Chapter 8: The Room Daniel Left Behind
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not because I was afraid.
Fear was simple.
Fear had rules.
You could fight fear.
You could run from fear.
But confusion was different.
Confusion sat beside you.
It whispered.
It made you question every memory you had.
By morning, I had a folder full of photographs, messages, and questions.
And not one answer.
Maya sat across from me in the hospital cafeteria, eating a small bowl of cereal.
She looked exhausted.
“You didn’t sleep either.””
I looked at her.
“How do you know?””
“My mom doesn’t sleep when she’s worried.””
I smiled faintly.
“She taught you that?””
Maya nodded.
“She says people’s eyes tell the truth before their mouths do.””
I looked toward the hospital room.
Angela was resting.
But I knew she was awake.
She had too many secrets to sleep peacefully.
“Maya.””
She looked up.
“Did Daniel ever talk about me?””
Her spoon stopped.
“All the time.””
That hurt more than I expected.
“What did he say?””
She smiled.
“He said you were stubborn.””
I almost laughed.
“That sounds like him.””
“He said you acted tough when you were hurt.””
I looked down.
“He wasn’t wrong.””
Maya stirred her cereal.
“He kept a picture of you.””
My head lifted.
“What picture?””
She shrugged.
“An old one.””
“Where?””
“In the room.””
I froze.
“What room?””
She looked confused.
“The room he stayed in.””
I stood immediately.
“Where?””
Maya stared.
“Red?””
“Where did Daniel stay?””
She lowered her voice.
“My mom’s old house.””
Ten minutes later, I was driving.
Maya sat behind me.
The city passed by in silence.
I kept thinking about Daniel.
The idea that he had a room.
A place.
A life.
A daughter.
And somehow I knew nothing.
When we arrived, I understood why nobody found him.
The house looked abandoned.
Small.
Hidden between other buildings.
The kind of place people ignored.
Maya unlocked the door.
Inside, everything was covered with dust.
But it wasn’t empty.
There were books.
Tools.
Old papers.
A chair near the window.
A place where someone had been sitting and waiting.
I walked slowly.
Every step felt like entering a part of my brother’s life I had never been invited into.
Maya pointed upstairs.
“His room.””
I climbed.
The door was closed.
My hand touched the handle.
For a moment, I hesitated.
Then I opened it.
The room was exactly what I expected.
And nothing like what I expected.
A bed.
A desk.
A motorcycle helmet.
A wall covered with photographs.
I stepped closer.
My breath caught.
Pictures of me.
Not recent.
Old ones.
Me fixing motorcycles.
Me laughing.
Me standing outside my first shop.
Daniel had been watching my life.
From a distance.
The person I thought abandoned me had been keeping memories of me.
On the desk was a notebook.
I opened it.
The first page had one sentence.
FOR RED, IF I DON’T MAKE IT BACK.
My hands went cold.
I turned the page.
The writing continued.
I know you’ll be angry.
You’ll think I chose this.
I didn’t.
I searched for the truth because someone had to.
And because I knew you would never stop looking for me.
I sat down.
The notebook was full of names.
Dates.
Locations.
But one name appeared over and over.
Mason.
My father’s name.
I turned more pages.
Then I found something that made me stop.
A photo.
Not of Daniel.
Not of my father.
Of me.
Taken recently.
My blood ran cold.
Someone had been watching me.
Not years ago.
Recently.
Maya saw my face.
“What is it?””
I didn’t answer.
Because another photograph fell from the notebook.
This one had writing on the back.
I turned it over.
And my hands began shaking.
DON’T TRUST THE MAN WHO FINDS YOU FIRST.
I looked at Maya.
“What does that mean?””
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
Then the floor downstairs creaked.
We both froze.
Someone was inside.
I slowly stood.
Maya grabbed my arm.
“Red.””
I put a finger to my lips.
Another step.
Closer.
Whoever was downstairs wasn’t hiding.
They wanted us to know they were there.
I moved toward the stairs.
My hand reached the railing.
Then a voice came from below.
A voice I recognized.
“Red.””
I stopped.
Because I knew that voice.
But it couldn’t be possible.
Not again.
Not another ghost from my past.
The person standing at the bottom of the stairs looked up.
May you like
And said:
“You need to leave before Daniel’s killer finds you.””
