Chapter 262: Torn Between Them
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It felt like the hallway closed in around me, as if the walls had leaned in just to hear every shaky breath I took. The fluorescent lights above buzzed louder than usual, that familiar low hum that always creeped me out on tough days. And honestly, right now, everything felt like one of those days.
Outside, snow continued to fall in thick flakes, casting a pale, watery light into the hallway and stretching our shadows long and thin, almost as if they wanted to escape the conversation before it even began.
I stood there, frozen, the weight of what I had just told him pressing down on my chest like the snow itself had settled on my ribs. Adrien’s eyes were locked onto mine...raw, conflicted, with that tiny crack of doubt he’d been trying so hard to hide now spiderwebbing across his face.
I’m sorry, Adrien.
After school, Adrien and I met Ethan standing next to his car, waiting for me, with his backpack slung over one shoulder, cheeks flushed from the cold air. He glanced between us, sensing the tension like someone who knew us both too well, like he’d walked right into a storm he had been expecting all along.
"You told him," Ethan said, his voice low and steady, but I could hear that edge of resignation, as if he already knew the answer. It wasn’t really a question.
I nodded once, my throat tight enough that swallowing felt like forcing down gravel. "Yeah. I... I had to."
Adrien’s jaw tightened, and he didn’t even look at Ethan. His eyes remained fixed on me, sharp and unblinking. "He heard my father say the motel was ’handled.’ That Logan forced his hand. And you two have been keeping this from me all along?"
Ethan stood firm, though I caught the way his shoulders tensed under his coat. "We were waiting for proof, something solid, not just overheard words in a hallway that could mean anything."