Khian’s POV
I sat in the cold, stiff chair in the hospital room, keeping an eye on Ella as she rested. Her breathing was soft, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside my head. My thoughts kept going back to Ethan, to the accident… to my phone call. I could feel the weight of guilt pressing down on me, making it harder and harder to breathe.
It’s my fault.
I couldn’t shake the feeling. If I hadn’t called him, if I hadn’t distracted him, none of this would have happened. He wouldn’t have been so focused on his phone, he would not have had that accident. My chest tightened just thinking about it. I couldn’t even look at Ella right now, knowing how much she loved Ethan. If she found out what I had done, if she realized it was because of me, she’d never forgive me.
‘She’d hate me.’
“Khian?” A soft voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see Lily sitting down beside me. Her eyes were filled with worry, and I knew she could sense that something was wrong. “What’s going on? You’ve been so lost in your head since we got here. Is something bothering you?”
I swallowed hard, my throat dry. I couldn’t tell her. Not now. Not when everything was already falling apart. “I’m fine,” I lied, forcing a weak smile. “Just tired, I guess.”
But Lily did not buy it. She never did. She stared at me, her eyes searching for the truth. “Khian,” she said softly, placing a hand on my arm. “You can talk to me. You don’t have to keep everything bottled up.”
I bit my lip, feeling the weight of my own secret pressing down on me. I couldn’t tell her. Not yet. How could I even begin to say it? How could I admit that I might be the reason Ethan is lying in that hospital bed? I looked away, my heart racing.
But before I could say anything more, a sudden voice interrupted us.
“Excuse me, Sir. Evince?”
I looked up and saw a police officer standing at the door, his expression serious. My heart dropped into my stomach. “Yes?” I stood up, glancing at Lily and the others. Everyone looked confused, even I didn’t know what was going on.
The officer gestured for me to follow him into the hallway. “We need to have a word with you. It’s about Ethan’s accident.”
The blood drained from my face. I could feel Lily’s eyes on me, but I couldn’t even look back at her. With a knot in my stomach, I nodded and followed the officer down the hall, my heart pounding in my chest.
Once we were a bit away from Ella’s room, the officer pulled out a small notepad. “There’s something you should know. We’ve been investigating Ethan’s accident, and... well, there are some things that don’t add up.”
I frowned, feeling a chill run down my spine. “What do you mean?”
The officer glanced at his notes before looking back at me. “After inspecting the scene of the accident and Ethan’s car, our investigators found something concerning. The brakes… they were damaged.”
“Damaged?” I repeated, my heart skipping a beat. “Like… broken?”
“Yes,” the officer nodded. “And not just from the crash. It looks like the brake line was cut before the accident happened.”
I felt a cold shiver run through my entire body. Cut? This wasn’t just an accident… someone had tampered with Ethan’s car. This wasn’t random. This was intentional.
“W-Who would do something like that?” I stammered, my voice shaking.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” the officer said, his tone serious. “We’re still investigating, but it looks like this was no accident. Someone wanted this to happen.”
My head started spinning. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This wasn’t my fault… but it was worse. This was planned. Someone wanted to hurt Ethan, maybe even kill him. But why? Who would want to hurt Ethan?
The officer handed me a folder with photos from the scene, showing the damaged brakes and the wrecked car. I stared at them, feeling sick to my stomach. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. None of this made sense.
“Keep this with you,” the officer said, “and if you think of anything or anyone who might have a reason to target Ethan, you need to let us know. Immediately.”
I nodded, still in shock as he turned and walked away. My hands trembled as I held the folder, trying to process everything. The weight of the situation hit me all at once, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
Ethan’s accident wasn’t just bad luck. Someone had done this. But who? And why?
I stood there, frozen, trying to make sense of it all. Everything felt wrong.
After the conversation with the police officer, I walked back into Ella’s room, the folder heavy in my hand. My mind was a mess after the conversation with the police. I kept replaying their words over and over, but none of it made any sense. As I entered the room, I saw Lily sitting beside Ella, watching her closely as she slept. She looked up as soon as she saw me.
"Khian?" she asked, her voice soft but concerned. "What did they say? What’s going on?"
I didn’t know how to explain what I’d just been told. A part of me didn’t even want to say it out loud because maybe, if I didn’t, it wouldn’t feel real. But I couldn’t hide it from her. I handed her the folder, my hand trembling as I did.
Lily frowned as she took it from me. "What is this?" she asked, opening the folder slowly.
"The brakes," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "They think someone tampered with the brakes on Ethan’s car."
Her eyes widened in shock, the color draining from her face. "Tampered? What do you mean? You’re saying… someone did this on purpose?"
I nodded, feeling a lump in my throat. "That’s what they’re saying. The police found something wrong with the brake system. It wasn’t just an accident. Someone wanted this to happen."
Lily stared at me, trying to process what I was saying. "But who would do that? Why would anyone want to hurt Ethan?"
I didn’t have the answers, but my mind was racing. There was something deeper going on, something I couldn’t quite piece together yet. But I couldn’t tell Lily everything I was thinking. Not now.
"I don’t know, Lily. I don’t know why anyone would do this," I said, running my hand through my hair. "But the police are investigating. They’re looking into it."
She shook her head, disbelief written all over her face. "This doesn’t make any sense. Ethan doesn’t have enemies. Who would want to hurt him?"
"I don’t know," I repeated, feeling the frustration bubbling up again. "But someone did this, and now Ethan’s lying in a hospital bed because of it."
Lily looked down at the folder, her hands trembling as she closed it. "This is insane, Khian. I can’t believe this is happening."
I nodded, feeling the same disbelief. "I need to go back to the school committee office," I said suddenly. "There’s something I need to check, some files that might help. Maybe there’s a clue we’re missing."
Lily looked at me, her brows furrowed in confusion. "What files? What are you talking about?"
I hesitated, not wanting to drag her into this any more than she already was. "It’s just… something I’ve been working on. I’ll explain later, I promise. But I need to check it out now."
"I’ll come with you," she said, standing up.
"No," I said quickly. "You need to stay here with Ella. If she wakes up, she’ll need you. Sophie’s here too, but I don’t want Ella to be alone. Please, Lily. Stay with her."
Lily looked at me for a moment, worry etched into her face. "Are you sure? You shouldn’t go alone."
"I’ll be fine," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "I just need to check something, and I’ll be back as soon as I can."
She hesitated, but finally nodded. "Okay. But Khian, please be careful."
"I will," I promised, though I wasn’t sure how much I believed it myself. There was something bigger at play here, and I wasn’t sure what I was about to uncover. But I had to try.
With one last look at Lily, I turned and walked out of the room, my mind spinning with questions. The thought that this wasn’t just an accident, that someone had done this on purpose, just made me more furious running in my blood. And who ever did this to my family will pay no matter what.