Pieces of Lies

by Angela Richardson

  Nowhere good, I’m sure.

  As my mind ticked over, trying to figure out what was going on next door, I began to pace. There was no way my nerves were going to let me sit down, so I just walked round and round, trying to calm my overactive imagination.

  Finally, the door opened and Josh and Clint walked through. It shut abruptly behind them. I ran up to both of them and threw both my arms around their bodies in a massive bear hug. I was just so happy to have them by my side at that moment, I couldn’t help but give in to my emotions. Both their hands gripped my body, pulling it towards them as closely as they could. When we broke free from our group embrace, I punched Josh hard in the shoulder. He winced in pain, rubbing it with his hand.

  “You went and got my Dad!” I yelled at him.

  He stared at me fearfully, waiting for me to do more. I stepped forward towards him and he stepped back, holding up both his arms in a defensive position. I jumped forward and threw my arms around him, pulling him close so I could whisper in his ear. His whole body relaxed into me. “I can’t believe you went back to New York for me.” I hugged him tight. Josh leaned in to whisper back into my ear.

  “I guess there is something more important to me than my fear.”

  My whole body rippled with appreciation for this boy who had changed my whole life. I held him close. Josh really was my best friend and had always looked out for me. I felt like there was nothing he wouldn't do to keep me safe.

  “Oh Josh,” I breathed, feeling overwhelmed with love for my best friend.

  Clint make a few uncomfortable throaty noises and I broke away from the hug. Josh had his eyes closed tightly as I stepped away, and in that second, I regretted having to let him go. I looked over to Clint who was watching us intently.

  I turned to Clint, “Did you sign anything in there?”

  Clint’s eyes looked very deeply into mine and a wave of feelings came rushing back. “No,” he said, sounding breathless, and lifted his hand to take my mine. I started to move towards him but the door opened. My hand fell, and we all spread apart, making room for whoever was coming out. My father and his associates stepped through and closed the door behind them, not allowing any of us to see Arthur Wickburn again.

  “You boys go ahead. As we discussed, I will see you both at the wedding. I will take my daughter home.” No-one questioned my father's instructions, and just started to disperse and make their way out of the mansion.

  I groaned as I sat and took my place across from my Dad in his town car. I knew he would quickly launch into a verbal assault.

  “You should have told me what was going on Lenorah, and you shouldn’t be walking around with a gun like a vigilante.” His eyes were piercing me as he scolded my behavior, but then reached into his jacket and handed me back my Glock that I had left on Wickburn's desk.

  “I’m twenty-two dad, you can’t tell me what to do anymore. I’m old enough to look after myself.” I took the gun from his hand and stashed it back into my jeans. To anyone else, our exchange would have been weird, but the way we handled guns was just a part of everyday life.

  He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. I could tell he wanted to yell at me, but was restraining himself. “Well this situation shows me that you most certainly cannot look after yourself and I think you should come home immediately.”

  I clenched my teeth, “No, I will not.”

  He sighed heavily, “I understand why you want to stay. Those boys…” he trailed off.

  “Their names are Clint and Josh,” I pointed out.

  “Hmmm yes, well, I am pleased that Josh did come and see me about this situation. I always did like that boy, but Lenorah, there is no way of knowing just how out of hand this could have become.”

  I huffed and stared out of the car window. The fact of the matter was that he had come and saved me again from a predicament that I wasn’t able to handle. I could have argued that it was a situation created from being his daughter and blamed him for it, but he loved and protected me the only way he knew how, which never faltered, and so for the moment, I just continued to be stubborn and argumentative.

  “Josh shouldn’t have brought you here.”

  My father's nostrils flared. “He did the only logical thing Lenorah. I don’t think you know what those groups are capable of.”

  “It can’t be any worse than what you do,” I said, with a clear edge of resentment.

