All The Truths (Lies & Truths Duet #2) by Rina Kent

No, no. I wouldn’t have done that, right?

Even Old Reina wouldn’t stoop to that level.

“What did Asher do?”

“What do you think? He walked out. I’ve never seen him as angry as he was then. I’m sure he’s the one who attacked the teacher that weekend and forced him to quit.”

My mind reels from the amount of information being thrown my way. How could I do that to him?

Am I really the monster he said I was when I woke up in the hospital?

“As I was saying, that incident and the bra incident were so close. It was really bad between you and Asher.”

“Bad how?”

“Super bad, like you could feel the tension in the air whenever you were in the same place. No one knew if you were going to fuck or shoot each other in the head.” She lifts a shoulder. “But you always had shitty communication with each other, so whatever.”

Shitty communication with each other.

Is this even a case of communication gone wrong? The evidence was all there. I thought he cheated on me, and then he witnessed a disgusting scene.

Please tell me I didn’t do it for revenge. Even teenage me wouldn’t be that immature, right?

“Then, soon after those incidents, Arianna committed suicide. It killed your relationship once and for all,” Bree murmurs. “At least, I thought it did.”

This is my ex-best friend saying in no uncertain terms that she always had eyes for Asher.

Well, not on my watch.

An ugly green monster rears his head at the thought of any other woman putting their claws on him.

Hell, I don’t think I can even give him back to Reina if she returns and asks for her life back.

How could I stay calm all those years ago after knowing he’d cheated on me?

I shake that thought away and focus on more important things. “How did those incidents relate to Arianna’s death?”

“Beats me. All I know is she was a little creep and Asher left you and Blackwood right after her death.” She pauses. “Can I get my position back now?”

“Sure. But you’re no longer a sub-captain.”

“What?” she snaps.

“That position belongs to Prescott and Lucy now. If you’re coming back, it’s only as a normal cheerleader. Take it or leave it.”

“Fine!” She hits my chest on her way out. “You’re such an unfeeling bitch, Rei. No wonder Asher left you. Who wants to be with a cold stone like you anyway?”

Her words remain with me even after she stomps out.

No wonder Asher left me.

No wonder he’s planning to leave me again.

It’s all because of Arianna.

My muscles tense and my heart skips a beat as I rear back from the force of a flashback.





Three years ago





The nerve.

The fucking nerve.

How dare he accuse me of cheating on him when he did it first?

How dare he yell in my face as if I’m wrong and he’s always Mr. Right?

I jump backward three consecutive times and land hard on my right leg.

Fuck.

I kick it against the ground. Useless leg. Useless everything.

Flopping down on the chair, I catch my breath and wipe my face with the towel. The outside pool overlooks the backyard where Asher sometimes works out with Owen and Seb.

Not today.

It’s not like I want to see him right now. I’m seething and boiling like a fucking kettle.

On the outside, it appears as if I’m practicing, my expression cool and focused. Truth is, I’m blowing off steam so I don’t combust.

Practicing is the only way I can do that. When I jump in the air, it’s like I embrace complete freedom, the type I’m not allowed on the ground.

People think I don’t feel. I wish I didn’t. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have the urge to jam my foot into a wall then break down in tears.

God, I feel so much like crying.

But I seal that urge in, hardening it with ice.

Mom said crying is for weaklings.

I’m strong, just like my mom, just like Reina, who I hope is also holding on.

After all, she seems to have inherited my mom’s genes more than I did. She’s the one who ran straight into danger, and I’m the one who left her behind and ran the opposite way.

“Rei.” Ari’s brittle voice pulls me back from my mind.

Plastering on a smile, I wipe the side of my face and turn toward her. She’s wearing one of her long skirts and a blue top.

Her jet black hair, the same color as Asher’s, falls on either side of her face in a short cut. Unlike me, she has no makeup on and is watching me with a kind, worried expression.

I tap the chaise lounge beside me, and she trips over her own feet to join me.

She’s warm that way, Ari. Sometimes, it seems too warm to be true.

Ever since I’ve gotten to know her, I’ve seen a similarity to my relationship with Reina. No one can replace Reina in my heart, but Ari comes close. I’ve loved her and taken care of her as a sister since we met six years ago.

“I’m so sorry about Asher. He can be so dumb sometimes.” She digs her teeth into her lower lip and clinks her thumbnails against each other.

Despite how close we’ve gotten, Ari has never actually lost her anxiety. Asher told me she developed it after their mother died. Ari saw it as some sort of abandonment and reacted hard to it. Her brother and I silently agreed to protect her from the harsh world surrounding her.