Chapter 2: The Call That Changed Everything
Blu’s name glowing on Dre’s phone screen felt like a warning.
Nobody reached for it.
Nobody breathed.
For three seconds, we all just stared.
Then Dre grabbed the phone so quickly his chair scraped against the floor.
“Don’t say anything,” he whispered.
I frowned.
“What?””
He stood up.
“Just… don’t.””
That was the moment something inside me cracked.
Because people only said things like that when they were trying to protect a secret.
And suddenly, I wasn’t sure whose side everyone was on.
Dre walked toward the front door of the coffee shop, but I could still hear the nervousness in his voice when he answered.
“Hey, Blu.””
A pause.
His face changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Enough for me to know she had asked something he didn’t want to answer.
“Yeah, we’re still out,” he said.
Another pause.
“No, nothing’s wrong.””
I looked at Marlo.
He wasn’t watching Dre.
He was watching me.
Like he was waiting to see what I would do with everything I had just learned.
I hated that.
I hated feeling like the only person in the room who didn’t have the full story.
“Why is he acting like that?”” I asked.
Marlo sighed.
“Because he knows what happened.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
“What happened?””
He looked down.
“Bree…”
“No.””
My voice came out sharper than I intended.
“No, don’t do that. Don’t say my name like I’m too fragile to hear the truth.””
Marlo leaned forward.
“I’m not saying that.””
“Then tell me.””
He was quiet.
The rain outside grew heavier, covering the sound of the people around us.
Finally, he spoke.
“Blu wasn’t just in a bad relationship.””
I waited.
“She was involved with someone who had a lot of power over her.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“Power how?””
Marlo rubbed his hands together.
“Emotionally. Financially. Socially. He knew exactly how to make her feel like she couldn’t leave.””
I thought about every conversation I’d ever had with Blu.
The nights she stared at her phone but refused to answer.
The way she apologized even when she hadn’t done anything wrong.
The way she always said, “I’m fine,” five seconds before admitting she wasn’t.
I had seen those things.
I just never connected them.
“What was his name?”” I asked.
Marlo looked toward the door where Dre was still talking.
Then back at me.
“Eli.””
The name meant nothing.
And somehow that made it worse.
Because apparently everyone knew a chapter of Blu’s life that I had never even opened.
“Why didn’t she tell me?””
Marlo’s expression softened.
“Maybe because she knew you would ask questions.””
“I’m her best friend.””
“I know.””
“Then why hide something like this?””
Marlo didn’t answer.
And that silence annoyed me more than any explanation could have.
Because it made me wonder if Blu had been protecting herself…
or protecting someone else.
Dre finally came back.
His face was serious.
“Blu wants to talk.””
I laughed once.
A humorless sound.
“Of course she does.””
Dre looked at me.
“Bree—”
“No. Actually, I’m glad.””
I grabbed my bag.
“I’ve been sitting here feeling crazy because apparently everybody knows what’s going on except me.””
“That’s not fair,” Dre said.
I turned.
“Isn’t it?””
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Exactly.
Marlo stood.
“Maybe this isn’t the place.””
I looked around the coffee shop.
People were talking.
People were laughing.
Someone at the counter was ordering a caramel latte.
And somehow, my entire understanding of my best friend’s life had just fallen apart in the middle of it.
“No,” I said quietly.
“This is exactly the place.””
Dre looked uncomfortable.
“Bree.””
“I want to know why my best friend never told me she had a past here.””
“She didn’t have a past here,” Dre said.
Marlo immediately looked at him.
And that tiny reaction made my stomach twist.
“What does that mean?””
Neither of them answered.
I stepped closer.
“What does that mean?””
Dre looked away.
Marlo spoke instead.
“It means Eli wasn’t the only person connected to what happened.””
The room felt smaller.
“What are you talking about?””
Before either of them could answer, Dre’s phone buzzed again.
This time, it wasn’t a call.
It was a message.
He looked at it.
Then slowly handed me the phone.
I stared at the screen.
One sentence.
That was all it said.
*“Please don’t tell Bree the whole story yet.””*
My heart dropped.
Because the message wasn’t from Eli.
It wasn’t from some stranger.
It was from Blu.
I looked up.
Dre immediately looked guilty.
“You need to understand—”
“No.””
My voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
“You all knew.””
“Bree—”
“You all knew.””
Marlo stepped closer.
“Bree, listen to me.””
I held up my hand.
“No. I need one person in this room to tell me the truth.””
Nobody spoke.
And that silence answered me.
I walked out of the coffee shop.
The cold air hit my face immediately.
I didn’t know where I was going.
I just knew I needed space.
Because my entire friendship with Blu suddenly felt like a house with locked doors.
And I was realizing I had never been given the keys.
My phone rang ten minutes later.
Blu.
I almost didn’t answer.
Almost.
But I did.
“Hey,” she said softly.
That one word nearly broke me.
Because it was the same voice that had comforted me through my own heartbreak.
The same voice that knew exactly when I was pretending to be okay.
“Did you know?”” I asked.
Silence.
A long one.
“Bree…”
“Did you know Marlo knew you?””
Another silence.
That was all I needed.
“Wow.””
“Please let me explain.””
I closed my eyes.
“You should have explained before I had to find out from someone else.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
Blu breathed in.
I could hear that she was crying.
And somehow, that made me even more upset.
Because I didn’t want her tears to erase my questions.
“From the truth.””
I looked down the empty sidewalk.
“The truth about what?””
She didn’t answer.
“Blu.””
Her voice dropped.
“Do you remember when I told you I left because I was tired?””
“Yes.””
“That wasn’t the whole reason.””
My heart started beating faster.
“What else was there?””
Another pause.
Then she whispered:
“Bree… Marlo wasn’t just someone who knew my ex.””
I waited.
“He was there the night everything changed.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“What night?””
Blu didn’t answer immediately.
And when she finally spoke, her voice sounded terrified.
“The night Eli disappeared.””
The street suddenly felt colder.
“Disappeared?””
“Yes.””
I swallowed.
“Blu, what are you saying?””
Before she could answer, another voice came through the phone.
A man’s voice.
A voice that wasn’t hers.
A voice that made Blu go completely silent.
“Who are you talking to?””
My blood ran cold.
Because Blu wasn’t alone.
“Bree,” she whispered.
“Hang up.””
I froze.
“Why?””
Her breathing became uneven.
Then she said something that made my entire body go still.
“Because the person standing next to me…”
A pause.
May you like
A shaky breath.
“…is the person who knows where Eli really went.””
