Cheaters Anonymous

chapter 25 | unlikely friends

Sutton Friar's house was exactly how you would picture it.

From the royal blue curtains hanging across the threshold to the gold accented walls and polished marble floors, the entire place oozed luxury. I sat back on the sofa, trying to make myself comfortable as Sutton walked out of the kitchen with two water bottles.

"'And now you are and I am and we're a mystery which will never happen again,'" He said, dragging out the words as he handed me a bottle. "It's kinda dark, if you think about it." His blonde curls spilled over his forehead as he turned to face me, a glint in his almost clear blue eyes. "What do you think?"

That I'd rather be doing this project with anyone else.

"I think that's the point," I said, looking over the papers in my hand. "Love can be light or dark. And some things - or people - aren't meant to be. All things come to an irrevocable end."

He smirked, placing his arms behind his head and propping his feet up on the table. "Who would've known you were so sadistic?"

"You really don't know me, Sutton," I said lightly.

"You're right," Sutton said. "Which is why I was surprised you even wanted to do this assignment together. What do you want, exactly?"

"Like I said... I'm just here for the A," I said. "And I know we'll do good on this assignment, thanks to you."

"Because of my beauty and brains?" He turned to me smugly.

"No, I mean... You'd know a lot about people who aren't meant to be," I said innocently. I could feel him staring at me as I leafed through the papers in my hand. "Even though your relationship with Ava didn't end when you cheated on her."

Sutton's smile dropped. "Excuse me?"

I shrugged slightly. "I was just-"

"I never cheated on Ava," Sutton snapped. "The blog was lying. Obviously whoever is posting about me has something against me. First accusing me of cheating, then accusing me of having to do something with Addie's death." He scoffed, as if even the thought of it was ridiculous.

"There was never a relationship Cheaters Anonymous lied about," I pointed out. "But if that's the case, then it's not me who you have to convince, anyways."

Sutton narrowed his eyes. "What are you trying to say?"

"Just that the truth comes out, in the end," I said. "So hopefully the right people believe you."

Not just about the cheating, but about Addie too.

And if he was lying, I couldn't wait to see his world crash down around him.

When Sutton didn't say anything, I waved the paper I was holding. "But back to the project, I was thinking we could do photos."

He raised an eyebrow at me questioningly, still looking disgruntled from our previous conversation.

"Photos are the one thing that freeze a moving moment in time," I explained. "Flowers, couples, everything... None of that lasts forever. But if you take a photo... or a time lapse, it's like capturing something that only exists in that one moment, something that might not ever exist again. Or, in this case, a mystery that'll never happen again."

Even though he still looked a little pissed off, he nodded. "Fine."

As the next hour stretched by and we worked, we were mostly quiet. At one point he focused his attention on his phone and I looked at the large grandfather clock perched above the cabinets. "Can I use your bathroom?"