The Third Word

Chapter 55

"What..." I uttered. All my words that I had spoken about him, about being a coward and unable to handle depression, came back at me, piercing my heart. 

Regret.

"You called him a coward, if I remember correctly," He paused," Turns out the real coward is you."

I stayed quiet. Yes, I was the real coward. 

"Now tell me everything that you've hidden behind your cowardice if you have some respect to pay towards your schoolmate's death." He frowned. His anger was justified.

"He...he texted me before his death- Ap- Apparently before his death. I just texted him and he immediately accepted my request." I said. I could feel Elijah rise from his seat in shock and his dad's furrowed expression, mixed with anger and surprise.

I know, how could I keep such a crucial information from you?

"Show me the conversation!" He ordered. Elijah rushed over to the table when I pulled my phone out and fetched the chat. I attempted to place the phone on the table but he snatched it from my hand before that. Both of them took a brief look at the chat and looked at each other in confusion.

"Did you get it?" Mr. Cooper asked him.

"Not the third word." Elijah shook his head in disappointment.

"According to the Forensic Report, exactly after 3 minutes and 5 seconds of the time when this conversation took place, Ethan died." Mr. Cooper said," He might not have been in the condition to type and misspelled the third word or the phone slipped out of his hands."

He was stabbed and struggling to live when he texted me.

I sobbed silently. How could I think he was pranking me? Why did I not do something? I could've done something. What was the use of being an excellent student when I couldn't understand a little thing?

"Dad, your department has specialized persons for decoding, I'm sure-"

"We have to keep this investigation a secret." Mr. Cooper glanced at me and I nodded. He continued," The murderer could be anyone, his father, brother or some other distant relative. We can't let anyone know... Give her some water."

I didn't realize I was still sobbing and my ears and cheeks were red," I'm so sorry." I cried," I didn't know."

"The best way to apologize is to help us, help him." Mr. Cooper stood up, piled up some documents and walked out the door.

"It's not your fault." Elijah said. I looked up at him, hoping he actually meant it. I just wanted someone to say that it wasn't my fault. I was wrong for keeping it hidden. I then understood why Ethan tried to talk to me and scare me. He was clearly mad at me for hiding the chat. He knew these people were trying to help him and he wanted to use me as a method to communicate with them. I was a bitch for being afraid, not going when he called me, not responding to his whispers and always running away from him. I wanted to get rid  of him. 

He did not kill himself.

He was not a coward. 

He died fighting.

He deserved justice.

I wanted to ram my head into the table for being such a pathetic asshole. I wanted to scream my lungs out that I was sorry to death. He was probably there, watching me and hating me. I never wanted to be someone like that in his eyes and I probably ended up being the cruelest and most selfish person he'd ever come across.

If I hadn't said what I did next, I would've considered myself a heartless bitch.

"I'll talk to him. Teach me how to." I asserted.