you belong with me | c.w. ✓

twenty-three [the truth]

t w e n t y - t h r e e

the truth

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It took me four hours to work up the courage to talk to my brother. Well, I would've done it right away if he hadn't had a game that afternoon. Or at least that's what I wanted to think.

After Red Land beat the Southwest team, earning a spot in the U.S. championship, I waited until everyone was back in the dorms, and Jaden had gotten a chance to shower and change.

If I had to do this, I sure as heck wasn't doing it after he'd been sweating like a pig for three hours.

I waited until I thought he would be done, then went across the hall to his and Cole's room. I knocked on the door, and Jaden answered, wearing a UNC basketball t-shirt and navy gym shorts. His curly hair was still wet from his shower.

"Hey Ry," he said, opening the door a little wider. "What's up?"

"Can I talk to you?" I glanced past him towards Cole, who was sitting on one of the beds. "Alone?"

Cole got the hint and stood up. He must've seen the worry on my face, and he looked concerned as he brushed past me to leave. For some reason it made a small part of me happy. I guess just seeing that he still cared about me meant a lot.

I stepped inside the room and closed the door behind me, hoping Jaden hadn't seen the unspoken interaction between Cole and me. Not that it really mattered anyway, with what I was about to tell him.

I turned to face Jaden. "I...I have to tell you something."

Concern filled his face. "What's going on?"

I sat down on his bed, and he sat beside me, several feet away. I hesitated, then said, "It's about Dylan."

"Dylan?" he asked, confused.

"I..." I trailed off, not able to get the words out. This was harder than I thought. Finally, I just blurted it out. "I lied."

Now he looked even more confused. "What?"

I bit my lip and looked away. "I lied about why we broke up. It...it wasn't my fault. Well, I mean, I did break up with him. But it wasn't because of something I did. He...he cheated on me."

Jaden's eyes widened. "What? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want you to lose him. I know much he meant to you, how he was like a brother to you. I-I didn't want to ruin that. And I know I should've told you the truth, especially after he left you anyways, but I just didn't want you to be mad at me for lying." I paused to take a breath and glanced up at him, trying to gauge his reaction.

He didn't look mad. Just shocked. He shook his head and closed his eyes for a second. "Wait - so all this time, I was blaming you for what happened, and none of it was your fault?" I nodded slowly. "Oh my god, Riley, how could you let me do that? I mean, I get why you did it - I would've done the same thing for you, to protect you. But...I can't believe you let me blame you for that. I-I'm so sorry."

I reached out and put my hand on his arm. "It's okay. I don't want you to feel guilty. It's not your fault." I could see how shocked and overwhelmed he was, and part of me felt bad for dumping all this on him at once. But the other part knew I had been keeping this in for way too long.

It was well past time for the truth to come out.

Jaden thought for a moment, then looked up at me, realization dawning on his face. "Wait...so this whole 'promise' thing, it's based on a...a lie?"