One Little Lie: a hate to love rom-com

by Whitney Barbetti

  “Oh, that’s fine. I have to go to the bank today anyway to deposit my check. It’s okay. You paid for his car repairs? You have such a good heart, Hollis.”

  Coming from just about anyone else, I would receive a remark like that sarcastically. But I knew Navy meant it. She saw good in people who weren’t. “I couldn’t let him go without a car. I sensed that things haven’t been the best around his house lately.”

  “Keane said he moved back to help his gram, who takes care of his sister.” Navy grabbed a white fluffy throw from the back of the sectional and draped it over her lap, even though the air conditioning was on and running. “He has had a rough go of things lately.”

  “I could tell.” I thought of Casey ragging him about his car and his job and wanted to cringe again for him. “So, I used the debit card to the account we share, instead of my own. Sorry about that.”

  “It’s no problem. Rent is already paid. We just need groceries.”

  I stretched and yawned. “Make a list, I’ll be sure to pick it up this week.”

  “Okay,” Navy said in her sing-song voice. “But I’m not worried about it. We are fully stocked. And I have chili simmering in the slow cooker for dinner.”

  If I was being totally honest, having a roommate that actually cooked was another benefit to rooming with Navy. The one summer I had roomed with Tori, right before going off to our separate colleges, we’d subsisted on microwaved ramen noodles and cereal. Having a home cooked meal was something I missed since moving out of my parents’ home at the age of eighteen. “You’re the best, Navy,” I said as fatigue hit me like a freight train. I nuzzled down into the cushions.

  “No, you are,” she said, adjusting a pillow under my head. “Take a siesta, dinner will be ready when you wake up. I’m going to the mall with Keane, so I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

  “Okay.” That was all I remembered saying before I drifted to sleep.

  10

  Adam

  “You want another one?” Keane asked as he stood and went to the fridge.

  “Sure.” I switched the channel to the news, before switching it again seconds later. I was restless, full of listless energy after spending much of the afternoon with Hollis. It didn’t sit well with me that she’d paid my repairs. I didn’t like owing anyone a dime, much less someone like Hollis. I had a little money in the bank, but it was reserved for keeping the roof afloat when Gram’s expenses were higher than usual. Or paying for Casey’s much desired gymnastics class—because I knew dad would promise and forget to follow through.

  Now that I didn’t have a job and was indebted to Hollis, I knew there was no way I was going to be able to make gymnastics happen, not for a while at least. It was a knife in the gut, a hard pill to swallow. Casey deserved better than this, and it killed me that I couldn’t provide it.

  “You okay, man?” Keane asked, handing me the beer. He’d only been at Gram’s for an hour and all we’d done was shoot the shit after eating dinner.

  I rubbed a hand over my head. “Got let go today at the shop.”

  “No shit.” Keane sat on the recliner beside the couch. “Why?”

  “They’re saying seasonal work is down. Since I was a newer hire, I was easy to let go of.”

  “You haven’t even had that job a month. Why did they even bother hiring?”

  I took a long pull of the beer. “Beats me.” Keane was one of my best friends, but it was still uncomfortable to talk about things like this. Between losing my job, my gram’s prognosis being not good, and Hollis paying for my car repairs—all topics that were dominating my thoughts—I was going to be in for a long night if I didn’t start talking. “Went to the hospital this morning.” I glanced down the hallway and, encouraged by the lack of noise, continued, “Gram isn’t going to get better. It’s just a time bomb at this point. Ticking away in her chest.”

  “Shit.” Keane sighed and took a pull of his beer before setting it down. “I’m sorry to hear that. No wonder you’re quiet tonight.” He looked down the hall like I had and turned back to me. “Does Casey know?”

  Shaking my head, I said, “Not yet. I don’t know what to tell her. I can tell you she’s not going to get better, but she’s not your grandma. She’s not your only stable guardian.”

  “Does Caleb know?”

  “God, not yet. I need to call him but today was just a royal shit show, and I haven’t had a moment to breathe. Until now.” I tipped my beer toward him. “These aren’t as skunky as I expected.”

