A secret is a secret | ONC 2024

08 | The tale

Our stomachs were full, and the four of us were in the living room. I was sitting down on the couch with Alfred next to me. Cyrus was sitting on a chair that he brought from the dining room. Beck was standing in front of the television, looking straight at us.

There was silence around us, the four of us weren't speaking. Alfred, Cyrus, and I were waiting until Beck was ready to tell the tale of what happened at the police station.

"I want to start by saying thankfully we aren't on the police radar." Beck began speaking, she looked at me before looking back at the three of us.

"Why is that? I thought the police were going to show up here and arrest the three of us." Cyrus commented, looking back at our best friend.

"Cyrus, I know that information thanks to the female police officer who was interviewing me." My best friend answered Cyrus's question. "My uncle, a woman police officer, and I were sitting in one of the questioning rooms. Before starting the police officer had told me the police department had called me and all the guests of the hotel had stayed there during that weekend. They had called me to the station to ask me if I had seen anything suspicious on the beach or around the hotel while I was staying at the hotel."

"Beck, are you saying that there is a possibility that the police will be calling Lena, Cyrus and I?" Alfred asked her, concern coming out from his voice.

Beck focused her attention on my boyfriend. "There is a possibility that they will call on this upcoming week."

Now, it was my turn to be concerned about the police calling me. "Okay, so what did you tell them? So, Cyrus, Alfred, and I are on the same page."

"That's a good question." Cyrus said, joining our conversation.

My best friend looked away from my boyfriend and started looking at Cyrus and I. "I am going to answer your question. Before answering the police officer's question, my uncle had made sure that I wasn't a person of interest."

"Wait, a moment, have you told your uncle what happened at the beach?" My boyfriend asked her, sounding serious.

"Alfred, umm no, I just told him that we were at the beach to see the sunset. But we had left the beach before we saw anything happening." Beck answered his question, sounding serious as well.

"Beck, you lied to a lawyer, oh my god, that's not good. Lying to a lawyer for me means trouble." Cyrus said with panic in his voice.

"Cyrus, I know that I am not a fan of lying to my uncle. But what am I supposed to do, I would never break the promise that we made. I don't want to see myself and my best friends going to a trial, maybe going to jail or doing community service. Either way, that will be on our permanent record. I know that none of us want that to happen. Unfortunately, we must lie to protect ourselves and our secret." Beck looked at us without moving from the front of the TV.

"What did you tell the police officer, Beck?" I brought the topic of conversation back to the original one.

"Well, I told the same thing I did to my uncle. The four of us were at the beach watching the sunset and we left the beach before anything suspicious had happened." Beck replied to my question.

"Okay, I will say the same thing to the police when they call me to the station." I voiced my thoughts out loud, I started to relax, leaning my back against the back of the couch.

"One last question, Beck, do you think that we need a lawyer?" Cyrus asked her, still looking at her with a serious expression.

For the millionth time, Beck looked straight at Cyrus. "If you want, I brought my uncle with me because I didn't know what they would ask me."

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"Alf, thank you for letting me stay here." I walked into his bedroom, coming from their bathroom.

"You're welcome, Lena, baby. You can stay here, whenever you want. I love having you here." He told me, lying down on the left side of his bed. 

"Thank you, babe. I love spending time with you too." I said, hopping into his bed. I laid my head down on his chest on top of his heart. "Alf, do you feel bad about lying?"

I felt my boyfriend leaving a kiss on the top of my head, he wrapped an arm around me, pulling me closer to his body. "It depends on the situation, if I am lying to a stranger then no. However, if I am lying to someone who I love and care about then yes, I do feel bad. But, people lie sometimes to protect family and friends. For example, I would lie a million times for you and our best friends. I would hate to see our best friends and especially you to be in jail due to my actions. Why are you asking, Lena?"

I lifted my head from his chest and began looking at him. "You have some good points. Babe, yes I am starting to. I would do anything to not break the promise that I made to our best friends and you. There is a difference between lying to a stranger, lying to someone we trust, and lying to a police officer. But don't worry, if the police call me, I will tell you."

My boyfriend looked back at me as he began rubbing circles on my lower back. There are a lot of things that I love about my boyfriend. The thing that I love most about him is how he listens to me whenever I talk about my feelings, worries, and concerns.

"Lena, baby, I understand and you have some good points as well." My boyfriend quickly kissed me on the cheek before he returned to look at me. "I hate that I have put you in this position. Lena, since we have returned from the beach, I can tell you have been so stressed and sometimes you are a little bit paranoid. I wish I could do something to make all of that go away." 

I made eye contact with my boyfriend and softly smiled at him. "Babe, it's okay, I may not like the events that occurred on the beach but I know you did that to protect me. I would have done the same thing if I were in your shoes. I don't know what I did to deserve you but I am glad you are my boyfriend. Alf, you are the best boyfriend that I ever had. I love you."

My boyfriend looked at me with love in his eyes as a wide smile appeared on his lips. "Lena, baby, I don't like the events either but I will do it again, I would do anything to protect you no matter what. I like to think that two people are brought together when they are ready. Lena, you are the best girlfriend that I ever had, I love you."

I smiled before I closed the distance between us with my lips on his.

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The calm before the storm...

Final chapter word count: 1,216

Total book word count: 11,265