No Hockey Players

Episode5:TheOneIForgot

Layla’s POV

I stared at the red crayon drawn in the for her of my sketchbook, unable to understand why it frightened me. It looked exactly like the crayons I used when I was six,right down to the worn edges and faded red color. I searched through the old box of childhood belongings beneath my bed, hoping to find something that could explain it, but there was nothing.

The door opened, and Sophie walked in. She stopped when she saw my face “Layla, what happened?” I handed her the sketchbook without saying a word. Her eyes widened when she saw the drawing of three people holding hands. “You never told me about this third person.” “I never knew there was one.” I swallowed hard “Do you remember anyone being with us at prom?” Sophie’s eyebrow joined "Not clearly, I remember you dancing with me, but after that, everything becomes blurry.” She looked at me seriously “Layla, I think someone was following you that night.”

After Sophie left, I sat on my bed and stared at the red crayon in my sketchbook. Somehow, it pulled me back to first grade. I remembered Daniel sitting behind me, constantly pulling my hair and stealing my crayons. He had broken my favorite red crayon once, and I had hit him with it before our teacher separated us. Those memories were clear,but then something unfamiliar surfaced. I remember Daniel reaching into his pencil case and handing me another red crayon. He had looked at me with a small smile and said “Keep this one, I won’t break it.”

I blinked, confused by the memory. Why had I forgotten that? I had believed Daniel had always been cruel to me for years, but perhaps there had been moments I had erased without realizing it. I searched through my old belongings until I found a childhood drawing. My hands trembled when I saw Daniel’s name written beside a red crayon.

I could not stop thinking about the drawing, especially Daniel’s name written beside the red crayon. I needed answers, and I knew exactly where to look. Later that day, I passed the hockey arena and noticed Daniel and Noah standing near the entrance. They were talking quietly, but when I got closer, Noah suddenly lowered his voice. “Does she remember anything?” I stopped behind the corner. Daniel sighed “ she’s getting closer.” Noah looked around before saying “ We promised we would keep quiet.” “I know.” Daniel replied “but I can’t keep lying to her forever.” I covered my mouth, afraid that they would hear me. “What happens when she remembers everything?” Noah asked. There was a long silence, “I’ll tell her the truth.” Daniel finally said “even if she hates me for it.” I stepped backward, but before I could leave,Noah spoke again “The person sending those messages may know your secret too.” My blood ran cold. What secret?

Daniel and I met in the library that evening to work on our project, but his attention seemed to be somewhere else. He kept looking at his phone, checking the screen whenever it buzzed. “You’re distracted.” I said. “I’mfine.” “Is this about the messages?” He looked at me fiercely, “I told you I don't want to discuss them.” I sighed and opened my laptop. “Fine, let’s work.”

We spent the next hour building the online platform for young artists. Daniel was surprisingly serious. He suggested ways to promote paintings and even encouraged me to consider selling my artwork professionally. “You’re better than you think you are,” he said. I looked at him “how would you know?” “I’ve seen your drawings since we were kids.” I smiled “you remember that?” “I remember more than you think.” For a moment neither of us spoke then his expression softened “There is something I have wanted to tell you since high school.” Daniel barely finished speaking when the library door opened and Sean walked inside. His eyes immediately moved between us, noticing how close we were sitting. “What are you two doing?” He asked. “Working on our project.” I replied.

Sean looked at Daniel “Remember what I told you.” My patience disappeared. “Why do you keep treating me like a child?!” “Because I’m your brother Layla, I’m trying to protect you.” “From what? Nobody will tell me anything.” Daniel said, “Sean, she deserves to know.” Sean looked at him “stay out of this.” “No. You can’t keep deciding what she should know.” Sean clenched his jaw before walking outside. Daniel followed him,and I quietly moved closer to the door. “You promised me you would never tell her,” Sean said. My heart skipped, but Daniel remained silent. I stepped away from the door. Sean had made the same promise Daniel had made. What exactly were they hiding from me?.

I returned to my dorm with Sean’s words still circling through my mind. The moment I sat in my bed, my phone buzzed. An unknown number had sent me another photograph. My hands tightened around the phone as I opened it. The picture was from prom. I was standing in the hallway wearing a blue dress , while Daniel stood beside me, holding one of my hands. Another person was beside me, their face was hidden but their hand was wrapped around my other wrist. It was the same picture from before but I noticed something around their wrist. The person was wearing a bracelet, I knew that bracelet. My breathing became shallow as I looked closer at the familiar silver design. I had seen it before, but I could not remember where. Then I looked down at my own wrist, the same bracelet was wrapped around it. I fell to the ground “Why am I wearing this bracelet?” I whispered.

My phone buzzed again. Unknown : You are getting closer. My fingers tightened around the phone as I typed “Who are you?” The reply came almost immediately: unknown: You used to know me. “Why are you doing this?” The answer appeared seconds later: unknown: Because Daniel took you away from me.”

My heart stopped. Suddenly, the hallway returned to my mind. I saw Daniel holding one hand while another person held the other. Fear rushed through me as I heard a familiar voice whisper, “Don’t tell Daniel.” I stared at my phone, finally understanding that the person behind the messages had been there that night and somehow, I knew that voice.