Chapter Thirty-Seven – The Frame

I didn't stop running until I reached the dorm.

My lungs burned. My legs screamed. The cold air sliced through my jacket like it wasn't even there. But I didn't care. I couldn't stop. If I stopped, I would have to think. And if I thought, I would have to face what I'd just seen.

The video.

It had been altered. Someone had taken footage of me at the lake,probably from the same security camera that had captured Caleb's body,and edited it to make it look like I was pushing him into the water.

But I hadn't touched him. I'd found him floating. I'd turned him over. I'd seen his face and run.

That was the truth.

But the truth didn't matter when someone had evidence.

---

I burst through the door of my room.

Ashley was sitting on her bed, her laptop open, her eyes red. She looked up when I entered, her face crumpling with relief.

"Alexa! Oh my God, what happened? Are you okay? We've been freaking out for hours."

Madden was on the floor, her back against the wall, her arms crossed. She didn't say anything. But her eyes tracked my every movement.

Myles wasn't there.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"Went to find Detective Cross. He said he wasn't going to sit around waiting for you to be arrested." Ashley stood up and walked toward me. "Alexa, your face is pale. Sit down. You look like you're going to faint."

I sat.

Ashley sat beside me. Madden stayed where she was, watching.

“How did you leave the station.” Ashley asked

“Detective Cross.” I said plainly and they immediately understood.

"Talk," Madden said. "Now."

I told them everything. The interrogation. Detective Cross. The video. The messages.

By the time I finished, Ashley was crying. Madden's face had gone white.

"Someone is trying to frame you for murder?”Madden said.

"Yes."

"For Caleb's murder. And probably for Alice's too?”

"Yes."

"Do you know who?"

"Im pretty sure I won’t be panicking if I did. But I need to find out”

---

Myles came back an hour later.

He looked exhausted, his hair disheveled, his eyes shadowed. But when he saw me sitting on the bed, his whole body sagged with relief.

"You're back," he said.

"I'm back."

He crossed the room and pulled me into a hug. His arms were tight around me, almost desperate, like he was afraid I'd disappear if he let go.

"Don't ever do that again," he murmured into my hair.

"I didn't have a choice.” I pulled back and looked at him. "Did you find Detective Cross?"

"She wasn't at the station. " His jaw tightened. But I did find something else."

"What?"

He pulled out his phone and showed me a photograph. A screenshot of a security feed. The timestamp read 2:47 AM, the same time as the video I'd been sent.

But this footage was different.

In this frame, I wasn't standing at the edge of the lake alone.

Someone was with me.

A figure. Dressed in black. Standing just behind me, their hand raised, their face hidden.

"Where did you get this?" I asked.

"One of the officers on scene. He owed me a favor." Myles's voice was grim. "Whoever sent you that video cropped this person out. They wanted it to look like you were alone."

"So someone was there, filming me."

“You said you met your dad…” Myles started and immediately knew he had fucked up.

“You did what?” Ashley was the first to ask.

“Your dad? The one that was dead?” Madden added.

“Okay guys I know it’s sounds bad.”

“Bad is an understatement, first you didn’t tell us about Caleb now this? How much are you hiding from us?” Ashley’s voice became tougher.

“Clearly she tells Mr. Prince Charming everything.” Madden added.

“I didn’t know about Caleb.” Myles raised his arms.

“I….” I stammered

“Guys, guys we can do this later, we have bigger fishes.” Ashley dismissed the argument.

"Uhmm…," I said slowly. "So they wanted to make it look like I killed him. But they also wanted to make sure I saw the video. To scare me. To make me run."

"It worked," Ashley said quietly. "You ran."

"Everyone runs when they're scared. That's the point." Madden stood up and walked to the window. "Whoever is doing this knows you, Alexa. Knows how you think. Knows what you're afraid of."

"Vance?”

"Maybe. Or someone else. Someone closer."

The room went quiet.

I looked at Ashley. At Madden. At Myles.

None of them looked away.

---

At 6 PM, Detective Cross called.

"I saw the video," she said. Her voice was tight, controlled. "The one someone sent you."

"How did you…”

"Myles forwarded it to me. Smart kid." A pause. "It's been altered. I have a contact in cyber crimes who can analyze it, prove it's been manipulated. But it'll take time."

"How much time?"

"A few days. Maybe longer. He's backlogged."

"We don't have a few days. If the police have that video..”

"They don't. Not yet. Someone sent it to you, not to them. That means they're not ready to go public. They're testing you. Seeing how you'll react."

"What do I do?"

"Nothing. Don't run. Don't hide. Don't give them what they want." Another pause. "And don't trust anyone."

"Not even you?"

"Especially not me."

She hung up before I could respond.

---

That night, I couldn't sleep.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the water stain looking back at me. Ashley was asleep, her breathing soft and even. Madden had gone back to her own room. Myles was on the floor beside my bed, his hand resting on the mattress near mine.

"What are you thinking about?" he whispered.

I didn't realize he was awake.

"Everything," I said. "Nothing. I don't know."

"Talk to me."

I rolled over to face him. His face was half in shadow, his eyes dark and steady.

"Do you think I'm capable of murder?" I asked.

"No."

"How do you know? You barely know me."

"I know you found your sister's body and didn't scream. I know you crawled through a vent into a basement freezer and took photographs of a dead girl. I know you've been carrying the weight of everyone you've lost without asking for help." He reached up and touched my face. "That's not a killer. That's a survivor."

"What if the evidence says otherwise?"

"Then the evidence is wrong."

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to curl up in his words and let them protect me.

But I'd learned long ago that words were just words.

And evidence was evidence.

I shifted closer to the edge of the bed. My face was inches from his now. I could see the faint scar on his chin, the one he'd told me about from falling out of a tree. I could see the exhaustion in his eyes, the worry, the fear.

But beneath all of that, I saw something else.

Something that made my chest ache.

"Alexa," he whispered.

"Yeah."

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

I reached out and touched his face. His jaw was rough with stubble, warm beneath my fingers. He closed his eyes, leaning into my touch, his breath hitching.

His eyes opened. They were dark, searching, asking a question he was afraid to speak out loud.

My heart pounded. I could feel his breath on my lips, warm and uneven. His hand found mine on the mattress, fingers interlacing, holding on like I was the only thing keeping him grounded.

"Tell me to stop," I breathed.

"I won't."

"Then kiss me."

He didn't move. His eyes searched mine, looking for something,permission, maybe. Or certainty. Or a sign that this wasn't a mistake.

I gave him all of it.

I leaned closer.

His hand came up to my face, cupping my cheek, his thumb brushing across my cheekbone. His eyes dropped to my lips.

And then..

Ashley snorted in her sleep.

The sound shattered the moment like glass.

Myles pulled back, his face flushed, his breathing ragged. I lay there, my heart pounding, my lips tingling with anticipation that hadn't been fulfilled.

"We shouldn't," he said quietly.

"Why not?"

"Because you're scared. And I'm scared. And if we do this now, it'll be because we're afraid of losing each other. Not because we're ready."

"That's the most mature thing anyone has ever said to me."

"Is that a compliment?"

"I don't know yet."

He smiled. It was small and sad and somehow exactly what I needed.

"Go to sleep, Alexa."

"I can't."

"Close your eyes. Pretend."

I closed my eyes.

And somehow, against all odds, I slept.