  “Yeah, I’m surprised myself.” Keane shifted, turning so he was facing me. “So,” he said in a voice that told me he was broaching a subject that I’d need to prepare myself for. “I saw Navy. We went to the mall so she could stock up on eighty-seven soaps or some shit. She mentioned that you saw Hollis Vinke this weekend.”

  Fuck. It was bad enough that Hollis was the reason my car was sitting in my driveway, but the knowledge that she’d told other people was a little more humiliating than I could stomach. Especially after the last few days. But I played it cool, taking a long drink while I thought over my words. “Yeah, I did.” It was all I could come up with to say in reply.

  “I thought you hated her.”

  “Yeah, well, when she’s the one who saves your sorry ass, anger has to take a backseat to gratitude.”

  “She saved you?”

  Keane’s reply was a relief. So he didn’t know. That made the bitterness I’d instantly felt dissipate somewhat. “She came upon me when the car was broke down on Little Canada Road. She picked me up, had the car towed, brought Casey to her dentist appointment…” My voice trailed off.

  “Wow. Hollis Vinke, being a Good Samaritan.”

  “Yeah.” I drained the beer and set it down. I’d need to slow down before I spoke more freely than I wanted to. I didn’t want to tell Keane how good she’d looked. Something about her was just … fresh. It sounded stupid when I said it to myself. The last thing I needed was my best friend ragging me for it. “Good thing too—Casey’s dentist is hard to get into.” I debated telling him about Hollis paying for the repairs, but put the thought away for the meantime.

  “Did you call me?” Casey asked at the end of the hallway.

  “Hey, squirt.” Keane held up a hand for her to high-five, which she did. She loved Keane probably as much as I did. He was the kind of best friend I would’ve hand-picked for myself growing up. Never giving judgement or unwanted advice. But he commiserated in the utter shit show that life could be when it wanted to be. “What’s with the outfit?”

  “Oh, this?” Casey grabbed the fabric around the knee of her shorts, pulling them away from her body and then letting them snap back at her skin. “Just preparing.”

  “For what?” Keane asked.

  “The olympics.” She brushed her hair over her shoulder. “I’m gonna be there one day.”

  “Oh, yeah? You have tickets or something?”

  “Athletes don’t need tickets.” She brushed hair over her other shoulder in a dramatic move that was meant to incite laughter. I knew she didn’t really believe she’d end up the Olympics, not at her age and especially with her lack of professional training. But it was something she wanted enough that sometimes when she said she was preparing for the Olympics, there wasn’t any laughter in her voice. It simultaneously lifted me up and broke my heart. I hated my dad all over again for being the asshole who could have but never had provided her. Not just in the instance of having gymnastics practice, but emotionally and physically. He wasn’t the dad she needed, he definitely wasn’t the dad she deserved.

  “Well,” Keane smiled at me and leaned toward her conspiratorially. “I believe it. When does practice start?”

  Casey glanced at me and then shrugged. There was the slightest slip in her expression, from delight to the briefest pass of solemnity before she put on a smile that wasn’t genuine. “I’m not sure yet. I mean, it’s not a big deal. It’s okay, I’ve waited this long and I can wait longer.”

  T
hat was why I wanted more for her. Because she didn’t think she needed it.Yes, on the list of needs for an almost thirteen year old, gymnastics lessons were low. But everything was low on the list for her. She was constantly promised one thing by our father before it slipped away. All I wanted—even more than a steady job—was for her to have a break from the bullshit.

  “You about ready for bed, Case?”

  She slumped, chagrined, against the wall at her back. If it wasn’t a school night, I would have let her stay up. But I wasn’t going to be like my dad, not when it came to my sister. “When’s Gram coming home?”

  I hadn’t told her yet because, quite simply, I didn’t want to tell her. Really, I didn’t have anything to say. There was no news. At least, that’s what I told myself. “Nice try stalling.” I waved my hand toward the bathroom at the back of the house. “Brush those teeth with all that new dentist swag.”

