Chapter 38 Digging Where It Hurts
I didn’t go home right away.
For once, I didn’t run to my room to hide behind a closed door and pretend everything wasn’t falling apart. Instead, I walked past the parking lot, past the familiar streets, until the noise of school faded into something distant and unimportant.
Because right now, nothing felt more important than the truth.
And the worst part?
Everyone knew it except me.
Kylen knew.
Lilibeth knew.
Even the way Adrian had looked at me earlier… like he was waiting to see what I would do next… told me he understood more than he was saying.
That stung.
Not just because I felt left out, but because it made me feel small. Like I had been living inside a story that everyone else had already read to the end.
I stopped walking when I reached the old bleachers near the abandoned practice field. No one came here anymore. It was quiet, almost forgotten, which made it perfect.
I sat down slowly, staring at nothing, my thoughts moving too fast to catch.
My father.
That was where this started.
Or at least, that’s what Lilibeth wanted me to believe.
I tried to think back, to find something, anything that didn’t add up. But my memories felt… normal. Too normal. Family dinners. Quiet conversations. The way he always avoided certain topics, brushing them off with a smile that never quite reached his eyes.
I had noticed that.
I just never questioned it.
“Of course you’d be here.”
I didn’t even flinch.
I knew that voice already.
Adrian.
I exhaled slowly, not turning to look at him. “Do you follow everyone when they’re having a breakdown, or am I just special?”
He let out a quiet chuckle as he climbed up the bleachers, sitting a step below me instead of beside me. That alone caught my attention. Most people would have sat too close, tried to force comfort.
He didn’t.
“Only when they look like they’re about to do something reckless,” he said.
I glanced at him then. “And you think that’s me?”
He met my gaze calmly. “I think you’re already there.”
That… wasn’t wrong.
I looked away again, fingers tightening slightly against the cold metal of the bench. “Everyone knows something,” I said quietly. “Everyone except me.”
Adrian didn’t interrupt.
Didn’t offer empty reassurance.
He just listened.
“I hate that,” I continued, my voice sharper now. “I hate feeling like I’m the last one to understand my own life.”
“You’re not the last,” he said.
I frowned slightly. “What?”
“You’re the only one who actually wants the truth,” he replied. “That puts you ahead of everyone else.”
I stared at him for a second.
That wasn’t the answer I expected.
“You’re weird,” I muttered.
He smirked faintly. “You noticed.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled. Almost.
Silence settled between us again, but this time it wasn’t suffocating. It gave me space to think, to breathe, to process.
Then I said the one thing I had been avoiding.
“I need to find out what they’re hiding.”
Adrian didn’t hesitate. “Then do it.”
I blinked. “That’s it?”
“What else do you want me to say?” he asked. “Wait for them to tell you? Hope they suddenly decide to be honest?”
I didn’t answer.
Because we both knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“They’re hiding it for a reason,” he added, his tone more serious now. “Which means whatever it is… it’s big.”
My chest tightened again.
“I don’t care,” I said. “I’d rather know than keep standing here like an idiot while everyone else decides what I can handle.”
That was the truth.
Raw. Simple.
Terrifying.
Adrian studied me for a moment, then nodded once.
“Then you start with what you already have.”
I frowned. “Which is?”
“Your father,” he said. “And your house.”
My stomach dropped slightly.
“My house?”
“Where else would something like that be hidden?” he asked. “People don’t keep secrets out in the open. They bury them where they feel safe.”
That made sense.
Too much sense.
I looked down, thinking. Really thinking this time.
My father’s office.
The one place in the house he never let anyone touch.
The one place he always locked.
My heart started beating faster.
“I think I know where to look,” I said slowly.
Adrian’s eyes sharpened. “Good.”
I hesitated for a second.
Then…
“Come with me.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
We both paused.
Because that changed something.
Shifted something.
Adrian raised a brow slightly. “You sure?”
No.
Not at all.
But I nodded anyway.
“Yes.”
Because right now, I didn’t trust myself to do this alone.
And somehow…
I trusted him more than I should.
The house was too quiet when we got there.
That kind of quiet that feels wrong.
Empty. Watching.
I stepped inside slowly, my heart pounding harder with every step.
“Anyone home?” Adrian asked quietly behind me.
“No,” I replied. “They won’t be back for a while.”
At least, I hoped not.
I led him down the hallway, straight to the door I had passed a thousand times but never opened.
My father’s office.
I stood there for a moment, staring at the handle.
This was it.
The line.
Once I crossed it…
There was no going back.
“You don’t have to do this now,” Adrian said quietly.
I shook my head.
“Yes, I do.”
Before I could overthink it, I reached for the handle and turned it.
Locked.
Of course.
I let out a breath, stepping back slightly.
“Move,” Adrian said.
I blinked. “What?”
He stepped forward, glancing at the lock for a second before pulling something small from his pocket.
“You carry lock tools?” I asked, half shocked.
He smirked faintly. “You ask a lot of questions.”
“Adrian—”
“Relax.”
Within seconds, there was a soft click.
The door opened.
My heart nearly stopped.
“Who are you?” I muttered.
He shrugged. “Helpful.”
I shook my head, but I didn’t argue.
Not now.
Not when the truth was right in front of me.
I pushed the door open slowly.
The room smelled like old paper and something heavier… something hidden.
Everything was neat. Too neat.
Desk perfectly organized. Shelves lined with files. Nothing out of place.
But that didn’t mean anything.
Secrets don’t sit in plain sight.
I stepped inside, my pulse racing, eyes scanning every corner.
“This is it,” I whispered.
Adrian leaned against the doorframe, watching me carefully. “Then find it.”
I moved toward the desk first, opening drawers, flipping through documents. Bills. Work papers. Nothing unusual.
Too clean.
Too controlled.
“Check deeper,” Adrian said.
I nodded, moving faster now, more determined.
Then…
My hand paused over a locked drawer.
Smaller. Hidden beneath the others.
My breath caught.
“This one,” I said.
Adrian stepped closer again, crouching slightly.
“Step back.”
Another click.
Another second.
Then the drawer opened.
And everything changed.
Inside…
Were files.
Photos.
Documents.
Not organized.
Not neat.
Hidden.
Messy.
Important.
My hands shook as I reached in, pulling the first file out.
My name was on it.
Lenora.
My heart dropped so fast it felt like it disappeared.
“What the…” I whispered.
I opened it.
And the moment I saw the first page…
I knew.
Whatever this was…
It wasn’t small.
It wasn’t simple.
And it was never meant for me to find.