Chapter 14: The Worst Kind Of Silence

Ryan didn’t sleep.

He couldn’t.

The voice recording replayed in his mind all night, Jake’s voice echoing like venom behind his eyes.

“If I can’t have him, no one will.”

It wasn’t a broken heart speaking.

It was possession. Obsession. Control.

And it wasn’t just Jake.

Thomas had heard that recording.

And he hadn’t done anything.

By sunrise, Ryan made his choice.

He put on jeans, a worn hoodie, and no hesitation.

He walked to the communications building and asked for access to the audio lab.

“Just a small project,” he lied. “For my journalism module.”

He edited the voice clip, cleaned up the background, and exported it with the filename:

Proof.mp3

Then he sent a copy to himself.

Another to his academic advisor.

And one more… to Thomas.

With a message:

“I know what you were part of. Stay away from me.”

By afternoon, Ryan stood outside Daniel’s apartment again.

Not because he was ready to forgive.

But because he wanted to hear the whole truth, or he would never be able to move forward  with him or without him.

Daniel opened the door slowly.

His eyes were tired. His hair messy. It looked like he hadn’t slept either.

“You came back,” he said.

Ryan stepped inside but didn’t sit.

“Tell me everything,” Ryan said. “From the beginning.”

Daniel took a long breath and leaned against the wall like the truth was heavier than he could carry.

“I met Jake in second year,” he began. “He was toxic even then. Manipulative, always sizing people up.”

“I know,” Ryan said flatly.

“He hated that you started pulling away from him. So when he found out I was tutoring in the psych department, he came to me with this twisted deal.”

Daniel looked away.

“I told him no. At first. Then he sent me a photo of you… sitting in a cafe alone. Said, ‘He always waits. Always wants someone to prove him wrong.’”

Ryan’s heart stuttered.

Daniel continued, “It pissed me off. So I emailed him. Told him I’d keep an eye on you  but not for him. For you.”

Ryan stayed silent.

“I didn’t take his money. I blocked him afterward. I never replied again,” Daniel said. “But yeah, I messed up. I should’ve told you the truth from day one.”

There was silence again the heavy, choking kind that felt like it might never lift.

Then Ryan asked, softly, “Did you fall for me before or after the lie?”

Daniel looked straight at him. “After. Way after.”

Ryan finally sat down.

He rubbed his eyes. “Jake sent that message to Thomas. Said if I didn’t choose him, they’d destroy me.”

Daniel flinched. “Thomas? He was in on it?”

“I have the voice memo.”

“Ryan” Daniel stood, fists clenched. “You’re not safe around those people.”

“I know.”

Ryan looked up.

“I’m not here to forgive you, Daniel. Not yet. Maybe not ever.”

Daniel’s jaw tightened, but he nodded.

“But I need you to understand something,” Ryan added. “You broke my trust. But Jake… Jake tried to break me. And Thomas let him.”

Daniel crossed the room slowly and knelt in front of him.

“I don’t want to be one more thing you survive. I want to be someone who stays. Someone who earns it  slowly, if that’s what it takes.”

Ryan’s throat tightened.

He looked away. “Then you have to let me go first.”

Daniel nodded again. “Okay.”

They didn’t hug.

They didn’t kiss.

They just sat in the same room, quietly, for almost an hour.

Sometimes healing doesn’t need a fix.

Sometimes it just needs a pause.

That night, Ryan uploaded his first anonymous blog post to the campus bulletin site:

“The people who say they love you might just want to own you.

And the people who seem like enemies might be the ones who see you clearly.

I’m not telling this story to expose anyone.

I’m telling it so no one else has to stay quiet.”

And that’s when the messages started rolling in.

One.

Then ten.

Then fifty.

From students.

From strangers.

From survivors.