Her reaction was... not what he was expecting. She seemed to take complete offense and instantly went on the defensive. He was fully prepared to explain what he meant calmly and coolly- and then she mentioned Alby. He somehow managed to keep a straight face, but his stomach simultaneously dropped and twisted. She knew. How the fuck did she know?
"Listen, Ellie, I don't have a fucking clue what you're on about. Me and Alby are friends- that's all we have ever been, and all we're ever going to be." Lies. "I haven't been spending time with you because I've had three athletics meets in the past three weeks, and I've been training like crazy." Lies. Well, sort of. "I'm not trying to blackmail you, I'm trying to talk you into getting help. You're like a fucking stick. How long is it going to be until you burn yourself out? What happens if you pass out or something in the pool? You're hurting nobody but yourself, Ellie. And even though I've been busy, you're still my friend. I'm not going to let you do that to yourself. So you can threaten to make my life hell, but here's the deal. You talk to somebody about whatever shit is going on in your life, or I do. I'm not standing by and letting you do this to yourself," he said.
How the hell did she know? Had she seen them at the party? It couldn't have been any time since- they'd been so careful. Even at the party, they'd been careful. But they'd also been drinking, among other things, and it was entirely possible that they'd made some mistake. And it was terrifying. Because how long would it be until she let it slip to someone, and then his parents ended up hearing? What if somebody else had seen them? He felt entirely numb, and he hated it.