Deceptive Secrets

by RM Walker

  “I’m going for a shower. You’d better not be asleep when I get back.” He fired off a quick text to Nate. “Lily? Do you hear me? You have to get up.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I hear you. I’m getting up.” She pushed the blankets down, huffing at him.

  He got up and went out, but as he pulled the door closed he saw the blankets being pulled upwards again.

  He smirked and went to the bathroom. He’d take a cup of water back with him. If that didn’t get her up, nothing would.

  An invitation accepted

  The next few weeks passed with no confrontation, arguments, or even discussions about Jonas or Drew. Their routine of meeting up after college and weekends stayed the same. Matt’s parents didn’t change, but they didn’t say anything more and so they’d carried on with their plan of festering.

  The relationship between the five of them was growing. She’d made out with all of them at various times over the weeks, but she hadn’t slept with any of them in the carnal sense. They never pushed her, never suggested to go further, and each time she was with one of them the connection between them grew. The jealousy that had hurt Matt was no longer there. It had become second nature for all of them, and even if the kissing got a little heated when they were all together, no one seemed to have a problem with it. The balance that’d been between them had been restored, the tension gone.

  Weekends she’d split her time. Mornings she spent with Drew discovering new plants and writing in her book the potions they made with them. Afternoons and evenings, she was with her boys. She rarely used magic, not even with Drew. The potions didn’t use magic, and she never had reason to use magic in her daily life.

  The only blot on the landscape was her mother. Lily had braced herself for a fight when she told her she wasn’t going to take the tablets. She hadn’t said anything, but the look on her face was worse than any screaming match. Lily would’ve taken the hot anger over the despondency and resignation mixed with hurt that she’d tried to pass off with a false smile. And she saw it in her mother’s eyes every time she looked at her.

  The twins’ would turn eighteen on the Tuesday they went camping, but like Nate, birthdays were always celebrated at the Bootlegger on the closest Saturday. The fourth of November was chosen, and as Matt’s eighteenth was the next day, they’d organised a joint birthday for all three of them. She’d been invited, but she knew neither June, Harold, or their grandmother would be pleased to see her. She’d suggested keeping it low key and staying away, but they said it was their birthday and they’d have who they wanted there.

  The week leading up to the holidays seemed to drag, but finally Friday rolled around. All the lessons were relaxed, with no one in the mood to study. Drew’s history class was no exception, and he let them use the time to go over the term’s work. Which everyone took as code for ‘chat amongst yourselves but keep it down’. He spent the time sitting in his chair, his feet propped on the desk reading a paperback thriller.

  Lily talked with Matt and they played noughts and crosses until the bell rang.

  “All right, off you go, have a good holiday, and don’t eat too many Halloween sweets.” Drew put a marker in his book as he spoke. “Lily, a word before you leave, please.”

  Matt groaned but she ignored him as she picked up her bag and went over. She saw a few students look back as they left the room, but most of them weren’t interested. It wasn’t odd for him to hold any of them back to talk about their work.

  “Good work on that last assignment, Matt,” Drew said, acknowledging Matt behind her.

  “Thanks, I enjoyed it.”

  “Wait outside, Matt. We won’t be long.” Drew indicated the door with a tilt of his head.

  Matt touched her back before going out, leaving the door open.

  “Your assignment was good as well.” Drew crossed to the door and shut it.

  “But?”

  “Yeah, it did sound like a but, didn’t it?” He jumped up to sit on his desk. “Your middle section would have been more solid if you’d use a few more quotes. You’d get a good grade with your submission, but if you take a specific course in uni you’d need to go that one step further to get the top marks. You might as well start as you mean to go on.”

  “And if I don’t want to go to uni?”

  “What do you want to do?” He leant his forearms on his thighs and clasped his hands between his knees.

  “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Uni wasn’t going to be an option, not really. I guess I always knew it was pie in the sky.”

  “Why not?”

  “We’d have to stay in one place for three years, or at least in relatively close distance.”

  “Why?” He arched an eyebrow at her.

  “I wouldn’t have been able to room somewhere or stay in student accommodation. I’d have stay with Mum and she finds it hard to stay in...” She sighed.

  He straightened up and put his hands either side of his thighs on the desk. “The world is now your oyster.”

  “Yeah. I still don’t know what I want to do though.” She gave him a wry grin. “I’ve never really thought past college.”

  “Have you considered studying history?”

  “Medieval history?”

  “Any period you want. You enjoy it, you have a talent for it. I know you also excel in maths though. Your A level subjects are all-rounders, leaving you open to choose anything outside of the sciences.”

  “And if I leave college and take a job?”

  “Fantastic,” he replied. “It’s your life, you do what you want to do.”

  “Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?”

  “Actually no.” He laughed and rubbed his fingers across his chin. “Do you have anything planned next week?”

  “We’re going camping from Monday to Thursday.”

  “Lynda? Lynda is going camping?” The look of pure shock on his face was enough to make her laugh.

  “No, Mum won’t go camping.”

  “I didn’t think so.” He snorted. “Far too close to nature for her.”

  “I’m going with the boys.”

