The New Lead
1009 Words
The message stayed with me all night.
You think distance protects you? It doesn’t.
Whoever was sending these messages wasn’t slowing down.
If anything, they were getting bolder.
More confident.
More personal.
And that terrified me.
By the next morning, I was exhausted before school even started.
I arrived early, hoping the empty hallways would help me clear my head.
Instead, they only gave me more time to think.
Someone was watching me.
Someone close enough to notice changes in my life.
Close enough to notice when I stopped talking to Jace.
Close enough to know things they shouldn’t know.
The realization followed me into the first period and refused to leave.
By lunch, Kiara was already staring at me suspiciously.
“You look awful.”
I dropped into my seat.
“Good afternoon to you too.”
“I’m serious.”
“I know.”
She leaned forward.
“Another message?”
My silence answered for me.
Her expression immediately changed.
The teasing disappeared.
The concern stayed.
“Naomi…”
“I’m fine.”
“You say that every time.”
Because I didn’t know what else to say.
How was I supposed to explain that I was scared?
That every vibration from my phone made my stomach drop?
That every anonymous message felt like someone tightening a noose around my life?
I pushed my food around my tray.
Not hungry.
Not really.
Across the cafeteria, my eyes landed on Jace.
By accident.
At least that’s what I told myself.
He was sitting with Mason and a few other athletes.
Laughing at something.
Looking normal.
Looking happy.
For a moment, I wondered what that felt like.
Then my phone buzzed.
The sound instantly made my heart stop.
Unknown Number.
Again.
My hands suddenly felt cold.
Kiara noticed immediately.
“Don’t open it.”
Too late.
I already had.
A photo appeared on my screen.
Not a recent one.
An old one it was very old.
My breath caught.
The image showed me standing beside Avery outside our old school.
Both of us are smiling.
Both of us look happy.
Before everything fell apart.
Beneath the photo was a single message.
Ask her about Ethan.
I stared. Once. Twice. Three times.
“What is it?” Kiara asked.
I handed her the phone.
Her eyes widened.
“Who’s Ethan?”
“I don’t know.”
And that was the truth.
The name meant absolutely nothing to me.
At least at first.
Then something clicked—a memory, small and faint, but there.
Ethan.
One of the seniors from my old school.
Not someone I knew personally.
Just someone I’d seen around.
Someone who graduated shortly before the scandal exploded.
Why would the sender mention him?
What did he have to do with anything?
Questions raced through my mind.
For the first time in months, the messages weren’t just threats.
They were pointing somewhere.
Toward something.
A clue andI had no idea what to do with it.
The rest of the school day felt endless.
Every class dragged.
Every minute crawled.
By the time practice arrived, my head was spinning.
Coach Daniels immediately noticed.
Of course he did.
“Blake.”
I sighed.
“Yes, Coach?”
“Focus.”
“I am focused.”
“You’re lying.”
Several athletes laughed.
Traitors.
I moved toward lane six.
Trying to clear my head.
Trying to focus on training.
Trying not to think about anonymous messages and mysterious names.
Unfortunately, none of those attempts worked.
I was halfway through an exchange drill when Coach blew his whistle.
“Break.”
The team scattered toward the water coolers.
I stayed where I was.
Staring down at the track.
Thinking, always thinking.
Footsteps approached.
I didn’t need to look up.
“What’s wrong?”
Jace.
My pulse reacted immediately. It was very annoying.
I kept my eyes on the ground.
“Nothing.”
“Still bad at lying.”
I almost smiled.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then he sat beside me on the bleachers.
Exactly the way he always did.
The familiar feeling made my chest ache unexpectedly.
“You got another message.”
Not a question but a statement.
I looked up.
“How do you always know?”
One corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
“You make the same face every time.”
Apparently, I was becoming predictable.
I hesitated then handed him my phone.
His eyes moved across the screen.
Reading, processing, and thinking.
When he finished, he looked back at me.
“Ethan.”
I nodded.
“Do you know him?”
“No.”
That answer surprised me.
Then Jace frowned slightly.
“Wait.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“I’ve heard that name before.”
The words hit me instantly.
“What?”
He leaned back slightly.
Thinking hard and trying to remember.
Several seconds passed, then his eyes widened.
“I know where I heard it.”
My heart immediately sped up.
“Where?”
“It was in one of those articles.”
“What articles?”
“The ones about your scandal.”
Everything inside me froze.
For months, I had avoided reading those articles.
Avoided every headline.
Every rumor.
Every accusation.
Maybe that had been a mistake.
Because if Ethan’s name appeared somewhere in that mess—
Then maybe he mattered.
Maybe he was connected.
Maybe the sender wanted me to find him.
The possibility made my pulse race.
For the first time in months, I wasn’t staring at another threat.
I was staring in a direction, a path, and a chance.
Coach’s whistle echoed across the field.
“Break’s over!”
The team immediately began returning to their positions.
But I barely heard them.
Because my mind was already somewhere else.
Somewhere in the past.
Somewhere hidden beneath rumors and lies.
And for the first time since my life fell apart, I had a feeling the truth might finally be waiting for me.
The scary part?
I wasn’t sure I was ready to find it.
- Writer
