* * *

The wind was picking up at a rapid speed outside the car. A frozen breeze came through the open passenger window, causing the girl to shutter once again.

"Can you close that? Please?" she asked the boy who was in the passenger seat.

Without responding, he rolled his window up.

"Thank you. Anyway," the girl's voice faded off as she continued.

* * *

Within minutes, cops showed up to the school. The school went into a lockdown as police stormed into the building. It didn't take long for them to head to the classroom Eli was in. He sat wondering what was going on just like everyone else. As the police entered his classroom, the room became paralyzed. Fear settled among them all, Eli included. One cop pointed his pistol at Eli.

"Put your hands in the air!" he yelled, spit flying out of his mouth.

Eli was frozen, shocked. He couldn't move.

"I said put your hands in the air!"

Eli couldn't move. He couldn't speak, either. Completely hardened by the humiliation and shock. Within a matter of seconds, a gunshot rang through the entire school. Echoing down the vacant halls. The sound pierced through Tori's ears across the building. The entire school fell silent. A bullet punctured Eli's dark skin. He laid on the floor gasping for air as blood filled his lungs. It was too late to save him.

Nobody knows why they shot him. If you asked anyone about it, they were too traumatized to have witnessed anything. Maybe he was reaching in his bag for something, and since Tori said he possibly had a gun, maybe that's why they shot. No one truly knows.

* * *

"So he died, right?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, but that's not all."

* * *

After Eli was shot, they realized he didn't have a gun, or any weapon at all for that matter. They also read through that notebook people saw. The words a student claimed to have seen was actually his mom's suicide letter she wrote to him.

Eli's mom had killed herself that morning, but he still managed to come to school, and look at what it cost him? He had written in a journal that he came to school because it was going to be his last day. His uncle was going to take him to a different state. Eli showed up so he could silently say farewell to the people he grew up with. To a place that never tortured him like his home.

The journal in his bag explained all the reasons why he never spoke. Eli was assaulted by his father. Sexually harassed and raped. Not only that, but his mom forced drugs into his system. His whole life caused him to go mute. No one really knew why he brought that to school with him. Maybe he was planning on finally opening up to people before he left schools for good.

If only the girl, Tori, never called the cops, Eli might still be alive. Someone might have helped him through all his pain. If only Tori didn't fall into the pressure. If only she hadn't dialed 911, that poor kid could still be alive today.

* * *

"That's quite the story," the boy said to the girl.

"Yeah, I can't believe it."

A chilly breeze floated around the vehicle, even when the windows were closed. The boy began to speak again.

"Do you feel guilty?"

She gazed into his direction, "Why would I feel guilty?"

The boy fell silent for a moment. The darkness crept over him, hugging him.

"Dude, why would I feel guilty?" she asked again. She was impatient as she reached out toward his shadow. He spoke to her again. His rough voice pierced through her skull, freezing her in place.

"It's been five years, Tori, you need to let it go. Let me go." With that, the boy was gone. Tori sat alone in the dark car. Alone in the deserted parking lot. A single tear rolled down her cheek.