Chapter 7

The rain had stopped, but the air still smelled of wet stone and regret. I found her by the fountain behind the gymnasium, sitting alone, her backpack clutched like armor.

"Élise."

She didn't turn around. "If you're here to apologize, don't bother. I've had enough pity."

I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets, the leather creaking. The words I'd rehearsed all afternoon dissolved on my tongue. So I asked the only question that mattered.

"Did you cheat?"

She finally looked at me. Her gray-blue eyes were raw, red-rimmed, but steady. "No."

One word. No explanation. No pleading. Just the truth, spoken so quietly it almost got lost in the wind.

I should have walked away. I should have held onto my loyalty to Camille, to the sister I'd failed once before. But something cracked inside me—a memory of Camille humming while Élise's life fell apart, the way she'd twirled her hair and smiled.

*Too happy.*

"I believe you."

Élise blinked. "Why? You accused me in front of everyone."

"Because I've been lying to myself," I said, the confession burning. "And I'm tired of it."

She stood slowly, studying me like I was a puzzle she didn't trust. "What changed?"

I couldn't tell her about the humming. About the gnawing doubt that had kept me up three nights straight. So I said, "You looked me in the eye. She never did."

We stood there, two people who'd been enemies a week ago, now bound by a fragile, dangerous alliance.

"We need proof," I said. "Something irrefutable."

Élise nodded, but her eyes flickered with suspicion. "Why are you really doing this, Nathan?"

My phone buzzed. Camille's name lit up the screen.

*I know you're with her. Come home. Now. Or I'll tell everyone what you did that night you ran away.*

My blood turned cold. Five years ago. The night I left Camille alone with our screaming parents. The night she learned to hate silence.

"Because I owe you the truth," I said, my voice hollow. "Even if it costs me everything."

But as I pocketed the phone, I wondered—should I tell Élise the secret Camille held over me? Or would that destroy the only trust we'd just built?