I remember Arion. How he’d always defended me, always stood up for me when no one else would. He’d gotten suspendedso many times for my sake that his parents started blaming mine.
Then, he died.
A motorcycle accident, they said. And just like that, he was gone. And I was alone again.
It all fell apart after the accident. My grades, my confidence, everything. Simply put, there was just too much to do, and too many people to take care of. And now, here I am again, sitting in a classroom I can barely focus in, knowing I’m going to fail. I’ll surely get kicked out for not maintaining my grades. Eventually.
As my mind wanders, Mrs. Lacey’s speech fades into the distance. I just feel… ashamed. Ashamed and unable to control the tears that are on the verge of streaming down my face. I look frantically for the hairband I typically wear on my wrist, my hands shaking as I struggle to breathe through the panic. But it’s not there.
My fingers quiver once again as I feel the need to grasp something as panic churns in my chest. I begin plucking at my skin instead, the searing sting stopping the trembling just enough to ground me. It’s only when I glance down and see the blood and torn skin that I realize what I’ve done. For a moment, I just stare, horrified by myself.
“Miss Ross? Were you listening?” Mrs. Lacey’s sharp voice jolts me back.
In order to conceal the mess I’ve caused and to avoid looking again, I hastily pull my sleeve down. I pretend to pay attention while I nod, my face burning. The class continues, but my thoughts certainly do not.
Kym doesn’t come back.
***
The computer room is quiet except for the sound of keys clicking. My heart pounds as I scroll through article after article, searching for answers I’m not sure I want to find. The dates, theevents– they just don’t add up. My father’s accident and Wren’s supposed suicide happening on the same day and at nearly the same time is too much of a coincidence.
And something in my gut is screaming at me, telling me there’s more to it. There has to be.
Wren Steele and my father, Johnathan Ross, were from two completely different worlds. Their lives, their paths should never have crossed. As far as I knew, they had no connection.
But my father definitely didn’t tell me everything.
I can’t help but notice there are significantly fewer articles about Wren than there are about my father’s accident. It’s strange, considering her family’s social standing. You would think there would be more media coverage, more details and discussions surrounding her untimely death. Yet, it’s almost as if they deliberately tried to keep it out of the spotlight. With their influence, I don’t doubt that would be quite simple for them.
What are they hiding?
I stumble across one of the few articles about Wren’s death. The headline reads:
TRAGEDY STRIKES STEELE FAMILY AS YOUNGEST DAUGHTER FOUND DEAD IN BEDROOM
My chest tightens as I skim the details. Wren’s estimated time of death is 1:15 p.m., during school hours. But the article says Kai Steele found her body at 3:35 p.m., which would be after he came back. Something about that doesn’t sit right. My fingers hover over the keyboard as I reread the words, my pulse quickening.
If she died at 1:15, Kai couldn’t have been the one to find her—not right away. He would have been in school, just like I was. Or just coming back from it, at least.
The timing doesn’t make sense.
I lean back in my chair, staring at the screen as the pieces start to shift in my mind. My dad’s accident and Wren’s deathhappened on the same day. At almost the exact same time. I’ve been trying to convince myself it’s just a coincidence, but now… it doesn’t feel like one.
Wren wasn’t supposed to be home that day. The article mentions she had been excused from school, but doesn’t say why. What was she doing there? And my dad… he shouldn’t have been on the road either. He only went because I called him.
I suddenly feel sick. Because the only possible conclusion of my thoughts is horrible. And so wrong. I might be overstepping or overlooking something, but it would make sense.
Wren and my father died on the same day, at the exact same time.
“Oh my god,” I mutter, realisation slowly seeping in.
My dad must have hit her. Wren Steele. That’s why the dates and times align so perfectly.
Wren never made it home.
And Kai must have found her on his way back from school.
***
