Sweet Liar

by Debra Doxer

  I shivered, but it wasn’t from being cold. My eyes closed and I leaned into him. His warmth seeped into me until I was swaying on my feet. We stayed this way for a long blissful moment until he pressed a kiss to my forehead and stepped back.

  When he opened his hands, mine were flushed and red. Seeing his effect on me, my cheeks heated just like my hands had.

  “You may not tell me how you feel, but your body shows me,” he said quietly.

  My body had never been confused when it came to Jonah. My mind was finally falling in line too. Whether he knew it or not, he was taking me with him. I wouldn’t let him go without me, and now that Victor was safely tucked away somewhere, I wanted to go home, even if just for a little while.

  “I’m not a cat person,” Lorraine said, having a strange staring contest with Pumpkin, who was sitting on the floor in front of her.

  I’d asked her if Pumpkin could stay here for a while since I had no idea what my house would look like when I got there. After I cleaned up, I could drive back and get him, but if the organization released Victor, I could be back here with Lorraine indefinitely or at least until Victor found me, but I didn’t want to think about that.

  “Just clean the litter box once a day and feed him twice a day. It couldn’t be easier,” I said.

  Her nose wrinkled at the words litter box, but she didn’t protest. Pumpkin was staying, and saying good-bye to him was a lot less awkward than saying it to Lorraine. I hugged her easily because she looked like she needed it, and because I figured a hug from Jonah was unlikely.

  But much to my surprise, he bent down and loosely embraced her on his way out. She was so shocked, she hardly had a chance to hug him back.

  “Nice,” I said to him as we walked to the Jeep.

  He smirked, bumping his shoulder into mine. “Getting there. Understanding is easy because you do that with your head. Forgiveness is harder because that only happens in your heart. I get you better than you think, Seaborne. We’re so much alike, it’s scaring me right now.”

  I rolled my eyes but I got his meaning. He was forgiving his mother slowly, the same way I was forgiving him. I understood why he had to lie when we met, and why he couldn’t warn me that they were after my father. But understanding had more to do with logic. Forgiveness was pure emotion, volatile and unpredictable, working on a schedule all its own. I was glad Jonah was getting there, but I suspected I’d already made it to the finish line.

  Before leaving for Glenn Valley, we stopped by Theo’s house to say good-bye. We’d timed our departure so we could catch him just as he and his family were leaving for the airport. We turned into his driveway to find him and his father loading suitcases into the car.

  “Taking everything you own on this trip?” I asked Theo with raised eyebrows. Their hatchback was buried under luggage.

  “We’re only going for two weeks, but apparently women need three suitcases worth of crap for that amount of time. I’ve only got one bag. Same for my dad. The rest is Heather’s and my mom’s.”

  “That’s right,” Heather said. “Our extra bags are filled with tampons and bras.”

  I chuckled, but Theo looked slightly uncomfortable as he eyed her luggage. The fact that Heather was traveling with them could have been awkward. Theo and Heather had just become friends—well, more than friends—and now she was going on a family vacation. But they all seemed comfortable around each other.

  “I must be dying because they said yes.” That was how Theo explained why his parents had agreed to let Heather come along. I figured he was probably right about that.

  “I’m still looking through those files,” Heather said close to my ear when I hugged her good-bye.

  I only nodded because Theo didn’t know, and getting my hopes up didn’t seem wise, but they were impossibly high anyway. I was praying she could somehow pull a rabbit out of those files and make a miracle happen. So far, through her parents, she’d managed to remove the threat of Victor—at least for now. And maybe forever, I hoped.

  When I hugged Theo, he felt more substantial in my arms than he had when he came to visit me at Thanksgiving only a month ago.

  “Can’t call you my girl anymore,” he said, grinning as he released me. “Got a real one now.” Looking smug, he put his arm around Heather’s waist.

  I frowned. “I thought I was real.”

