Fox-Run v Ryan

Chapter 5: First Recess

PRESENT DAY

When Terrance Miller returned to his seat in the crowd, several of his friends bombarded him. The first one, Will Allen, pulled him to his seat and punched him in the arm. "Why didn't you mention the text? Or, like, anything that's happened to us."

Terrance sat there in silence. "She did it."

"What?" Will asked.

"The people behind the text. The people that killed Hunter. She's one of them, and now we know it's true."

Will's face crinkled. "How do you know?"

"Because that video is wrong. That's not what Alex was wearing that day."

"What does that mean?" Paul Harris, on the other side of Terrance, asked.

"Alex wore that shirt the day Hunter died, yes. But he wasn't wearing those pants. In fact he wasn't wearing pants. We had soccer practice that day, and Alex doesn't wear pants on practice days; he wears shorts. He always has, and he wouldn't have done it different that day either."

"So what are you saying? That the footage is tampered with?"

Terrance gave his friends a knowing look. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

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13 DAYS UNTIL TRIAL

When breakfast was done, Amanda took the two boys to the den to talk. The den was a small, annexed room added by Mr. and Mrs. Ryan to provide Vinny, and the other children, a place to store and mess with their toys. The walls were painted a cheerful mint green that always angered Amanda. "Green is an ugly color," she had been saying since she was a little girl.

"This place should be quiet enough to talk," Amanda told the young teens as she set three stools in a triangular position. "Let's talk. Tell me more about what happened."

Will pulled his phone out of his pocket. As he tried to find the text, Terrance began to explain. "We think someone framed Alex. Well, we know someone framed Alex."

Amanda looked at him with confusion. "How do you know?" Will, who had looked up from his phone's, eyes opened wide. His attitude matured almost instantaneously. Staring into his best friend's older sister's eyes with fiery intent, "We know," was all that he said.

"Okay, I'll take your word for it," Amanda replied, shrugging off the strange comment.

"Got it!" Will exclaimed after a few moments of searching again. "I didn't know where the text came from. The number is blocked, so I can't see who it is. But one thing is for sure: Alex is innocent. This person knows we know that he didn't do it, and they're threatening us. We should take this to the police."

"No," Amanda responded. "We can't take this to the police. If this person finds out, they'll kill us before the police can catch them. For all we know, this person could be in the police force. Makes it convenient to tamper with evidence."

Will and Terrance seemed terrified. "Will.... will you help us then?" Will asked.

"Help you with what?" James Ryan's voice came from behind.

"Dad!" Amanda yelled. "Get out!"

"I'm your father. Besides, I have a question. Have you seen one of our knives? The long, serrated one is missing." Amanda shook her head.

"Ah, well. I guess I'll leave the three of you to it." He turned and exited the den.

"That was close," Amanda said as she stood up and closed the white door of the den.