***(Jay's POV)***

How could I be so blind?

Nya told me her brother went to Ridgewood. She looks so much like Kai, I even noticed it on the way to school with her yesterday morning. Plus, there was that home video yesterday where Kai was a toddler and Nya's parents were holding a baby – a baby he mysteriously knew nothing about. And then he was acting so funky when I told him I'd brought Nya to school!

My mind processes faster than I can handle it. Kai being Nya's brother makes so much sense and none at all at the same time.

Why would he not tell us? I mean, having a sister is kind of an important thing to mention. And it gets worse than him just "not mentioning" that he had a sister – he flat-out denied having anyone else related to him.

I shake my head. "You're Kai's sister. Why did he not tell us?"

"I'm not his sister," she swallows, the color drained from her face. Her response is about as unconvincing as a fish denying its need for water.

Anger snakes through my system, and my fist clenches. "I don't believe it. He's always been reckless, but..." There's no way he's that much of a jerk. He wouldn't drop her off at a gas station and leave her there with no phone and no ride. He wouldn't...

Maybe Nya's overreacting about him? But Lloyd – didn't he just confirm her story?

"Jay, are you there?" Lloyd asks on the other end of the phone.

"What's wrong with him?" I blurt. "Lloyd, you're his brother. You have to know something! What am I missing here?"

Lloyd releases a strangled sigh. "Kai has a sister he's always been petrified of telling you about. What more is there?"

"But – he dropped her off at a gas station alone and flat-out refused to drive her to school! Lloyd, what's wrong with him?" Anger matches hurt as I realize just how much Kai's blindsided us.

There's silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. "I...really don't know, Jay. And I've tried to confront him about it, but it never gets anywhere." He sighs. "I knew it was only a matter of time before someone slipped up and revealed the truth."

My mind latches onto his statement. "Wait." Only a matter of time before someone slipped up...

"So you lied to us too?" I exclaim, assaulted by hurt. No. Kai lied, but surely not Lloyd, too?

Please, Lloyd, no.

The truth sits there in my mind, blaringly obvious and stingingly subtle. Obvious because it must be true; there's no way Lloyd wouldn't know his own brother had a bio-sister.

Stinging because secrets don't correspond with Lloyd's character in the slightest. He's always been solid, dependable, a doer of good regardless of the cost – and though he might keep a secret for good reason, would he really lie about something as big as Kai having a sister?

"I didn't lie to you," Lloyd says, sounding exhausted. "But I didn't tell you he had a sister, either. And I know I probably should have, but it seemed like Kai's story to tell. I didn't want to interfere with that." He pauses, waiting for me to answer.

I drag a hand over my face. "So who else knows?" I monotone. "Cole? Zane?"

"Neither," Lloyd promises me. "Just you and I know, and I'd like to keep it that way until Kai tells –,"

I hang up before he can finish. There's no way I'm not telling Cole about this. We've been friends since we were in first grade, and I've told him pretty much everything about my life ever since. I know he's done the same.

At least someone doesn't keep secrets.

I stuff my phone back in my pocket and start to rise. I have to find Cole and talk to him right now. It can't wait.

"Where are you headed?" someone asks.

I blink, almost in a daze, and look down. It almost surprises me that Nya's still sitting in the floor.

"I'm leaving," I say simply. I place my hand on the doorknob.

Her eyes plead with me. "But – what if my brother's out there, and you give away my position, and then he knows that I'm –,"

"Stay here," I bid her, feeling unusual frustration well up in me. I know it's not Nya's fault that my friend group just crumbled, but at the moment, I don't have much sympathy in me. If I run into Kai in the hallway, I'll just make an excuse that one of our professors asked me to get something from another classroom.

I'll lie, just like he's done all these years. It sounds like justice to me.

I quietly yet deliberately open the door and slip out into the hallway. It's quiet now except for the sounds of shouting somewhere in the building. It doesn't really affect me, though, so I ignore it.

I walk automatically to the classroom where I know Cole will be. I stand at the glass walls and wait patiently, knowing that at some point Cole will look at the clock on the wall and notice me.

I don't have a hall pass, which isn't a first for me but definitely isn't the usual case. I'm not like Kai, who acts like he owns the place. And I'm not like Lloyd, either, who's always seemed like such a goody-two-shoes in the past.

How could I be so deceived by both of them?

