It took me two full days to work up the nerve.
Two days of pretending I didn't know anything.
Of swallowing every scream clawing at my throat.
Of smiling through coffee and pretending I didn't hear whispered phone calls behind closed doors.
But by the third morning, I was done pretending.
I texted Devon.
Me: Can we talk? Face to face. I need to see you.
Devon: Of course. I'll come by tonight.
I almost canceled five times.
By the time the doorbell rang, I was pacing the apartment like a caged animal. Lila wasn't home or so I thought. Her room was dark, the door closed, but a tiny crack of light peeked from underneath. She was probably listening. Watching. Waiting.
I opened the door.
Devon looked… normal. Hoodie. Jeans. Soft smirk like always. Like everything was fine. Like my whole world hadn't been slowly burning to ash.
"Hey babe." He leaned in to kiss me, but I stepped back.
He froze. "Okay… what's going on?"
I folded my arms. "You tell me. Why are you lying to me?"
His face barely flickered. "Lying?"
"Don't. I know you've been sneaking into the apartment when I'm not home. I know you've been talking to Lila behind my back. And I know there's someone else."
He ran a hand through his hair. "Damn. So she did get to you."
I blinked. "What?"
He scoffed. "Lila's been planting this stuff in your head for weeks. She told you I was cheating, right? Told you she had proof. That's her thing, Amara. She plays hero the truth-teller. But she's been obsessed with me since the beginning."
I stared at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You remember last year? That party where we met? Lila was there too. She tried to talk to me that night I turned her down. She told me you had a crush. Said I should give you a shot."
I frowned. "She encouraged us getting together..."
"Exactly. Because it gave her control. She kept tabs on us from day one. Acting sweet. Pretending to be your best friend. But she was always waiting for it to fall apart so she could slide in."
I shook my head, backing away.
"No," I whispered. "That's not true. Lila wouldn't..."
"Wouldn't what?" he said, stepping closer. "She lied about the library. She's been talking to someone behind your back. And now she's playing detective? Spying on me? She's unwell, Amara. She needs help."
Everything in my body screamed no, but part of me… hesitated.
What if he was right?
What if Lila was trying to break us up?
What if everything the bar, the phone calls, the hidden messages was all manipulation?
"She said you were seeing someone else," I whispered.
Devon's jaw clenched. "She showed you pictures, didn't she?"
My silence answered for me.
"Yeah," he said bitterly. "That girl? That's my cousin. We're working on a documentary project together we've been meeting in bars and cafés to shoot footage. I didn't want to say anything because it's personal. Family stuff."
My heart sank.
"She didn't tell you that part, huh?"
I shook my head. My breath was shallow. My mind was spinning.
"I loved you," Devon said. "But you let her get in your head. You didn't even ask me before deciding I was guilty."
Tears welled up. My voice cracked. "I didn't know what to believe."
He nodded once, face hardening. "Well, now you do."
He turned and left just like that.
I stood frozen in the doorway.
Did I just push away the only person who hadn't lied to me?
Was Lila the real snake in all of this?
I walked back inside slowly, shaking.
I needed answers.
I crept toward her room and turned the knob it was unlocked.
Her laptop was on the desk. Still open. A chat window glowing.
Mara.Detective: Still no response. Do you want me to leak the footage?
Lila: Not yet. She'll hate me, but at least she'll know the truth. I just want her safe.
Safe?
Leak?
My eyes scanned down and froze.
There it was.
A video.
I clicked play.
It was Devon sitting at a café, leaning close to a girl. Not a cousin. Not a co-worker. He was stroking her hand. Kissing her knuckles. Whispering into her neck.
Date stamp? Last week.
My blood ran cold.
Then the camera zoomed out and there was Lila, in the background reflection. Holding the phone. Recording. Face pale. Hands shaking.
I watched the clip twice.
Three times.
And then I cried.
Because the truth had always been there. Hidden in the shadows.
And while I had questioned Lila's loyalty, she had been the only one fighting for me behind the scenes.
She hadn't betrayed me.
She'd protected me.
And I'd been too blind to see it.
I wasn't sleeping anymore.
Not really. I'd lie in bed and stare at the ceiling until sunrise bled through the blinds. My chest felt hollow, like something inside me had caved in. And every time I blinked, I saw their faces ...Lila's cautious eyes, Devon's easy smile. Both of them hiding something.
The walls of the apartment felt smaller now. Like they were closing in.
I couldn't breathe in the kitchen. Couldn't breathe in the living room. Couldn't trust the couch we used to curl up on during movie nights or the kitchen stool where Devon would sneak behind me and wrap his arms around my waist.
