Page 33 of Sin

His cold, commanding tone raises my hackles. He sounds like the Ethan I used to know. The one I couldn’t stand.

I raise my chin and look him in the eyes. “It should be enough that I’ve asked you not to do it. This is what I need. This is how I want to deal with what happened. If you can’t respect that, then maybe we shouldn’t hang out anymore. I can tell Noah to go to hell with this whole accountability partner thing.”

“Lily.” His tone is pleading. “What Mason did was wrong. Reprehensible. He needs to face consequences.”

“But I don’t. I’ve dealt with enough of Mason’s bullshit. I don’t need him going on social media and posting about the crazy bitch who falsely accused him of assaulting her.”

He raises both hands in the air. “But I saw it. I can back you up.”

“He’d still insist I’m crazy. That man is a moron.” I shake my head. “I don’t want any more drama. I just want to forget about him.”

Ethan sighs heavily.

“And you can’t tell Noah either.”

His eyes grow huge. “I can’t believe you. Noah is my best friend. He would kill me if he knew his sister was assaulted and I didn’t tell him about it.”

“Yes, because he’s a patriarchal tyrant who thinks he owns his sister.”

Ethan’s eyes grow hard. “That’s not something I can agree to in good conscience. All I can give you is a promise that I won’t tell him for the rest of the week while you’re sleeping here. After that, you and I are going to have to have another talk. I’ll give you another reprieve while we get your sleep in order, but that’s it. I can’t keep lying to him forever.”

“Fine.”

He nods once. “Can I ask you one more question?”

I swallow, and an ominous chill runs down my spine. “Sure.”

He opens his mouth and then closes it, as if searching for the right words. “You told me yesterday that you’ve seen Mason’s temper. What does that mean exactly?”

My heart jumps into my throat, and repressed words scream to get out.

Tell him, Lily. You don’t have to go into detail, but you can give him a small glimpse of what Mason did. Ethan already knows he’s violent.

I can’t do it. The thought of telling even a sanitized version of what Mason did makes me want to dry heave.

“Just that I’ve seen him…lose his temper,” I finally say.

Ethan’s eyes narrow. “But he never hurt you before?”

I hesitate for a moment. “No.”

Ethan nods once, and I release the breath I’ve been holding.

No. Such a simple word. One of the first we learn as babies, and uttered probably a million times before we die.

Yet I think I’ll always remember saying it this time. It’s as if when it left my mouth, a bit of my soul slipped away with it.

Chapter Thirteen

Ethan

Water cascades over my skin, washing away the grime and sweat of the game. We nearly lost tonight, all because of my lack of focus.

I’m almost never distracted during a game. Usually, when I enter the field, even the roar of the crowd fades into the ether. I’m locked in. I know the match up. I’ve watched footage of the opposing team. It’s time to let my body react to whatever happens on the field. Nothing outside of the game has any power over my instincts.

That wasn’t the case tonight.

My quarterback and I are supposed to be in perfect sync, reading the defense together, anticipating each other’s moves, and executing our plays with precise timing and trust.

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