  “Not like this.” He waggled his eyebrows as his hand moved down to squeeze her hip.

  While I made a face of mock disgust, Heather elbowed him good-naturedly.

  We all made jokes and smiled, and said all the typical good-byes that were expected of us, but I was on the verge of tears the entire time. Every day Theo had was precious, and now he was leaving for two weeks. Who knew where I’d be in two weeks, or what might happen between then and now?

  “I know he’s a good friend,” Jonah said once we were back in the Jeep, “but is he a good guy? This thing with him and Heather is going awfully fast.”

  I wasn’t surprised he’d asked that. I could tell by the look on his face when Theo grabbed Heather’s hip that something had triggered Jonah’s sense of protectiveness.

  “He’s the best, and I agree, it is fast. But I guess it had to be.”

  “Heather’s going to get hurt either way,” he said.

  “She wants to save him. She may not realize it, but I think she already did in a way.”

  Jonah took my hand and held it to his lips as he turned onto the highway that would take us back to Glenn Valley, and whatever awaited us there.

  ***

  I held my phone in my hand.

  “Ready?” Jonah asked. “Turn it on.”

  A mile over the Glenn Valley town line, Jonah decided it was safe for us to turn our phones on. Within seconds, they were each dinging like crazy. As my messages lit up, I saw Lea’s name the most, followed by Theo and Alison Hoyt, which surprised me.

  I went to Alison’s messages first. She apologized repeatedly for telling Victor anything, and asked me to call her.

  “What is it?” Jonah asked. He tried to hide it, but I could feel the tension rising off him the closer we got.

  “Nothing important. What about you?” He was reading something on his phone, which he should not have been doing while he was driving.

  He squinted at me before shaking his head, but the tense look on his face said something was worrying him, probably messages from his father.

  “Could you text Lea?” he asked. “Maybe you could go to her place or meet her somewhere. When I’m done talking with Heather’s folks, we can go to your house together.”

  I eyed him curiously. “You don’t want me going to Heather’s with you?”

  Jonah glanced at me. “I’d rather talk to them alone. They might not feel comfortable talking about your father in front of you.”

  I frowned, not liking the idea of splitting up. Considering how tense he was, I was worried about him.

  “Text Lea.” He prompted, his tone firm.

  I picked up my phone and realized she’d texted me over the past few days, several times. “Oh no.”

  “What is it?”

  “She is throwing a big New Year’s party. She sent a list of things she wants me to do to help. That’s a little pushy, don’t you think?”

  “Maybe it’s a good thing. It’ll take your mind off other stuff.”

  “Great,” I muttered as I texted her back, asking if I could stop by now. When she responded, I gave Jonah a sidelong glance. “Lea says there are already a bunch of people at her place. The more the merrier.” I cleared my throat. “Maybe you can come back and get me in an hour?”

  He laughed. “What I have to do may take a little longer than that.”

  Even though I’d known Lea for a while, I’d never been to her house. Both Jonah and I knew she lived near us, but when Jonah stopped in front of the address Lea sent, both our jaws dropped. Lea’s house made the Parkers’ Tudor look like a dollhouse. It was a sprawling stone-and-brick structure with turrets a
nd balconies. A stone wall with a wrought-iron gate lined the road leading up to it.

  “No wonder Ethan thinks he has no shot with her. Look at this place,” Jonah said as we pulled into the long driveway that was already filled with cars.

  “I thought I was here to plan a party, not go to one.”

  When Jonah stopped at the front entrance with its huge double doors trimmed in wrought iron with frosted glass inserts, Parker stepped out, took note of us, wrinkled her nose, and kept walking toward her car. But she wasn’t leaving as I’d hoped. She retrieved a brown paper bag from her trunk and ignored us as she walked back inside.

  “This is gonna be fun,” I muttered. “Are you sure I can’t come with you?”

  He reached over and spread his hand over my thigh. “If I can’t be with you, it’s better that you’re here, surrounded by people. Like I said, my father has friends who are loyal to him.”