Something in my mind tells me that this isn't Lloyd's fault. Kai's his brother. When Kai came to live with Lloyd's family back when they were kids, Lloyd was absolutely ecstatic. He'd never had hope of having a sibling; his parents were older, and come to think of it, it was probably a miracle they had him. When he finally got Kai, he followed him around everywhere like he was a god or something.

And Kai seemed to do so well with Lloyd. He was a natural big sibling even though he was only half a year older than Lloyd.

I should've known that Kai had been an older brother at some point. What's the age gap between him and Nya? Maybe a little more than a year?

And somehow, those two must have been separated while they were in foster care. Kai went to live with the Garmadons. I know Nya was never adopted by them. I'd never even met her before yesterday.

I sigh. There are more questions than answers here, and I think I could spend weeks getting to the bottom of each one. How could my life crumble in the course of –

"Jay, what are you doing?" Cole suddenly asks, startling me out of my thoughts.

I blink. "Oh. Cole. We need to talk." And you're not going to like what you hear.

He raises an eyebrow. "Is everything okay? If it can wait, I'd like to save this until the class period is over. Mr. Sanders thinks I'm only out here to blow my nose."

I look at his teacher through the glass wall. He seems to ignore Cole's absence, continuing on with his history lecture.

Anger grips my words. "Yes, Cole, something is wrong. Kai's been lying to us his whole life! He has a sister!"

Cole blinks. "Um...what?"

I clench my hands into fists. "Kai has a sister, and apparently he treats her like ultimate crap. And now she's here interviewing Ridgewood, and Kai's on the run trying to –,"

"Jay!" I hear a voice call, and I whip my head over my shoulder.

It's Lloyd.

I grab Cole's arm. "And Lloyd's been covering for him this whole time!"

Cole shakes his head. "Jay, I'll be happy to look into this with you once we –,"

Lloyd steps between us. "Wait. Uncle Wu is about to call you guys up to the office, and then I can explain everything. In the meantime, Jay, where's Nya? My mom has Kai taken care of right now. Nya needs to get out of here before Kai sees her."

Cole's expression morphs from confused to solemn. "Is Kai okay?"

Lloyd bites his bottom lip. "He's fine, Cole. I promise I'll explain everything up in the office." He looks at me urgently. "Jay, where's Nya?"

I don't want to answer him. I don't want to go to the office or in any way deal with this situation until I've had time to comprehend it.

But I also want answers.

"I'll show you," I sigh, heading toward the empty classroom where she's hiding out.

Lloyd follows by my side. "Thanks, Jay. I'm glad you were the one to run into her before Kai did, or else we'd have a mega-huge explosion on our hands."

"Um...guys?" Cole asks, trailing behind us. "What am I missing? I'm more than a little concerned here."

I don't say anything. Lloyd will have to take the lead on this one. After all, as he put it, it's not my place to tell.

Lloyd sighs. "Cole, you know how Kai was in foster care before he came to live with the Garmadons?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, he may...uh...have had a sibling in foster care with him." Lloyd's jaw hardens, and I can tell he's angry with himself – and probably Kai – for failing to reveal this information earlier.

Cole nods. "Yeah, I know. He had a sister, right?"

We both stop and stare at him.

Cole crosses his arms. "Your mom accidentally mentioned it once, Lloyd. When I asked her what she meant, she was kind of surprised that Kai hadn't told me he had a sister. Then she made me promise not to say anything and told me that his sister was out of the picture."

I blink. "Cole, you lied about this stuff?"

"I didn't lie," Cole replies, holding his hands up. "I just didn't say anything about it. Family matters can be complicated like that."

Lloyd shakes his head, confused. "Wait, my mom knows that Kai is keeping Nya a secret from everyone?"

Cole frowns. "Is Nya Kai's sister?"

I walk up to the door to Nya's hideout and knock. "Yes, Cole. Would you like to meet her?" There's a stiff edge to my voice as I realize that nothing is what it seems.

Cole kept a secret from me – maybe for a good reason – but then Kai lied, Lloyd covered for him, and Lloyd's mom covered for him.

Where does the deception end?

Hearing no answering knock from Nya, I open the door. "Hey, Nya, it's just me. We're ready to get you out of..."

But as I look around, I realize that I'm talking to thin air.

There's no one around.

***(Lloyd's POV)***

I push my way in next to Jay. "Nya?" I call.

