POV: Milo
5:27 AM — The Note
I found the note by accident.
No digging. No snooping. No suspicious intentions.
The drawer in the guest room was already half-open, like it was holding its breath. I was just looking for a damn charger. Instead, I found paper — creased, worn, like it had been opened and reread a hundred tis.
I shouldn’t have looked.
But I did.
"I love him. I’m terrified I’ll ruin everything. I’m so tired of hiding."
There was no na on it.
But it didn’t need one.
Because in that one horrifying second, the entire last month made sense.
The weird tension. The charged silences. The way Aaron avoided eye contact when soone walked in the room. The almost-kisses I thought I was imagining.
I sat on the edge of the bed with the paper shaking in my hands, feeling like I had swallowed a lit match.
5:40 AM — Spiraling
My best friend was in love with his stepmom.
And she loved him back.
I actually whispered, "What the hell," out loud.
Because this wasn’t just so forbidden crush. This wasn’t a passing fling. This was dangerous.
Real.
And I was holding the proof of it in my hands.
6:20 AM — Ghosts of Us
Aaron and I had known each other since we were ten. We t in detention after I threw a pencil at soone and he "accidentally" set the fire alarm off with his elbow.
We were chaos incarnate, even back then. Ride-or-die stuff. His dad coached our little league team. My mom called him "my other son."
We grew up dreaming about escaping this town, about moving to L.A., making sothing of ourselves.
And now?
Now he was sleeping in the room next to his stepmother’s. Or not sleeping, if I had to guess.
I stared at the ceiling, trying to find the kid I used to know.
7:01 AM — Watching the Lie
I heard footsteps coming downstairs.
Aaron first.
He looked exhausted. His hoodie was inside-out. Hair unbrushed. Eyes rimd red.
Then Elena.
Also silent. No makeup. Wearing the exact sa cardigan she wore the day she moved in.
They didn’t speak to each other. But they didn’t have to.
Their silence was synchronized.
Their eyes never t. Their body language scread distance. But it was too careful. Too choreographed.
They weren’t just pretending to be normal — they were rehearsing it.
I watched from the other end of the kitchen, chewing dry cereal like it was gravel.
7:25 AM — Subtext for Breakfast
Aaron tried to talk about a movie we saw last week. His voice cracked twice.
Elena poured coffee with a hand that trembled slightly.
When she passed him the sugar, she didn’t look at him. He didn’t look at her. But sothing flickered between them. Like gravity. Or guilt.
Dad wasn’t even here this morning — thank God.
The whole kitchen felt like a murder scene with the body still warm.
8:10 AM — Flashpoint
After breakfast, I cornered Aaron in the garage. Sa place we used to sneak beers and talk about girls we’d never actually kiss.
"Tell the truth," I said.
He didn’t even ask what about.
Which ant he already knew.
He leaned back against the wall, like it could hold him up through this conversation. "You don’t understand—"
"Then make understand," I snapped. "Make understand how you ended up kissing your father’s wife."
He flinched like I slapped him.
"I didn’t plan it."
"No one plans a trainwreck. But they can still hear the damn tracks."
"I didn’t an to—"
"But you didn’t stop, either, did you?"
Silence.
His hands went to his hair. "I didn’t want to hurt anyone."
"You already did," I said. "You just don’t see it yet."
9:30 AM — Watching Her Lie
Later, I found Elena in the living room, flipping through a magazine she clearly wasn’t reading.
I sat across from her.
We didn’t speak for several minutes.
I wanted to ask her so many things. Why him? Why now? What were you thinking?
But instead, I asked the only question that mattered:
"Do you love him?"
She froze.
Didn’t answer.
Didn’t blink.
But her breath caught in her throat — and that was all the answer I needed.
11:45 AM — The Confrontation
She found again near the stairs. Voice quiet. Almost gentle.
"You found it, didn’t you?"
I didn’t answer.
She swallowed hard. "It wasn’t ant for anyone to see."
"That makes it worse."
She sighed, eyes flicking around the empty hallway like soone might pop out with a microphone. "This wasn’t supposed to happen."
I looked her in the eye.
"You think that makes it better?"
"I didn’t want this."
"But you didn’t stop it."
She was trembling. But I wasn’t about to pity her.
"I loved your dad," she said quietly. "I still do. In so way."
"That’s the worst part," I said.
12:20 PM — The Paper, Again
I pulled the note from my pocket.
Folded. Small. Like a secret clinging to itself.
She looked at it like it was a grenade.
"Why haven’t you shown him?" she asked.
"Because I still don’t know who I’m protecting."
She closed her eyes.
"Do you hate ?"
"No," I said honestly. "But I don’t trust you."
"And Aaron?"
I hesitated.
Then said, "He’s not thinking clearly."
And for a mont, we were both silent.
Not because we had nothing left to say — but because we both knew the next step could blow it all up.
12:30 PM — Final Warning
I handed her the note.
Her fingers hovered over it like it might bite.
"I’m giving this back to you," I said. "But next ti, I won’t."
She looked like she might cry.
"You have one shot to fix this," I added. "Before soone else finds out. Before I do what he won’t."
And then I walked away.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
Because I knew: whatever ca next?
We couldn’t pretend it hadn’t already begun.
📘 End of Chapter 22
💬 YOUR TURN!
Was Milo right to give her the note back?
Is Elena going to protect Aaron — or end it before it gets worse?
👇 Comnt your predictions, pick a side, and tell :
📖 Whose POV should Chapter 23 co from? Aaron? Elena? Or Dad?
❤️ Like if you felt Milo’s loyalty break under the weight of the truth.
🔔 Follow for Chapter 23 — because the first real consequence is coming.
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