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The River That Wouldn’t Carry Me
The River That Wouldn’t Carry Me
Author: Amazing Coconut

Chapter 1

Author: Amazing Coconut
When they saw the hideous scar on my face, the private room momentarily fell silent.

Then, they started to murmur among themselves.

“Holy moly! No wonder she didn’t want to take her makeup off earlier.”

“I actually thought she was pretty. It all turned out just to be makeup. She’s not even in the same league as Eira.”

They did not even try to hide their disgust, and it hurt me.

Just then, Elliot Murphy, who was livestreaming, shoved his phone camera right in my face.

“Clara, that scar is actually pretty cool!

“From now on, no one will ever mess with him whenever he takes you out. You could scare people just by pulling your mask down. Behold, the horror of Clara Whittle!”

Everyone in the room started laughing.

I stood there frozen, clutching the crumpled makeup wipe in my hand.

I tried to hold back my tears.

Jordan Ford did nothing but watch as the others pointed and whispered about me.

Eira Sharwood smiled and nudged Elliot aside.

She pulled a tissue from her bag and handed it to me. Her expression showed just the right amount of concern.

“Clara, don’t get mad at us. A bet’s a bet. If you hadn’t removed your makeup, Jordan would’ve looked bad in front of everyone.

“Don’t take it too seriously, either. After all, what happened to his mother has always been a sore spot for him. If it weren’t for that accident you caused...”

She left the sentence hanging, but I knew exactly what she meant.

Her words stung like needles and pierced right into my heart.

Three years ago, I received a spot in my school’s study abroad exchange program.

On the day I was leaving, Jordan and his mother, Janice Ford, had insisted on driving me to the airport.

He had worked late the night before, so he was fast asleep in the back seat.

On the way, a truck going the wrong way came barreling toward us at full speed.

In a panic, Janice let go of the steering wheel. I quickly reached over to help her regain control.

Unfortunately, the truck still crashed into us.

After the car rolled over, I used the last of my strength to climb out through the window.

Ignoring the searing pain all over my body, I desperately looked toward the back seat.

Jordan was trapped in the deformed rear compartment, and his face was covered in blood.

Janice had collapsed in the driver’s seat and was unresponsive.

I could not pry the door open, so I used my elbow to smash the remaining shards of glass and dragged Jordan out.

The glass cut my face, and blood blurred my vision.

I did not remember how I managed to pull him out of the wreck. All I recall was that when the police arrived, I was kneeling by the roadside, drenched in blood.

Janice passed away in the hospital.

...

Eira held out a tissue, but I did not take it.

“Clara, I know you hate me. If that accident hadn’t happened, you would’ve gone for the exchange program instead of me.”

She looked as if she was about to cry, and the tissue in her own hand finally came in handy.

The three of us had grown up together since childhood.

After the accident, I had called her from the hospital with trembling hands and sobbed through the phone.

Somehow, she had turned me into the killer in her version of events.

“The accident three years ago wasn’t my—”

“That’s enough!”

Jordan cut me off as I started to explain myself.

He pulled Eira into his arms and glared at me coldly.

“Does a killer deserve to enter the exchange program? You’re being delusional in thinking otherwise!

“If you hadn’t grabbed the wheel, none of this would’ve happened.”

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  • The River That Wouldn’t Carry Me   Chapter 9

    I did not even realize when Jordan left. But every few days, more of my favorite foods would appear outside the courtyard gate.Occasionally, there would also be a bouquet of flowers.I knew who had sent them, so I threw them all into the trash.But when it continued for two weeks, my mother’s heart ached for me every time she saw the discarded items.We both had had enough.Early one morning, Jordan came to deliver things again, but I caught him in the act.He froze completely when he saw me. He looked thinner than before.Then, he stammered out my name.I sighed and said, “Come inside. Let’s talk.”Sitting in the living room, he hung his head in silence.“Stop coming here.”“I just want to make things right. I want to make up for all the mistakes I made,” he said earnestly.“But I don’t love you anymore. You’ve drained every bit of love I had for you over the past three years.“You cannot make this right with me, and I do not need you to try.“This is where we end thi