  That statement caused his large Italian hands to flex and then ball up. This could get loud and angry very quickly, and could most certainly turn into a screaming match, but my father didn’t entertain my verbal jabs. Instead he just cracked his knuckles and pushed back into his seat, composing himself. I watched him as he avoided my eyes. His thick wavy black hair that was combed back, jerked to the side with the sound from his fingers. His prominent Italian nose sniffed in a huge wallop of air as he thought about what to say next, and his dark brown eyes squinted slightly as he stared out the window.

  I could see why women threw themselves at him, and it wasn’t just the allure of his power and money, or even that he had an 'Al Pacino' kind of look. It was the way his eyes gazed with that dark aura of mystery. It sucked you in and made you want to know more.

  Finally, he looked at me. “That is, precisely the reason you need to come home. Too many people know who you are. The Lappell will not bother you anymore. I made sure of that, but they are not the only groups around who might try and take advantage of this situation.”

  “Don't be so melodramatic. I will be more careful with what I do and who I talk to, alright.” I was trying to sound convincing.

  “Lenorah,” his voice deepened, “you understand why you were sent here, don’t you?”

  “Yes, how could I possibly forget what you forced me to give up.” The hostility in my voice was thrown right at him, but my father only directed the same anger back.

  “I think it is you that has forgotten that conversation my girl.”

  “And what exactly does that mean?”

  “It means Lenorah Simona, that I know about Samuel.”

  My mouth dropped open, I didn’t expect him to say that. I should have known I was being watched the entire time. Why would I assume I'd get any kind of freedom?

  “I… uh… uh… Nothing happened alright, nothing. He came to see my art show to show his support and say congratulations. That was all.” I stammered from my nerves I couldn't hide. I knew my father probably had detailed descriptions of our most recent encounters at the university as well as the literary ball.

  “Did he just? You know we had an agreement when you came here. He is not supposed to be part of your life, in any kind of way,” my dad’s voice was so final.

  “I know, but it wasn’t like that. We are not together, nothing happened. I’m with Clint. I mean, no I’m not, ummm…” I fumbled trying to determine my status with Clint, but couldn’t, so returned to the matter at hand. “Daddy, don’t hurt Samuel please.”

  I was desperate.

  “So it's Daddy now is it. Look, I don’t want to hurt you Lenorah. That is my only concern, and I am aware if I hurt him, I hurt you, and I know you haven’t been with Samuel, like that. It’s not that simple though. He can’t just come here and do what he did.”

  I shook my head furiously, “Is it so bad that he wanted to see me? We didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t understand how you can’t be more compassionate. I loved him. Please don’t hurt him.”

  My father cleared his throat; he always got uncomfortable when I started to get emotional. He tried to keep his voice steady and calm. “It’s not about him seeing you. What he did, this mess he created, I can’t ignore it.”

  My head froze in bewilderment. “What did he do?” I wasn’t being told something, that was obvious. “What did he do?” My voice was raised in frustration.

  “He did enough Lenorah. Now lower your voice while I determine what action to take.”

  What. The. Fuck.

  The part of me that still held Samuel
deep in my heart came out in full force. The part of me that never got closure, that had to deal with six months of heartache, that watched me lose my fiancé without so much as a real goodbye, burst out and I began to sob uncontrollably.

  “Please, please, please don’t hurt him dad. Pleeeeease. His only crime was that he loved me and wanted to marry me.” I bawled into my hands.

  My father’s eyes fixated on the window, staring out so he couldn’t look at me weep. “That’s the problem Lenorah. He can’t let it go.”

  “What… aren’t… you… telling me?” I choked out between sobs.

  He sat, silently watching me, shifting in his seat, assessing my level of emotional pain. He cracked his knuckles again. He always cracked his knuckles when he was stressed.

  “Your ex-fiancé,” he croaked at the mere mention of the word ‘fiancé’ but continued, “made an agreement with Mr. Wickburn that if you joined that secret society, he would bring in his family so he could marry you.”

  WHAT?

