Chapter 19 The Lie Between Us
1212 Words
Ryan stared at his phone as though the message had physically struck him.
I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.
You were supposed to keep your mouth shut.
Then another message appeared.
Now she knows.
My pulse hammered.
“Who is that?” I whispered.
Ryan locked his phone.
“No one.”
I stared at him.
“Don't lie to me.”
“I’m not.”
“You just told me you were there that night.”
His jaw tightened.
“I found Ethan.”
“After the fight.”
“Yes.”
“But you said you saw him fighting someone.”
“I did.”
“Who?”
He looked away.
“Ryan.”
“I can't tell you.”
My frustration exploded.
“Why does everyone keep saying that?”
I stepped backward.
“You all keep telling me you want to protect me, but nobody actually tells me anything!”
Ryan reached for my arm.
I pulled away.
“Don't.”
His hand dropped.
Something flashed across his face.
Hurt.
Then anger.
It disappeared so quickly I almost wondered if I'd imagined it.
“Sophie, you need to understand something. Liam isn't the person you think he is.”
“And you're suddenly the expert?”
“I know what happened.”
“Then tell me!”
“I can't.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
I turned away.
“Sophie.”
I stopped.
His voice sounded different.
“Liam was there that night.”
I looked back.
“You said he wasn't the person fighting Ethan.”
“He wasn't.”
“Then what did he do?”
Ryan swallowed.
“He arrived after it happened.”
My stomach dropped.
“Then why does everyone blame him?”
Ryan's eyes darkened.
“Because he took the blame.”
I froze.
“What?”
He looked at me for several seconds.
Then shook his head.
“Forget I said that.”
“No.”
I stepped toward him.
“You don't get to say something like that and then tell me to forget it.”
His phone buzzed again.
He glanced down.
This time, I saw the message before he could hide it.
YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD NEVER TELL HER.
My breath caught.
Ryan quickly locked the phone.
But it was too late.
“Who did you promise?”
He didn't answer.
“Ryan.”
Still nothing.
“Who?”
His eyes met mine.
“Ethan.”
───
I left him standing outside the arena.
I didn't know where I was going.
I only knew I needed answers.
My feet carried me across campus until I reached the one place I knew Ethan would be.
The old training facility.
The doors were unlocked.
I stepped inside.
The building was almost empty.
I heard the sound of a hockey puck hitting the boards from the rink.
Ethan.
I found him alone on the ice.
He stopped when he saw me.
“Sophie?”
I walked straight toward the rink.
“You lied to me.”
His expression fell.
“What?”
“About Liam.”
He went completely still.
“You knew.”
“Sophie—”
“You knew he took the blame.”
Silence.
That was all the confirmation I needed.
My chest tightened.
“Why?”
Ethan looked down at the ice.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain it.”
He shook his head.
“I can't.”
“You promised Ryan.”
His head snapped up.
“How do you know about Ryan?”
I laughed.
“So you did.”
Ethan climbed over the boards and approached me.
“Sophie, listen to me.”
“No.”
My eyes burned.
“I've spent weeks thinking Liam was dangerous because of things you told me.”
“I never said he was dangerous.”
“You didn't have to.”
He stopped.
“You let me believe it.”
His face crumpled slightly.
“I was angry.”
“At him?”
“At myself.”
That stopped me.
Ethan looked away.
“I spent years hating Liam because it was easier than admitting I was wrong.”
“Wrong about what?”
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“Ethan.”
He closed his eyes.
“The night of the Winter Classic…”
His voice broke.
“I was supposed to meet someone.”
My heart started pounding.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“What do you mean?”
“I got a message.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Someone told me they had information about the team.”
“What information?”
“Someone was leaking our training plans.”
I stared.
“You thought it was Liam?”
“I thought he was the one doing it.”
“And he wasn't?”
“No.”
“Then who was?”
Ethan shook his head.
“I never found out.”
“Then what happened?”
He looked at me.
“I went to meet the person.”
His voice dropped.
“And when I got there, Liam was already there.”
My stomach twisted.
“Why?”
“Because he followed me.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew something was wrong.”
I stared at him.
“He was trying to protect you?”
Ethan looked away.
“Not me.”
My breath caught.
“Then who?”
“Ryan.”
The name hit me like ice water.
“Ryan?”
Ethan nodded.
“Ryan had been asking questions about the team.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“I didn't believe it either.”
“Then why did you blame Liam?”
“Because when I woke up in the hospital…”
He swallowed.
“Liam was the only person they found beside me.”
My mind raced.
“And Ryan?”
“Gone.”
Silence.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The anonymous messages.
The missing witness.
Ryan knowing exactly what happened.
His insistence that Liam was dangerous.
His sudden jealousy.
But one question remained.
“Why would Ryan do it?”
Ethan looked at me.
“I don't know.”
My phone vibrated.
Both of us looked down.
Unknown number.
A photograph had been sent.
I opened it.
My heart stopped.
It was old.
Grainy.
Taken outside the hockey arena three years ago.
Ethan stood near the entrance.
Liam was beside him.
And several feet behind them...
Ryan.
But that wasn't the worst part.
Someone else was standing beside Ryan.
Someone whose face had been carefully scratched out.
Underneath the photograph were six words.
Ask Ryan who took this picture.
I stared at the screen.
Then at my brother.
“Ethan…”
His face had gone pale.
“What?”
“I think Ryan wasn't just there.”
I swallowed.
“I think he was watching.”
My phone buzzed again.
Another message.
This time, only three words.
Find Liam first.
I looked up.
Because suddenly, the question wasn't whether Liam had been telling me the truth.
It was whether he was still alive to tell me the rest.
And somewhere across campus, my brother's best friend already knew exactly where Liam was.
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