Chapter TWO #2
Tiana did not speak for several seconds after Mei finished telling her what happened in the basement three years earlier.
She sat cross-legged on the bedroom rug, one hand still wrapped around a bag of chips she had forgotten to eat.
The room felt different now, as if the truth had changed the air pressure.
"So he thinks you were asleep," Tiana said at last.
Mei nodded.
"And nobody knows you were in the hallway?"
"Nobody."
"Not Alex?"
"He wasn't home. He was sleeping at a friend's house after
basketball practice."
Tiana set the chips aside. "Your grandma?"
"No."
"The police?"
Mei shook her head again.
Tiana's eyes filled, but her voice stayed steady. "Why didn't you
tell them when it happened?"
* * *
Two days after Mei told Tiana, Mrs. Brooks invited her to dinner. Mei almost refused. Being around another mother felt strange
in ways she could not explain. Mrs. Brooks asked ordinary questions
- whether Mei wanted more salad, whether school pictures were
next month, whether the girls had finished the science project
and every ordinary question made Mei aware of how carefully she
edited herself at home.
Daniel had approved the dinner because Mrs. Brooks would
drive Mei home by eight.
"Good family," he had said after hearing where Tiana's mother
worked. "Just don't stay late."
The compliment sounded like permission.
At the Brooks house, music played from a speaker near the
kitchen sink. Mrs. Brooks danced badly while stirring sauce. Tiana
complained that her mother's dancing violated several laws. "Jealousy," Mrs. Brooks said.
Mei laughed.
Then Mrs. Brooks asked, "How's your dad doing?" The fork in
Mei's hand stopped. Tiana looked at her mother with such intensity
that Mrs. Brooks noticed.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing," Tiana said too quickly.
Mrs. Brooks's eyes moved between them. Mei forced a shrug.
"He's fine."
"Work keeping him busy?"
"Yeah."
"Good."
The conversation moved on.
Under the table, Tiana pressed her sneaker against Mei's. Not a
warning. A reminder. I'm here. Later, while Mrs. Brooks packed
leftovers, Mei noticed a framed photo on the refrigerator. Tiana at
age five, missing two front teeth. Her mother behind her,
laughing. Mei looked away before grief could turn visible. On the
drive home, Mrs. Brooks stopped at a red light and said, "You know
you can call this house if you ever need a ride, right?"
Mei's stomach dropped. Had Tiana told? Mrs. Brooks glanced in
the mirror. "All kids should have more than one adult they can call.
Tiana has your grandma's number. You can have mine. That's all."
Mei breathed again.
"Okay."
"I'm serious. Middle of the night, bad party, missed bus,
whatever. I may complain, but I will come."
"Thanks."
When the car pulled up outside the Chen house, Daniel was
standing on the porch.
Not inside.
Waiting. Mrs. Brooks lowered the window. "Evening, Daniel."
His smile appeared instantly. "Hey. Thanks for bringing her home." "No problem. Girls had fun."
"Good."
Mei opened the door.
Mrs. Brooks added, "Anytime she needs a ride, you have my
number." Daniel's eyes flicked toward Mei. Only for a second. "Appreciate it," he said.
Inside, the front door closed softly behind them.
"You need rides now?" Daniel asked.
"She was just being nice."
"I heard what she said."
Mei set the leftover container on the counter.
"Then why ask?"
The mistake was immediate.
Daniel's face changed.
"Watch your tone."
"Sorry."
He stepped closer. "You don't need other adults offering to come
get you from my house."
"She didn't say from here."
"Mei."
The single word ended the conversation.
She went upstairs.
Ten minutes later, Tiana texted.
TIANA: mom says ur dad gives her weird vibes
Mei stared.
MEI: why
TIANA: said he smiles without his eyes
MEI: thats not evidence
TIANA: i know detective chen
Mei almost corrected the last name because it looked like
Daniel owned it. Then she realized it was hers too. She saved Mrs.
Brooks's number under a fake contact name: Science Project. It felt
ridiculous. It also felt like having another exit.
* * *
Mei had asked herself that question so often that she hated the answer.
"Because he found me before the police came. I was sitting on my bed and he told me Mom fell down the stairs. Then he said everybody was going to ask questions and I needed to be careful because sometimes kids got confused when they were scared."
"That's not an answer. That's him telling you what to say." "I know that now."
"What else did he say?"
