Secrets & Slytherins

Chapter 4: The Lie

Grace entered the Great Hall, the comforting smell of breakfast wafting over to her as she approached the Gryffindor table. She poured herself a generous glass of pumpkin juice, bringing it to her lips as she glanced across the room at the Slytherin table.

She spotted Ryan almost immediately, who was laughing with a handful of his fellow housemates. Noah sat a few places down from him, listening to Ryan as he spoke.

Grace truly couldn't figure the Dolohov boy out. He was friends with Ryan, yet he seemed to want to help her with her situation. He couldn't be both people. It just wouldn't work. This only confirmed that she shouldn't trust him.

Ryan glanced up, making eye contact with Grace. He waved her over to summon her, and she dutifully obliged.

"Good morning," he said once the girl had reached him. He pulled her down to sit on his lap, pressing his lips against hers.

Grace threw on a smile to make him happy, as well as providing a believable perfect relationship for his friends. Behind her facade, however, was complete sadness, fear, and disgust. Ryan hadn't always made her feel like this, and it was difficult to see at what point it got out of hand.

"Why did you run off so quickly last night after we...you know..." Ryan trailed off, a slight smirk on his face. The boys next to him laughed quietly. They knew exactly what he meant.

Grace furrowed her brow, anger pulsing through her veins.

"After we what, Ryan?" she asked, her voice tense. Was he being serious right now? Did he really want to make it seem like they had sex last night when they didn't?

"Oh, don't play stupid," the boy continued with a chuckle. "There's no reason to be embarrassed. You loved it." The grins around them grew wider, including Noah's.

Heat crept up Grace's neck from fury and humiliation. She clenched her jaw, trying to keep her cool. She didn't want to pick a fight with him right now; not in front of all these people. Ryan wouldn't like that.

"Stop," she whispered sharply, her eyes begging him.

"Stop what?" he asked, still carrying forward. "We're all friends here," he explained, gesturing to the boys around him, who were clearly enjoying how uncomfortable Grace was getting. "And I tell my friends everything."

Grace pried herself off Ryan, desperately wanting to distance herself from him.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't!" she yelled, the words spilling out. "Or maybe you should tell them the truth!"

A few more heads turned at her sudden outburst. Ryan raised an eyebrow, shocked that Grace would talk back to him in front of a small crowd. The boy stood up, slowly pacing forward with his gaze locked on her.

"I am telling the truth," Ryan responded. "We slept together last night, and I know it's true because it's what I wanted." He stopped when they were nearly inches from each other, and leaned down enough for his hot breath to hit her face as he spoke, his voice just above a whisper. "And I always get what I want," he finished. "Don't I, Grace?"

Grace released a shaky sigh, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. Before she had time to answer, a small applause erupted from Ryan's friends. She turned to look at the group, embarrassment making its visible mark on her cheeks.

"Atta boy, Ryan!" hollered one of the boys.

Merlin, these people were awful. They were just like Ryan. The fact that they would encourage this type of behavior made her feel ill.

She shot her eyes over to Noah, who had his gaze on her, but the boy quickly shifted it back to Ryan and continued his praise with the rest of the group.

Her stomach knotted. Noah didn't care about her or Ryan or the way he treated her. He never did. The concern he showed her at the party was fake. She was just stupid enough to believe it. Sure, she had pushed him away when he said he wanted to help, but just the fact that he would play those kinds of games hurt like hell.

She stepped back from Ryan and spun around, hurrying to exit the Great Hall.

And now what? Everyone thought Ryan was a king because they believed he had sex with her and showed people that he had complete control over his girlfriend.

All Grace was left with were lies.