Chapter 3

I was in my room noting down all the things I know about the case in a small book. Stiles had no friends. He had a deep cut on his left hand. Circling with a red pen on it. Now I found a new lead.
People are assuming it was a suicide. It can be a suicide. Maybe he wanted to forget everything. About how he was bullied. But it doesn't make sense. I need to work more on it. 
The phone started to ring. It was Clara. I picked it up. “Hey! Can you come to my house? I had a breakup with my boyfriend.” She asked, her words were sad. 
“Yeah, of course.” I replied and hung up the call.
I told Cam to come too. Max was already with Clara as he's her brother. I quickly went there as she's next door to mine. 
“Well. How did it happen? I thought you were going to confess your feelings.” Cam asked. 
“Yeah. But before I could say that, he told me that he can't be with me and I should not call him again.” Clara said, her eyes full of tears. 
“That's so bad. How could he do that?” Max said.
“Let's stop talking about him and watch a movie to change the topic.” I said, taking my phone out. 
I searched for some movies. After many suggestions and discussion, we decided to watch a horror movie. It was a nice idea because it was already seven and dark. Clara started the film on her laptop.
After watching the movie for a few minutes, we realised that we were hungry. We walked downstairs towards the kitchen to find snacks. 
“Let's eat ramen noodles. I have some.” Clara said, holding some cup noodles.
“I found some chips and juice. Let's take it.” Max said, his hands full of chips and a bottle of juice.
When I was searching for some bowls and glass, I saw Clara staring at the fork she was holding. 
“Don't tell me you are going to stab your ex-boyfriend with a fork.” I said to her, looking concerned.
“Of course not, why would you say that?” Clara snapped back. 
“Nothing, you were too focused on the fork.” I said. 
“Let's watch a movie.” Cam said, holding some glasses. 
As we resumed the movie, we started to eat our chips and noodles. It was getting late so we decided to go home and return back. 
Next day, I woke up at eight. I quickly went to shower and changed my clothes. I wore my ear pods and started to listen to music when jogging around the town. I started to run slowly. 
After a few rounds, I stopped near a bridge. I was tired and when I looked down, I saw a wallet. Someone must have dropped it down. I should give this to the police station. I walked towards the police station. 
When I reached there, I reported about a missing wallet and handed it over. The person whose wallet was lost was standing there. It was none other than Oliver. 
I barely had time to step away from the officer before Oliver stormed up to me, snatching the wallet from their hands like I had personally stolen it. His eyes were sharp, practically burning with irritation.
"You gave my wallet to the police? Are you kidding me?" he snapped.
I crossed my arms, unimpressed. "Oh, I’m so sorry. I thought returning a lost wallet to the proper authorities was the right thing to do. My mistake!"
His jaw clenched. "You could’ve just given it to me!"
I let out a sharp laugh. "And how exactly was I supposed to know it was yours? Should I have developed psychic abilities on the spot?"
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "My ID was inside!"
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, buried under a mountain of crumpled receipts and candy wrappers. Forgive me for not digging through your trash."
"You always do this," he muttered, voice tight with annoyance. "You go out of your way to make my life difficult."
I scoffed. "No, you make your own life difficult by being careless. Who even drops their wallet in the middle of the road?"
"It fell out of my pocket!"
I tilted my head, raising an eyebrow. "And that sounds like a problem."
He let out an exasperated sigh, fists clenching at his sides. "You enjoy messing with me, don’t you?"
A slow smirk spread across my lips. "Oh, absolutely. It’s my new favorite hobby." I turned away with a shrug. "Now, if you're done whining, I have actual work to do."
I didn’t bother looking back. I already knew he was fuming.
“Is this really necessary? Do I have to be with you?” I asked Max.
“Of course. I can't go to the mall alone.” He replied.
“Why don't you take Clara instead of me?” I asked him.
“Because she recently broke up with her boyfriend. Besides, how would she feel if I told her to come with me to buy a gift for a girl I have a crush on.” He replied. “Also she hasn't taken a shower and is having a mental breakdown.” 
“Where are we heading then?” I asked him.
“Starlight mall. I heard it has great clothes and accessories.” He replied. “Also you have your eighteenth birthday next month. You must buy some clothes.” 
We reached the entrance of the mall. It was large. We went inside. First we went to the clothes session where I could buy some clothes. 
“Don't you think clothes would be too much? I must give her something simple, right?” He asked. “Who is this girl? How did you meet?” I asked him. 
“Well she is my friend from Study cafe. I recently started to go there. Then I noticed her. I have a crush on her.” he replied back. 
“Alright. I guess you should give her a necklace.” I suggested it to him. 
Then we headed towards the accessories session. There were many accessories such as earrings, rings, and much more. We looked for some necklace. Then Max found one.
“Look I found one. It's nice. It has her initials too.” he said, pointing towards me. 
It was a simple chain necklace with a capital A written on it. We decided to buy it. Then we paid for it. He thanked me for accompanying him and he returned back home. 
I was walking back home alone through the streets. As I was moving forward. I saw Stiles' house. So I tell them what I found out. Maybe I can find more things. Then I press the doorbell. 
“Oh. It's you. Liam, right?” Mrs. Bennet asked.
“Yes. I am.” I answered.
“What happened? Is something wrong?” She asked me, his eyes wide in confusion.
“No. It's just that I found some news about Stiles.” I said, headed to the living room with her.
“What's it?” she asked.
“I found out that Stiles was getting bullied at school. Did you know that?” I asked them, taking a seat on the couch.
“What? He was getting bullied.” Mr. Bennet asked me. 
“Yes. Some students used to hit him and push him.” I said.
“We didn't know about it. But why didn't he tell us?” Mrs. Bennet asked.
“Do you have his phone? Maybe I could find something in it.” I asked her. 
“Yes of course. Wait a minute.” She replied. 
She handed me the phone. I tried to unlock the phone. It has a simple wallpaper of him and not many apps in it. I opened his messages. 
There were only a few people in his messages. Like his parents, Gabe. His messages to him about the timing to meet and about study. 
Then I spotted a group. It was a book club group. I didn't know he was into books. It's a new clue. There were two - three members in this group. I noted the number of the member in my phone and saved it. 
That's it. I couldn't find anything more. There weren't many photos of him. He has no post on instagram. Then I handed the phone to her. 
“Did you find anything?” Mrs. Bennet asked.
“Yes. He was a member of a book club. Did you know it?” I asked her. 
“No. But he used to go out every weekend.” Mr. Bennet said to me. 
“Alright. I should go now then. Thanks for your cooperation.” I said, on my way to leave the house.Right now, I am watching a crime documentary. Should I text the other member? Will they know something that I don't? Maybe I should do it.
[Me] : Hi! I am Liam. Do you know Stiles Bennet?
[Britney] : Hi! Yes. I know him. But I don't know you. 
[Me] : I wanted to talk to you about him. Can we meet tomorrow?
[Britney] : Sure. Let's meet at eleven at Eleanor Park.