  His hand squeezed my thigh and his gaze zeroed in on mine. We weren’t a couple. We didn’t do hello and good-bye kisses, but I knew he was about to change that.

  Leaning toward me, his lips brushed mine. Usually I let him direct our kisses, but this time I opened my mouth first, and the kiss got deeper, wetter, and had a desperation to it that I knew was all mine. My hands fisted in his hair as I pushed my body into his. He grunted in surprise before his hands dug into my skin, holding me tighter.

  “Please be careful,” I whispered as I forced myself to pull away first, feeling my cheeks heat at how hard I’d kissed him. Before he could see, I jumped out of the Jeep and jogged into Lea’s house.

  “Smile!” Lea giggled and snapped a selfie with me.

  I recognized most of the people from school, even though I didn’t know exactly who they were. “I thought we were planning a party, but it looks to me like it’s already happening.”

  Lea shrugged. “Parker invited everyone. Whatever. It’s fine. Come meet Gregory.” She dragged me toward a tall guy slouching in the corner, talking to another guy I didn’t know.

  “Gregory, this is my friend Candy.”

  Gregory gave me the I’m a cool guy chin lift, and so did his friend.

  “Talkative,” I commented as we walked away.

  Shrugging, Lea laughed it off. “So, how was Christmas? I can’t believe the way you go MIA all the time. I’m not taking it personally, but not answering your texts is rude, just so you know.”

  “Sorry, but sometimes texts are interrupting real-life conversations, and even though it’s a text, it’s rude of you to interrupt me.”

  Her forehead wrinkled. “But if I’m texting you, how am I supposed to know I’m interrupting?”

  I shrugged. “My not texting you back might be a clue.”

  “You’re being weird,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.

  “I know.” I sighed. “So, what’s up with Parker?”

  Lea’s eyes widened. “You haven’t heard? Her folks split up. Her dad had an affair or something. Don’t say anything, because she doesn’t want to talk about it. She’s drinking a little too much, though, and acting like the life of the party, pretending everything is great. I think she’s in denial.”

  So her mom finally found out. I dug deep, trying to decide if I felt any sympathy for Parker. Maybe I did, but only a little.

  “Go ahead and get a drink, if you want. My folks are gone all weekend, so I guess New Year’s is starting a little early.” She grinned, snapped another picture of us together, and threaded her way out of the room.

  I looked around for Malcolm and Ethan, but didn’t see them. Instead, I spotted Parker coming out of the bathroom with puffy red eyes, mascara running down her cheeks, and a scowl on her lips.

  “Excuse me,” she said as she tried to push past me.

  “Wait a minute.” I grabbed her by the arm and dragged her back into the bathroom. When she tried to pull away, I turned her toward the mirror. “You’re a mess. I thought you might want to clean up before anyone sees you like this.”

  Parker blinked at her reflection and muttered “shit” under her breath. With a sideways glance at me, she grabbed some tissues and wiped at her face, but all she did was make things worse.

  She was drunk. Her movements were uncoordinated, and I could smell the alcohol on her. I had to admit, seeing Parker this way tugged at me. I felt more than a little sympathy. “Sit down and let me help you.” I pointed to the closed toilet seat.

  She eyed me suspiciously. “Why?”

  “Because pretending everything is fine when it’s definitely not is a skill I happen to know a little about.” With a sigh, I wet a towel and looked at her.

  She glared at me at first, but slowly the hostility drained from her face and she lowered herself onto the toilet seat with a look of defeat.

  Sympathy guided my hand as I washed away the tracks of mascara on her cheeks. “I’m sorry for what you’re going through.”

  She pushed my hand away and scoffed. “Did Lea tell you? She has such a big mouth.”

  I’ve known for a while, I thought, but I didn’t answer as I finished wiping her face.

  She watched me with glazed eyes. Finally, she asked, “Is Jonah here?”

