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I’ve been mostly silent throughout the conversation, deciding this family skeleton should be sorted out in their own closet. But they don’t know what I do about the true cost of the lie, and Tristan won’t tell them. What he went throughcan’tbe for nothing. He wouldn’t survive that.
We have to accept that thereisno clean solution. No one wins and everyone loses when lies become truth.
“Maybe it’s not ‘ethical’ or ‘legal’ to keep quiet, but that’s a sin we will have to bear as the ones who caused the initial damage”—I look at Kim—“and added more damage.” I rest my gaze on Tristan. He doesn’t say anything, but I see his brain working. Hard.
I focus back on Ben. “Keeping quiet might be wrong, but it’s the right thing for everyone involved, Amber’s family included. It would crush them to learn they were lied to and now they have to go through the whole trauma all over again, this time with no justice to cling to.”
Kim sighs, and I turn to her.
“You messed up,” I say. “There’s no sugarcoating it. You killed someone, lied about it, and on top of that, have to watch someone you love take your punishment over and over again. Yes, you deserve to be punished, and you are. That’s a pretty awful sentence to carry for the rest of your life. Can’tthatbe enough?”
I rest my hand on Tristan’s thigh when he presses his fists to his eyes. His head and heart have to be a mess right now. There’s no way I’m letting him face the darkness alone tonight.
“So what do we do?” Yolis asks. “We can’t let Tristan suffer the stigma for the rest of his life. That’s not right either. Isn’t the price he paid alsoenough?”
Yes. More than enough. And they don’t even know about the Harrisons and their threat yet.
I squeeze his leg in support when I see how he’s tensed. Is he thinking about that too? About how precarious his situation is now, and will be for the rest of his life with a criminal record?
“All the Harrisons have to do is give law enforcement enough to charge him.”
And that travesty would be onme. It’s my fault Pierce is on the hunt for blood.
“We have another problem,” I say, blinking at the table before lifting my eyes to meet the Haverfords’. “There’s a reason we finally decided to come clean.”
Is anyone surprised that Tristan never mentioned he met Ashton Morgan and Iris Alexander until he had no choice? Suncrest Valley’s “It Couple” are only his best chance at finding a way out of this. I could scream as the stubborn boy reluctantly pulls the business card Ashton gave him from his pocket and hands it to his father.
Ben shakes his head, and in any other situation I’d laugh at the irritated look on his face.
“For future reference, when a billionaire wants to hang out and become friends with you, you say yes,” Ben says.
“Iris’ father is a billionaire. I doubt she is,” Tristan says. “Besides, there’s no way they’re going to help. They’re probably in the ‘Rich Club’ with Pierce.”
My stomach sinks when I consider his statement. The truth is, I have met Iris and Ashton—at events where I was Pierce’s plus one. She seemed sweet, they both did, but Tristan has a point. Then again, just because they frequent the same circles, doesn’t mean they value the same things.
“It’s worth a shot,” I say. “Iris runs the non-profit charity arm of the Alexander companies, and Ashton didn’t grow up with money. There’s a chance they’d be sympathetic.”
“Even if that’s true, I don’t like using them. This feels shitty,” Tristan says.
“I’m going to guess they reached out to youbecausethey expected you’d need help one day.” I tug his hand and force him to look at me. “Just talk to them.”
I can’t lose you again,my eyes finish for me.
He exhales a shaky breath and takes the card back from his father. “At least let me make contact first. I can’t just call them up and say, ‘Hey, you wanna bail me out?’… literally.”
“You don’t have time to play footsies, son,” Ben chides.
We give him a sharp look, and he sighs. Guess old habits die hard.
“Sorry,” he grumbles.
Tristan studies the card again, then pulls out his phone. His fingers hover over the screen for a bit, and I’m relieved when he finally starts typing. He turns the screen enough that I can see his text.
Hey man. It’s Tristan Haverford. From Sheltons? Here’s my number as well.
Tristan looks as surprised as I feel when text bubbles appear immediately. We collectively hold our breaths as we wait.
Ashton:Yooo. Thank god. We’ve been trying to find a way to get in touch with you. We need to talk. Do you know Pierce Harrison? That dick’s got it in for you, dude.
