Fear Games

7. Admit It

CINDER

It started out as a fairly normal day. School had just gotten out and I came back to Colton's place so that we could get some quality time together. We were sitting on his couch watching television—and by that, I mean making out, of course—and everything seemed at ease. Little did I know that in just a little while, we were about to uncover a shocking secret.

After kissing for a few minutes, I pulled away and stared him in his beautiful blue eyes. I knew that I needed to tell him the truth. I couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Colton," I said, my lips just inches away from his. "There's something I have to tell you."

His lips curled into a smirk as he said, "Oh, yeah? And what might that be?"

I pushed onto his chest and said, "I'm serious. You deserve to know the truth. I can't keep anything from you. Not after we've become so close."

His eyes narrowed. "What is it, Cin? Should I be worried? Is there another guy?"

I shook my head. "No, not at all. It's only you in my life. It's just that...well, it's about my mother."

He continued to stare at me with this confused expression written all across his face. "What about her? I know you've been having a hard time grieving her. Are you mad I haven't asked about her enough? I've been a horrible boyfriend, haven't I? I should—"

"No, no, it's not that," I said as I let out a gigantic sigh. "It's...well...my mother isn't exactly dead, per se."

"Per se?" Colton repeated, stunned. "What exactly do you mean by that? Are you honestly telling me that your mother is alive?"

I knew he was going to take this poorly. It had only been a week since I found out she was alive, but for some reason I felt like I should have told him sooner. There'd been so many opportunities and I never took any of them—until now. I felt like a shitty girlfriend.

"Yes, she's definitely not dead," I said. "I found out last week. Apparently Mom and Rachel set up a whole fake-death thing to try and throw off the killer. Mom even had her cop friend in on it. It was a shock to all of us, and I know I should have told you sooner. I'm so sorry. But imagine how I felt when I found out."

Colton was silent for a moment, but then he reached out and pulled me into a tight hug. He said, "You don't have to feel guilty for anything. I understand that I'm probably not supposed to know, and I'm happy you finally told me. It must have been hard for you to keep it a secret."

Actually, it wasn't as hard as one might have thought. Knowing that telling someone would put my mother's life at risk was a good motivation to keep quiet, however, I was happy that I told Colton. He deserved to know the truth.

"Yeah, it was tough," I lied. "You're not mad?"

Colton planted a kiss gently on my lips, then whispered, "I'm not mad at all. I'm just upset I didn't get to know sooner. I'm glad to know now, though. Did Emerald know?"

"Nope, she found out the same time that Kael, Echo, and I did," I said. "Calix knew, though. Which honestly doesn't surprise me. I get the feeling that aunt Rachel trusts Calix with things more."

We talked about my mother for a few more minutes before Colton excused himself to go use the bathroom. After he walked off, I checked my phone for any new notifications. Nothing too exciting. Just a text from Rachel asking when I'd be home. As I was typing to her saying that I'd be home within the hour, my phone dinged with a text from an unknown number. At first I thought maybe it was someone texting the wrong number, but then I read the message and gasped.