  I tried to calm my crying so I could talk and make sense of what he just said. “How can joining that stupid secret society change anything? That’s ridiculous!”

  My father hit the seat in rage. “No Lenorah, it’s not. If you join, we join, and yes, we could not stand in your way if you wanted to marry him then. There are very powerful people involved with how they work. Rules with association. Even with who I am and my contacts, I could not prevent it. That is more than you should ever know about the Lappell.”

  This new wave of information hit me hard. Everything that I had believed in the last six months came crashing down. I thought Samuel had let me go with no regret, but all the while he had been planning his move so we could be together again.

  “I can’t fucking believe Samuel tried to manipulate this situation to his advantage,” my father muttered.

  I managed to calm the spinning of my mind to focus on the most important thing. “Dad, I beg you, please don’t hurt Samuel. I know what he did was wrong, but he did it with the best intentions. We were never allowed to say goodbye and get closure. You can't be surprised this happened. Haven’t you ever done anything desperate and crazy for love?”

  Then my father stared at me strangely, an odd look of sadness ghosted his face.

  What was he remembering?

  “I forget how much you are like your mother. It’s no wonder these boys will move heaven and earth for you.” He stared at me a little longer with that same wounded look, and then returned to the firm hard gaze I knew him for. Whatever memory flew into his head was gone.

  “OK Lenorah, this is the last time we will speak of him. If he tries anything, and I mean anything else, there will be no further conversation between us. Do you understand what I am saying to you?”

  I nodded. I knew all too well that if there was no further discussion, he would take matters into his own hands. This was his final warning.

  I should have been angry with Samuel for what he did, but I wasn’t. I left him believing that he didn’t care that we had been taken away from each other. In six months, he didn’t once fight to get me back, and now I discovered he was planning to get me back all along and was just waiting for an opportunity to present itself. If only I had a hint, then maybe I would have waited for him too. I even smiled a little at his plan. It could have really worked out for us if I had accepted the Lappell’s offer, and if I had never fallen for Clint.

  The town car stopped outside my apartment building. “I’ll see you at your cousin’s wedding Lenorah. I’ve invited the boys, and you are more than welcome to invite your friend Tess.”

  I rolled my eyes, only mildly shocked. “Well, since you’ve clearly been keeping tabs on everything and everyone I am associated with, is there anything else Daddy dearest?”

  Freedom and independence really was a figment of my imagination.

  “I don’t mean to make you feel suffocated, but what I do is for your safety Lenorah, whether you like it or not.”

  I started to climb out of the car but paused and turned back to my Dad, “And you are fine with me dating Clint, or even Josh if I wanted to? I won’t get any resistance this time?”

  His mouth pressed into a hard line, “Well, no father is ever comfortable with his daughter,” a cough left his throat, “dating. But you are an adult now and I can’t stop you anymore. Those two boys have proven to really care about you. I don’t have a problem with either of them, just yet.”

  I sighed and closed the car door, walking off towards my apartment. I needed to call Tess.

  Chapter 21

  Support

  “Thanks so much for coming over,” my hand gestured to Tess to come inside my apartment and we both made our way over to my sofa.

  “Of course Norah, you’re one of my best friends, and after our last conversation, I was sure that you would need a shoulder again.” Tess shot me a warm smile. “Plus, I brought reinforcements.”

  I stared at Tess who had one of her hands behind her back. “I don’t get it,” I said, confused.

  I watched as the corners of her mouth turned up and spread into a wry grin. “Taa daa!” And she revealed a very expensive bottle of tequila from behind her back.

  My hands clapped together in excitement. “Ahhh, the gang is all together now.”

  Tess laughed, “I couldn’t come without bringing our BFF.”

  I nodded my head as we made our way back to the kitchen to grab some shot glasses. “She is most certainly welcome here tonight.”

