I woke to the grey breath of dawn curling at the edges of the pickup bed, the blanket damp with dew, my neck stiff from all the tossing and turning. The air had that end-of-summer bite, the kind that settles in your bones.

I hadn’t really slept. Just drifted in and out, mind pacing the same stretch of memory. Like a broken record, playing voices, smells, and afterimages of the night that passed, all over again. 

Barely alive, I dragged myself out of the pickup. Squinting against the sharp morning sun, I grabbed the coffee thermos and shuffled toward the shoreline.

The cabin windows shimmered with morning dew - dark, lifeless. The crew was no doubt still sleeping off last night’s drinking spree. I wondered how Jack was. And a part of me hoped for him to be miserable. After that kiss? He didn't deserve better. 

As I came down the slope, I noticed a silhouette emerging from between the trees. Jared… I froze for a second, debating whether it was too late to go back, when he turned around and welcomed me with a cold smirk. 

“Didn't sleep well?” He patted a sand-covered stub beside him in an inviting manner.

I didn't answer. He sure as hell was digging. He had seen something. The question was - how much. Approaching him slowly, almost paralyzed with overwhelmedness. 

“What? Stargazing didn't end the way you'd hoped for?” He sent me a nasty stare, taking a sip of coffee from his metal mug. 

“You know nothing.” I muttered.

“I've known him since kindergarten and never suspected a thing, you know?” 

“You haven't known him well enough it seems.” I unscrewed the thermos, avoiding Jared's gaze. 

“Mary always felt something was wrong.” He went on, more to himself than to me. “I think Jack's tongue slipped. Either drunk, or between the lines. She thought it was just a phase, high school curiosity. You were just a part of that, back then."

I took a long sip, waiting for the hammer.

“So whose idea was it? Bringing me here?”

“Not hers.” Jared looked at me finally. “Jack was getting distant as the wedding got closer. Weird. Nervous. Mary came to me. Asked for help. Told me about her suspicions. Wanted confirmation.”

He paused. Smirked faintly.

“At first, I didn’t buy it. No signs. No secret meetings. No gay bars. Nothing to hold onto.” He leaned back a little. “But then I remembered you. If there was still something buried, you’d be the one to dig it up.” Another pause. This one longer. “And now I know Mary was right.”

I nodded, fixing my gaze on the lake. I had to ask…

“Have you told her yet?”

“She should hear it from Jack, don't you think?” 

I let out a short, bitter snort.

“He’s better at running than facing things. I know something about that.”

Jared’s tone sharpened.

“You don’t feel bad, do you? Coming between them.”

I looked at him flatly.

“I’m not the one who built a life on lies.” I kept my voice even. “I'm not responsible for his actions.”

“Fair enough. But do you still hope he’ll choose you?”

He didn’t wait for an answer.

“Leave his career, his house, the wedding? For what?” He gestured toward the thermos in my hand, the pickup parked beyond the trees. “For a guy who lives in the woods and doesn’t own a goddamn thing?”

“I hope Jack picks a life that makes him happy. If it's a life spent with Mary, so be it.” I finished my coffee and shook out the last bitter drops. “It’s not about me. It’s about who he is - and whether he can live with it.”

He didn't answer. His expression unreadable. 

“What's in this for you?” I asked him after a short pause.

“I'm not a fan of folks destroying other people's lives. Especially when it comes to friends. And Mary is a good friend of mine.” 

“Or is this about you? About feeling like the third wheel all those years?”

His jaw twitched. “Maybe. Maybe I just got sick of playing audience to his lies.”

The lodge doors slammed. Sounds of footsteps and scattered voices filtered out into the morning light. I glanced at Jared. Briefly. He was scheming something.

“What are you planning to do then?”

“Relax, pal.” Jared smiled cheerfully and waved to the others now gathering by the fire pit. “As you said - it's not about you.”

He gave me a firm pat on the back, then walked away, laughing easily like nothing had happened.