Chapter 4: The Photograph That Was Never Supposed to Exist
I stared at the picture until the words on the back stopped looking like words.
*She’s not the one you should fear.*
Six simple words.
Six words that somehow made everything worse.
Because if someone wanted to scare me, they could have written my name.
They could have threatened me.
They could have said they were coming for me.
But they didn’t.
They warned me.
And warnings were always more terrifying than threats.
“Where did you get this?””
My voice sounded different.
Even to me.
Marlo watched my face carefully.
“I told you. Eli left it behind.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“It’s the only answer I have.””
I pushed the photograph across the table.
“No. You don’t get to do that.””
“Do what?””
“Show me a picture of myself taken without my knowledge and act like that’s normal.””
Marlo looked down.
“You’re right.””
That surprised me.
No excuses.
No argument.
Just acceptance.
And somehow, that made my fear worse.
“Who took it?””
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
“No.””
I laughed quietly.
A cold, nervous laugh.
“Everybody in my life suddenly knows something except the thing I actually need to know.””
Marlo didn’t respond.
Because he knew I was right.
I grabbed the picture again.
The image was grainy, probably taken from a distance.
But it was definitely me.
I recognized the jacket.
The coffee cup in my hand.
The small tear in my jeans.
It was from yesterday morning.
Outside my apartment.
Someone had been watching me.
Someone close enough to see me.
Close enough to take a picture.
“Did Blu know about this?””
Marlo hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
“Marlo.””
“I don’t know.””
“You’re lying.””
“I’m not.””
“You hesitated.””
He looked away.
“I think she suspected something.””
My stomach tightened.
“She suspected someone was watching me?””
“Yes.””
“And she didn’t tell me?””
“She was trying to figure out who.””
I stood up so quickly the chair moved backward.
“She was trying to figure it out?””
People around us glanced over.
I lowered my voice.
“She let me walk around thinking everything was normal while someone was watching me?””
Marlo stood too.
“Bree, listen to me.””
“No, you listen.””
My eyes burned.
“I defended her.””
He stayed quiet.
“I told people they didn’t know her. I told people she was just someone who had been hurt and deserved a fresh start.””
My voice cracked.
“And now I’m finding out she brought her entire nightmare with her.””
“That’s not fair.””
I looked at him.
“Isn’t it?””
Marlo opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Because maybe he didn’t know either.
Maybe everyone had been protecting Blu so long they forgot I was a person too.
My phone buzzed.
I looked down.
Blu.
For a second, I wanted to ignore it.
I wanted her to feel what it was like to be shut out.
But then I remembered her voice.
The fear.
The way she told me to hang up.
I answered.
“Bree.””
Her voice came immediately.
“Where are you?””
I didn’t respond.
“Bree, please tell me where you are.””
“Why?””
A pause.
“Because I need to know you’re safe.””
I looked at Marlo.
Safe.
That word felt strange.
“You don’t get to ask me that.””
Silence.
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
My voice shook.
“You knew someone was watching me.””
“I didn’t know for sure.””
“You suspected.””
“Yes.””
“And you said nothing.””
Blu exhaled.
“I was scared.””
I closed my eyes.
“You were scared?””
“Yes.””
“For me?””
“For everyone.””
That answer caught me off guard.
“What does that mean?””
Her breathing became uneven.
“Bree, there are things about Eli you don’t understand.””
“Then explain them.””
“I can’t over the phone.””
“Why?””
“Because if he knows you know—”
She stopped.
My heart jumped.
“If who knows?””
No answer.
“Blu.””
Finally, she whispered:
“Eli.””
I froze.
“Blu.””
“What?””
“You said if he knows.””
Silence.
“You said Eli.””
Another silence.
Then:
“Bree, I need you to trust me.””
I almost laughed.
“Trust you?””
“Yes.””
“You’ve spent months hiding things from me.””
“I was trying to keep you out of it.””
“You failed.””
That hurt her.
I heard it.
But I couldn’t stop.
“Does he know where I live?””
Blu didn’t answer.
And that was my answer.
“Does he?””
“I don’t know.””
The anger disappeared.
Replaced by something colder.
Fear.
Because Blu sounded like she meant it.
She genuinely didn’t know.
“Where are you?”” I asked.
“I’m at my apartment.””
“Are you alone?””
Another pause.
“No.””
My heart stopped.
“Who’s with you?””
Before she could answer, I heard a sound.
A voice.
The same voice from earlier.
“Blu, who are you talking to?””
Her breathing changed.
“Bree, listen carefully.””
I gripped the phone.
“What?””
“Do not come here.””
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Then at Marlo.
“Who is with her?””
He looked worried.
“I don’t know.””
“You know more than you’re saying.””
“I swear I don’t.””
I didn’t believe him.
Not completely.
But I also didn’t think he was the enemy.
Not anymore.
Not yet.
I grabbed my bag.
“I’m going there.””
Marlo immediately stepped in front of me.
“No.””
“Move.””
“You don’t know what you’re walking into.””
“That’s the problem, Marlo.””
I pointed at him.
“Nobody lets me know anything.””
His expression changed.
For the first time, he looked angry.
Not at me.
At the situation.
“You think I wanted this?””
“I don’t know what you wanted.””
“I watched my friend lose herself because of that man.””
The words stopped me.
Friend.
Not acquaintance.
Not someone from the past.
Friend.
“I watched Blu apologize for things that weren’t her fault,” he continued.
His voice lowered.
“I watched her stop recognizing herself.””
The anger in his face faded.
“But the night Eli disappeared…”
He looked down.
“Something changed.””
“What?””
Marlo swallowed.
“She stopped being afraid.””
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?””
“It means whatever happened that night gave her power back.””
“That sounds like a good thing.””
“It would be.””
He looked at the photograph.
“If she hadn’t been terrified of what came after.””
I felt a chill.
“What came after?””
Marlo didn’t answer.
Instead, he reached into his bag again.
This time, he pulled out an old phone.
An old cracked phone.
I looked at it.
“Whose is that?””
Marlo’s face turned pale.
“Eli’s.””
My stomach dropped.
“How do you have his phone?””
“Because Blu gave it to me.””
“Why?””
“Because she didn’t know what was on it.””
“And?””
Marlo looked at the phone.
“And I found something.””
“What?””
He unlocked the screen.
The phone was old, but it still worked.
He opened the gallery.
There were dozens of pictures.
Most were blurry.
Random.
Nothing important.
Then he opened a folder.
My breath caught.
Because inside were pictures of Blu.
Not recent ones.
Old ones.
Pictures from years ago.
Before Baltimore.
Before I knew her.
Then Marlo opened the final image.
“This is the last thing saved on the phone.””
I leaned closer.
The picture loaded slowly.
And when it appeared, every piece of my confusion shifted into something much darker.
Because the picture showed Blu.
Standing beside Eli.
And beside them…
was Dre.
My heart stopped.
“No.””
Marlo looked at me.
“Yes.””
I shook my head.
“That’s impossible.””
“Why?””
“Because Dre told me he never met him.””
Marlo’s expression hardened.
“Bree…”
I looked at the screen.
At my friend.
At the person I trusted.
At the person who had been sitting at the table with us, pretending he was hearing the story for the first time.
“Dre lied.””
Marlo nodded slowly.
And then my phone buzzed again.
A message.
From Dre.
I opened it.
Only one sentence.
*“Marlo is not telling you the truth about what happened that night.””*
I looked up.
Marlo was staring at me.
And for the first time since this nightmare began…
May you like
I wondered if he was the person trying to save me.
Or the person I needed saving from.
