Chapter 27 The Breakthrough
the breakthrough [trope]
the exhilarating moment when the protagonists uncover the crucial piece of evidence; expect a mix of gasps, dramatic reveals, and the classic “I’ve suspected you all along!” moment, culminating in the satisfaction of finally piecing together the mystery
“I just don’t get why he didn’t tell me,” I whine, the smell of coffee mingling with the sound of sizzling eggs.
Rafael leans against the counter while I whisk a bowl of pancake batter.
“He knows Paige is bi. He’s met Vanessa.
He has to know I’m as LGBTQIA+ friendly as it gets. So does he not trust me?”
“It’s not about you, Freckles,” he says, lazily stirring a pot of oatmeal.
We’ve been having the same conversation since last night, but I can’t stop thinking about it.
Or convince myself that it’s not my fault.
I should have created a safe space for him, made sure he’d feel comfortable talking to me about this.
“Then what is it?”
“I told you. He’s sixteen. He’s probably still figuring it out.”
“But why?” I insist, pouring a ladleful of batter into the pan and watching it spread. “He could figure it out with me. Why do it all alone?”
“Because he’s scared people will judge him.” He expects my next question and says, “Yes, even you.”
“But—”
“Scarlett.” He sets the spoon down with a soft clink. “His sexuality doesn’t matter to you or me, but this is a small community. Your grandparents’ world is even smaller. Ethan knows these things do matter, unfortunately.”
I glance over my shoulder at the hallway, making sure he’s nowhere around. The pancake bubbles, so I flip it, lost in thought. “I just hate that he has to deal with this. That he even has to consider what other people think.”
He watches me closely with that intense gaze. “That I get. You have the right to be mad at the world for making him feel this way.”
I set the spatula down, the same thoughts buzzing through my mind in an endless loop. “How do you think the other kids found out?”
“They probably saw him kiss his boyfriend,” he says matter-of-factly.
I spin around. “His what?”
He arches a brow. “Come on. Really?”
“Wait—Jace?” I gasp. “Oh my God, Jace is his boyfriend. Of course!”
“Uh-huh.”
I run the timeline through my head. Ethan’s cryptic complaints about our grandparents—how they want him to be something he’s not, how they hate his new friend. “Our grandparents know. They know Ethan is gay, and they didn’t say a word.”
Rafael nods solemnly. “And my guess is they don’t approve. Which is why their solution to Ethan not fitting in is to send him away. They probably know at some point he’ll come out, and they don’t want him around for that.”
“Those animals,” I hiss, slamming the spatula onto the counter. “What have they been saying to him? Oh, I’ll straighten them out immediately. I’ll—”
I start to stomp toward the front door, but Rafael grabs my arm and spins me back around. “Or,” he says, calm as ever, “you take a more tactical approach.” He reaches for my phone on the counter and hands it to me. “Book a meeting with your attorney. I bet he’d love this information. Don’t you?”
His words sink in slowly. He’s right; Steve could really use some ammunition to file that motion. But this is a small town. If I tell Steve, and Steve brings it up to the judge, Ethan will be outed. One way or another, it’ll become common knowledge.
“I can’t,” I say, shoulders sagging. “It’s not my secret to tell.”
Rafael, brows tightening, tugs at my arm. “Come here.” He pulls me toward him until my forehead rests against his chest. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
“God, I hope so.” I sink further into him. My mom used to say worrying was like spinning on the spot: lots of work and it got you nowhere. Right now, I feel like one of those colorful wind spinners Paige’s front yard is plagued with.
“Ugh, gross. Can you not before breakfast?” Ethan asks as he enters the kitchen. When we both turn, he points at the table. “You’re making me not want to eat.”
“It’s a hug,” I say, letting go of a snickering Rafael.
“It’s the way you’re hugging.”
With an eye roll, I serve breakfast. I know it’s stupid, but I can’t help throwing curious looks at my brother as I set the first pancake on his plate. Like now that I know he’s gay, I’ll see something that’ll explain why he doesn’t feel free to come out to me.
“What?” Ethan asks, his eyes narrowed.
“Hmm?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I—” Flushing red, I turn to the stove. “Nothing. I… Nothing.”
