What I Was Running From

Charlie wasn’t finished with me. He stormed back into the restaurant, his expression thunderous, his jaw locked tight. The strangers who had been holding me moments before exchanged uneasy glances and stepped aside, leaving me exposed in the charged silence.

A bolt of adrenaline surged through me. My muscles tensed, breath catching. For a fleeting moment, I wasn’t the timid version of myself I’d always known — I was grounded, steady, unwilling to be rattled. Charlie’s eyes flickered, catching the shift in me. He hadn’t expected defiance.

He marched toward me, his chest puffed like a storm cloud gathering. I instinctively stepped back, bracing for something — a shove, a glare, a tirade — but then I heard Mitchell’s words in my mind like a sudden gust: Run, Cedric, run.

I didn’t wait to decipher their meaning. I turned and darted out of the restaurant, the cool night air slicing against my cheeks as I sprinted into the darkness, breath burning in my throat.

Why did I run? Maybe it wasn’t just fear — maybe it was the weight of it all: the humiliation, the unanswered questions, the toxic tension I didn’t want to wear anymore. I kept running until the lights of the restaurant faded behind me.

By the time I reached my room, the shadows felt heavier than usual. I collapsed onto my bed, still catching my breath. Only then did Mitchell come to mind. Had she waited? Was she okay? I didn’t even know where she lived… or how to reach her.

Her warning echoed over and over: Run, Cedric, run.What was she trying to tell me?

The night stretched long and suffocating. I lay there, restless, my body aching from tension, my thoughts trapped on a loop. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the intensity in Charlie’s face — not violence, but control. That cold kind of rage that doesn’t need fists to bruise.

Just after midnight, my phone buzzed. I blinked hard and grabbed it — Stanley.

“Hey brother, how’s it?” I asked, surprised and relieved all at once.

His voice came through warm and steady. “Cedric, my guy. I miss you, bro.”

“I miss you too,” I said, a genuine smile tugging at my lips. “You disappeared on us.”

“I know,” he admitted, his tone dipped in nostalgia. “Recovering from that accident messed me up for a while. I missed so much… missed you. But I’m back now — fully.”

His voice cracked just slightly, and I could feel the truth settle between us.

“I wanted to surprise you in class tomorrow,” he said, “but something told me to check in first. Are you okay after what happened tonight?”

I stiffened. “You heard?”

“My friend works at the restaurant,” he explained. “Saw my post and recognized you. Told me what happened. I was worried, bro.”

I sat in that quiet moment of brotherhood, grateful beyond words.

“What a brother’s keeper,” I finally said, the lightness returning to my voice. “But I’m okay. And I’ll see you tomorrow.”

We hung up, and the silence felt a little less crushing.

The next morning, I was restless. Mitchell’s warning gnawed at me. I didn’t know if she had meant Charlie, or something deeper — something I hadn’t seen yet. I muttered a quiet prayer, asking for clarity.

Sarah, meanwhile, still refused to look at me. It stung more than I wanted to admit.

Then, in the middle of it all, a gentle tap on my shoulder.

“Here you are, Cedric,” came a soft, familiar voice.

I turned. Mitchell stood there, her presence a balm. “You have no idea how hard it was to find you,” she teased, settling beside me.

Her tone shifted, softened. “Cedric… I know Charlie. That night wasn’t out of character. He’s always been that way — controlling, selfish. He uses people’s silence to his advantage.”

Her voice trembled slightly, but she held my gaze.

I blinked, trying to take in her words. “Wait — how do you know all this? Were you two…?”

Before she could answer, a passing guy with a playful grin called out, “Mitchell! New boyfriend, huh? What happened to Charlie?”

Her face paled. She looked at me, eyes red, words catching in her throat.

“Cedric… I was just about to tell you, and you know…”

To be continued…

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