Chapter Four – Storms Don’t End That Easily

The sound of the police car stayed in my head long after it disappeared.

I didn’t even realize I’d been standing in the rain again until a cold drop slid down my neck. Around me, people were still whispering, filming, speculating — like the whole thing was just another episode of their favorite show.

But this wasn’t entertainment. It was him.

Axel Knight — the boy who somehow managed to make me angry, confused, and seen all at once — was gone.

And I didn’t even know why.

---

Riza found me an hour later in our dorm. I was sitting on my bed, still in the same clothes, staring at nothing. She didn’t say anything at first. Just set a steaming mug of cocoa beside me and sat down quietly.

“Talk to me,” she said after a while. “You’ve been staring at that wall for thirty minutes.”

I swallowed hard. “He didn’t do it, Riza.”

Her eyes softened. “You don’t even know what he’s being accused of.”

“I don’t have to,” I said. “I saw his face. He wasn’t angry. He was scared.”

She sighed. “Okay, but what if—”

“No.” I cut her off, shaking my head. “I know what I saw.”

Silence hung between us for a moment. Then Riza reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. “Fine. If you’re that sure, maybe you should see this.”

She played a short clip — grainy, shaky. The kind of video that spreads through group chats before anyone knows the full story. In it, Axel stood facing another guy near the gym. The guy shoved him first, said something I couldn’t make out. Axel’s expression shifted — from surprise to fury — then the camera jerked as the fight started.

I grabbed the phone. “Can you rewind? I want to hear what he said before Axel hit him.”

Riza frowned. “The audio’s bad.”

“Please.”

She did. We both leaned closer, straining to catch it through the noise.

Then, faintly, I heard it.

> “No wonder she picked you. You’re good at acting, Knight. Guess she doesn’t know who really sent that photo.”

My stomach dropped.

“What photo?” I whispered.

Riza looked as confused as I felt. “What’s he talking about?”

I didn’t know — but something in my gut told me I had to find out.

---

By morning, the campus felt heavier. The admin office had released a bland statement about “an altercation under investigation,” and half the school was already picking sides. Some thought Axel was a violent troublemaker. Others called him a hero.

I couldn’t stand it. None of them knew him.

I spent my first two classes staring at my notebook without writing a single word. When the bell rang, I went straight to the computer lab.

If there was one thing St. Vincent’s was consistent about, it was gossip archives — the student forum. I typed Axel Knight fight into the search bar.

Dozens of posts popped up.

But one caught my eye: a thread titled “The Real Reason Behind the Rain Kiss” — posted two hours before the fight.

My heart pounded as I clicked.

Inside were screenshots — blurry but recognizable.

Me. Axel. That night in the rain.

And a private chat leaked below it.

> User1: Told you she’d fall for it. Knight never misses.

User2: Easy target. Bet he’s already bored of her.

User3: Upload the picture before she finds out.

I scrolled, my hands trembling. The usernames were hidden, but one line at the bottom was tagged to an account I recognized.

“CameronL.”

Cameron — one of Axel’s old teammates. The same guy from the video.

That was it. That was why Axel fought.

He didn’t lose control. He was defending me.

---

I sat there, frozen, staring at the screen until the words blurred. Then I copied the post link and ran — straight to the student affairs office.

The receptionist looked startled as I slammed my hand on the counter. “You need to see this.”

“Miss Lane—”

“No, look!” I shoved my phone toward her. “That fight? It wasn’t random. He was defending someone’s privacy. Mine.”

She hesitated, eyes scanning the screenshots. “This is serious. Where did you get this?”

“Your student forum,” I said. “Which you clearly don’t monitor as well as you think.”

Her expression changed from polite to worried. She picked up the phone. “Wait here.”

---

The next few hours blurred together — teachers asking questions, administrators murmuring behind closed doors. I answered what I could, then left. My chest felt tight, but lighter somehow. I’d done the right thing.

Or so I thought.

By evening, new rumors were spreading — this time about me.

> “Liana Lane exposed the truth.”

“She got Axel suspended and saved him.”

“Maybe she planned it all.”

It was exhausting. Every time I tried to fix something, it just spiraled again.

When I finally got back to my dorm, my phone buzzed with an unknown number.

For a second, I almost ignored it. Then I saw the message.

> Unknown: You shouldn’t have gone to admin. You don’t know what you’ve started.

My heart stopped.

Before I could reply, another message appeared.

> Unknown: Meet me behind the library at 10. If you want the truth about Axel… come alone.

---

I didn’t breathe for a full minute.

“Riza!” I called out, voice shaking. She poked her head out of the bathroom, toothbrush in hand.

“What?”

I turned the phone toward her. “Someone just texted me. They know something.”

She frowned. “That’s creepy. Don’t go.”

“I have to,” I said quietly. “If this is about Axel, I can’t just sit here.”

She wiped her hands on a towel, nervous. “Then at least share your location. Please.”

I nodded. But deep down, something told me this wasn’t just about Axel anymore.

Someone wanted me to stop digging.

And I was about to find out why.