slow at first, then faster as the noise faded behind me.
The air felt colder outside. Easier to breathe.
I stopped near the edge of the cemetery, wrapping my arms around myself.
For the first time all day, it was quiet.
Really quiet.
---
“I’m sorry.”
The voice came from behind me.
I froze.
Slowly, I turned around.
Jason.
He stood a few feet away, his hands shoved into his pockets, his posture tense.
He looked… different.
Not like the guy I used to see with Lucy.
He looked tired. Pale. Like he hadn’t slept in days.
His eyes were red, like he’d been crying.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
“I didn’t know if you’d want to see me,” he said finally.
His voice was rough.
“I almost didn’t come.”
My chest tightened.
I didn’t know what to say.
This was Lucy’s boyfriend.
The last person who saw her.
The person everyone was starting to talk about.
“I’m glad you came,” I said quietly.
And I meant it.
Because no matter what—
he lost her too.
---
“I’m so sorry, Jessica,” he said.
His voice broke slightly on my name.
“I never thought… I never thought this would happen.”
I swallowed hard.
“Me neither.”
Silence fell between us again.
There was too much unspoken.
Too many questions.
---
“I didn’t do this.”
The words came suddenly.
I looked up at him.
His eyes were locked on mine.
“I didn’t hurt her,” he said.
My heart started beating faster.
“I would never—” he stopped, running a hand through his hair. “I loved her.”
The word hung in the air.
Loved.
Past tense.
It hurt more than I expected.
“I believe you,” I wanted to say.
The words were right there.
But they wouldn’t come out.
Because doubt had already started to grow inside me.
And I hated it.
---
“I—” I hesitated.
And that was enough.
I saw it in his face.
The moment everything changed.
His expression hardened slightly, like something inside him shut down.
“Right,” he muttered.
I took a small step forward. “Jason, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s fine,” he said quickly.
But it wasn’t fine.
Nothing about this was fine.
---
“They think it was me, don’t they?” he asked.
I didn’t answer.
I didn’t have to.
He let out a bitter laugh.
“Of course they do.”
“It’s just—” I started, but I didn’t know how to finish that sentence.
Because what could I say?
That the messages looked bad? That the timing didn’t make sense? That everything was pointing at him?
“I was supposed to meet her,” he said quietly.
My breath caught.
“What?”
His eyes dropped to the ground.
“She texted me. Said we needed to talk.”
My mind flashed back to Lucy’s phone.
The messages.
We need to talk.
My stomach twisted.
“Did you meet her?” I asked.
He shook his head immediately.
“No.”
Too fast.
“I mean—I was on my way, but…” he hesitated. “She stopped replying.”
I stared at him.
Trying to figure out if he was lying.
But I couldn’t tell.
---
“I didn’t get there,” he said again, more firmly this time. “By the time I tried calling her, she wasn’t answering.”
Something about the way he said it felt real.
Too real to fake.
And that made everything more confusing.
---
“I didn’t do this, Jessica,” he said again, softer now.
“I swear.”
I wanted to believe him.
God, I wanted to.
But everything felt uncertain.
Twisted in ways I didn’t understand yet.
“I don’t know what to believe,” I admitted.
The honesty hurt. But it was the truth.
---
He nodded slowly.
Like he expected that.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I figured.”
---
“I should go,” he said finally.
Before I could respond, he turned and started walking away.
Fast.
Like he needed to leave before something else broke.
“Jason,” I called.
He stopped—but didn’t turn around.
“If you remember anything,” I said, my voice shaking slightly, “anything at all… you need to tell the police.”
There was a pause.
Then—
“I’ve told them everything.”
Something about the way he said it made a chill run through me.
---
He walked away without looking back.
And as I stood there, watching him disappear—
I felt it again.
That same uneasy feeling.
Stronger this time.
Because something didn’t make sense.
If Jason didn’t meet Lucy that night…
Then who did?
- Writer
