Chapter 4 The Question
Ava read the message twice, but the words refused to make sense. Ask him why Caleb was afraid of you. Her first reaction was anger, her second was disbelief, and the third was a quiet fear she did not want to acknowledge.
She looked toward the hallway where Jace had disappeared, wondering whether she should follow him, since the easiest thing would have been to demand an explanation immediately, but something stopped her. The message had been carefully chosen, and whoever was behind it wanted her to question Jace, though that did not mean the sender was telling her the truth.
Ava slipped her phone into her pocket and walked out of the arena. The evening air was colder than she expected, and students were still gathered around the entrance, laughing and talking about the championship, while cars slowly filled the parking lot. She moved past them without stopping, keeping her head lowered as she tried to organize everything she had learned.
Caleb had been afraid of her. The thought felt impossible. Caleb had been her brother, her protector, and one of the few people she had trusted completely, and she could remember his smile, the way he used to tease her when she became stubborn, and his voice. But there were gaps, pieces of their last year together that felt strangely distant.
Ava stopped walking. She tried to remember the last conversation she had with Caleb, but nothing came. She remembered being in their house, remembered Caleb telling her that everything would be fine, and then there was darkness.
Ava closed her eyes. Rain. She opened them immediately, a sharp headache appearing behind her eyes, and she pressed her fingers against her temple and breathed slowly until it passed.
"Are you okay?"
Ava turned. Mia was standing several feet away, holding her bag. "I thought you left."
"I was waiting for my brother to pick me up, but he is running late." Mia studied her face. "You really do not look okay."
"I am just tired."
Mia nodded, then glanced toward the arena. "Jace is still inside."
Ava looked away. "I know."
"You two had a serious conversation."
"It was nothing."
Mia smiled slightly. "You are terrible at pretending." Ava almost smiled.
Then Mia's phone rang, and she answered it and stepped away to speak quietly. Ava watched her for a moment before looking back at the arena, and Jace emerged through the doors, alone. Their eyes met immediately, and for several seconds neither moved. Then Jace walked toward her, Ava's heart beating faster.
He stopped in front of her. "You should not be here alone."
Ava stared at him. "I need to ask you something."
Jace's expression became guarded. "What?"
Ava took a breath. "Was Caleb ever afraid of me?"
Jace went completely still. For the first time since she arrived at Northwood, Ava saw something in his eyes that frightened her more than any message ever could, and this time she knew she had asked the right question.
Jace did not answer, and Ava watched him carefully, waiting for even the smallest reaction that might explain what had suddenly changed in his expression. He looked as though the question had reached somewhere he had spent years trying to keep hidden.
"Jace?"
He looked away. "Who told you that?"
Ava felt a chill move through her. "That is not an answer."
"I know."
"Then answer me."
Jace rubbed the back of his neck and glanced toward the parking lot, where students were still moving around them, though he seemed completely unaware of anyone else. "Caleb was not afraid of you."
Ava studied him. "Then why did someone tell me to ask you?"
"I do not know."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I expect you to understand that not every message you receive is the truth."
Ava's eyes narrowed. "You told me someone might know I was here. You told me to leave. You told me to stop asking questions, and now you are telling me not to believe the person who is giving me information."
"Because whoever is sending those messages knows exactly how to manipulate you."
"Then how do you know that?"
Jace fell silent, and Ava stepped closer. "You keep telling me that you cannot explain things, but every time I ask something important, you somehow know enough to warn me."
His expression tightened. "I have been through this before."
"With Caleb?"
Jace looked at her. "Yes."
The answer made her heart beat faster. "What happened?"
"I trusted the wrong person."
"Who?"
"I am not ready to tell you."
Ava laughed without humor and turned away, but Jace caught her wrist gently. "Wait."
Ava looked down at his hand, and Jace immediately released her. "I am sorry."
She looked back at him. "Then tell me something useful."
He hesitated. "Caleb was investigating something before he disappeared."
Ava's breath caught. "What?"
"I do not know everything he discovered."
"But you knew he was investigating something."
"Yes."
"What was he looking for?"
Jace glanced toward the academy building. "Records."
"What records?"
"Old team records, disciplinary reports, financial documents, anything connected to players who disappeared from the program."
Ava stared at him. "Players who disappeared?"
Jace nodded. "Caleb thought there was a pattern."
"What pattern?"
"I never saw the complete list."
"Why not?"
"Because Caleb stopped trusting me."
The words struck Ava harder than she expected. "Why?"
Jace looked at her. "That is the part I have never understood."
Ava searched his face, and for the first time his uncertainty looked genuine. "Then why did you tell me to find out what happened before the night he disappeared?"
Jace hesitated. "Because Caleb found something two days before he vanished."
"What?"
"I do not know."
Ava's frustration returned. "Then what am I supposed to do with that?"
Jace reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I kept this because I thought I might need it someday."
Ava stared at it. "What is it?"
Jace handed it to her, and she unfolded the paper. It was an old photograph of Caleb standing outside the academy, but Ava was standing beside him. And written across the back were four words that made her blood run cold.
She cannot remember what happened.
