When Hate Writes Back
Chapter 13 — Suspicions
The next morning, I could barely concentrate.
Every glance, every small gesture from Keifer at school made me question everything. My pen pal's words kept replaying in my mind: Worlds collide. Pay attention.
Could it be… him? No. Impossible. He's my enemy. A nemesis. A disaster in human form. And yet…
I found myself scanning the cafeteria, imagining every familiar face could be hiding behind a pen name.
"Jay?" Estelle's voice broke through my thoughts.
I jumped. "Huh? Oh… nothing."
She narrowed her eyes. "Nothing? You're frowning like you're decoding the Da Vinci Code."
"I… I don't know," I muttered, shoving my tray away. "It's just… what if my pen pal is someone I know here?"
Her grin was instant. "Ooooh! Finally. The mystery boy is real! So… who are your suspects?"
I scowled, listing names quietly in my head. Not Keifer. Definitely not him. Maybe… that quiet guy in Section B? No… too obvious. Maybe the artsy one? Ugh, too weird. Maybe even the cafeteria guy with the ridiculous laugh…
Estelle burst out laughing. "Wait, wait. Hold up. You're actually considering the guy you despise every day?"
I stomped my foot. "No! I'm not! I mean… maybe? I don't know! It's confusing!"
Her grin widened. "Confusing is cute, Jay. Admit it. You're dying to know."
I glared at her. "I am not."
By the end of the day, my notebook was covered with scribbles. Names, doodles, tiny "clues" I thought I'd noticed. Every single person I considered as my pen pal seemed… wrong. Every single one.
And yet, the feeling persisted — the small flicker of familiarity I couldn't explain whenever I thought about Keifer.
That night, I logged into my pen-pal chat again.
"I think I'm starting to narrow it down… but all the guesses are wrong. Every. Single. One."
"Sometimes the one you least expect is the one you've been looking for all along," my pen pal replied.
I froze. The words hit harder than usual. My chest tightened. Could it be… someone I never suspected?
I bit my lip. The thought made me nervous, excited, and terrified all at once.
Outside my window, the streetlights flickered. And somewhere beyond the glow of the city, Keifer went about his life — completely unaware that the boy I was starting to suspect might actually be him was standing right there in my thoughts, my heart, and soon… maybe in my life.
Oblivious. Completely oblivious.