“Are you taking the bus to school?” Rafael interjects, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee.
“Yeah.” I can still feel Ethan’s eyes on the back of my head, but I refuse to acknowledge him. “And apparently, so will Hunter. Someone trashed his car last night. Spray-painted ‘Proud and fabulous’ on the hood.”
I whip around, immediately meeting Rafael’s gaze.
“Yes, Freckles?”
“You did not.”
Ethan laughs, the first bite of pancake shoved in his mouth. “Too fucking cool.”
“Hey—language!” I tap the back of Ethan’s head with the spatula, then point it at Rafael. “Seriously? Tell me it wasn’t you.”
He sips coffee. “Uh, I’d rather not. You don’t like being lied to.”
Oh, unbelievable. How did he even do it? I had no idea he’d left the bed at any point. “You know, if you’re going to be around my brother, you’ll need to lead by example.” I point at Ethan. “What does this teach him?”
Rafael’s lips purse, as if he’s considering my words, even though Ethan’s shaking his head and chuckling under his breath.
“Okay, yes. You have a point.” He sets the mug down.
“Ethan, damage to property is not a great way to solve your problems,” Rafael says, his tone serious.
Then he crosses his arms and leans back.
“Unless the property belongs to Hunter, and he absolutely deserves it. Then it’s… an educational experience.”
Ethan chokes on his pancake, half laughing, half gasping. “You’re my hero.”
I glare at both of them, spatula still pointed like I’m about to execute them, then I turn to the stove. “My boyfriend, everyone.”
They both stop eating, stop moving, and my body stiffens, muscles tightening as ridges of tension form along my shoulders and back. My fists clench so tightly that my knuckles turn white around the spatula.
Did I just call him my boyfriend? Out loud? To his face?
Rafael must have noticed, too, because the silence continues until Ethan says, “Did you just accidentally DTR?”
I don’t have the heart to turn around and check Rafael’s expression, so I just nod stiffly.
“Oh. Errr… well. I’m late for school.”
His chair scrapes against the floor, and I barely hold myself back from asking him to stay. Rafael will say things now—lots of things. Goddamn it, me and my big mouth.
I hear Rafael’s chair being moved, then his steps. Sliding an arm around my waist, he comes to stand behind me. His breath is hot against my ear as he murmurs, “Flip it before it burns.”
“Huh?” Oh, the pancake. I flip it around as his fingers pull up my shirt an inch and rub over my hip.
He kisses the side of my head. “Come to eat?”
“You can start. I’ll just—”
“I’ll eat when my girlfriend sits at the table and not one minute before that.”
Eyes wide, I turn to him. For a second, I really fooled myself into believing he’d let it go, but of course he won’t. He’s Rafael. “I’m not—we’re not…”
His eyes soften. “Would it be so bad?”
“No,” I rush out. “Of course not. But it’s not just me I have to think of. You see how Ethan looks up to you. If things between us didn’t work out—”
His nose brushes against mine. “What if they did?”
If they did… I wouldn’t have to deal with any of this alone.
I’d have him to count on, for better or worse.
My bed would never be empty, and I’d get to see his arrogant smile every day.
See the twinkle in his eyes every time he teased me.
We’d fix up the house, maybe. At some point, get another cat.
I’d like to have a kid one day, and based on the power imbalance I just experienced with Rafael and Ethan, I’d want it to be a girl.
We’d travel, grow old together, live a simple, normal life.
What’s better than normal?
He gently tucks my hair behind my ear. “Yeah,” he says, as if he’s read every single one of my thoughts. “It’d be just like that.”
But what if it isn’t? the same sneaky voice insists. What if Ethan is here for only a few weeks before we lose the custody case? What if Rafael gets sick and dies? What if he stops wanting to be here?
“Okay, how does this sound?” he begins. “I forget you said anything, and we eat breakfast. Then I make you late for work—just ten minutes, enough to make out with you on the couch.” His gaze lasciviously drips down my body.
“And then I make you a little more late.” Looking back up into my eyes, he adds, “No labels whatsoever.”
I nod, relief and self-deprecation holding me on a weird edge. “For now.”
