The Truth Everyone Hides
562 Words
The next morning, Ethan was already waiting for me.
That wasn’t normal.
My brother was usually rushing.
Coffee in one hand.
Phone in the other.
Pretending he had everything together.
But today he sat at the kitchen table silently.
Like he had been preparing for this conversation.
I walked in.
“Morning.”
He looked up.
“Did you sleep?”
I almost laughed.
“Barely.”
He nodded.
Because he knew why.
“Sophie…”
I poured myself coffee.
“Are you going to tell me?”
His eyebrows pulled together.
“Tell you what?”
“About Liam.”
The silence answered before he did.
“I don’t want you involved.”
I turned around.
“That’s not your choice.”
The same sentence again.
And I saw the frustration on his face.
But underneath it?
Pain.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then help me understand.”
He looked away.
“When Liam and I were friends, he was different.”
I leaned against the counter.
“You mean before you hated him?”
His jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
His fingers tapped against the table.
A nervous habit I hadn’t seen in years.
“We were both fighting for the same hockey position.”
I nodded.
“Okay.”
“And someone told the coach I wasn’t committed.”
I frowned.
“Was it Liam?”
His eyes met mine.
“I thought it was.”
Thought.
That word mattered.
“What do you mean?”
Ethan looked uncomfortable.
“Because Liam never admitted it.”
I stared.
“So you hate him because you assumed?”
“It wasn’t just that.”
“What else?”
His expression changed.
“He walked away.”
That surprised me.
“What?”
“After everything happened, he stopped talking to me.”
I was quiet.
Because suddenly…
The story had changed.
“You both lost each other.”
Ethan looked at me.
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“He chose to leave.”
But something told me there was more.
───
Later that afternoon, I went looking for Liam.
I found him alone at the old practice rink.
The place nobody used anymore.
He looked up.
And the second he saw me…
His face changed.
“Sophie.”
I crossed my arms.
“You’re avoiding me.”
He looked away.
“I’m trying to.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s easier.”
I laughed softly.
“For who?”
He didn’t answer.
That was the answer.
I stepped closer.
“Ethan told me.”
Liam froze.
“What?”
“He told me about the hockey position.”
His face went blank.
Not angry.
Not surprised.
Just tired.
“I should have known.”
“Known what?”
“That eventually you’d hear his side.”
“And yours?”
A pause.
“I don’t have one.”
That made me angry.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I don’t get to explain everything.”
“Why?”
His eyes met mine.
“Because the truth hurts people.”
My voice softened.
“Liam.”
He looked away.
“I’m not the hero you think I am.”
I stepped closer.
“I never asked you to be.”
For the first time…
He looked like he believed me.
- Writer
