The Inner Circle | A Midnight Quartet

Chapter 19 | Miles Perry

 Aspen's hand squeezes all of the blood out of Miles' as Darcy finishes explaining everything. The spy network. Irena's involvement in everything. Why it all was so secretive. To her credit, she at least says it bravely and doesn't back down from her rough past and the hard truths she's sharing.

"I'm so sorry that I've had to keep this from all of you." Darcy ends off, Carmen practically holding her upright.

"Yeah, sorry that's just a lot to take in." Miles says and attempts to give her a smile. He hopes no one can tell that it is completely fake and only for Darcy's benefit.

Aspen looks like she's about to vomit. Her first are clenched, her face bright red with anger. "I- I don't believe you. You've been betraying us for 3 years. And what? You think we are just going to be ok with that?! You think we're going to believe a single thing that comes out of your mouth? What else have you been lying to us about?!" She shakes her head in disgust before pulling her hand away from Miles and bolting out the door.

"What have I done?" Darcy sobs as Aspen's form disappears down the hallway.

"It's not your fault." Both Carmen and Miles say at the same time. Miles excuses himself, knowing that Carmen is perfectly capable of calming Darcy down as he runs out of the room after her. The signature sound of her shoes guides him to where she's going and he eventually catches up with her when she rushes out of a door to get outside. Rain is pouring down and thunder rolls in the distance. Both of them run straight into it.

"Aspen..." Miles calls out and she turns around to face him. Her dress is soaked and her hair threatens to fall out of her stiff bun.

"My best friend has been lying to my face since the day I met her." The words attempt to get swept up in the rushing rain but they carry just far enough for Miles to hear. He walks closer to her but maintains his distance, knowing that she's going to need to rant for a bit. She gladly delivers. "Darcy, the girl that never let herself get close to anyone besides me, wasn't even telling me the whole truth. No wonder she never showed any affection towards Carmen, she just knew she would have to break his heart eventually. And all of this time we have been searching for answers to Irena's death and Darcy has been a part of the same organization the entire time! I bet Irena even requested to have Darcy at her side just so that way they could scheme even easier together. We shared everything with each other. Yet she didn't think to share with me the fact that she's a spy for the kingdom we are about to go to war with?"

Miles takes a few more strides closer to Aspen, staying within arms-length in case she needs anything. "I have a feeling you need to punch something. I'm right here if you want."

Her face softens. "Why in the world would I want to punch you?"

He shrugs. "Just thought I should offer." He crosses his arms over his chest. "Please continue. I know you need to get this out."

"You're right: I do." And just like that, her anger has come back in full force. "Was she trying to make a fool out of all of us? Imagine if she had gotten caught! We would've gotten blamed and punished just as bad as she would have been since we are the closest to her! Did she realize how badly this was going to hurt me?" Her voice breaks as she shouts that last sentence and the tears come out. All Miles wants to do is grab her and hug all of her worries away, but he realizes that she needs to be the one to ask for it. "Who else has been deceiving me?!"

He steps a foot closer, leaving about 8 inches between them. That causes her to look into his face, the rain mixing with her tears. "I know it feels like your whole world is crumbling around you right now. I'm probably not even the right person to be comforting you right now. But, fate wanted to have it that I'm out here in the rain with you right now."