Chapter 3: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Gone
“Bree, hang up.””
Blu’s voice was barely a whisper.
Not angry.
Not annoyed.
Afraid.
And I had never heard fear in her voice before.
Not real fear.
The kind that made every word sound like it was fighting its way out.
I stood on the sidewalk outside the coffee shop, frozen with my phone pressed against my ear.
“Blu,” I whispered, “who is there?””
Nothing.
Just silence.
Then I heard movement.
A door closing.
Footsteps.
A man saying something I couldn’t make out.
“Bree, please.””
Her voice cracked.
“Trust me. Just hang up.””
I should have listened.
A part of me knew that.
But another part of me—the part that had spent months watching my best friend disappear behind fake smiles and half-truths—couldn’t do it.
“No,” I said.
A pause.
“What?””
“I’m not hanging up.””
“Bree—”
“You keep telling me you’re protecting me, but all you’ve done is keep me in the dark.””
Her breathing changed.
I knew that silence.
It was the silence people made when they realized they couldn’t avoid a conversation anymore.
“Tell me who’s there.””
Blu didn’t answer.
And then the man’s voice came again.
Closer this time.
“Blu?””
The way he said her name made my stomach turn.
Not because it sounded threatening.
Because it sounded familiar.
Like he had said it a thousand times before.
“Who is that?”” I asked.
Blu lowered her voice.
“You need to go somewhere safe.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“Bree, listen to me. Don’t go home. Don’t go somewhere you usually go. Just get around other people.””
My heart started racing.
“Why?””
“Because if he knows you’re involved—”
The call suddenly cut off.
I stared at my phone.
The screen went black.
For a few seconds, I couldn’t move.
Then I called back.
Straight to voicemail.
Again.
Nothing.
I called Dre.
He answered immediately.
“Where are you?””
The panic in his voice irritated me.
Because everyone suddenly cared now.
Now that I knew.
“I’m outside the coffee shop.””
“Are you alone?””
I laughed.
“Seriously?””
“Bree, answer me.””
“Yes. I’m alone.””
“Stay there.””
“No.””
My voice surprised even me.
“I’m done doing what everyone tells me.””
A pause.
Then Dre sighed.
“You talked to her.””
“Yes.””
“What did she say?””
I looked around the street.
Cars moved past.
People walked by.
Everyone living normal lives while mine had just turned upside down.
“She said Eli didn’t disappear.””
Dre went silent.
That silence told me everything.
“You knew.””
“Bree—”
“You knew.””
“I knew something.””
“Something?””
I clenched my jaw.
“You all keep saying that like it makes it better.””
“It’s not that simple.””
“It’s never simple with you people.””
Dre didn’t respond.
And that hurt more than I expected.
Because Dre wasn’t some random person.
He was my friend too.
The person who always showed up when I needed help.
The person who brought food to my apartment when I was sick.
The person who listened when I complained about everything.
But apparently, he had also been carrying a secret about the person I trusted most.
“Where are you?”” I asked.
“On my way to you.””
“Why?””
“Because you shouldn’t be alone right now.””
I looked back at the coffee shop window.
Marlo was still inside.
Watching me.
“I don’t know who I can trust.””
Dre’s voice softened.
“Bree…”
“No. I mean it.””
I swallowed.
“I thought Blu was the person who had secrets.””
A long pause.
Then Dre said quietly:
“You don’t understand what happened.””
“Then explain it.””
“I can’t.””
I closed my eyes.
There it was again.
The same answer.
The same wall.
“I’m hanging up.””
“Bree, wait—”
I ended the call.
For the first time in my life, I didn’t care if I was being unfair.
I needed answers.
Not apologies.
Not protection.
Answers.
I walked back into the coffee shop.
Marlo looked up immediately.
“You talked to her.””
It wasn’t a question.
“Yes.””
His expression changed.
“What did she tell you?””
I walked to the table.
“She said you were there the night Eli disappeared.””
Marlo didn’t move.
That was enough.
“You knew.””
He looked down.
“Bree.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“You don’t get to say my name like that anymore.””
He looked hurt.
Good.
Maybe someone else needed to feel what I was feeling.
“How long have you known her?””
Marlo didn’t answer.
“How long?””
“Eight years.””
The number hit me harder than I expected.
Eight years.
I stared at him.
“Eight years?””
He nodded.
“And you never thought to mention that?””
“I wasn’t supposed to.””
“According to who?””
Marlo looked toward the window.
“Blu.””
I laughed quietly.
“Of course.””
I grabbed the chair and sat down.
“Tell me everything.””
Marlo stayed silent.
“Now.””
Finally, he sat across from me.
“When Blu met Eli, she was nineteen.””
I listened.
“He was older. Charming. The kind of person everyone liked when they first met him.””
“Everyone?””
Marlo nodded.
“He knew how to make people trust him.””
I crossed my arms.
“And then?””
“He changed.””
“How?””
Marlo looked at the table.
“He started controlling everything.””
The word hung there.
Controlling.
“He chose who she talked to. Where she went. What she wore. Who she could trust.””
My stomach tightened.
“And nobody noticed?””
Marlo gave a bitter smile.
“People noticed pieces.””
“Pieces?””
“Bruises people explained away. Cancelled plans. Friends she stopped answering.””
I looked away.
Because suddenly I remembered Blu deleting messages.
Changing the subject whenever I asked about her old life.
The way she always said she was just “starting fresh.””
“What happened the night he disappeared?””
Marlo took a deep breath.
“That’s the part I don’t know.””
I stared at him.
“You just said you were there.””
“I was.””
“Then how do you not know?””
“Because I wasn’t there when it ended.””
I waited.
Marlo looked toward the rain-covered window.
“Eli called Blu that night.””
“About what?””
“He said he had something to show her.””
“What?””
“I don’t know.””
“Then why did she go?””
Marlo’s jaw tightened.
“Because she thought it was finally over.””
The way he said it made me uncomfortable.
Like Blu had been waiting years for something.
A chance.
A way out.
“She went to meet him?””
“Yes.””
“And?””
Marlo looked at me.
“And she came back three hours later.””
“What happened?””
His fingers tapped nervously against the table.
“She was covered in rain.””
I waited.
“She didn’t have her phone.””
My breathing slowed.
“She wouldn’t talk.””
“What did she say?””
Marlo’s eyes met mine.
“Only one thing.””
The coffee shop suddenly felt too quiet.
“What?””
He swallowed.
“She said, ‘If he comes back, he won’t come for me.’”
A chill moved through me.
“What does that mean?””
“I don’t know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I’m telling you the truth.””
“No, you’re telling me what you know.””
Marlo didn’t argue.
Because he knew I was right.
There was a difference.
“What happened after that?””
“She left.””
“Baltimore?””
“Yes.””
“And you?””
“I tried to find out what happened.””
“Did you?””
Marlo reached into his bag.
This time, he didn’t hesitate.
He pulled out a small envelope.
“I found this three weeks ago.””
I stared at it.
“What is it?””
“Something Eli left behind.””
My fingers hovered over the envelope.
“Why show me now?””
Marlo’s face became serious.
“Because Blu was right.””
“About what?””
He pushed the envelope toward me.
“The past didn’t follow her here.””
I looked at him.
“Then what?””
Marlo’s voice dropped.
“It never left.””
I slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
My heart stopped.
Because the picture wasn’t of Blu.
It wasn’t of Eli.
It was of me.
Taken outside my apartment.
Yesterday.
May you like
And on the back, written in black ink, were six words.
*“She’s not the one you should fear.””*