  She sighed and rolled her eyes, but complied. When she was out of earshot, Keane turned to me. “Gymnastics?”

  “Yeah.” I leaned forward, elbows on my knees as I cradled the beer in my hands. “She’s been wanting it forever, but of all the extracurriculars, she chose one of the more expensive ones. And of course, my dad promised it to her. He makes all these fucking promises that leave everyone else on the hook to fulfill them.” Talking about money made me feel sick. The feeling had settled low in my gut when Hollis had offered to pay for the repairs, and the feeling hadn’t left since. Talking to my best friend about it made me feel even worse.

  “I can—”

  “No,” I interrupted. “I’ll figure it out. I always do.” But I didn’t. Not really. Because if I had, Casey would’ve had lessons years ago.

  “They’re always hiring down at the plant, you know. Especially with harvest season just passing.” Keane tipped the beer back and lifted a shoulder. “I could get you in.” My hesitation made Keane shake his head. “It’s a job, Adam.”

  I knew his tone. I wasn’t too good to work a factory job. Far from it. But the hours would be rough. Keane worked extended shifts sometimes. Swapping the afternoon and the late shift, which was eleven at night until seven the following morning. I’d be fine working it if there was someone to stay with Casey, but because it was just me her and me, my options were to hope to get a morning shift or have someone stay with Casey while I worked overnight. I thought of my brother Caleb but knew that he wouldn’t be able to help. Classes were about to start, and he was hours away.

  Before I could give an answer one way or another, Casey returned and Keane stood to give her a big ol’ bear hug. “Goodnight, squirt.”

  Casey wrinkled her nose at him and then went into my arms. “’Night, Adam.”

  I kissed the top of her head and patted her on the back. When Keane and I were alone again, I grabbed the last two beers from the fridge and motioned toward the front door, where we could sit out on the porch in the quiet, far from Casey’s ears.

  I loved Gram’s house. When I thought of ‘home’ I thought of this place. Small but tidy. Many nights I sat on the front porch with Gram, talking about everything from my dad to girls to school and my future. “My boy,” she’d always say, “you’ve been dealt a bad hand. But that doesn’t mean you can’t play like you haven’t.” Gram always wanted more than the life I had been given, and had sacrificed so much for me to get it. Lately, it felt like all I was doing was falling back into the cycle I had grown up in. I wasn’t afraid of being poor. But I was afraid of allowing my sister to grow up that way.

  When Keane and I were settled on Gram’s white wicker furniture, our gazes straight ahead at the park that was across the road, Keane spoke up, confirming once again that he was more than just a best friend: he was a mind reader. “Maybe Casey could stay with my mom at night.”

  I shook my head, simultaneously grateful for Keane and annoyed at myself for pride being my Achilles heel. I knew I didn’t have the luxury of letting my pride get in the way, but I let it all the same. “Let me call Caleb,” I said. “He knows things haven’t been good with Gram. Maybe he can transfer to college here.” But even as I said it, I knew it would be a fruitless phone call.

  “Maybe,” Keane replied, but I could tell from his tone that he didn’t necessarily agree. Keane didn’t really like my brother, which wasn’t a surprise since my brother didn’t like him much either.

  “I’ll figure it out,” I repeated.

  “Maybe you can figure out how to work ‘we’ into that statement, instead of ‘I.’”

  I sighed. “You know it’s hard for me to accept help, Keane.”

  “You’re basically a single dad right now. You have to do what’s in Casey’s best interest.” I knew I appeared crestfallen at that statement, and he continued. “You know that. That’s why you came home. You’re helping your gram and your sister. Let me help you. I’ll get you the job. We’ll figure out how to help your sister.”

  When he put it that way, how could I say no? “I owe you.” And I thought of what I owed Hollis too, for the car repairs.

  “What’s that look for?”

  I lifted my head, blew out a breath. “Uh…” I began, and stared at the playground across the street. “I seem to be owing a lot of people these days.”