  His eyebrows rose and fell quickly. “On your own?”

  “In a campsite, not the middle of nowhere.”

  “No, I meant just the five of you? Any parents going as well?”

  “We don’t need babysitting anymore.” She smiled at him. “We’re all eighteen, or close enough.”

  He clearly wasn’t happy. “You’re going Monday and coming back Thursday?”

  “Yes, as far as I know. Why?”

  “Would you consider going to Wells with me? We’d go up when you came back and come home Saturday. I want to show you some of the places there, where I met Sarah, where the ley lines are strongest. And I think you’ll get a kick out of my library.”

  He’d mentioned her going to stay with him when he’d first told her who he was. At the time she didn’t consider it, but now she found herself wanting to go. Her mother would have a stroke if she told her she was going away with him, and her boys wouldn’t be any happier.

  “Think about it and let me know.” He smiled at her, but she saw the flash of disappointment in his eyes. He thought she was going to refuse.

  “I’d like to do that. Thanks,” she said. “But I’d need to be back by Saturday. It’s the twins and Matt’s birthday.”

  His smile widened until he was beaming at her. “Excellent. We’ll have a lot of fun. I promise. And I’ll get you back in time for the party.”

  “It’s not going to go down well.”

  “No. It’s not. Lynda will fight you on it. Do you want me to tell her?”

  “Good grief, no. You’ll set off world war three. The only way she deals with you is by pretending you don’t exist. She won’t let me say anything about you. Not even college stuff.”

  “What will you tell her?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted.

  “The boys will fight it, but you need to start the way you want to go on.” />
  “What?”

  “Stand your ground. There’s one of you and four of them. That’s not good odds on the best of days, add in they’re going to guilt trip you, it’s going to take a will of steel to go against them. But you’re going to have to. If you don’t, you’ll be giving over your independence to them. They’re your boyfriends, not your masters. They can’t tell you what to do, and you can’t tell them what to do.”

  “I won’t let them tell me what to do, but I will listen to what they have to say.”

  “Good, compromise is essential to keep any friendship going.”

  Her phone rang, and he rolled his eyes. “Ten to one that’s Nate not so subtly reminding me not to keep you here.” He jumped down from the desk.

  She checked her phone and chuckled, shaking her head. It was Nate.

  “So predictable. Off you go then. Let me know if anything changes.”

  “I will. Thanks.” She gave him a wave and went out, shutting the door behind her.

  “What did he want?” Nate demanded as soon as the door closed.

  “I need the loo before we do anything else,” she said.

  “C’mon then.” Nate impatiently hustled them down the corridor towards the girl’s toilets.

  She dashed in before they had a chance to say anything and by the time she came out they were leaning against the opposite wall scowling. The corridor was empty of students and teachers, most of them preferring to spend the short time in the sunshine outside.

  “Don’t leave us hanging.” Nate stepped forwards and the others joined him, gathering so close to her, she had to look up to see them properly. Her kingdom for a few more inches in height.

  “He told me I needed to make the middle of my assignment more solid, use more sources. From there it went to what I wanted to take in uni. He suggested history, I told him I may not even go to uni.”

  “You don’t think you will then?” Josh asked. “We don’t think we will either. Dad has said we can apprentice with him and get our qualifications that way.”

  “It makes sense,” Matt agreed. “There’s no real point going to uni to study maths when all you want to do is get greasy under a car.”

  “What do you want to do, Matt?” she asked.

  “What else haven’t you told us yet?” Nate asked before Matt could reply.

  She resisted rolling her eyes. She’d hoped the diversion would work, but Nate was like a dog with a bone.

  “He wanted to know what we were doing over the holidays. I said we were going camping, and he asked if I wanted to go to Wells with him after I got back on the Thursday. I said yes.” She spoke quickly, in the vain attempt that speaking fast would make their reaction less volatile. She failed.

  “You’ve got to be joking!” Nate was the first, but he was quickly followed by the others.

  “You want to go away for the entire day with him?” Josh demanded.

  “Glastonbury? That’s miles away!” Jake spoke at the same time as his twin.

  “You can’t go away with him. Not yet, you don’t know him yet. You don’t know what he really wants from you.” Matt was quieter but just as horrified.

  “He’s going to show me around. Show me places I want to see. His home and his library of books. We’ll come back Saturday. I won’t miss your birthdays, I promise. It’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.”

  “You’ve already decided, haven’t you?” Nate said. “You’ve made up your mind.”

  “He needed an answer, and I want to go. Come on, please, don’t be angry with me. It’ll be fine, honestly. I’ll be fine. I don’t want to fight over this. Please.”

  “Your mum will never go for it,” Nate said.

  “She can’t stop me. I have every right to get to know him.”

  Nate’s shoulders slumped, he caught her hand in his. “We’ll want to know exactly where he’s taking you, what address you’ll be at. And for god’s sake, keep your guard up.”

  “We’ll miss you,” Matt said, sliding his arm around her waist.

  “I’ll miss you.”

  The overhead bell rang, and she looked at Nate. “Ready for French?”

