The morning after his interrogation, Liam couldn't look anyone in the eye.
The campus buzzed with its usual noise laughter spilling from dorm balconies, sneakers squeaking across the gym floors, the sharp crack of a bat echoing from the field but all of it felt distant to him, muted and warped.
He hadn't slept. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the one-way mirror and imagined Mrs. Hayes on the other side, her grief burning holes through the glass.
By the time he reached the baseball field, his hands were shaking.
"Yo, Liam!"
The familiar voice cut through the haze. It was Ryan Ortega, his teammate and closest friend since freshman year. Easygoing, loyal, the kind of guy who never pried too much. But today, his expression wasn't relaxed, it was cautious.
Liam forced a grin. "Hey. You're early."
Ryan shrugged. "Could say the same for you. Thought you'd skip practice after yesterday."
Liam froze. "What do you mean 'yesterday'?"
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Don't play dumb, man. Everyone's talking. Coach said you had a 'meeting' with the cops."
Liam's pulse spiked. "It was nothing. Just… standard questions. Everyone who knew Emily's being asked stuff."
Ryan nodded slowly. "Yeah, maybe. But you look like you've seen a ghost."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine,I know you too well" Ryan said, stepping closer. "You've been zoning out for days. You missed warmups twice this week. You keep checking over your shoulder like someone's following you. What's going on?"
Liam's jaw tightened. "Drop it, Ry. It's just stress."
Ryan folded his arms. "Stress doesn't make you flinch every time someone says her name."
Liam turned away, pretending to tighten his glove strap. "You don't get it."
"Then make me get it," Ryan said softly. "Because right now, it looks like you're hiding something and I can't keep covering for you if I don't even know what it is."
Liam looked up sharply. "Covering for me?"
Ryan exhaled. "Come on, man. You think the coaches don't notice ? You think I didn't tell them you were at the dorm that night? I told them you were watching film with me."
Liam's stomach dropped. "You what?"
"I thought I was helping!" Ryan hissed. "You said you didn't want the heat. You said they'd twist things. So yeah I said we were hanging out. But if there's something you're not telling me…"
He trailed off, eyes searching Liam's face. "You didn't you didn't do anything, did you?"
Liam forced a laugh, but it came out wrong too sharp, too hollow. "You sound like Greene."
"I sound like a friend who's worried."
Liam swallowed hard, the muscles in his neck tight. "I didn't do anything."
Ryan's expression softened a little. "Then start acting like it. If you keep on acting strange how do you expect people especially Greene and Emily's parents to believe that you didn't do anything?"
For a moment, silence hung between them thick and uncomfortable. Then Ryan clapped him on the shoulder, the gesture more wary than comforting.
"Just… keep your head straight, okay? People are starting to talk."
He jogged back toward the field, leaving Liam standing there, the sun glaring in his eyes.
Practice that day felt endless.
Every cheer from the stands sounded like laughter at his expense. Every ball that slipped from his hand felt heavier than the last.
He missed three catches in a row. The coach barked his name, his patience thin.
"Focus, Liam! You're playing like your head's somewhere else!"
Liam didn't respond. Because his head was somewhere else, back in that windowless room with the buzzing light and the detective's calm, cutting questions.
He could still hear her voice:" Did you two ever argue?"
The bat cracked. A ball shot past his shoulder before he even reacted.
"Man, what's wrong with you? Focus"Ryan yelled from first base.
Liam didn't answer. He turned and walked straight off the field.
He sat on the locker room bench long after everyone else had left. The air smelled of sweat and damp turf. He buried his face in his hands.
He didn't notice Ryan came in until the door creaked.
"Coach is pissed," Ryan said quietly. "Says if you walk out like that again, you're benched for the week."
"Let him bench me," Liam muttered.
Ryan hesitated. "You're scaring people, man. Even me.What's wrong? You never act like this".
Liam looked up, eyes bloodshot. "Then stop looking."
Ryan stepped closer, lowering his voice. "You can tell me anything, you know that, right? I am your friend and if there's any way I can help you I definitely will do it. Remember a problem shared is halved.
There's was a minute of silence before Liam shook his head slowly. "Not this."
Ryan studied him for a long moment, then sighed. "Whatever it is, just remember secrets don't stay buried forever. Especially around here."
Liam's gaze flicked up, startled. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Ryan shrugged, backing toward the door. "Means if you're in trouble, you better figure it out before someone else does. That aside,make sure you attend the next training and try to be focused. Whenever you're ready to talk to someone always remember I'm here for you,don't drown in your silence".
Liam quickly responded with a smile "sure I will, thank you so much. Have a good day".
Rayan left the room with the door swung shut behind him.
Liam sat motionless for a full minute, heart pounding. The words echoed in his head secrets don't stay buried forever.
He looked down at his trembling hands.
Then, with a shaky breath, he whispered to himself, "She said the same thing."
Outside, as Ryan walked back toward the field, he couldn't shake the unease that had settled in his gut. He'd known Liam for years through every win, every loss, every late-night training session. But today, when he'd looked into his best friend's eyes, he hadn't seen the Liam he knew.
He'd seen fear.
And guilt.
"What could have gone wrong"? He asked himself.