There's no reply.

"Where is she?" I frown, my stomach dropping. If Kai finds her, she and I are both in serious trouble.

"She was just here," Jay sighs. "Go check the sign-out sheet. She probably bolted because she thought I would tattle to Kai about her or something." He crosses his arms and stares at the floor.

I bite my lip. "Jay..."

"Jay what?" he scoffs, kicking the floor. "Because if you're about to tell me another lie to placate Kai, I'm not falling for it. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..." He pierces me with a glare.

"Take it easy, Jay," Cole says in his usual level-headed manner. "We don't know all the details of what's going on here. I'm sure if Kai and Lloyd kept a secret about Kai's sister, it's for a good reason."

Jay rolls his eyes. "Check to see if Nya's signed out, Lloyd. And then erase all record of her ever being here, just like Kai would want."

Cole eyes him. "Jay –,"

"Cole, this isn't me being a stick-in-the-mud. Our story is that Nya was never here. Otherwise, when he leaves here and realizes he's lost everyone's trust, he'll drop her off two towns away or something." He clenches his jaw.

Cole shakes his head. "Kai would never..." He stops, seeing my expression.

Kai would leave his sister two towns over. He left her at a gas stop yesterday.

And he'd do it because he believes she can find a way out of a situation like that. He knows he can get away with the way he treats her because she's resilient, and he uses that as an excuse to keep himself safe.

I'm confident Jay will get over me covering for Kai. He tends to get angry in the moment when he feels like his trust is broken, but eventually, he always comes around.

But it will take a lot longer for him to forgive Kai. That's not only because Kai lied to him, but also because he was blatantly deceived in Kai's character. He knows Kai can be cocky, but he's never known the insecure Kai that lashes out in all kinds of ugly.

I turn on one heel and pace down the hall toward the welcome desk. I ring the bell once.

The secretary shuffles out from the office behind him. "Hey, Lloyd. What can I help you with?"

"Did a girl named Nya just sign out?"

He doesn't even look down at his list. "Yeah, about five minutes ago. Why?"

"No reason. Would you mind erasing her presence here from the record?"

The secretary raises his eyebrows. "Uh...why?"

"Just consider it a favor for me and my uncle," I reply.

He nods slowly, pulls out a blank sign-out sheet, and crumples up the old one.

"Thanks." I head back toward the guys just as a voice comes over the loudspeaker.

"Lloyd Garmadon, Jay Walker, Cole Brookstone, and Zane Julien, please come to the principal's office," Dareth's voice summons us.

I swallow and stuff my hands in my pockets. "What do you say we pay my uncle's office a visit now?"

Jay snorts. "I have a feeling I'm not going to like what I hear."

"I'm a little concerned, too," Cole admits, leading the charge to the office. "But it's better we get this all off our chests and make a fresh start with everyone, right? I mean, Kai's still our friend, regardless of what he's –,"

"Lloyd?" my mom asks, appearing at the top of the stairwell ahead of us.

"We're heading up to see you guys now," I fill her in, taking the stairs two at a time behind Cole. "Everything's taken care of."

"Except for one thing," my mom says, crossing her arms. "We haven't been able to get Skylor to move ever since I caught up with Kai. She's planted in Wu's office and refuses to go anywhere until we tell her where Nya is."

"Nya was never here," I reply.

My mom raises an eyebrow. "Lloyd, I don't think lying about the situation is going to help anything. Obviously, your brother still has a lot of unresolved emotions toward his sister. We can't just sweep those under a rug and expect everything to turn out all right."

"I'm not," I promise, begging her to understand with my eyes. "But for Nya's sake, Kai can't know she was here. We'll tell him Skylor was lying to get him mad or something – it doesn't really matter. What's important is that Kai has a talk with the guys and tells them all that he has a sister."

"I thought he'd done that a long time ago," my mom sighs. "When I found out he hadn't told you all years ago, I made him swear to me he'd tell the truth."

"It's a tough subject for him," I reply, not knowing what else to say.

I walk up to my uncle's office door. "All right, guys. Let me warn you that there's a redheaded fiend in here who will probably rip your throat out if you try to challenge her."

Cole raises an eyebrow. "Who?"

I open the door. "Her name's Skylor Chen."

As if on cue, she appears in the doorway. "Where's Nya?" she asks, her eyes boring into mine. She looks concerned, which is a stark change in comparison to her ever-angry expression.

