The boy without a system

CHAPTER 7 — THE NOTEBOOK

Evan stood frozen in the doorway.

Lily was sitting on her bed, the notebook sprawled open in her lap. Her face was deathly pale.

"What is this?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

He couldn't find the words to answer.

She held up the page, her hand trembling. "I found my name."

He crossed the room and sat heavily on the edge of the mattress. "You shouldn't have read that."

"It was just sitting there. Open. On your desk." Her voice began to crack. "I saw my name, Evan. I read what you wrote."

Evan looked down. The notebook was open to the list.

LILY.

Underneath it, the ink felt like a death sentence:

She dies in the old timeline. Administrator vessel. Kills me. Must prevent.

Lily stared at him, waiting for an explanation that wouldn't come. "What does that mean?"

Evan snapped the notebook shut. "It's nothing."

"Nothing?" She let out a sharp, hollow laugh. "You wrote that I die. You wrote that I kill you."

"It's just a story, Lily."

"You're lying." She stood up abruptly, her eyes flashing. "You've been lying to me since the second you woke up. You hug me like you're already saying goodbye. You look at me like I’m a ghost."

Evan stood up to face her. "Lily…"

"Just tell me the truth!"

He looked at her, really looked at her. She was fourteen, terrified, furious, and so vibrantly alive.

I can't tell you, he thought. If I tell you, you'll try to help. And if you try to help, you die. But if I keep quiet, you'll hate me.

"I can't," he said aloud.

"Can't or won't?"

"Both."

She snatched the notebook up, clutching it to her chest. "Then I'm keeping this."

"Lily, give it back…"

"You want it? Then tell me the truth."

He reached for it, but she scrambled away. "Lily, please."

"Tell me!"

"I can't!"

She bolted past him, racing out of the room and down the stairs. He chased after her, his heart hammering against his ribs.

"Lily, wait!"

She reached the front door and yanked it open.

"Lily, stop!"

She spun around, her face wet with tears. "You're my brother," she sobbed. "You're supposed to be the one person who tells me things."

"I know."

"Then why won't you?"

Silence was his only answer. She walked out and slammed the door behind her, the sound echoing through the empty house.

Evan stood there in the sudden quiet.

I'm losing her. And there's nothing I can do to stop it.

He didn't sleep.

He spent the night sitting on the couch, eyes fixed on the door, waiting for the sound of her key in the lock. She didn't come home until midnight, the notebook still gripped tightly in her hand. She walked right past him without a single glance.

"Lily…"

"Don't," she snapped.

She went upstairs, and the click of her bedroom door felt like a finality.

Evan sat alone in the dark. His phone buzzed on the coffee table. A text from Sarah.

You sound worse. What happened?

He stared at the screen for a long time before typing back.

Nothing.

You're lying again.

So are you.

No reply came. He set the phone down and stared into the shadows.

27 days. And my own sister hates me.

The next morning, the house was empty. Lily had left before he even woke up. A single note sat on the fridge: Staying at Jess's for a few days. Don't follow me.

He crumpled the paper in his fist.

She’s terrified. She doesn't get it. But at least she's safe.

He headed to the dojo to drown out his thoughts.

Chen didn't comment on his exhausted appearance. He simply handed Evan a jump rope.

"Two hundred. Then we work."

Evan pushed through it until his legs felt like lead. Then came the heavy bag, the footwork drills, and the training dummy. By the time they finished, he was trembling, barely able to keep his feet.

Chen sat down on the mat beside him. "You're distracted."

"Yeah."

"Want to talk about it?"

Evan hesitated, then sighed. "She found my notebook."

Chen raised an eyebrow. "What notebook?"

"I've been writing things down. About the future. About the old timeline." He paused, the weight of it settling on him. "About her."

Chen was silent for a long moment. "And she read it?"

"Yeah."

"What did she say?"

"She wants the truth."

"Then give it to her."

"I can't. She'll want to help. And if she gets involved…"

"She dies," Chen finished.

Evan nodded grimly.

Chen leaned back against the wall. "My son told me things, too. About the future. About what was coming. I didn't believe him at first." He looked Evan in the eye. "I regret that every day."

"What changed?" Evan asked.

"He died."

The silence that followed was heavy.

"Your sister is scared," Chen said softly. "Not of the future, but of losing you. You're all she has left."

"I know."

"Then find her. Tell her something. Not everything, but something. Give her a piece of the truth so she doesn't feel like she's living in a lie."

Evan nodded slowly. "I will."

He left the dojo at seven and walked straight to Jess's house. He stood under the streetlamp, looking up at the window. He saw Lily watching him. She didn't move, just stared down at him.

He waited. Eventually, she came outside.

"What do you want?" she asked, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"To talk."

"You had your chance."

"I know. I'm sorry."

She glared at him, waiting.

"I can't tell you everything," he said, his voice steady despite the ache in his chest. "But I can tell you some of it. I'm training. I'm preparing for something that's coming."

"What is it?"

"I can't say. Not yet."

She let out a bitter laugh. "Then why are you even here?"

"Because you're my sister. And I love you." He took a breath. "And I can't bear the thought of losing you."

Her expression softened, her eyes shimmering with tears. "You're not going to lose me."

"You don't know that."

"I'm not going anywhere."

He reached out and pulled her into a hug. For a second, she resisted, and then she leaned into him, holding on tight.

"Just tell me one thing," she whispered into his shoulder.

"Anything."

"Am I in danger?"

Evan pulled back, looking into her eyes. He felt the lie burning in his throat. "No," he said. "You're not."

She nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Okay."

As she turned to go back inside, Evan stood on the sidewalk, feeling the weight of his deception.

I lied to her. But at least she's talking to me again.

He walked home in the dark.

That night, he sat at his desk and opened the notebook to a fresh page. At the top, he wrote:

26 DAYS.

He flipped to the very last page, where he had previously written: Lily finds out. Must prevent.

He drew a line through it and wrote: Lily knows something. Keep her safe.

He closed the notebook and tucked it into his desk drawer. But as he turned to go to bed, he froze.

The drawer was slightly ajar.

He stared at it, a chill creeping up his spine. I know I closed it.

He pulled it open. The notebook was sitting right there.

I'm losing my mind.

He closed it, forced himself to lie down, and stared up at the ceiling.

26 days. And someone is watching.