Ash’s POV
I kept pacing the room, my chest was tight, as Dominic sat there watching like he was trying to piece back together with just his eyes.
"Rivera, it’s just Marcus," he said gently. "It could’ve been anyone. Isn’t he your best friend? You’ll talk it out with him. I don’t want you worrying about this."
"You don’t understand," I snapped, dragging my hands through my hair.
"Then make understand." His voice was calm. Then he tilted his head, like he was bracing himself. "Wait... does he not know you’re not straight?"
I laughed bitterly. "It’s not even just that. Marcus doesn’t know I’m gay, but..." My throat tightened. "I don’t know if he’d accept the fact that it was with you."
That stopped him.
"? What does I have to do with this?"
"Dominic..." I forced myself to et his eyes.
I hesitated, but I had to be honest. "Marcus hates you."
I watched it land. His expression cracked.
His eyes widened, his lips parted, and then he dropped back onto the bed, staring at the floor.
"Hate ?" He whispered. "Rivera, that’s... that’s a huge word."
"I’m sorry," I whispered, guilt stabbing . "But I had to be honest with you. He really does. Not just you....your whole circle. He can’t stand you guys."
Dominic tried to laugh, but it ca out hollow. "Wow. I an... I’m just shocked. Shocked that soone I don’t even know hates my guts."
"That’s the thing." I swallowed. "He does know you. He’s known you guys since middle school. His dad worked at Ian’s house....first as a gardener, then as a janitor. Marcus got into Blackwell on scholarship, and... you guys made his life hell. Especially Ian. When he told and June... we hated you guys too."
Dominic’s head snapped up, but he didn’t argue. He didn’t defend himself.
Instead, his face twisted.
"I..." He let out a shaky breath and pressed his palms against his knees. "I rember."
He lifted his head up, searching my eyes.
"Fuck, I rember now."
My stomach dropped.
"There was this kid in middle school," Dominic said, his eyes locked on the floor. "Quiet. Always kept his head down. We used to... throw his bag on the roof. Ian called him Garden Boy." His throat worked hard. "One ti... he had a book with him. A comic, I think. Ian ripped it up. I....:" His voice cracked. "I laughed. I didn’t stop him. I just stood there and laughed."
The silence hit.
"Dominic..." My voice ca out raw.
He dragged his hands over his face, his shoulders were shaking. "God, Rivera. What if that was Marcus? What if that was him all along? And I just stood there, laughing like a fucking asshole?"
He sniffled, turning away from . "I was a terrible person. All of us were. Ren and Liam... they were the only decent ones. The rest of us thought we were kings, but we were just... bullies. And now? Now I feel like we’re paying for every shitty thing we ever did."
His voice broke. "I don’t want to be that guy anymore. I’ve been trying, Rivera. After last year, after... everything, I couldn’t live with myself. I started therapy. I’ve been trying to change. I swear I’ve been trying." His breath shook. "I just don’t want to be hated anymore. Not by Marcus. Not by you."
Dominic looked like he was about to break right in front of .
And I hated it.
I hated that it hurt to see him like this.
I hated that so part of wanted to reach out, to hold him, when I should still be furious.
"You’re not a bad person," I whispered before I could stop myself.
He let out a broken laugh. "Rivera, you don’t know half the shit I’ve done. Half the people I hurt. Sotis I lie awake at night and wonder if karma’s just waiting around the corner to rip everything away from . And honestly? Maybe I’d deserve it."
His words knocked the breath out of . He wasn’t joking. He wasn’t being dramatic. He ant it.
"Dom..." My voice cracked. I didn’t know what to say.
He dragged his hands down his face. " Marcus hates ? Fine. He has every right to. I probably gave him more reasons than I can even rember. But you..." He finally looked at , his voice was shaking. "I couldn’t take it if you hated too."
The room went silent.
He kept looking at like I was the only person whose opinion mattered.
I shook my head. "I don’t hate you," I said quietly. "But that doesn’t erase what Marcus went through. What you all did."
"I know." His voice cracked. He nodded, eyes dropping again. "I know. And that’s what kills ."
For a long mont, neither of us spoke. The only sound was his unsteady breathing, the faint creak of the bed as his hands clenched at the blanket beneath him.
I didn’t just see Dominic’s guilt.
I saw his fear. His regret.
Could this be it?
Oh God. Could he be talking about the murder?
My stomach twisted. Mr. Blake’s words ca back to about that night.
"Dom..." I forced my voice steady, even though my pulse was racing. "What incident? Can you elaborate?"
He froze. His eyes flickered, glassy, and for a second I thought he might actually say it.
Instead, his voice ca out low. "Rivera... would you ever forgive if I did sothing really, really bad? Sothing I can’t undo? Sothing I hate myself for every single day?"
He wasn’t just talking about bullying. He wasn’t just talking about stupid high school pranks. This was bigger. Darker.
Was he trying to tell he was involved?
I swallowed hard, keeping my voice soft. "Bad things don’t just vanish because we pretend they didn’t happen. If you regret it this much, maybe... maybe you should tell what it was."
His jaw clenched. His breathing ca shallow. He shook his head, ike the words burned too much to leave his mouth.
"I can’t."
"But you want to." My voice softened, almost pleading. "Otherwise you wouldn’t be telling this. No secrets between us, rember?"
"I...." His voice cracked. He dragged both hands through his hair, groaning under his breath. "You don’t get it, Rivera. If I say it out loud, it makes it real again. It makes ... the monster all over again." His shoulders trembled. "And I already hate myself enough."
My heart was pounding so hard it hurt.
Every instinct in scread he was talking about the murder on the highway. About the lady Mr. Blake hinted at. About that night I never got the full story of.
"Dominic..." I whispered. "Were you and your friends... involved in sothing? An incident that..."
He looked at then, and even though he didn’t speak, I saw the answer in his eyes.
His jaw flexed. His hands shook where they twisted the blanket. His chest rose and fell like he was suffocating.
He didn’t have to say it.
He was telling everything without a single word.
And my blood ran cold.
Right there, I realized the boy sitting across from ....the boy who kissed , who made laugh, who I was falling for, my boyfriend might also be the boy carrying the darkest secret of all.
Maybe Mr Blake was right afterall.
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