I look back to my mom. "Uh...well, she signed out of the school about five minutes ago and is currently on her way out of here."

Jay shoves his way up between Skylor and me. "Yeah, and as far as any of us are concerned, she was never here." He stares Skylor down, even though she's nearly his height.

"I already told Kai she was interviewing Ridgewood today," she swallows, shaking her head. "There's no way we can make it seem like –,"

"You're wrong," I reply, placing a hand on Jay's shoulder. "We can just tell Kai that you lied about Nya being here to get him angry or something. Maybe you wanted him to spill his guts to Wu or something and decided to pull one over on him."

She crosses her arms. "But I didn't. Nya should be able to come here without a reaction like that from Kai! She –,"

I stop her with a hand. "Look, I get that you're angry, but you want to do what's best for Nya, right? And what's best for her is ensuring Kai doesn't lock her out of her house again, okay?"

She stares at me for a moment, her expression becoming tenser by the second.

Finally, she quips, "Nya was much better off when Kai lived with you." And with that, she swivels on one heel and heads for Wu's room. "Let's go lie to him."

I take a deep breath. "Okay, guys. Remember to be patient with Kai as he explains himself, all right? I have a feeling your reaction to his lies is going to make or break his relationship with Nya."

Jay clenches his jaw, not looking directly at me. "Fine. But only because I don't want to be a jerk, too."

I nod, trying not to let his insults hurt me. Jay doesn't like deception of any kind.

And this is probably the worst kind.

Cole leads the charge to Wu's office room and, approaching it, knocks once.

"Come in," Wu's tired voice answers.

Cole pushes open the door. "Hey, Principal Wu. Hey, Kai...and Skylor."

I enter next, surprised to see Skylor sitting quietly in the chair beside Wu's. Her hands are clasped tightly in her lap, and her face is stormy with emotion. Beside her is Zane.

Jay enters behind me, the full stop to a terrible death sentence for Kai.

Cole clears his throat. "Hey, Kai. Your uncle wanted us to come up here and talk to you."

Kai's face is a mess of anxiety, frustration, and hopelessness. He mumbles, "I have no idea why."

Jay snorts. We all turn to look at him, but he crosses his arms and stares at the floor.

Cole tries again. "Skylor, would you mind standing outside for a moment? I think Kai would rather talk to us in private."

She rises obligingly, shoots a glare at Kai, and marches out Wu's office door.

Cole pulls a chair up in front of Kai's and sits down. "Now, what's this about you having a sister?"

Kai shakes his head slowly. "I don't have a sister."

"Stop lying to us!" Jay suddenly blurts, shouldering his way around me. "Kai, we know you just ran through the school searching for a sister of yours you'd never told us about!"

He locks eyes with Jay. "A cousin. I don't have a sister."

Cole clasps his hands over his knees. "We know that's not the truth, Kai. I think we're all feeling a little hurt because you've blindsided us about this."

Kai shakes his head again, but adamantly this time. "I wouldn't blindside you guys! Who told you I had a sister?"

"I did," my mom speaks up, and I suddenly realize she's been standing in the doorway the whole time.

I also realize that she just told a blatant lie. And I get that it's to take the blame for me, but I'm wondering just how many lies my mom has told over the years now.

Kai's expression morphs to one of hurt. "Mom...you told them?"

"I thought you had," she retorts. "So now that they know the truth, they deserve to know why you lied to them, Kai. They've known you since you were in grade school."

He rises abruptly. "No one knows me!" He shoves his chair back and looks wildly at us all. "Yeah, so I have a sister. Surprise!" He shoves past me.

I place a hand on his arm to stop him. "Kai, don't avoid this." Healing can't happen if he never lets it.

"Get out of my way, Lloyd." And he shoves past me and through the door.

The room is silent but for the analogue clock ticking in the background.

Finally, my mom sighs. "Well, if this is how he acts when his friends find out he has a sister, then I don't know how he'll deal with finding out that Graceton will be moving their classes to Ridgewood's facilities for the foreseeable future."

All heads swivel toward my mom and cry a collective, "What?"

***Discussion questions, just for fun!

1. Why does Jay feel so angry at Kai? How does this highlight the differences in their characters?

2. How many characters have lied or concealed the truth in this chapter alone? Are their reasons for doing so good or bad?

Hope you enjoyed ;)***