How to Get Away with Lying

Chapter 11

Jessi

Everyone's Got a Weak Spot

"We're on the same page, then? You agree that something else happened to Adley?"

"I'm not agreeing or disagreeing," I told Ethan, twirling a pencil between my fingers. "It's just a possibility – a theory."

He sighed, looking annoyed by my refusal to pick a side.

However, if I was being honest, I wasn't ready to admit that something else had happened to Adley. After all, that meant that there was another piece in this messed-up puzzle that I didn't know about.

Ethan twisted one of his white shoelaces around his finger. I followed his gaze to his friends, who were currently passing a soccer ball around on the field by using their heads instead of their feet.

"Why aren't you over there?" I asked. Instead of hanging out with his group of friends, Ethan had sat down in front of me under the tree before interrogating me about Adley.

"They may be my friends, but sometimes, I can't stand them. They're completely incapable of talking about anything except that new girl, Jenna. It gets annoying," Ethan admitted, rolling his eyes. He paused, licking his lips nervously. "Plus, I can't talk to them about Adley – not like I can with you."

My face fell. I felt sorry for Ethan – sorry that he had fallen for a killer and didn't even know it.

What would he think if he knew the truth?

The situation was so messed up that, sometimes, even I didn't believe that Ethan was in love with his sister's killer. The killer who was now dead – maybe even murdered.

Ethan looked away from me, twisting his grease-stained fingers in his lap. Ever since Adley died, I had noticed that his hands were always stained. "Have... Have you talked to Aurora since the auditions?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" I sputtered, caught off guard.

"Aurora. Have you talked to her?"

"I understood you the first time," I snapped, rolling my eyes and sighing. "No, I haven't."

"I think you should."

"Why?" I questioned, crossing my arms and looking away from him. I was unable to meet his eyes. "She probably thinks I'm a loser."

"I don't think she does. She seems to care about you."

I looked up after he spoke, and a mixture of anger and confusion consumed me. "And how would you know? Did you talk to her?" I was asking him jokingly. But when Ethan looked away from me sheepishly for a second, my eyebrows raised.

"Maybe a little."

"Oh, great. Did you guys have a nice, long, heartfelt discussion about how pathetic I am?" I laughed bitterly. "How I can't even audition for a school play without–"

"It wasn't like that," Ethan interrupted.

"No? Then, do tell me, what was it like?"

"We were just worried about you, Jessi. After you blew up on Nate the other day–"

"You didn't think he deserved it?"

Ethan smirked, laughing softly. "No, he definitely did. You looked ready to tackle him, though, and I know that that's not the real you."

I raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are you trying to tell me?"

Ethan sighed, combing a hand through his golden curls. "I just talked to Aurora because I didn't want her to have that first impression of you."