Caden's heart thumped as he made his way to the common lounge. What had he just witnessed? Were Renee and Arthur a 'thing'? Or worse, were they plotting against him? It wasn't like Renee to lie about anything, so Caden decided to just ask her. He didn't want a repeat of what happened with Gabriella. 

He turned off the recorder and went in search of Renee, hoping to gain answers. Renee had left using the back exit which led to the bedrooms, which is where Caden was headed. He slowly opened the door and peeked inside before entering. He found Renee sitting in a corner, vigorously scribbling something in a notebook.

"What are you doing?" Caden asked. She looked up from her book and tucked a shaft of hair behind her ears. 

"Nothing important," She replied casually. He stared into her soft eyes, seeing nothing but innocence. But the scene he'd just witnessed made him question if it was all an act. 

"Do you need something?" Renee asked awkwardly as Caden realized that he had been standing there creepily for over a minute. 

"Yeah, I needed to ask you something," He replied, scratching his head. He wasn't usually afraid of confrontation but as if it was with someone he was close to.

"Go on," She urged placing the pen and notebook on the table. 

"Where were you half an hour ago?" He asked bluntly, unsure how to do this.

"What?" She asked in a mixture of laughter and confusion. 

"More specifically, when did you last see Arthur?" He clarified, hoping he'd get a better response. The look on Renee's face changed upon hearing that. 

"Why do you ask?"

"I heard you and him a while ago" He replied. "I wanted to hear your side"

Renee let out a loud sigh and finally got up from the chair, walking closer towards him. A cold shiver ran down his spine, not because he was afraid of Renee, but because he was afraid of what her response would be. Still, he needed the truth. 

 "Caden" She started in a low voice. "I don't what you heard, but I can assure you, it's not what you think" 

"So you're not working with Arthur?" Caden asked, raising his eyebrows. 

"That's not how it was" Renee scoffed.

"How was it then?" He asked. 

"Yes we were talking about you, and yes, I did tell him what you were up to" Renee admitted, a look of sadness and guilt plastered on her face. 

"You're joking, right?" Caden asked, anger bubbling inside of him. Renee didn't respond. 

"How could you betray me like that? And for Arthur of all people!" He bellowed. 

"Lower your voice. Someone will hear you" She said calmly. 

"I don't care!" He exclaimed. "I thought I could trust you, Renee" 

"Of course you can," She said, placing her hand on his shoulder but he flinched away. 

"Don't you think you're overreacting here?" She asked. 

"You just admitted to deceiving me, Renee," He spat. "What else did you expect?" 

"I did not deceive you," She said through gritted teeth. "If you would just listen to me, you'd be able to see my version" 

"Fine," He said. "Explain yourself" 

"I didn't believe you when you told me you were going to do just chores. I knew if not then, some other time, you would eventually continue spying on Arthur" She explained. "I also knew that it wouldn't take Arthur too long to figure out what you were doing" 

"So you ratted me out?!" He asked. 

"Listen," She said sternly. "I couldn't bear the thought of you being thrown out to face the disasters of the apocalypse alone, or worse, be killed by Arthur. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I found Arthur and told him that it was us who snuck out that day and everything else you were planning in return that he spares us" 

He stood still in shock for a few seconds, sinking in all that Renee told him. It was definitely like her to chicken out that way, but the conversation he heard had a much different tone. 

"I-It makes no sense," Caden said. "You didn't sound like you were pleading, more like demanding" 

"As I said before, I don't know what you heard or how my tone came off, but this is the truth," She said cupping his cheeks, forcing him to look directly into her eyes.

He wasn't sure if he believed Renee. She'd never lied to him before and always had his best interest in mind, why would she start now? But at the same time, there was no denying what he saw and that it did not match Renee's story. 

He slowly removed her hands from his face and took a step back. 

"I should leave," He said before leaving. He needed space away from Renee to think. On the bright side, he was happy that he got it out of his chest. But on the other hand, he wasn't sure what to think of this. Arthur did not seem the type to let everything slide simply because Renee begged him to do so.

But as he looked back, he realized that Renee had influenced him in a lot of things, maybe she had the same effect on Arthur. Suddenly, calloused hands wrapped around his eyes, blocking his vision. 

"Three guesses who" 

"Gabriella" He grumbled. 

"Good guess" She chuckled and sat beside him. "Why are you so grumpy?" 

"It's nothing," He said rubbing his forehead. "Just not having a good day"

"Do you want to talk about it?" 

"I'm not sure you'll be able to help," He said. "No offence"

"Try me" She replied. He didn't want to tell Gabriella the entire story, as he knew he'd receive a lecture from her if she knew he was still spying on Arthur. At the same time, he was in need of some advice. 

"What would you do if you suspect a person of... doing something shady?" He asked.

"Depends. Do you know this person?" She asked, trying to get a better understanding of the situation. 

"Not for long, but yes." He replied. 

"Then I'd ask them directly," She said. 

"And if they gave you a response you're not sure you believe?" He asked. She thought for a few moments before answering.

"Well, you gave them a chance to explain. If they still aren't honest with you, maybe you never really knew them" She shrugged. "Well, it depends on how deep the situation is. If it's something small, then it's probably not worth looking so deeply into"

"I see" Caden responded. 

"Who are we talking about anyway?" Gabriella finally asked. 

"Oh, you wouldn't know them" He replied quickly. 

"Is it Renee?" She asked biting a lip. Caden nodded in response. 

"What's she hiding from you?" Gabriella asked, trying to get information out of him. 

"Well, promise me you won't start lecturing me once I tell you," He said.

"All right," She said smiling. 

"Well, I wanted to continue investigating Arthur, but Renee advised me against it. I decided to do it anyway and went to the secret room area and found her giving information to Arthur. I went back to our bedroom and confronted her, where she told me that she did all this to 'protect' me from Arthur's wrath when and if he found out that I was the one who snuck out" Caden blurted out. 

"Renee was talking to Arthur?" Gabriella repeated, to make sure she heard it right. Caden nodded.

"And, I don't believe the whole 'protecting' me bullshit, because her tone towards Arthur did not sound pleading. The opposite, in fact" 

Renee talking to Arthur in an arrogant manner. That was very similar to what she'd overheard with Janelle the other day. 

"What exactly did they say?" Gabriella asked. Caden fished inside his pocket and brought out the recorder.

"Is that my recorder?" She asked, amused. 

"Yeah, I stole it yesterday" He replied. Gabriella was going to say something but decided against it. He did bring back the information she wanted, so it was all good. 

"Nuisance? Are they talking about you?" Gabriella asked after hearing the recording. 

"Yes," Caden groaned. 

"You were right about the tone. She sounds so... authoritative. Even though she's below Arthur" Gabriella said. 

"My point exactly!" Caden said as he tried to put the recorder back into his pocket. 

"Nice try," She said grabbing it from him. She needed to show this to Janelle and maybe even ask her what she found, it had been a while since they spoke to each other. 

"Well, now what do I do about Renee?" He asked, slumping on the chair. 

"Don't do anything," She said. "You've done everything you can, let me handle the rest. I'm the only one of us who can get information without being thrown out" 

"I suppose you're right," He said. 

"I'll talk to you later, okay? I have some work" She said and left. Caden sat there, placing his hand over his head hoping that will help him get his thoughts together. Gabriella told him to leave everything be, which was probably for the best, yet he still couldn't help wondering. 

Had he ever truly known Renee?