Page 156 of Tell No Lies

He suddenly looked so defeated.

“No, Mike. I don’t have to try to deny it, because it’s not true! I would never do that to you!”

“Then explain this to me. Tell me this isn’t what it looks like.”

I stood frozen in confusion as he held up his phone. It was from the day I went running with Gage. It was taken from behind us, but you could clearly see our linked arms and my head resting on his shoulder.

Mike pulled the phone back and swiped. When he showed it to me this time, my chin was resting on Gage’s shoulder, and I was smiling up at him. To an outsider, it would look like we were a couple sharing a precious moment. The photo captured a look on Gage’s face I hadn’t noticed at the time. He was looking down at me with such tenderness. The shy smile he reserved for me was captured there, and I bit back my request for Mike to send it to me.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped back and cleared my head. For anyone who knew that just moments before, we were teasing each other after our race, it was innocent and platonic, but those pictures showed something I hadn’t seen.

It looked like we were in love.

“Mike, there is an explanation, but whether or not you trust me is the real issue.”

“So, this is somehow my fault?” His voice rose.

“That’s not what I said. If you truly trusted me, you wouldn’t have cut me off and turned my friends against me. You could have come directly to me and asked.”

“I needed to know if Mckayla knew about this. I needed to know if you had been playing me this whole time.”

“You can’t really believe that!” My shock was quickly turning to anger. “After everything we’ve been through, you think that lowly of me?”

He clenched his jaw a few times before responding. “You’re not the problem. I don’t trust Gage. I’ve made that clear, and you still went behind my back to hang out with him.”

“He was running past my building and asked Brandon if I could go with him. We ran my normal route to the end of the peninsula, and when we got there we sat and talked. That’s it.”

Mike didn’t look like he believed me, or he didn’t want to. “I told you I didn’t want you hanging out with him.”

I could tell his anger was simmering just below the surface and tried to keep him calm. “Yes, you did, and I told you he was my friend. That’s all he is, Mike. Do I ever complain about the girls you hang out with? You’re out with half the cheer team after practice every day, and I’ve never accused you of cheating.”

“That’s because I would never cheat on you!”

“So that’s it. You don’t trust me.”

The bell rang, breaking the tension. I stared at him, no longer feeling bad about whatever I did to upset him. I was angry, fuming at his audacity.

“We’ll finish this later.”

I turned away from him and called over my shoulder. “Fine.”

My next class was with Mckayla, and I wondered if she would give me a chance to explain. Her seat was empty when I walked in, so I sat in my normal spot and waited.

Just as the bell rang, she opened the door and took the first open desk, which was on the opposite side of the room.

Mrs. Gonzalez took roll, then sat back in front of her computer, ignoring the class.

My eyes wandered to where Mckayla was sitting, and I caught her staring at me. I was debating whether or not I should go over to her when she stood up and made her way through the desks to me.

“I know what you did to Mike, Aubrey, and it’s not okay.”

I opened my mouth to explain, but she continued.

“I promised Brandon I would watch out for you, and I will, but that doesn’t mean we have to be friends.”

Her words were a dagger in my heart. I couldn’t believe she was reacting like this.

“I introduced you into my world and took you in, and you turned around and hurt us. You lied to us, and you chose someone you knew we all hate. I can’t be friends with someone like that. I’m done.”