Chapter Nine
I could tell something was wrong the moment Aria walked into my apartment.
Her shoulders were tense, her jaw tight, and she had the same distant look in her eyes that she'd had earlier. She set her bag down on the counter, then stood there for a moment, staring at nothing.
"Aria," I said, keeping my voice calm. "What happened?"
She didn't respond right away, but when she finally looked at me, there was a storm in her eyes.
"I saw Evelyn," she said.
I nodded, waiting for her to continue.
"She said someone's been asking questions," Aria said, her voice uneven. "About me. About her. About something that happened a long time ago."
I frowned, stepping closer to her. "What kind of questions?"
"She didn't know exactly," Aria said, running a hand through her hair. "But she's scared, Ethan. And if Evelyn's scared, then this is bad. Really bad."
Her words hung in the air between us, and I could see the weight of them pressing down on her.
"Okay," I said slowly. "Let's take this one step at a time. Start from the beginning. What exactly happened back then?"
She hesitated, and for a moment, I thought she wasn't going to answer.
"It was a party," she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. "We were young and stupid, and things got out of control. Someone got hurt."
"Who?" I asked gently.
"A guy," she said, her voice breaking slightly. "I didn't even know his name. He was just... there. And then he wasn't."
I swallowed hard, trying to piece together what she was saying. "What do you mean, 'he wasn't'?"
"He fell," she said, her hands trembling. "We didn't push him, but we didn't help him either. We just ran. And we swore we'd never talk about it again."
I stared at her, the weight of her confession settling over me.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
"Because we were terrified," she said, her voice cracking. "We thought if we stayed quiet, it would go away. And for years, it did. But now..."
"Now it's catching up to you," I finished for her.
She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself like she was trying to hold herself together.
I took a step closer, placing my hands on her shoulders. "Aria, listen to me. Whatever happened, we'll figure it out. You're not alone in this."
She looked up at me, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and doubt. "Ethan, you don't understand. If someone's digging into this, it could ruin everything. My life, your life—it's all connected now."
"Then we'll face it together," I said firmly. "But running from it won't solve anything."
Her lips pressed into a thin line, and for a moment, she looked like she was going to argue. But then she sighed and leaned into me, resting her head against my chest.
"I don't know how to fix this," she said quietly.
"We'll figure it out," I promised, holding her close.
But as I stood there with her in my arms, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.
Whatever Evelyn had uncovered, it wasn't going to go away quietly. And if we weren't careful, it could tear everything apart.