The Boy I Swore To Hate

e was prot

lia long after she lef

streetlamp with tears in his eyes, admitti

him fr

au

ckm

is

envelope Thomas Reed had given her. It was cream-colored, slightl

almost twenty minute

rove in

r as though he wanted to say somethi

elia broke

y father did so

his eyes o

r knows something h

not an

nly honest

down at t

eally did take th

eed to fin

er was involved

ghtened around th

o decide what to d

aughed b

the truth. Deal with the truth. Nobody ever tells you w

glanced

ve someone and still

d toward

asy for y

it is

is voice made

omewhere else entirely, remembering

pened with your f

ion closed

night,

but she was too exhausted

r street, Damien par

until you g

on't h

kno

the door, t

mie

es

for comin

ession s

yti

of the car and walk

ntered, she

ere, watching to ma

in two years, she d

carrying his own secrets

r almost as much as th

-

quiet when A

itting on the sofa with a book open

have yo

ia f

ather to call ahead, b

ng with

r studied

re ly

stomach t

ld you s

twenty minutes ago. She

cou

et her b

re's

sta

hat happened at th

's express

ailway

stared

don't

t are you ta

he almost belie

Daniel confessed. She remembered the fear in her m

bered the

know you hav

icked up

to go to

eli

Mom. Not

airs before her mo

e locked the door and place

led as she peel

rive, and a photograph of a document bearing the

ed up the f

report dated tw

IAL INTER

ties in Scholarship

n scores, altered candidate rankings, and suspicious pa

e names listed

ard

as R

ather, Mi

eath c

een questioned about a financial transfer ma

ve he had com

he had been

owered t

she wh

up the se

a handwritt

r, but the signature at t

el H

ords without authorization. I accept responsibility for

yes filled

had con

signature was an

ntial examination materials to candidates. The documents I copied were int

page, someone had add

d. Further invest

the words

e documents while apparently suspending the investigation

h

up the fi

eeting held on the eve

ES

chae

char

niel

en Bla

red at Dam

been

ver told

one vi

ared from an u

YOUR FATHER

er fo

ABOUT TH

s heart

the final

handwritten note

a school computer to open it. If the records are authentic, they may e

d at the sma

as sitting

time, she was af

-

Amelia barely spok

le, reading messages on his phone. Her mother

ce was un

aced the printed r

phone slipped

r stopped

of the

ke to explain thi

looked at

id you g

mas

r closed

leaned back

have gone loo

se he knows

understand what y

plain it

rubbed hi

I made

mist

I believed I could trust. When I realized

nected to the schol

dn't

s i

es

a fel

did yo

to change Daniel's results. I swear to you, I didn't know th

name in a confiden

o a company that turned out to

much

her hes

make people

sn't an

ia, p

the report

tealing documents to p

r lowered

e was answ

tly that her chair sc

him take

sked him t

llowed it

g to protect

was your

r's face

kno

u watched him become the person everyone blamed. And you

er stare

ted you to h

n't you tell

e I was

wh

toward t

lost everything. My business, our house, everything I'd worked for. He also said that

shook h

ficed his future

es

ou let

own her fat

s name quietly once the investigation died down. But Richard had more i

oked at h

you k

er nodde

I knew Daniel had taken the documents. I

chose

ught would keep thi

but there was

ether by letting

the report a

ent tried t

-

tside Westbridge High

face and led her away

happ

transaction connected to Richard Vale. Daniel too

closed

raid that

u k

to the money. I didn't know Daniel had

tudied h

e at the

ent

lists you

looke

es

n't you

happened in that room until I had proof that the p

d n

top protecting people who

stared

at I told

ent, neit

reached fo

hing it, as though givin

di

closed gentl

rry," h

r w

me and saw the person who de

a swa

rong abo

out eve

look

oes tha

pression tu

And I need to tell you before

mach ti

ha

a slow

confessed, he ga

eart began

id he g

nam

se n

ked direct

a Whit

lled her

N

access to the original recor

een help

s been trying to find

's safety? Why would she tell me about

l was convinced she knew

shook h

She said someone th

may be

you making her

el told me so

s voice

emoved the original evide

stared

was

ld answer, a voic

eli

tur

few feet away

rd the last part of

oing on?"

d friend, searching for the g

at I'd lik

yes moved

told

ything,"

ked at Ame

u have to l

ll me th

s lips

remove the

have acce

hesi

es

w where the

es

know who

looke

es

lt her he

ho

lifted

d answer, the s

corridor, laughing and talk

ispered a sentence that mad

the original eviden

stared

s impo

meeting. He was tryi

ho

yes filled

M

ouldn't

essed to protec

original evidence

loved had been a victim of the scandal-or whether

one vi

ived from an unf

ject li

ABOUT DA

a ope

only one

er really confessed, ask him what

t was an

transfe

nt's name was n

Danie