  “Well, for one, you don’t owe me. I’ll see about getting you on, but I’m sure I can. Who else do you owe?”

  Pride told me to shut the hell up, but this was Keane. I couldn’t lie to him. “Hollis.”

  Keane sat back and waved a hand at me. “For the ride? Don’t sweat it. I’m sure she isn’t.”

  Running a hand through my hair, I breathed out and leaned forward, elbows on my knees as I stared at the leaf rustling away, across the driveway that was cracked and needing to be replaced. One more thing that needed tending to around here. “It’s not just the ride. She paid for my car repairs.”

  Keane was silent, taking a long pull of his beer.

  “She insisted,” I added. “Saying it was her dad’s card anyway, and he wouldn’t notice.” I wondered what that must be like. To have money within reach, without worry or work to produce it. It was a bitter thought, turned to acid with the final swallow of my beer. “So, I’ve got to pay her back of course. I’m not in a position to turn down any job right now.”

  “Oh…” Keane finally spoke. Sort of. I looked at him and he held up his phone. “That’s what Navy meant.”

  I went still. “What do you mean?”

  “Navy and Hollis are roommates. You knew that, right?” I shrugged and angled my head toward him, prompting him to continue. “When we went to the mall, she was carrying a wad of cash like she was some drug dealer, said she had to deposit it while we were there.” Keane rolled his beer bottle between his hands. “She said that Hollis used the wrong card to pay for repairs of some kind. That she used the debit card attached to her bank account with Navy. And she pulled out cash from her savings for Navy, to make up for it.”

  The beer in my stomach rolled, turning thick like syrup. “What?” It’d been bad enough when she’d claimed the money was her dad’s, his credit card. But now, knowing it was actually Hollis’ savings, didn’t sit right with me. She’d lied to me.

  “Whoa there,” Keane said. He set his beer down and held up his hands. “I’m sure it was a misunderstanding.”

  “She used her savings to pay for my repairs? Not her dad’s money?” I blew out a breath. Anger lit through me quickly and thoroughly before I tamped it down. “That’s fucked up.”

  “I mean, does it matter?”

  I nailed Keane with a look. He knew how much lying bothered me. And he knew my pride often got the best of me. “Why didn’t she tell me the truth?”

  “Would you have accepted it if she had?”

  The answer was quick. “No.”

  “That’s why.” Keane tilted his head back toward the house. “She knows what Casey means to you. Anyone in your presence for five minutes knows that. She took one look at Casey and did what anyone would do, and approached
it in a way that you’d be more willing to accept it.” He picked up his beer, draining it. “Don’t let it get to you that a girl helped you out. Like you said, you’re going to pay her back.”

  “Yes, but it makes a difference that it was her money. I don’t even like her.”

  “Come on, Adam. You’re not being very fair.”

  I gritted my teeth and shook my head at him. “You don’t get it. Her little cronies in high school made my life hell. And she never did shit to stop it.”

  Keane made a face. “You’re right. High school sucked for you. But it’s incredibly generous of you to assume that she’d have any kind of power over everyone who made her acquaintance back then.”

  “They were, are, her friends. You’re my friend. If you were being a dick, I’d tell you.”

  “Yeah, and when you are being a dick, I tell you.” He looked at me pointedly. “Like now.” He slapped me on the back. “Look. I get that you hold a grudge against her. Your grudges are legendary.” I knew he was talking about my dad. “Maybe her paying for your car repairs is a small way of her making up for high school bullshit.”

  “I’m going to sell my keyboard,” I said and Keane looked at me like I was out of goddamn mind. “I’ll pay her back tomorrow.”

  “You’re a real piece of work, Adam. She was trying to be nice and I know you—you’re just going to throw it back in her face.” He stood up, jingled his keys until his headlights flickered in the dark. “You know what? That high horse you’re riding on? It’s actually a donkey.” And then he left.

  11

  Hollis

  “You saw him?” Tori squealed. “Holy shit. You actually saw Adam I’ll take his penis for 500, Oliver.”