Mei rubbed her thumb over a loose thread on her jeans. "He said
families could get broken apart when people told stories they didn't understand. He said Alex could get sent away. He said I might have to live with strangers." Tiana went very still. "You were nine."
"I believed him."
"Of course you believed him. He was your dad."
Mei looked toward the door even though they were alone. "I
also knew what I saw. That's the part that makes me feel stupid." "You're not stupid."
"I knew and I still sat there when the police lady asked me if I'd
heard anything, and I said no."
Tiana reached across the rug. "Mei, look at me."
Mei did.
"You were a kid trying not to get killed by the person who just
killed somebody. That's not the same as helping him."
The words landed hard enough that Mei had to look away. Her phone buzzed beside her knee.
Both girls froze.
The screen showed an unknown number. NO CALLER ID had frightened Mei before.
An unfamiliar number was different. It could be a dentist reminder, a wrong number, a spam text promising a free cruise.
This one contained no link and no introduction.
You should be careful what you repeat. Mei's lungs forgot how to work. Tiana leaned over. "Who is that?"
"I don't know."
Another message appeared before either girl moved. People remember things wrong all the time. Tiana's face lost its color. "Did you tell anybody you were coming here?"
"No."
"Could your dad see your location?"
Mei opened her phone settings so fast she hit the wrong menu twice. Family location sharing was turned off. At least it looked off.
"Maybe it's spam," she whispered.
"Spam does not tell you your memory is wrong."
A third text arrived.
Come home on time. Tiana stood. "We're calling my mom."
"No."
"Mei."
"If your mom calls the police, they'll call him. If they call him, he'll know I told you."
"He might already know."
The thought made the room tilt. Mei tried calling the number. It rang once and disconnected. When she called again, a recorded voice said the number was not in service. Tiana stared at the screen. "That's creepy movie stuff."
"Please don't say creepy movie stuff."
"Sorry."
They searched the number online and found nothing. Tiana wanted screenshots. Mei hesitated, then took them. She sent copies to Tiana and saved another set in a hidden folder.
"If he checks your phone?" Tiana asked.
"He checks sometimes."
"Then send them to me and delete them from yours." "That's what I was going to do."
"Good. We're criminals now."
Mei almost laughed. Almost.
Before leaving, she made Tiana promise again not to tell anyone yet. Tiana agreed, but not easily.
"I'm giving you one thing," she said. "If he scares you again, if he touches you, throws something, blocks a door, anything - you call me, my mom, your brother, your grandma, somebody. I don't care if it's three in the morning."
"Okay."
"Say it like you mean it."
"Okay."
Tiana studied her. "And I'm serious about the police." Mei put on her shoes. "I know." At home Daniel was in the kitchen slicing green onions. He glanced at the clock above the stove.
"Four fifty-eight," he said.
Mei's heart dropped.
"I'm home before five."
"I can see that."
He scraped the onions into a bowl. "Have fun at Tiana's?" Mei had never told him whose house she was going to.
The room seemed to narrow.
"How'd you know I was there?"
Daniel looked up. For a moment neither of them blinked. Then he smiled. "You talk about her every day. Lucky guess."
Mei forced herself to nod.
His phone lay beside the cutting board. Black case. Screen dark.
"Wash your hands," he said. "Dinner's almost ready."
Mei turned toward the sink.
Daniel's phone lit behind her with an incoming notification.
She saw only two words before the screen went dark again.
Message failed. Her skin prickled. Maybe it meant nothing.
Maybe every connection her mind made was fear trying to turn ordinary things into proof.
That was the problem with living beside a secret: after a while, everything looked like it might belong to it.
At dinner, Daniel asked about Tiana's mother.
"What does she do again?"
"She works at the hospital."
"Nurse?"
"Billing."
"She home much?"
Mei lowered her fork. "Why?"
"Conversation." He smiled without warmth. "You remember conversation, right? People ask each other questions."
"Yeah."
"Good."
Later, in her room, Mei searched for the unknown number again. Still nothing. She opened the screenshots Tiana had sent back to her and zoomed in on the first message as if pixels could reveal who had typed it. You should be careful what you repeat.
The wording bothered her more than a direct threat would have. Repeat implied that what she knew had already been said once. It made her think of the night Grace died, of words overheard through a closet door, of Daniel telling police that his wife had fallen.
Mei locked her phone and placed it face down. Then she heard a soft knock against her bedroom wall. Once. Twice. She held her breath. A third knock came from the hallway side. Daniel's voice followed.
"You awake?"