Page 108 of Symphony for Lies

I had to check.

I jumped to my feet, yanked on my jacket, and reached into the drawer where I stashed my fake gun. Just in case. A precaution. A foolish one, maybe, but my fingers curled around it, nonetheless.

“I’m just going to check.”

My hands were ice-cold. My heart was racing.

I slipped out of the house, grabbed the old bicycle from Susan’s yard, and pedaled into the night to the bridge.

The wind bit at my face, but I barely felt it. I couldn’t.

The pounding in my chest, the weight in my stomach, and my panting breath drowned everything else out.

I pedaled harder, faster.

The path stretched on forever, and my muscles burned, but I didn’t stop.

When I arrived, I jumped off the bike, my shoes scraping against the pavement.

Silence.

Just the soft whisper of the water, the distant hum of insects.

Nothing. There was nothing.

My breathing was shaky.

I doubled over, clutching my ribs, my sides aching from the ride.

There was no one around.

“Damn it,” I whispered, pressing a hand to my chest.

The lamplights above cast a soft glow, flickering through the trees, and the water below reflected the pale silver light, making the place look beautiful, like something from a storybook.

But I didn’t feel at peace.

Clouds stretched thick and heavy overhead, swallowing the moonlight like the world was holding its breath.

I turned slowly, my gaze landing on the distant silhouette of the school.

Dark. Looming.

The statue…

My stomach twisted.

I was losing my mind. I had to be. Even so, I grabbed the bike, swung my leg over it, and pedaled toward the school.

The wind swept over the pavement, stirring fallen leaves across the empty, dark campus.

The school building cast long shadows beneath the streetlights, the edge of its walls disappearing into the night.

I stopped right in front of the statue in the courtyard and swallowed.

There was nothing unusual. Nothing out of place.

But I still felt it… The suffocating pressure.