CHAPTER 22: CHAPTER 22: THE SECRET I SHOULDN’T BE HOLDING

POV: Milo

5:27 AM — The Note

I found the note by accident.

No digging. No snooping. No suspicious intentions.

The drawer in the guest room was already half-open, like it was holding its breath. I was just looking for a damn charger. Instead, I found paper — creased, worn, like it had been opened and reread a hundred times.

I shouldn’t have looked.

But I did.

"I love him. I’m terrified I’ll ruin everything. I’m so tired of hiding."

There was no name on it.

But it didn’t need one.

Because in that one horrifying second, the entire last month made sense.

The weird tension. The charged silences. The way Aaron avoided eye contact when someone walked in the room. The almost-kisses I thought I was imagining.

I sat on the edge of the bed with the paper shaking in my hands, feeling like I had swallowed a lit match.

5:40 AM — Spiraling

My best friend was in love with his stepmom.

And she loved him back.

I actually whispered, "What the hell," out loud.

Because this wasn’t just some forbidden crush. This wasn’t a passing fling. This was dangerous.

Real.

And I was holding the proof of it in my hands.

6:20 AM — Ghosts of Us

Aaron and I had known each other since we were ten. We met in detention after I threw a pencil at someone and he "accidentally" set the fire alarm off with his elbow.

We were chaos incarnate, even back then. Ride-or-die stuff. His dad coached our little league team. My mom called him "my other son."

We grew up dreaming about escaping this town, about moving to L.A., making something of ourselves.

And now?

Now he was sleeping in the room next to his stepmother’s. Or not sleeping, if I had to guess.

I stared at the ceiling, trying to find the kid I used to know.

7:01 AM — Watching the Lie

I heard footsteps coming downstairs.

Aaron first.

He looked exhausted. His hoodie was inside-out. Hair unbrushed. Eyes rimmed red.

Then Elena.

Also silent. No makeup. Wearing the exact same cardigan she wore the day she moved in.

They didn’t speak to each other. But they didn’t have to.

Their silence was synchronized.

Their eyes never met. Their body language screamed distance. But it was too careful. Too choreographed.

They weren’t just pretending to be normal — they were rehearsing it.

I watched from the other end of the kitchen, chewing dry cereal like it was gravel.

7:25 AM — Subtext for Breakfast

Aaron tried to talk about a movie we saw last week. His voice cracked twice.

Elena poured coffee with a hand that trembled slightly.

When she passed him the sugar, she didn’t look at him. He didn’t look at her. But something flickered between them. Like gravity. Or guilt.

Dad wasn’t even here this morning — thank God.

The whole kitchen felt like a murder scene with the body still warm.

8:10 AM — Flashpoint

After breakfast, I cornered Aaron in the garage. Same place we used to sneak beers and talk about girls we’d never actually kiss.

"Tell me the truth," I said.

He didn’t even ask what about.

Which meant he already knew.

He leaned back against the wall, like it could hold him up through this conversation. "You don’t understand—"

"Then make me understand," I snapped. "Make me understand how you ended up kissing your father’s wife."

He flinched like I slapped him.

"I didn’t plan it."

"No one plans a trainwreck. But they can still hear the damn tracks."

"I didn’t mean to—"

"But you didn’t stop, either, did you?"

Silence.

His hands went to his hair. "I didn’t want to hurt anyone."

"You already did," I said. "You just don’t see it yet."

9:30 AM — Watching Her Lie

Later, I found Elena in the living room, flipping through a magazine she clearly wasn’t reading.

I sat across from her.

We didn’t speak for several minutes.

I wanted to ask her so many things. Why him? Why now? What were you thinking?

But instead, I asked the only question that mattered:

"Do you love him?"

She froze.

Didn’t answer.

Didn’t blink.

But her breath caught in her throat — and that was all the answer I needed.

11:45 AM — The Confrontation

She found me again near the stairs. Voice quiet. Almost gentle.

"You found it, didn’t you?"

I didn’t answer.

She swallowed hard. "It wasn’t meant for anyone to see."

"That makes it worse."

She sighed, eyes flicking around the empty hallway like someone might pop out with a microphone. "This wasn’t supposed to happen."

I looked her in the eye.

"You think that makes it better?"

"I didn’t want this."

"But you didn’t stop it."

She was trembling. But I wasn’t about to pity her.

"I loved your dad," she said quietly. "I still do. In some way."

"That’s the worst part," I said.

12:20 PM — The Paper, Again

I pulled the note from my pocket.

Folded. Small. Like a secret clinging to itself.

She looked at it like it was a grenade.

"Why haven’t you shown him?" she asked.

"Because I still don’t know who I’m protecting."

She closed her eyes.

"Do you hate me?"

"No," I said honestly. "But I don’t trust you."

"And Aaron?"

I hesitated.

Then said, "He’s not thinking clearly."

And for a moment, we were both silent.

Not because we had nothing left to say — but because we both knew the next step could blow it all up.

12:30 PM — Final Warning

I handed her the note.

Her fingers hovered over it like it might bite.

"I’m giving this back to you," I said. "But next time, I won’t."

She looked like she might cry.

"You have one shot to fix this," I added. "Before someone else finds out. Before I do what he won’t."

And then I walked away.

Each step felt heavier than the last.

Because I knew: whatever came next?

We couldn’t pretend it hadn’t already begun.

📘 End of Chapter 22

💬 YOUR TURN!

Was Milo right to give her the note back?

Is Elena going to protect Aaron — or end it before it gets worse?

👇 Comment your predictions, pick a side, and tell me:

📖 Whose POV should Chapter 23 come from? Aaron? Elena? Or Dad?

❤️ Like if you felt Milo’s loyalty break under the weight of the truth.

🔔 Follow for Chapter 23 — because the first real consequence is coming.