I couldn't take a break or rest until I knew exactly who I needed to stop. I picked up Oliver's phone from my desk and tossed it up and down repeatedly, wondering how this small device had managed to cause so much destruction in so many lives.
I must have fallen asleep on the floor at some point because when I woke up, I was still wearing my school clothes, and my neck was stiff from having an awkward angle. I grabbed my phone to check the time—2:00 AM.
I scrolled through my missed messages. There was one from Lily telling me she thought Leo would be okay after their talk, one from Mike asking if I'd done the math homework, and one from Jared wondering why Oliver wasn't answering his texts.
The last message gave me pause. Of course, Oliver wasn'tanswering; his phone was sitting on my desk. But more than that, it reminded me that to everyone else, this was just another normal day. They had no idea what was coming.
I went to the bathroom to splash water on my face, then headed down to the kitchen, where I found a plate of food still sitting on the table, covered with foil. My mom had saved me dinner. I ate mechanically, my mind still turning over the puzzle pieces I'd been arranging all evening.
After finishing the cold pasta and chicken, I returned to my room to get ready for bed. But before changing into pajamas, I took one last look at my investigation board.
I read through each theory I'd written, each motive I'd identified, and each timeline I'd constructed. The connections were all there: the jealousy, the betrayal, the desperation, the opportunity.
And then, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle suddenly clicking into place, I understood everything.
The person who had been watching Oliver's actions. The person who knew about his manipulative tendencies. The person who most wanted Oliver to stop being a douchebag. The person who had the means and the motive. The person who felt the worst after everything happened.
I knew who had killed Oliver.
Now I just have to figure out how to prevent it from happening again.
CHAPTER 43
Lily
Kyle: I want you to know that it's not your fault that all this happened.
Lily: I know.
Kyle: I know you know, but still…
I thoughtafter my talk with Leo, everything would be okay. But I was foolish to believe that one conversation would be enough to fill the void he'd carried for years and minimize the impact of the massive bullying everyone was now inflicting on him.
Every day, I watched as the light in his eyes slowly faded. No matter how hard I tried to cheer him up, I couldn't get a genuine smile from him. My efforts to set things right for him were in vain, and nothing seemed to help him feel better.
The worst part was knowing what was coming and not being able to do anything about it. I could see the road aheadfor my brother, the pain waiting for him, and I hated how powerless I was to stop it. Every night I'd lie in bed, replaying our conversations, wondering if I'd said the right thing, if maybe there was something else that could have made this easier for him.
But morning always came, and nothing had changed. I was still just one person, and sometimes love isn't enough to protect the people you care about.
Deep down in my heart, I knew he'd be okay someday. In my present, there had come a point when my brother and I started talking like we used to. When he smiled again despite his circumstances, when I could tell him about my life, and he'd tell me how he was counting the days until his release from prison.
He'd told me then how I shouldn't blame myself for what had happened to him, that I'd always done what I could to support him, and that I should be strong and happy and live a beautiful life for both of us because it was the only thing I could do to give him peace.
But I always wondered: had I really done enough for him? Or was that just his way of helping me not feel guilty about his situation?
Kyle never left my side during this whole time. Sometimes he'd stay on the phone with me until I fell asleep. Sometimes he'd walk Leo and me home to make sure we arrived safely. And I was so thankful to him for that. This time, he was the person I always thought he was. And I was glad he came back into my life.
What made me feel even worse was not being able to be there for Jeremy, too, who was suffering through the same nightmare as my brother. He assured me every day that he was fine and that I shouldn't worry, but I could see the stress carved into the lines around his eyes. I knew he was going tobe okay, that we were going to be closer than ever after all this passed. But it broke my heart that I couldn't be there for someone I considered family, because right now, he just wanted space and distance from our entire situation.
It was devastating to watch my whole world crumble along with my loved ones and not be able to do anything to fix it.
How could I make them happy again? How could I restore normalcy? How could I repair this whole catastrophic situation?
None of these questions had an answer.
And I felt like I was focusing on the wrong things, chasing symptoms instead of causes.
And then, the inevitable happened.
