Under The Bridge

Chapter 4: Into the Secrets

   The morning sun hung low in the sky, its light muted by thick clouds that seemed to mirror the heaviness in Darius's chest. The weight of the previous day's events clung to him like a fog, clouding his thoughts as he trudged through his morning routine. The house was eerily quiet, his father already gone and Sander nowhere in sight. Normally, the stillness would have been a comfort, but today it only made him feel more isolated.

He couldn't stop thinking about the man under the bridge. His glowing red eyes, his unsettling smile, and the cryptic warning that had rattled Darius to his core.

Your mother made a promise. A promise that could not be kept.

The words echoed in his mind, over and over, as if they were trying to force their way into the forefront of his consciousness. But what did they mean? What promise? And why had the man said it with such certainty, as if he had been there to witness it all?

By the time Darius stepped outside, the cool morning air did little to clear his head. He felt disoriented, as though the ground beneath his feet was shifting with every step he took.

Sander was waiting for him just outside the door, a frown creasing his brow. "You didn't wait for me this morning," he said, his voice laced with concern. "Everything okay?"

Darius forced a smile, though it felt stiff and unnatural. "Yeah, I just... didn't sleep well."

Sander studied him for a moment, his expression softening. "You've been acting weird since yesterday. If something's going on, you can tell me."

Darius hesitated, his fingers curling into the fabric of his backpack strap. He wanted to tell Sander—he really did—but something held him back. The truth felt too heavy, too dark, to share with his younger brother. How could he explain what he had seen? What he had heard? It felt like it was something he needed to figure out on his own, at least for now.

"I'm fine," he said finally, his voice quieter than usual. "It's just... stuff with school, you know?"

Sander didn't look convinced, but he let it go. "Alright," he said, adjusting his own bag. "But if you ever want to talk..."

"I know," Darius replied, his smile a little more genuine this time. "Thanks."

They walked to school in silence after that, the tension between them palpable but unspoken. Darius's thoughts were elsewhere, back at the bridge, back with the strange man who seemed to know more about his family than anyone else. As they neared the school, Darius felt a growing sense of dread. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to sit through hours of lectures and mundane conversations when his mind was spinning with far more pressing matters.

But there was no avoiding it. At least not yet.

The day passed in a blur, the monotonous drone of his teachers blending into the background as Darius struggled to focus. His mind kept wandering, replaying his conversation with the man under the bridge, trying to make sense of the cryptic warning. His father's cold distance, his mother's sad smiles—everything seemed to connect in ways that had never occurred to him before.

There's more you don't know, boy. More secrets buried deep within your family's legacy.

That was the part that gnawed at him the most. The idea that his family was hiding something—something big—made his stomach twist with unease. His father had always been secretive, but Darius had chalked it up to the way he handled his grief after his mother's death. Now, though, it felt like there was more to it than just grief.

During lunch, Sander sat with him again, his usual light-hearted chatter filling the silence between them. Darius listened half-heartedly, nodding when it seemed appropriate, but his thoughts were miles away. His gaze kept drifting toward the edge of the school grounds, where the distant line of trees beckoned him toward the park.