Technically, that was true.
Then I grabbed my backpack and headed for the bus stop.
Because for the first time since that accident, I felt as if the truth about that fire was finally close.
And I needed to hear it from Caleb himself.
***
The bus dropped me three blocks from the spot. The place used to be an old factory site before the town shut it down years ago. Now it was mostly broken windows, graffiti, and teenagers trying to avoid adults.
I needed to hear it from Caleb himself.
***
I spotted a group of football players sitting near one of the buildings almost immediately.
The second they noticed me walking toward them, the conversations stopped. A couple of them exchanged looks. One guy laughed under his breath. I ignored it all and kept walking until I stopped right in front of them.
“Has any of you seen Caleb?” I asked.
Nobody answered at first.
Then one of the boys leaned back against the wall and smirked. “Why? Are you his girlfriend now?”
A few of them laughed.
A couple of them exchanged looks.
I should’ve turned around right then, but after everything I’d heard that morning, I wasn’t backing down.
“I just need to talk to him.”
Most of them avoided eye contact after that, but finally, another player named Drew spoke up.
“He might be at Taylor’s place.”
The others looked at him judgmentally.
“What?” Drew shrugged. “We all know they’re secretly dating.”
That came as a surprise to me.
“I just need to talk to him.”
“Taylor with the piercings?” I asked.
Drew nodded. “Her parents are out of town for the weekend.”
I asked for the address, and he gave it to me.
I thanked him and left before anyone said anything else.
***
Twenty minutes later, I was standing outside a small blue house after a taxi dropped me off. I knocked. Taylor answered, wearing an oversized sweatshirt, and looked genuinely shocked to see me.
“Cindy?”
“I’m sorry for showing up like this, but the police and Caleb’s parents came to my house this morning looking for him.”
The second I said Caleb’s name, her expression changed.
I asked for the address.
Then I heard footsteps behind her before Caleb appeared, looking exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept at all.
The moment he saw me, his face went pale.
“Cindy…”
I folded my arms tightly. “You were there the night of the fire?”
For a second, nobody spoke.
Then Caleb stepped outside.
“Yeah,” he admitted.
Hearing him say it out loud made my stomach twist.
Then I heard footsteps behind her.
“What happened?”
Caleb hesitated before answering.
“When I was nine, I saw Mason sneak out of our house late at night. He used to do stuff like that all the time back then, and I followed him on my bike because I thought it was a fun game.”
He looked down while speaking.
“I lost sight of him for a while as he was on his skateboard, but eventually I spotted him climbing out of a window at your house. Then, a few minutes later, I noticed smoke coming from the kitchen.”
I stared at him, unsure how to respond.
