Masks Around Me

CHAPTER 8: UNVEILING DECEPTION

The next morning, the gentle morning light was abruptly shattered by a loud, insistent knock on the guest room door. My eyes fluttered open, still heavy with the lingering exhaustion from a night of restless sleep and gnawing anxiety. "It must be Cedric," I mumbled to myself, pushing back the covers and making my way towards the door, a faint hope stirring that he might offer some solace for the previous day's disaster.

To my surprise, when I pulled the door open, it wasn't Cedric standing there. Instead, my little brother, James, beamed up at me, while my parents, Henry and Amelia, stood behind him, their expressions unreadable. My heart sank, a cold dread washing over me. There was no escaping it now. The moment of reckoning had arrived.

"Welcome back," I greeted them, forcing a smile that felt utterly alien on my lips.

"Go freshen up and meet us downstairs," Henry instructed, his voice flat, devoid of its usual warmth. His tone was distant, a clear indication that something was amiss.

After a quick, perfunctory wash and dressing, I headed downstairs, my stomach twisting with apprehension. I found my parents in the living room, engaged in a hushed, intense conversation with the Smiths, Cedric's parents. The air in the room was thick with an unspoken tension. As I entered, Henry stood abruptly, his jaw tight. He bid the Smiths a curt farewell before turning and walking out of the room without another word, his departure a chilling silence.

"Let's go, Ed," James said, his usual cheerfulness slightly subdued, as he gently took my hand.

The car ride home was agonizingly tense. Henry remained utterly silent, his gaze fixed rigidly on the road, his profile a hard, unyielding line. Amelia, usually so expressive, sat beside him, her brow furrowed with worry, her eyes occasionally darting to me in a silent plea for understanding. I wanted to tell them everything about the exam, about the missed alarm, the panic, the security guard. But the timing felt terribly wrong, the atmosphere too charged with unspoken accusations. So, I stayed quiet, the words coiling uselessly in my throat.

Once we arrived at the mansion, the heavy silence continued. Amelia immediately took James to his room, her movements swift and purposeful. Henry, without a glance in my direction, headed straight for his study, the heavy oak door thudding shut behind him. As I turned to go to the perceived safety of my own room, my father's cold voice, sharp and commanding, sliced through the quiet.

"Follow me," he commanded, his tone sending a shiver of pure dread down my spine. There was no room for argument, no hint of the affectionate dad I knew. This was the stern, disappointed patriarch.

I followed him into his study, the rich scent of old books and leather filling the air. Before I could even open my mouth, before I could utter a single word of explanation or apology, his hand shot out, colliding with my cheek in a resounding, stinging slap. The sound echoed in the quiet room, a sharp crack that vibrated through my very bones.

My face stung, a fiery imprint of his anger, as I stared at him, my eyes wide with shock and pain. His expression was a horrifying mix of raw anger and profound disappointment, a look that cut deeper than any physical blow.

"Why did you do it?" he demanded, his voice cutting through the ringing silence, laced with a venom I'd never heard from him before.

Confusion clouded my thoughts, mingling with the searing pain on my cheek. Did he know about the missed exam? Was that what this was about? "I didn't... I wanted to make it to the exam, but..." I stammered, trying to piece together an explanation, but his shout cut me off, even louder, more furious than before.

"Don't play dumb, Edward! Don't you dare try to lie to me!" he roared, his face contorted with rage. He shoved his phone into my face, the screen displaying a damning string of text messages. They were from my number, sent to the designated driver, instructing him not to pick me up from The Smiths residence, that I was throwing away this golden opportunity. "I did everything to help you prepare, Edward! I pulled strings, I spent a fortune on tutors, and you threw it all away with these childish lies!"

"I didn't send those messages, Dad, I swear!" I protested, the words a desperate, choked-out plea. My voice trembled, my eyes welling up with tears, but his disappointment only deepened, solidifying into a cold, hard certainty. He wasn't listening. He wouldn't believe me.

Without another word, he laid down the punishment. I was grounded, confined to the mansion indefinitely. My phone, tablet, and all other electronics were confiscated, stripped away as if they were privileges I no longer deserved. I stood there, numb, the sting on my cheek a faint echo compared to the deeper ache in my chest. Then, I turned and left, retreating to the perceived safety of my room, the study door closing behind me with a decisive click that felt like a final judgment.

Alone in my room, the silence was deafening, broken only by the frantic pounding of my own heart. How had Dad found out? The details of the missed exam, and particularly the reason for it, were known only to two people: Cedric and me. A chilling thought, cold and insidious, began to creep into my mind. Why would Cedric betray me like this? It couldn't be. Not him. But the evidence on Dad's phone, the specific messages… they pointed to only one person who could have sent them. I resolved, then and there, that I would confront him, as soon as he came over.

Weeks passed, long, agonizing weeks of confinement. Cedric didn't show. No visits, no calls, no texts – though I wouldn't have received them anyway. The silence from him was as deafening as my father's disappointment. Every day, the knot of hurt and confusion twisted tighter. Then, one afternoon, the familiar voice of a maid announced his arrival. "Young Master Edward, Master Cedric is here to see you."

As Cedric entered my room, a seemingly casual smile on his face, I couldn't shake the potent feeling of betrayal. It clung to him like a dark aura. "Hey, Edward! Sorry for not visiting sooner. Heard you were grounded," he said, his tone too casual, too unaffected.

We walked in silence to the garden, a place that once held only happy memories, but now felt tainted by the unspoken accusation between us. I stopped by the rose bushes, turning to face him, my voice steady despite the tremor in my hands. "Did you use my phone to send those messages to my driver?" I asked, my gaze fixed on his face, watching for any tell-tale flicker.

His casual demeanor cracked. His expression shifted, a fleeting mixture of surprise, guilt, and something else I couldn't quite decipher. He denied it, of course. "What? No, Edward! Why would I do that?" But even as the words left his lips, I could see the truth in his eyes, a brief, undeniable flash of evasion.

"Why, Cedric? Why betray me like this?" I pleaded, the question ripped from my soul, filled with all the pain of a broken trust. But he offered no explanation, no apology, no word of comfort. He simply turned, his shoulders hunched, and left without another word, disappearing from the garden, and perhaps, from my life.

That night, much later, the soft knock on my door startled me. It was Dad. He stepped into the room, his face etched with a profound guilt I'd rarely seen. "Edward," he began, his voice rough with emotion, "I… I overheard you and Cedric talking in the garden. I'm so incredibly sorry for doubting you. I should have listened." He held out my confiscated devices – my phone, my tablet, all of them. He returned them, a gesture of profound apology.

As he left, closing the door softly behind him, the familiar devices felt heavy in my hands. The physical burden was gone, but the emotional weight remained, heavier than ever. The sting of betrayal, inflicted not just by Cedric but by my father's quick judgment, still burned.

Tomorrow, I vowed, my resolve hardening like steel, I would confront Cedric. I would get the truth. Once and for all.