Everything was poisoned.
And I was trapped in the silence between them.
That morning, I sat alone in the living room, scrolling endlessly on my phone not reading, just swiping. The quiet buzz of the fridge was the only sound, until Lila came out of her room.
She looked… tired. The girl who used to float through our apartment with music playing from her earbuds, humming to Beyoncé and asking what wine went with burnt toast, now looked like she was holding her breath every second she was near me.
She walked to the fridge without saying anything. I stared at her.
"You saw him again, didn't you?" I asked flatly.
She froze. Her hand on the handle. "I don't owe you an answer."
That hurt more than I expected.
"No," I said. "But I deserve one."
She let out a shaky breath, then turned around to face me. "I didn't see him for me, Amara. I was protecting you."
"Protecting me? From what, Lila? My own boyfriend?"
Her eyes darkened. "From being manipulated. From being used."
I laughed cold and bitter. "You were the one lying. Spying. Sneaking around with him when I wasn't here."
"I never touched him." Her voice was firm now. "Not once. But I saw enough to know he was never who you thought he was."
"Funny. That's exactly what he said about you."
She flinched.
Good, I thought. Let her feel it too.
"You know what, Lila?" I stood, voice trembling. "I think you liked watching my life fall apart. Maybe you even wanted him. Wanted to be the savior who swooped in and rescued me from the big bad boyfriend."
Her lips parted. A whisper: "That's not fair."
"No. You know what's not fair?" I snapped. "That I'm standing in the middle of two people I trusted more than anything in this world, and I don't know which one of you is lying to me."
Tears filled her eyes.
But she didn't deny it.
She didn't fight.
She just turned and walked away.
Later that day, I texted Devon.
Me: I need to see you. Alone.
Devon: Tonight. Your place?
Me: No. I'll come to you.
Devon: Okay. 9 p.m. You sure you're okay?
Me: Not really.
It was 8:47 when I stepped into the cold air outside our apartment. My coat barely helped. My head was spinning. I had rehearsed what I wanted to say a dozen times in front of the mirror.
But all of it vanished the moment I saw him.
Devon was already waiting at the coffee shop hood up, tapping on his phone. He looked up as I approached, and gave me the kind of smile that used to melt me.
Now it just made me sick.
"Hey, beautiful." He stood to hug me, but I held up my hand. "Cut the act," I said.
He blinked. "Okay…"
"You've been lying to me," I said. "You were here, in the apartment, when I wasn't. With Lila. You told me you were going to class."
He exhaled sharply, then leaned back in his chair.
"So she finally turned you against me."
"Don't do that," I said. "Just tell me the truth."
He nodded slowly. "Alright. You want the truth?"
I didn't speak. I just waited.
"She's obsessed with me."
I stared.
"She has been for months. You didn't notice because she's good at hiding it, but Lila's been playing this twisted game with both of us. The secret calls. The notes. She's been recording me, following me."
"You mean the video?" I said.
He paused. A flicker of alarm crossed his face. "She showed you?"
I nodded. "She said you were seeing someone else. At that bar."
He laughed a low, hollow sound. "Yeah. My cousin. We've been working on a documentary about campus life and toxic relationships. It's why I didn't want to bring it up. It felt… ironic."
"So that kiss on the video..."
"Was taken out of context. She was crying about her ex. I comforted her."
I folded my arms. "You kissed her hand."
"I'm affectionate. I'm not a monster."
I wanted to believe him. I really did.
Because if Devon was telling the truth… then that made Lila the villain.
But something inside me itched. Something didn't fit.
"She said you threatened her."
Devon went still.
"She said you told her to stop digging. That you'd ruin her if she didn't back off."
His voice dropped. "Did she record that too?"
I didn't answer.
He leaned forward, eyes burning into mine. "Amara. I'm not perfect. But you know me. You know what we've been through. You really think I'd hurt someone you cared about?"
I looked at him for a long, long time.
And for the first time… I didn't have an answer.
When I got home, the apartment was dark.
Lila's door was wide open. Her room was empty. Her suitcase gone.
She had left.
Just like that.
A single note lay on the table in the living room.
My name was on the front.
I never meant to hurt you.
But some truths destroy before they heal.
You'll understand one day. I just hope you still remember who stood by you when no one else did.
...Lila
I read it three times.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
One message.
She was right to run. Now it's your turn.
My blood froze.
Who the hell...?
I dropped the phone.
And for the first time, I realized…
This wasn't about a roommate or a stolen boyfriend anymore.
This was about something much darker.
And now I was the one in danger.