Anthony walks into a storm Wayne finally tells him the truth about Amber

 Anthony felt the first drop of rain strike his cheek like a warning. He stopped mid-step, tilting his head upward as dark clouds swirled above. The wind had picked up, howling through the skeletal trees that lined the old path to Wayne’s cabin. He shouldn’t have come this far. Not in this weather. Not after everything.

But he had to know.
About Amber.
About the truth that Wayne had been hiding.

His boots squelched through the muddy trail as thunder cracked across the sky. The cabin came into view, half-swallowed by mist and shadow, perched on the edge of the woods like a secret waiting to be confessed. Anthony’s coat flapped behind him like a torn flag as he climbed the porch steps, soaked through.

He pounded on the door.
Once.
Twice.

No answer.

Then it opened—slowly. Wayne stood there, a silhouette against the flickering firelight inside. His eyes were tired, lined with sleepless guilt. He didn’t say anything. He just stepped aside.

Anthony walked in, dripping rain on the old wooden floor. The door creaked shut behind him like a gavel dropping in judgment.

"Sit," Wayne said. His voice was low, heavy with things unspoken.

Anthony didn’t sit. “Tell me.”

Wayne poured two fingers of whiskey into a glass and took a long drink before answering. “You really wanna do this now?”

Anthony’s jaw tightened. “She’s gone, Wayne. I deserve to know. You were her best friend before I ever came along. If there’s something you’ve been keeping from me—about her death, about what happened—I need it now.”

Lightning lit up the room, and for a second, Anthony saw the raw anguish in Wayne’s eyes.

“She wasn’t who you thought she was.”

The words dropped like stones.

Chapter Two: Secrets in the Rain

“What the hell does that mean?” Anthony stepped forward.

Wayne sat down in the old armchair by the fire. “Amber… was in trouble. Deep trouble. You thought she left you. You thought she drowned herself in that lake. But it wasn’t like that.”

Anthony’s heart stopped. “You told me it was suicide. That she couldn’t handle everything anymore.”

Wayne shook his head, slowly. “That’s what I told everyone. What I thought would protect you. But I lied. She didn’t kill herself. She ran. Because of me.”

Thunder cracked again, closer now. Rain slammed against the windows like fists.

Anthony’s voice broke. “You’re saying she’s alive?”

“No,” Wayne said. “She’s gone. But not the way you think.”

And then, finally, he told the truth.

Amber had gotten involved with people she shouldn't have—people connected to Wayne's past. Back when he wasn’t just some quiet recluse in the woods, but someone dangerous. Someone who owed debts. Amber found out, tried to help him get out, and got caught up in something bigger.

“They wanted to use her as leverage,” Wayne said. “I told her to run. I helped her disappear. For a while, she was safe.”

Anthony felt the ground tilt beneath him.

“She called me three weeks before they found the car in the lake,” Wayne said. “She was scared. Said they’d found her. I went to meet her. But I was too late.”

Anthony was trembling now, fists clenched. “You let me believe she gave up on everything. That she left me. That she didn’t love me anymore.”

“I did it to protect you,” Wayne said. “You would’ve gone after them. And they would’ve killed you too.”

The storm outside raged on, but inside the silence was louder.

Chapter Three: The Calm After

Hours passed.

Anthony sat in the same chair Amber had once curled into, tracing the grain of the wood with his fingers, lost in memories. Wayne stood by the fire, watching the flames, his face a portrait of regret.

“I hated you,” Anthony finally said, voice hoarse. “For not saving her. For lying.”

Wayne nodded. “I know.”

“She deserved better.”

“She did.”

Outside, the storm began to pass. The rain slowed to a drizzle. The wind calmed. Morning light, pale and fragile, began to break through the trees.

Anthony stood. “I’m going to find them. The ones who did it.”

Wayne looked up. “That’s not what she wanted.”

“I don’t care,” Anthony said. “I want the truth to matter.”

Wayne reached into a drawer and pulled out a weathered envelope. “Then take this. It’s everything I have on them. Names, places. Start there.”

Anthony took it without a word. He stepped out onto the porch. The forest was wet and steaming, alive again after the storm.

He didn’t look back.

Amber was gone. But now, at last, the truth was his.

And truth was all he had left.