In Between

Chapter Thirty: Ezriella

Apryl's eyes slid to Draven who was looking back and forth between his best friend and Ezriella with an expression similar to the one he'd had when Mel punched him in the gut. How is that possible? What about what Ivan said? Was he lying? Draven wondered. He shared his thought with Apryl, but she didn't seem to understand it either.

"Explain." Kieran's voice sounded lifeless, and he wouldn't look at Ezriella. In fact, he'd angled his entire body away from her—something that seemed to upset her immeasurable. Apryl caught her hurt and disappointed expression before she could compose herself. She began to reach out for Kieran only to change her mind at the last minute.

"I'll tell you everything. You've come to me yourself, and I could never let you leave without knowing the truth. Please apologize to Karina for me—she won't be happy that I've told you," Ezriella said.

Kieran lifted his eyes from the ground, but he didn't turn to face her when he said, "I don't care if she doesn't like it. I deserve to know the truth. She should have told me years ago."

"Please, Kieran, you mustn't be upset with your mother," Ezriella began, but he cut her off immediately.

"She isn't even my real mother according to you. I want to know how this happened," Kieran snapped.

Ezriella nodded and turned unexpectedly to Draven. He froze on the spot but met her eyes without flinching. "You know, don't you?" she whispered.

Draven glanced at Apryl and opened his mouth but no words came out. Go on, she urged him. Everybody's secrets are coming out now.

After a moment of consideration, he finally said, "Ivan Blake told me," and Kieran whipped around to look at his best friend in absolute horror.

"Ivan? Since when do you talk to him?!" The hatred in his voice was painfully evident to the point that it seemed almost tangible. This was more than a little shocking to Apryl who had never seen Kieran so riled up before.

"He found Apryl and me walking in the Market, and he chased us until we were forced to fight him. The spirits eventually revealed to Apryl who Ivan really was, and then he gave me the name Ezriella," Draven explained carefully.

Kieran turned angrily to Apryl and said, "The two of you seriously went off together and discovered this gigantic secret that I knew nothing about? Were either of you planning on telling me?"

"Of course we were! You don't understand—it wasn't my secret to tell. We didn't know that she had anything to do with you, honest. Draven had to be the one to tell you," Apryl said. She was crying now, and the tears wouldn't stop. They didn't seem to affect Kieran in the slightest, who seemed far too upset to feel sorry for her at the moment, and she didn't blame him. Trust was the most important thing in friendships, and she and Draven had just lost it.

"So why didn't my best friend share this with me? What exactly is the big secret?" Kieran demanded.

Ezriella looked at Draven again, and Apryl thought that they were conversing mentally. After a short pause, Draven nodded and said, "Ivan Blake is my father." The affect this had on the Inbetweeners was instantaneous; Mel dug her nails into the dirt and made a noise similar to a hissing snake, Kieran stood up and backed away from the circle, and Draven hung his head in shame.

"What?" Kieran said, shocked. "You're kidding me...You've got to be kidding me."

"It's true," Draven whispered bitterly. "He confirmed it in person after the spirits told Apryl. I'm the product of the worst man you've ever met. Try and let that sink in."