  My hand stopped before moving again. “No.”

  “Good. He’s the last person I want to see.”

  “Why?” I asked, trying not to let her get to me.

  “Because he’s probably the last faithful guy on earth, and I don’t need to be reminded of that today.”

  I gave her a curious look.

  “He wouldn’t mess around on you, okay? That day I went to his locker, he said, “I’m taken.” Parker lowered her voice an octave, making fun of Jonah. “I told him that you said you guys were done. He told me it didn’t matter, that he was still taken—by you.” She wrinkled her nose like the thought was distasteful, but what he’d said inspired the opposite reaction in me.

  “Why are you being nice to me?” she asked once I finished.

  “You’re hurting. It would be pretty heartless of me to be a bitch to you right now.”

  Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t say anything as she stood and grabbed her purse on the counter. “Don’t tell anyone about this. Okay?” she asked, looking at my reflection in the big oval mirror over the sink.

  I nodded.

  “And thanks, I guess,” she muttered before walking out of the bathroom.

  For another moment, I stood there a little shell-shocked. I did something nice for Parker and she thanked me, albeit grudgingly. It was like being in an alternate universe.

  When I left the bathroom and entered the large sunken living room, I spotted Ethan and Malcolm standing in the middle of the room, talking to girls I recognized as cheerleaders from school. I decided not to interrupt them.

  For the next half hour, I wandered around, glancing at my phone every few minutes, looking for a text from Jonah that never came. I hoped things were going okay with Heather’s parents, and I really wished I’d talked him into letting me come with him, because killing time here was slowly killing me. I hated waiting, and I hated feeling useless.

  When I went into the kitchen to get something to drink, I ran right into Ethan and Lea going at it. My own face felt hot watching them. Ethan had Lea pressed against the wall with his leg shoved between hers. She was angling her body to get closer to him, and his hands were squeezing the back of her thighs. Oh my.

  Realizing I was standing there gawking, I whipped around and headed back the way I’d come. When I reached the hallway, an arm wrapped around my waist, and my stomach dipped at the familiar feel of it. I rammed an elbow back and heard a harsh grunt as I was released.

  “What the hell?” Drew grimaced as I turned around.

  At the sight of him, I was filled with so many emotions. I thought of his mother and how she’d told Victor about the safe, and I thought of the last text he’d sent me, calling me a bitch.

  “I thought we decided you weren’t going to touch me that way. What are you doing here?” I asked.


  “Lea’s posting pictures of the festivities on Facebook. When I saw you, I decided to stop by.”

  “Lea posted a picture of me?”

  “A little while ago.” He bent down close to my ear. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

  “About what?” I crossed my arms and gave him a stony look.

  He blew out a breath. “You know what. Come on, Candy. Can we step outside for a minute?”

  I looked at him like he was nuts. “It’s freezing out.” The hallway we were already standing in was fairly private. “You can talk to me here.”

  I let him lead me farther down the hall. When I stopped and faced him, he scratched his head, looking uncomfortable. “You should have told us Jonah worked for the organization. I knew there was something off about that guy. I can’t believe you didn’t say anything.” He bent closer to me. “You should have warned us.”

  “I was worried about my father, Drew. I’m sure you can understand that.”

  He reared back like I’d wounded him. “But you should have trusted us. You should have trusted me, Candy. You know you can.”

  I swallowed, trying not to say anything I would regret. The last thing I needed was to get into a fight with him at Lea’s party where pictures were getting posted publicly. “We hadn’t seen in each other in a long time.”

  His lips turned down. “Do you know how close your family has come to ruining mine? All because my mother wanted to help out a friend? The organization knows about us helping your parents, and they’re putting pressure on us to give them evidence against your father. Except we don’t have any. But you do. You have it in some stupid safe your father wanted us to hold for him. If you know where it is, you have to tell them because they’re threatening us now.”

  He sounded truly distressed.