PART2

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.

“What happened?”

“I got scared and rode home. The next morning, when everyone started talking about the fire and what happened to you…” He swallowed hard. “I kept thinking if I told anyone, Mason’s life would be over.”

“So you stayed quiet?”

“I was nine.”