Nothing But the Truth

Chapter 1

Lila stopped on the sidewalk in front of the house where she lived with her family.

It looked exactly the way she remembered it. The same façade, the same Christmas decorations, the same feeling that life was waiting somewhere inside—paused in a strange, fragile way.

Just not for her.
And not for Five.

Seven years had passed for the two of them. For everyone else, only a few hours. If that.

"I need to talk to Diego," she said simply. "Alone."

Five looked at her. For a moment, he didn't say anything, as if weighing how to respond. Then he chose the only thing that mattered right now.

"Are you going to tell him the whole truth?"

Lila nodded. No hesitation.

"Yeah," she said. "He deserves to know it. Even if I don't know how he's going to take it."

Five nodded slowly. "I get it," he said after a moment.

He hadn't expected anything else, but somewhere deep down he knew that once Diego heard the truth, he probably wouldn't ever look at him the same way again. Their relationship had already been complicated enough without this.

They stood there side by side for a while. The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable—just heavy with things they couldn't say out loud yet.

"And what about us?" Five asked at last.

The question that had been sitting in his head ever since Lila had learned the truth he'd kept from her—the one that could have torn them apart for good.

Lila looked at him. Her expression was more closed off than before, careful, but not cold.

"We'll talk too," she said. "Later."

She didn't wait for his response. She turned and walked toward the house.

She took a few steps... then stopped. Turned back.

Five was still standing there. Looking at her in a way that made her almost step back toward him. As if it wouldn't take much. As if the space between them could still be undone.

She couldn't stand it when he looked at her like that. When she could see how he really felt.

That was when the door opened behind her.

"Lila?"

She turned. Diego stood in the doorway, dressed like he'd been on his way out. Genuinely surprised to see her standing there.

"What happened?" he asked. "I couldn't get a hold of you."

Lila took a breath and glanced back for just a moment—but Five was gone.

She realized Diego hadn't seen him. She closed her eyes briefly, then looked back at Diego.

"Can we talk?" she said. "I'll explain everything."

Diego nodded without hesitation and stepped aside.

Lila went inside. The door closed behind them.

The house was unusually quiet. Lila's parents had taken the kids out. She was desperate to see them again, but she was grateful for the space—to talk to Diego without curious ears listening in.

Lila sat on the edge of the couch, her hands folded in her lap, as if she were trying to keep herself from moving. Images flickered through her mind that didn't belong here—another time, another life—and yet she felt something that belonged here all too much. Nervousness. And beneath it, the thrill of a return she'd waited far too long for.

Diego sat down beside her. He didn't say anything, but it was obvious he noticed her unease more than she wanted him to.

"So," he said finally. "What is it?" He reached out and took her hand.

Lila looked up at him—quickly—then looked away again. His touch felt strange after so long. His presence felt strange.

"There's something I need to tell you," she began. "And it's... complicated. I don't know how you're going to react."

Diego straightened. The sentence unsettled him more than he wanted to admit. The thought that had already crossed his mind surfaced again.

"Is this about what you told me before?" he asked. "About taking a break?"

Lila searched her memory for details of their last conversation—one that wasn't nearly as clear to her as it was to him.

"Yeah. Partly," she said. "But there's more."

"Is there someone else?" he blurted out.

Lila looked at him, longer this time.

"It's a lot more complicated than that," she said.

Diego ran a hand over his face and let out a quiet breath. He didn't sound angry. Just tired. He waited.

Lila opened her mouth, then closed it again. She searched for a beginning—any beginning that wouldn't be completely wrong.

"I had an idea," she said finally. "About how to fix the situation with Ben and Jennifer. Something I wanted to try... and Five helped me."

She paused.

"But," she added quietly, "it kind of went sideways."

Diego studied her face, as if trying to figure out how far that sentence reached.

And Lila knew there was no turning back now.

"When we got our powers back," she continued, "it changed the way Five's jumps worked."

Diego nodded, even though it was obvious he was barely following.

"He managed to get into the subway," she said, simplifying. "A special subway. It was a time nexus. A place you could travel to other realities from."

"To other—" Diego stopped, shook his head. "Okay. Go on."

"We wanted to change the past," Lila said. "Fix one specific thing."

She paused—not because she didn't know what to say next, but because what came next couldn't be taken back.

"But instead, we got lost."

Diego crossed his arms. His expression was more confused than angry.

"You and Five got lost in the subway?"

Lila took a breath. Deeper this time.

"I know how it sounds," she said. "But the important part is... it took a long time before we found our way back."

Diego looked at her. Something in her tone made him fall silent. He let the quiet stretch before asking:

"How long?"

Lila met his gaze. She didn't dress it up. She didn't soften it.

"Seven years."

The words hung in the air between them.