Angel face, Devil thoughts'

(𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐬) 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝟐𝟏

If someone had told me a month ago that my best friend would stab me in the back, I would not have believed them.
Aria and I have been friends since high school.
Aria, Liv, and Ella had been good friends since middle school, and when I started high school, I fit right in with their friend group, and we've all remained close ever since.

When I first joined, I thought they were all too tight and I'd feel left out, but they eventually included me, and we all grew popular together as a quartet, never making anyone feel left out. 

Since Elementary Liv and Ella are best friends, when Aria arrived in Nashville from Colorado, she became friends with them in middle school, and I joined them in high school.
I've never had the impression that Aria disliked me, but perhaps I don't pay attention that well.
We all know Liv and Ella were the friend group's duo. Their parents are good friends, and they live next to each other. Aria and I are not as close as Liv and Ella, but we both mirror each other's energies and together we make a good friend group.

Now that Aria has plainly betrayed me and is planning something, what if Ella and Liv are also involved?  

What if they all dislike me and I just didn't realize it? What if I am the problem?
I am obviously the problem.
I am a liar. I lied to Charles about not knowing Ally very well, although I did know her.
I completely lied to him about everything.

Ally was one of my classmates, and some of my friends from middle school bullied her. I didn't participate in it, but I never stopped them either.
Her parents were quite wealthy, as were mine, and I believe they were business partners, but neither my mother nor I were close to the family. 

Ally and I didn't get along at school, and she was sometimes obnoxious in class. But to this day, I regret not stopping my friends from bullying or shittalking her. After leaving that school in Seattle and moving to Nashville, I texted her to apologize, but she never responded, so I believed she had changed her phone number.

This year, when I saw her at school, I was astonished and wanted to talk to her, but I was scared she would just blow me off. We exchanged glances in the hall but never approached each other.
Now I feel guilty; I had no idea she was so lonely until her mother remarked that she had no friends. Now she must have been in a horrible mood. I just hope she's okay.
I'm still sitting on Charles' bed, and I look like a mess. My cheeks was flushed, and I was thinking of all the things I could have told Charles, but I lied. I lied about everything.

And now, if I tell the truth, he might believe I'm implicated in the case for lying earlier. 

Now that I believe he trusts me, I don't want to betray it.
I didn't notice I was crying until warm tears dripped down my arm. I immediately wiped my face, despite the fact that Charles had previously seen me cry.
"Hey," he said, putting his hand on my wrist. "I know this is a lot for you, knowing your friend betrayed you but it might not be connected to the case; we just need to still work on it and find out who is actually accusing you."

"No" was all I could say. I sniffled back the tears that were returning. I used both hands to clean my face.

He shifted the laptop away from him and drew me in for a hug. His hugs were warm and soothing, and I felt bad for lying about the situation for him.
I drew back from the hug and glanced at him.
"I'm sorry, but—" I sniffled again, swallowed hard, and took a big breath to make my voice clearer this time.

"I'm sorry, Charles, but— I think I know who accused me."
He seemed perplexed, gently removed his arm from me, and glanced deep into my eyes.
"What exactly are you talking about? Who is it, if you know?" he asked.
"Uh, well, I'm not 100 percent sure but it's probably—"