Sweet Deadly Lies (A Dark Academia Mystery) Watty Winner ✔️

Twenty-Five

The sun has already set by the time we make it back to campus. Instead of going to our dorms, Xander and I head to the deserted beach.

It's eerie and serene at the same time. As the waves roll in, boats along the docks bob up and down in the dark water, the imagine sending goosebumps along my flesh.

A few picnic tables are scattered between the shore and the boat house. We plop onto a bench, the breeze from the ocean pushing at our backs. "Who do you think Kate was talking to?"

Xander flicks away the hair from his face. "If I had to guess, I'd probably say her roommate."

My fingers drum along my lips as I think back to Kate's one-sided conversation. She said my sister's name as she scrolled through the mystery cell phone's texts. She also said that he wanted to meet her on the cliffs. And she was upset. Really upset.

I steeple my fingers over my mouth and talk into my hands. "It's Drew, isn't it? Drew asked Ava to meet him at the cliffs."

When Xander's brown eyes land on me, they're cautious. "It makes sense."

My stomach drops out from underneath me.

I wrack my brain for something Drew might have said that would make this seem feasible, but there's nothing. "Do you think it could be someone else?" I ask, hoping Xander's observation skills may have picked up on another suspect. "I mean, lots of guys go to this school. It could even be someone from the high school in town."

He shakes his head, disgusted. "It was definitely Drew."

"But how do you know?" My cheeks warm beneath the light of the moon. "Just because you don't like him doesn't mean he's guilty."

"And just because you do like him, doesn't mean he's not." Xander's shoulders sink, his lips spreading into a grimace. When he speaks, his voice is so quiet, I can barely hear him. "Mia—I know."

I shake my head, trying to undermine his certainty. "You don't know anything. All you can do is suspect."

He yanks his hood up and blocks my view. "That's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

He doesn't answer.

I push at his arm until he faces me. "What. Do. You. Mean, Xander?"

His eyes drop to the table. "I know Ava was pregnant."

All the air leaks from my lungs.

He knew something even I didn't know until recently and he kept it from me. I shouldn't be surprised, but I am."Why didn't you say anything?" I ask, breathlessly.

Xander shakes his head. "It wasn't my place."

And just like that, something dislodges inside of me. Rage thrums in my chest, trying to break its way out. "The hell it wasn't your place! I thought we were friends, Xander? Friends tell each other things. Friends speak up when they have information that might help. But no—you kept it all to yourself!"

Xander's eyes dart around as my voice carries on the breeze. "Keep it down, would you?"

"No, I will not keep it down!" I scream. "You basically lied to me. Again. Just like how you lied when you didn't tell me you knew my sister."

I stand up to run away but he pulls me back to my seat. "Mia, let me explain." A desperate expression takes hold of his face. "Please."

I wait for him to go on, but he doesn't. "So, explain!"