  We hovered around the kitchen counter top as Tess cracked open the bottle and poured out our shots. She lifted her shot glass to her lips, stopped and then asked, “Have you made a choice between Josh and Clint yet?”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out, so I just followed in unison with Tess as she downed her shot. She slammed the tiny glass onto the counter. “That is what you want to talk about, right?”

  I sighed heavily, “Kind of, yeah, no, I, uhhh, want to know if you’ll come with me to my cousin’s wedding tomorrow.”

  Tess laughed and then snorted, “Like your date? Oh Norah, I didn’t know you felt that way,” she joked.

  “It’s at Marshwood Country Club, the next town over, about a thirty minute drive from here. My father suggested that you should come. He wants me to invite all my closest friends. It’s an Italian family thing, the more the merrier.”

  “You mean he invited Clint and Josh too?”

  I swallowed. “Yes, he did.”

  “No pressure for you then.”

  I rested my elbows on the counter top and covered my eyes with my fingers. “No, not at all.” I moaned, burying my face in my hands.

  “So you want me to go to a wedding with the biggest and most powerful crime family in New York, and as an extra bonus, I’ll have a front row seat to the campus’s hottest love triangle. Now that sounds like a PAR-TAY!”

  I lifted my fingers so I could peek out from behind my hands. “Does that mean you’re in?”

  “Oh for sure. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?”

  We both laughed, knowing anything and everything could happen. Then Tess slipped her hand across the counter top and pat my shoulder, “But seriously, I think you’ll need me there for support, so of course I’ll come.”

  I did need her.

  “Thanks.”

  She re-filled my shot glass. “So, Clint and Josh, any idea what you are going to do?”

  I downed the shot before giving my answer. With a little help from our friend Tequila, I knew I'd be able to find my voice. “Well, Clint changed my whole world, I’ve never felt this way before, but the fact he lied to me, the way he did, I mean, it makes me wonder what else he can do.”

  Tess leaned against the kitchen bench, watching me as I tried to reason with my thoughts. “Norah, I think he did what he did because he was scared to lose you once he fell in love. That's not so wrong, I think.”

  I swayed my body from side to side. “Hmmm maybe.”

&nb
sp; “And you did lie to him too.”

  I walked around the kitchen as I listened to Tess be the voice of reason. “That’s true.”

  Yes, Tess was right. I let Clint think I valued honesty, when in fact, I couldn’t be brave enough to face who I really was. I was just as bad.

  “And Josh?” she probed.

  I started to play with my hands nervously.

  Josh. Josh. Josh.

  “You know I can’t help feeling that if we never went to that stupid party to begin with, we would be together right now, and that kiss we had, it was… it was… fucking fireworks and everything crazy and earth shattering exploded inside me!”

  Tess’s eyes expanded, becoming big and round, “Wow, that sounds…”

  I was nodding. “It was unbelievable.” I stopped moving my head and then stilled, staring at the ceiling, running my fingers along my lips thinking of Josh and that kiss.

  If one kiss can do that to me, then imagine what having se…

  “Earth to Norah!”

  I had spaced out, letting my mind drift off to very naughty thoughts. “Oh yeah, sorry about that.”

  “So as you were saying,” Tess pushed.

  I returned to looking seriously at Tess. “That a part of me I’ve never known was opened up when I fell for Clint and it’s everything I want right now, in this moment, I just wonder,”

  “About Josh?” she finished my train of thought.

  “Yes. How I wonder.”

  Tess sighed and walked round to where I was standing and took the shot glass from my hand. She walked back to the counter top and re-filled my glass. “You know Norah, you can ummm and ahhh about what could have been, and what might be, but you need to focus on how you feel right now.”

  “I know, but right now I don’t know if I should trust my feelings.”

  “You seem like the type of person who can see past the bullshit and see the real deal.” She was right, but if I’d learned anything from the last few weeks, it was how easy it was to make poor decisions when you are blinded by love. I guess after everything that had happened, I was still thrown by all the lies, and it made me question everything and everyone.