  He pushed his glasses up his nose. “Yeah, come on.”

  He wasn’t happy about it, none of them were. But they’d promised to support her, and she knew they wouldn’t let her down.

  Her mother, on the other hand, was not going to support her. She was going to go mental and Lily hadn’t even told her about camping yet. There never seemed to be a good time. They rarely talked like they used to. She’d never been deceptive with her mother before, and it pricked her conscience, but if she wanted to live peacefully, deception and secrets were the only answer. Her mother had spent eighteen years lying for Lily’s good, or so she claimed. Lily was only following her example.

  Karma

  “What will you say to your mum?” Matt unlocked the Land Rover.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t told her about camping yet.”

  “Lily! We go Monday. What if she doesn’t want you to go?”

  “She’s never had a problem with me staying overnight with you all. It’s not much different. She knows you’re my boyfriend.” She got into the passenger seat.

  Matt got a text, and he looked at it before passing her his bag and keys. “It’s Nate.”

  “Is everything okay?” She put his bag with hers in the footwell.

  “Yeah, it’s something the twins are working on. I’ll be back in a minute.” He gave her a quick kiss and ran off.

  She shut her door, if she had a few minutes, she might as well ring her mother. If they weren’t face to face it might be easier.

  Her mother answered on the third ring.

  “Hi, Mum, I forgot to tell you that we’re going to go camping for a couple of days over the break. I don’t need to get anything, they’ve got all the stuff for it.”

  “They? Camping? Matt and the boys?”

  “Yeah, sorry, I forgot to tell you. Things have been a bit hectic—”

  “You can’t go.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve already made plans. We’re going to London for the week. There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “What?” A cold chill formed in her stomach. “I’m not moving there.”

  “No, nothing like that. Not yet, anyway. The last couple of times...well, Mr Pringle has proposed, and I’ve decided to accept.”

  “What?” Lily nearly dropped her phone. “You what?”

  “Is it so odd someone would want to marry me?”

  “No, no! Of course not, you’re beautiful and lovely. It’s just...Mr Pringle? Gerry Pringle?”

  “And what’s wrong with that? He’s a respectable man, a nice man.”

  “You don’t like him like that.”

  “How do you know who I do or don’t like?”

  “But you’ve always...” Lily clicked her tongue. “It was him I saw! How long have you been seeing him?” Her initial shock was fading. He was a bit odd, but if her mum loved him and he loved her, then Lily was happy for her.

  “Long enough. And yes, he was down at the weekend. He was staying in town. Where did you see him?”

  “At the pub, Saturday, Nate’s birthday. I’m happy for you, Mum, I really am.”

  “That’s where we’re going for the week. To stay with him.”

  “No. You don’t want me with you. How can you get down and dirty with him when I’m around?”

  “Lilith!”

  “Aww, come on, Mum, you know you’ll do the deed. If you haven’t already.”

  “Lilith! Would you like me questioning you about Matt?”

  “You can if you want, but other than some pretty intense make out sessions, we haven’t got that far yet.”

  Her mother groaned, making Lily laugh.

  “But this is perfect. You’ll have all week to spend together. I’ll be fine with the boys. When do you leave?”

  “Sunday morning, coming back the following Saturday.”

 
; “It’s worked out well then. Take your chance, Mum. I have noticed, you know.”

  “What? What have you noticed?”

  “You’ve never dated anyone. All these years and you never had any boyfriends. I don’t want you to give up the chance to be happy, Mum.”

  It went silent and Lily wondered if she’d gone too far. For a few moments it had been like they used to be, and it made her heart ache.

  “I do love you, Lily.” Her mother’s voice sounded far away. “Please, remember that.”

  Lily’s eyes misted. “I love you too, Mum.”

  “I’ll see you when you get in. We can make sure you have enough clothes to keep you warm. Camping in this weather will be cold. Bye, darling.”

  Her mum rang off and Lily sighed heavily.

  A soft knock at her window brought her head around. Drew was standing there, a quizzical look on his face. She opened her door, and he stepped forward, lifting one hand to rest on the roof.

  “Everything all right?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I think so. Matt had to go back for something.” She looked over at the entrance but there was no sign of them.

  “Did they give you the third degree? Bring out the lights and rubber hoses?”

  “Don’t be horrid.”

  “Tell me they didn’t demand to know what I wanted.”

  “Okay, I won’t. Besides, they didn’t demand anything.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Bye, sir.” A group of girls walked past, and he acknowledged them with a wave.

  “Your fan club, sir?” She smirked at him.

  “Hardly. Good news is that Mr Philips will be back after Christmas.”

  “He’s okay?”

  “He’s not doing too bad,” Drew replied.

  High pitched laughter caught her attention. The girls were standing by the bus trying to get Drew’s attention, but he was oblivious to them, or at least it looked like he was.

  “What happened? I know he was in a car accident, but what happened?” she asked.

  “He braked for some reason and whoever was behind him went into the back of him. It shunted him into a ditch and the car rolled, ended up on its roof. I went to see him after he got out of the hospital, his arm and leg were broken. Clean breaks, nothing complicated.