“Yes, for now.”
“Okay.” I accept the kiss he offers as he leans forward. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” His lips twist as if the word has no meaning. “I’ve waited half a decade to be with you, Scarlett. Frankly, whether you call me your boyfriend or anything else doesn’t really matter to me, as long as I’m the one you call.”
Lips parted, I watch him sit back down, as if he hasn’t just said the most swoon-worthy thing I’ve ever heard. As if he didn’t just commit to me again.
I’m still starstruck when Ethan knocks on the doorframe. “All good?”
“Yep,” Rafael says, watching me.
“Cool. I’m going.”
He waves and walks away, and then I hear the door closing.
Finally, setting the last pancake on the stack, I join Rafael at the table.
He cuts into his pancakes, and my gaze drifts to the window.
Ethan didn’t look worried about going to school, and I guess Hunter won’t be a problem anymore. He won’t, right?
“He’ll be okay, Scarlett.” He squeezes my hand over the table. “Come on, eat.”
He’s right. There’s nothing I can do right now anyway. But if Hunter messes with him again, I swear I’ll stomp on his head. He’ll wish it was still the good old times when Rafael was trashing his car. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Have you ever been with a man?”
He swallows. “Once.”
“Really?” My voice pitches up in surprise.
He chuckles. “Why are you so shocked? Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing too glamorous. I had a buddy who was gay. He took me out to this club with his friends, and I had a little too much to drink. This guy hit on me all night, so I followed him to the restroom.”
“And?”
“And he kissed me. I remember little, except that he asked me to, uh, take things further, and I realized I was irreparably straight.”
I snort out a laugh.
He leans closer and kisses my cheek. “What about you? Ever been with a woman?”
“I have, yes.”
“Relationship or hookup?” he asks, biting into a strawberry.
“Hookups,” I say, spreading jam over my pancake. “But a woman asked me out on an actual date once.”
He arches a brow. “And?”
“I said no the same way I would have to any man… except you, I guess.” I chuckle, thinking back. “Actually, it’s funny. You know who it was?”
“Who?”
“Vanessa.” When his smile fades, so does mine. “What’s wrong?”
“Vanessa asked you out?”
“Yeah, like, two years ago. Why—”
“How did she end up with Paige?” he cuts in.
I hesitate, brow furrowing. “Uh… they met a few months later.”
“But who asked who out?”
“Vanessa. Vanessa asked Paige out. Why?”
His jaw tightens as he sets his coffee down. “I knew I got a weird vibe from her.”
A weird vibe? From Vanessa? “You don’t think…”
“Could she be the one who sent those payments to Booked It?” he says, jumping to his feet.
“I… I don’t know.” My throat tightens as I think back to Vanessa sneaking up on me in the parking lot. She said she was on her way to the bank, on the first floor of the Booked It building. “I did run into her on the way to Horizon Trust once.”
His face goes white. “Holy shit.”
I stare at him, dumbfounded. I remember the feeling of someone watching me just before she appeared. How I figured I was just creeped out after Catherine’s murder. “Is that where the donations came from?”
“It is.” He walks out of the kitchen, his pancakes nearly untouched on the plate.
I follow, finding him at the entrance pulling his shoes on. “But why? I mean, she’s not even a fan. She only listens to the show because we’re friends. Why would she do something like that?”
His jaw ticks with annoyance, eyes set deeply into mine.
“Me? You think she’s doing this for me?”
He rubs his jaw. “She happened to be there to handcuff me when I sneaked into your backyard. And with Paige having access to your episodes before they air, it’s plausible that she would have access to them, too.”
Well, that’s hardly enough to accuse her. Although… she offered to come to my place when I admitted I was worried about the killer. She was horribly mean to Paige when she tried to redirect Vanessa’s attention to herself. And every time I mentioned Rafael, she directed snark at him.
If he’s right, and Vanessa’s been playing Paige for over a year, what does that mean for my best friend? For us?
“Vanessa’s at work.” I join him, putting my shoes on. “Her shift on Mondays ends at five.”
He hands me my bag. “Is my girl suggesting we break into a cop’s apartment?”
Holy shit. I guess I am.