Breaking the Rules

Chapter 33

The air in Grace's room was thick with tension, pressing in on her like a weight she couldn't escape. Elliot stood in the middle of the room, his shoulders slumped, eyes flickering with a mix of shame and something darker—something she hadn't seen before, and it scared her. Grace couldn't shake the feeling that this moment would change everything, that whatever Elliot was about to say would either bring them closer or tear them apart completely.

She sat on the edge of her bed, her arms wrapped around herself as if she could hold the pieces of her crumbling world together. Elliot hadn't moved since she asked him to tell her the truth about Riley. The silence stretched, uncomfortable and loaded with everything unsaid.

Finally, Elliot let out a long breath, his hand running through his messy dark hair, tugging at the ends as if trying to pull himself back into control. "Grace," he started, his voice rough, "you have to understand... It's not as simple as just telling you what happened. There are things about my past—things about me—that I never wanted you to know."

Grace's throat tightened. She could feel her pulse pounding in her ears, every beat a reminder that this moment was teetering on the edge of something she wasn't ready for. "I'm asking you to trust me," she said, her voice steadier than she felt. "If you care about me—if what we have means anything—then you have to tell me the truth."

Elliot looked up at her, his eyes filled with a storm of emotions. "It's not that simple."

"It is," Grace shot back, anger beginning to mix with the fear that had been gnawing at her since Madison had confronted her. "Madison told me everything. About the gang. About the girl. About Riley. You didn't just leave because things got bad—you left because she's dead, Elliot. She's dead, and you never said a word about it to me."

Elliot flinched at the mention of Riley's death, his body tensing as if bracing for a blow. "You don't understand," he said through gritted teeth. "You think Madison knows everything? She doesn't know the half of it."

Grace blinked, thrown off by the bitterness in his voice. "Then tell me. Make me understand."

Elliot turned away from her, pacing the small space of her room. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, his agitation palpable. "Riley... she wasn't just some girl. We grew up together, alright? We were like family. We went through everything together—our parents were a mess, we had nobody but each other. And when the gang came around, we thought... we thought it was a way out."

Grace's breath hitched, her heart pounding in her chest. She had always known there was more to Elliot's past than he let on, but hearing it now, the rawness of his voice, the way he spoke about Riley—it made everything feel real in a way that terrified her.

"We were stupid," Elliot continued, his voice growing rougher. "We thought we could handle it. The money, the power... it all seemed so easy. But it wasn't. We got in over our heads, way over our heads. And by the time we realized it, it was too late to get out."

Grace swallowed hard. "What happened to her?"

Elliot stopped pacing, his back to her as he spoke. "There was a deal. A weapons deal. I was supposed to be there with her, but I... I didn't show up. I got into a fight with my dad that night and I just—" His voice cracked, and he took a deep breath before continuing. "I wasn't there to protect her. When things went sideways, she didn't have anyone to back her up."

Grace's heart twisted painfully in her chest. "Elliot..."

"I found out the next morning," he said, his voice hollow. "She was dead. Shot in the alley behind the bar where the deal was supposed to go down. They said it was a stray bullet, that she wasn't the target, but I know better. It was my fault. I should have been there."