Page 91 of Every Hidden Truth

A faucetdrip, drip, dripped.

The blinds were open.

I smelled cucumber melon.

Ben said, “It’s gonna be okay.”

And I sat there in silence, doing my best not to shatter into a million tiny pieces.

I wanted to believe this was nothing more than a nightmare, but there was no waking up from this. There was no erasing it, no more pretending. Everything was crashing and burning around us, and I wondered if it was possible for us to make it out together unscathed.

Ben said we would be okay.

We both knew he was lying.

26

Speak the Truth

What felt like hours—butwas probably only fifteen minutes—later, the door to the front office blew open, and Aunt June stormed inside, Uncle Henry hot on her heels.

I slumped lower in my chair, curling into a ball and hiding my face in my knees.

“Benjamin, what’s happened?” Aunt June asked at the same time Uncle Henry demanded, “What’s going on?”

Principal Moore saved us from having to answer, his voice tight. “Please, if you’d join me in my office. There’s a situation we must discuss.”

A situation. How cold and clinical. I wished I could view it with such detachment.

They left us in our seats, Acker and Mr. Rodriguez following behind Ben’s aunt and uncle into the principal’s office. Barely two minutes passed before Aunt June and Uncle Henry’s outraged voices echoed through the front office.

I couldn’t stop the full-body flinch, and Ben’s hand landed on the back of my neck and rubbed gently.

“She’s not angry with us, Silas,” he said. “It’s gonna be okay, you’ll see.”

A hot tear leaked out, tracking down my cheek. “It’s not okay.” My voice broke on a sob, and Ben’s chest hitched.

“No, Si, please. Not yet,” he pleaded in my ear, the hand on the back of my neck squeezing just shy of too tight. “We can break later, but not now. Come on, baby, stay with me.”

Unable to form words around the tears clogging in my throat, I turned and pressed my forehead to his. I held his gaze as the loss crashed over us. His blue eyes flooded with fresh moisture, and a fissure the size of the Grand Canyon tore through the center of my chest.

This was my fault. I’d done this.

“Ben, I—”

The lobby door swung open, cutting me off. My dad stood in the doorway, eyes wide with worry as he ran his dark gaze over me and Ben. Like a child, I scrambled out of my seat and launched myself into my dad’s arms, sobbing harshly. He caught me, cradling me to him.

“Daddy, I’m sorry,” I whimpered into his shirt, praying he wouldn’t hate me. “I’m sorry.”

Someone shuffled behind me, but I refused to leave the safety of my father’s arms.

He scrubbed my back roughly, his confused concern palpable in the air. “What happened? What’s going on?”

Instinctively, I knew he wasn’t addressing me. Principal Moore answered a moment later. “Mr. Brigs. If you’d come into my office—”

“What in God’s name happened to my son?” he growled, his normally placid tone twisting into something dangerous.

“Please, we need everyone to remain calm—”

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