Ellie knew Joe and Tessa were about to walk into a scene they would not expect. Chase wrung his hands together, and Ellie remembered that she felt sorry for him. She imagined he did not want to take the brunt of Joe's blame again.

"Chase," Joe called from the entrance. His footsteps approached the kitchen. "Chase, I need to talk to y—Ellie." Joe stopped in his tracks, taken by surprise at the scene in front of him.

Ellie sat at the kitchen island surrounded by crumbs while Chase had every type of lunchmeat, cheese, and bread spread out in front of him like an assembly line. Joe shook his head to snap out of his stupor.

"Uh... Chase, can we talk?" For someone upset with his brother, Ellie wondered why he needed to speak to him so desperately.

Chase set down his latest sandwich-in-progress to follow Joe back to the studio. Meanwhile, Ellie fended off Tessa's fussy advances.

"How are you feeling? Are you okay? Are you hungry?"

"I'm fine," Ellie said, shying away. She dodged a hand that attempted to move her hair behind her ears. Tessa received the hint and backed off. "Where did you guys go?"

Tessa pondered for a moment, as if she had to decide whether she should share or not.

"We just stepped out for a bit."

Ellie knew it was a lie, but she was too tired to push it any further. "The real question is what in the world you did to Chase."

Ellie blushed. Chase's bloodshot eyes had yet to return to normal. It was obvious he'd been crying when Joe and Tessa walked in.

"We understand each other."

Tessa's eyebrows raised in surprise, but she left it at that. Ellie wanted to tell Tessa that Robin left him and that he hit rock bottom harder than she did. She held her tongue, though. Chase trusted her to keep his secrets until he was ready to tell them himself.

Curiosity itched Ellie's brain to know what Joe had to tell Chase. With what happened the last time she listened in, she stayed put. That was, until Tessa went back to join them.

The seat under Ellie became too stiff, but she could not pull herself away. Her restless legs bounced as she weighed the decision to eavesdrop. Wherever Joe and Tessa went, whatever they did while they were gone, they were talking about it.

Ellie needed to scratch the itch. Hopping off the barstool, she prepared to creep down the hallway again. She did not get far, though, before Joe and Tessa emerged on their own accord. They looked like they'd stepped off an emotional battlefield.

"Ellie," Tessa said in a gentler voice than usual, "come have a seat."

Not only did Tessa soften her tone, but she almost sounded remorseful. Fear gripped Ellie's heart as the Hollands guided her to the living room. The last time they sat her down in such a way, her mom had died. She lowered herself onto the edge of the sofa while Joe and Tessa flanked her.

"What's going on?" Ellie asked, terrified of the answer. Blood pounded in her ears, and she prepared for the world to stop turning again. "Whatever you think Chase did, he didn't do it. I swear—"

"This isn't about Chase," Joe said. "It's about..." he let out a sigh. "We don't know who it's about."

Ellie's forehead wrinkled in confusion. Tessa's frown turned into a sympathetic smile, making Ellie's stomach turn over.

"You know how you see lies and rumors about yourself? And we tell you to ignore them, but you read them anyway?" Ellie nodded, embarrassed. "Well, we met with someone we thought might help put a stop to it. They told us they weren't just making it all up... they have a legitimate source."

Ellie wanted to laugh at first. The idea that someone close to her would divulge private information seemed preposterous. The circle of people in her life strictly consisted of the Hollands and Freya. Besides Ryan, Joe and Chase hardly even let their own friends into her world. She'd spent the last five months telling herself to trust the people around her. No one she knew would betray her by going to a gossip column.

Tessa adjusted herself on the sofa to face Ellie.

"We met with someone who works with the people writing those things. He didn't say who it was; just that it's most likely someone you know."

Ellie's stomach flipped over, but it was not from hunger or the sandwiches. The news seeped in like molasses. She wanted to reject it. No one she knew could be cruel enough to sell her life for monetary gain. Especially not when she made it clear how much of a burden the attention laid on her.