  • The River That Wouldn’t Carry Me   Chapter 8

    (1st POV)When I saw Jordan again, my mother was busy throwing salt over my shoulder to ward off bad luck.That day, someone had pushed me off the bridge, but a passing old fisherman, Alfred Richie, saved me.When he pulled me ashore, I was choking on water.Fortunately, I was still alive.I sat on the bank, struggling to catch my breath.The feeling of surviving a near-death experience made me extremely uneasy.I could no longer hold back and broke down crying.Alfred had watched me with concern, but his tone carried a sense of frustration mixed with disappointment.“Miss, you’re still so young. Whatever it is, it can’t be worth this.“Think about your parents. They’d be devastated if they knew.”I did not say anything, nor did I explain that someone had pushed me.But he was right.My father was gone, but my mother was still in the hospital waiting for me.Alfred handed me sixty dollars, enough for a cheap motel and to get my clothes washed. After that, I borrowed the

  • The River That Wouldn’t Carry Me   Chapter 7

    Eira took a long while to reply.[Jordan, why would you suddenly ask about that?][It’s been three years. You and Clara were both unconscious after the crash, so I had to go to the station myself and bring back whatever was left of the dashcam footage.]He was a bit puzzled.[Which officer was it? What was their name?]To ensure safety, Jordan had purchased a dual-lens dashcam back then.But because of the accident, the audio had been lost.Only the video remained, showing Clara grabbing the steering wheel from Janice’s hands.[Jordan, are you doubting me?][I’m the one who found you the proof that Clara killed Janice. Why would you turn around and suspect me?]He did not reply. All he did was run through the past events in his mind once more.He always felt that something about the entire matter seemed off.Why, after three years, had Clara still refused to admit it?He quickly went home and dug out the USB drive that Eira had given him three years ago.When he examined

  • The River That Wouldn’t Carry Me   Chapter 6

    (3rd POV)Jordan stared at the message on his screen; his fingers hovered over it for a long time.He had truly believed that Clara was lying to him.So, when she called him crying, he had not hesitated to block her number.He really had not expected things to turn out like this.He did not believe it. It had to be another one of her pity ploys.How many people would she need to hire to play along before she finally gave up?He put down his phone and splashed cold water on his face.His eyes were red and swollen in the mirror from tears. Stubble was starting to show on his chin.He let out a cold laugh at his own reflection.Clara, what a master manipulator.She even got the police to play along.He would go to the funeral himself the following day and call her out in person.Early the next morning, Jordan drove to the neighboring city.They had grown up together since childhood, and no one knew the address of their hometown better than he did.All the way there, he kept

  • The River That Wouldn’t Carry Me   Chapter 5

    Jordan froze.He frowned and glanced at Eira lying in the hospital bed before him. In the end, he still grabbed his coat and left.When he finally arrived at the police station, he could not find me anywhere.“Where is Clara Whittle?”The officer on duty, Kyle Constable, looked at him and let out a sigh.“Are you a family member of hers? We haven’t located her yet.“We only found her bag. We’ve confirmed it’s hers.”Jordan suddenly laughed.“She didn’t fool you guys, did she? She’s just doing this to get my attention.“Tell her to stop playing these little games.”Kyle tapped the table and looked at him with a stern expression.“Sir, take this seriously. A life is at stake here.“We have a witness who saw Clara fall into the river. But we haven’t finished investigating. There are still a lot of unanswered questions.“Most importantly, her body has not been found yet.”Kyle handed Jordan the bag that I had left behind.“Here. This is hers, right? There’s a phone in the

  • The River That Wouldn’t Carry Me   Chapter 4

    I clutched my phone so tightly that my nails dug into my palm.“Mom, stay calm. I’m on my way right now.”I hung up, ignored Eira behind me, and turned to rush out.I stood at the roadside and hailed a cab.When I arrived at the hospital, I saw my mother sitting on a chair outside the operating room. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying.I walked over and hugged her. I could feel her entire body trembling.“Mom, what happened to Dad?”She was crying too much to talk and could only shake her head helplessly in my direction.The doctor, Dr. Roy Marshall, came out of the operating room and removed his mask with a grave expression.“Mr. Whittle is in critical condition. He needs surgery, but we don’t have the right specialist for him in this hospital.“If we can get a top expert to lead the surgery, we might have a chance.”My mother’s grip on my hand tightened.“Mom, don’t panic. I’m calling Jordan right now. I’ll get the best doctor there is.”I walked to a corner and h

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