Page 102 of The Ruse

I nodded. “I thought that she might have caught a train back to her parents’ house since they lived in New York,” I said. “But it became apparent pretty quickly that she was missing.”

“Did anyone suspect that you had broken up?” Elyse asked.

I shook my head. “At first, I planned to tell everyone that we’d broken up—I didn’t want to continue to lie about our relationship. But when the police called me in for the initial questioning, I realized that with her missing, the last thing I needed anyone to think was that we were having problems. So I just pretended like everything had been okay and we were still as in love as ever. And I thought it was going to work—”

“Except Nash had seen you two fighting at the restaurant,” Elyse interrupted.

“Yeah.” I started to nod before her actual words and what they meant hit me. “Wait—” My thoughts stuttered to a stop. “Nashwas the one who reported me to the police?”

Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hands.

“How long have you known it was Nash who reported me?” My heart raced as I realized that I wasn’t the only one of us keeping secrets.

Elyse had been keeping secrets from me, too.

“H-he told me last week,” she said, removing her hands from her mouth.

I raised my eyebrows and leaned toward her. “And you didn’t think it was important to mention that to me?”

“You guys already hate each other.” She sat up straighter and shook her head. “I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire. Plus, I think he was just trying to do the right thing. He was watching out for Bailee.”

She was siding withhim?

She was siding with Nash?!

“Do you know what those accusations did to me?” I asked, feeling my entire body tremble as my temper flared. “Do you know how bad it was?” I shook my head and stood. “I haddeath threats, Elyse. I had people messaging me and telling me that I should just kill myself because of what they thought I did to Bailee. That I was no better than my mom and the apple must not have fallen too far from the tree.”

“What?” She pulled her head back, looking so confused.

“Oh, that’s right,” I said, pushing her desk chair away from me with my foot. “You weren’t in Eden Falls when my dad and sister died in a car accident caused by my mom. Or when my mom got sent to prison for ten years right after that because she’d been high as a kite when she’d gotten behind the wheel.”

“What?” Elyse covered her mouth with her hand again. “You lost your sister too?”

“Yeah.” I shook my head and wiped at my eyes that were suddenly wet. “I lost everything in that stupid accident. And then just a couple years later when I was finally starting to feel normal, everything went to crap all over again. Not only did the girl I was in love with disappear, but I basically lost all of my other friends and got ran out of the only home I had left because of what Nash reported.” I took a deep breath and tried to will away the tears that were suddenly coming out of nowhere. “It freaking sucked.”

I shoved her stupid chair that wouldn’t get out of my freaking way and walked to Ava’s side of the room to face the corner—I was too embarrassed to have Elyse see me angry cry.

I was supposed to be over this. It had been four years since my dad and Callie died. Three and a half years since my mom’s sentencing. I’d gone to all the therapy the state had paid for. I’d stopped trying to run from the pain and started allowing myself to just feel it and let it flow through me so it could then go away.

But here I was again, getting hit with the feelings out of nowhere and having a breakdown in front of the girl I’d wanted to ask on a date earlier tonight.

This is so stupid.

I dropped my head, letting my forehead rest against the white painted wall and tried to will these emotions to go away. I could feel them again later when no one was around to watch me.

There was a rustling sound behind me, like Elyse was climbing off her bed.

Why had I chosen the corner? I should have just risked getting caught by Heather and run out the door.

“I’m sorry I didn’t know about your family.” Elyse’s voice sounded closer behind me than I expected. “Or the death threats.”

She touched my back, and I stiffened, not wanting to let myself be comforted by her because I knew if I did, I’d really lose it.

“I’m so sorry all of that happened, Asher,” she whispered.

And before I knew it, two arms were wrapping around me from behind and Elyse was pressing herself against my back in a hug.

Well, now I really felt like a big baby.

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