"No," Ellie said. "No, they lied."

Joe leaned in closer. "I know it's hard to hear, El, but someone is doing this to you. We need to put a stop to it."

Ellie searched Joe's face for what he minced from his words. She was smart enough to read between the lines. "Freya had nothing to do with this."

"I never said—"

"But you think it's true. You think she's a mole."

Joe's pleading gaze softened, but Ellie looked away with a huff. Freya couldn't be behind any of what Joe silently accused her of. She was Ellie's first and only friend.

"Ellie, think about it," Tessa said. "These people know things they shouldn't. They know about your classes, your birthday, the fact that you haven't left the house in almost a week. Freya doesn't even live in this area, yet she comes here every week to do something she could drive five minutes for instead of thirty."

Ellie shook her head in defiance. There was no possible way. She did not know Freya at the time of the music studio or the park ambush. Anyone could have seen them and sent in a tip. They saw plenty of people in the mountain town. Even if nobody approached them, that wouldn't mean they weren't recognized.

She raked her brain for any excuse that would prove Freya's innocence. It had to have been someone else.

But Freya knew Ellie's name before she introduced herself.

No, it couldn't be Freya.

Freya was constantly asking about Chase. But that was just what she did, right?

"Ellie," Joe said, "I know you don't want this to be true, but you barely know her. We don't know what she's capable of."

Ellie's eyes welled with tears and she bit her bottom lip. Her voice wavered.

"But she's my friend."

Ellie leaned into Tessa's shoulder, searching for comfort. Tessa responded by holding the side of her head.

No matter what Joe or Tessa said, Ellie knew Freya was innocent. She just had to convince everyone else.

— — —

Even though every plausible theory led back to Freya, Ellie refused to rest until she cleared her friend's name. The mental gymnastics it took proved to be exhausting. Every new theory and detail led directly to the girl with the teal hair.

A stranger could have spotted her anywhere: the mountains, the park, and even the incident at the studio, even though they took every precaution to not be seen. Any time Ellie thought she cracked the case, the towering shadow of the events from her birthday fell like a thousand-pound weight, and she would have to start all over again.

Still, Ellie knew in her heart that Freya was innocent. The exact traits of Freya's that made Joe and Tessa suspicious drew Ellie in. Freya did not care what others thought of her. She wore what she wanted, said what she wanted, and dyed her hair whatever color she wanted. Freya may have been somewhat unpredictable, but that was exactly what made Ellie think she was reliable.

Freya was an open book; she had nothing to hide.

Planting her hands on the arms of the chair, Ellie sprang to her feet. She was going to march right up to Joe and tell him he was wrong. She stalked into the kitchen, but the sight of Joe at the table stopped her. With his head lowered in one hand, he pressed a phone to his ear with the other.

Who was she to tell Joe and Tessa they were wrong? What if she was wrong? Even Chase seemed distrustful of Freya, and he'd never even met her. Ellie had the confidence and strength of a bruised banana; she had no business making this sort of decision.

At the table, Joe ran his fingers through his hair, as if stress had finally gotten the better of him. He lowered the phone from his ear and placed it face-down on the table with a thunk.

It was now or never. Ellie snuck up behind him. Despite the fact that her logic made no sense, she thought he'd be more inclined to believe her if she caught him off-guard.

Ellie drew in a deep breath.

"Joe?" Even though he heard her, he did not budge. She sank into the chair next to him. "Joe, it's not Freya. I can't prove it right now, but if we just talked to her—"

"I know." Joe raised his eyes to meet Ellie's, his stone-cold expression unreadable, though Ellie thought she saw a flash of regret. Joe sucked air through his nose and slouched back in his chair. His sensitive nature often left him to wear his heart on his sleeve, but the misery on his face was rare, even for him. He trained his eyes on the edge of the table and tapped a lazy finger against the solid wood. "It's Ryan."