The Lies: Landon Academy book 1

by Natalia Wiszniewska

  “What?” my voice is confused.

  “Shut your damn mouth or I will help you!” Ty’s fist flies and knocks Liam right into his nose. Blood pours from it immediately. Confused, I step away from them. Liam shakes his head and punch Ty right back. Both of them went wrestling on the ground. The strong arm wraps around my middle.

  “Come with me beautiful, we need to talk” Zac’s soft whisper reaches my ear. I look at him and nod my head. He takes my hand and leads me out of school. The warning bell rings but he doesn’t care. We walk straight to the nearest park at the back of the school. Zac motions for me to sit down and I do.

  “What are you want to talk about?” I ask.

  “I want to apologise for my behaviour at the competition. That was messed up, I just didn’t know who he is, and I thought that he is overstepping.” He looks at his hands.

  “Don’t worry about it, it’s fine.”

  “No, it’s not. I know that we have some history together and I know that you don’t want to do anything with me, but you need to believe me, it wasn’t me. I would never do anything like to you, to anyone actually.” I believe him. Zac is a nice guy who is part- time playboy as well.

  “I know. I wasn’t mad at you. I was mad at Liam and I just use all my anger at you, that was stupid. I am sorry as well.” This guy is making me soft. I would never, in a million years, apologise to a guy, but I realise that this change of environment developed some feelings I didn’t know I could have.

  “Are you apologizing? For real? I would never say that you are a person who will do it.” He chuckles.

  “Yeah, don’t tell anyone because I will kill you.”

  “Okay, okay… so, are you and that guy a thing now?”

  “You could say that. I don’t know why I am telling you this, but Tyler is my brother. We are not related by blood, but his father adopted me when I was four. We never treat ourselves like siblings. Our relation is slightly complicated.” I look at him, but I don’t see any judgements in his eyes, just kindness.

  “I saw your smile when he came on stage. I mean, I saw that you were shocked but also excited. I know that you probably think that I have some feelings for you, but I don’t. I mean, when I first saw you, you made an impression, because come on you are stunning baby girl, and I would need to be blind to not spot it. I wanted to test myself because any other girl never done such an impression on me but as soon as we have a little hop- hop together, I realised that I cannot have only one girl. You know what I mean?”

  “Are you saying that you are not able to be in a relationship with only one girl and that you are sorry, but we cannot be nothing more than friends?” I make a sad face. I am not sad because I felt this too. That we are not meant to be together or some shit. Zac looks at my face and it suddenly become white.

  “I am really sorry, please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” He rushes to answer but I burst laughing. “Are you playing me now?”

  “OMG, I should take a picture of you horrified face,” I laugh even harder and he punches my arm softly. “Okay, okay, I am sorry. I know that we are not meant to be together. I actually wanted to speak with you about it too. Don’t get me wrong, you were amazing, like, are you practising this move of your tongue? Like, seriously, what you have done then, it was amazing, but I knew that you are not a commitment type of guy and as for me, it was nice, but I am not a commitment type of girl either.” I explain. He let out a breath of relief.

  “Oh, God. That’s awesome! I mean, I have some types of feelings for you, but they are not romantic. When I am looking at you, I feel some kind of bond, like really strong and anything I want to do is to protect you. I know it’s stupid.”

  “It’s not, because I feel the same about you. I feel safe when you are next to me.”

  “Are you saying that from now we are going to be the best friends or some shit? Are we going to have the same bracelets or something?”

  “I would really like that, the first par, I mean but no bracelets.” I smile at him and he returns a smile.

  “Maybe we could repeat the other night? Just for fun you know, your body is so hot, I would really like a taste again. We could be friends with benefits type of thing.”

  “Don’t cross the line. We are friends and that’s it.” I kiss him on the cheek. He takes my hand and leads me to school. “Are we going to have problems because we skipped the first period?”

  “No, chill. I have it covered.” He smirks at me and I know that he is the best thing that happened to me after my arrival here.

  Chapter 14

  We come back to school. The corridors are empty as we cross them. Zac takes my hand in his and I look at him with a smile.

  “I wouldn’t touch her if I was you” Tyler’s voice echoes. Shit. I forgot about this little fight between him and Liam. I turn around to look at him and my smile disappears. Ty has a black eye and split lip. This didn’t go well, I see. I run to him and touch his bottom lip. He hisses.

  “It isn’t that bad, love. You haven’t seen the other guy.” Ty smirks at me and I automatically start to wonder where Liam is and how he feels. My face probably changes to a wonder- face because Ty eyes me suspiciously. “I see that you care more about this second.” He shoves my hands away.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I am concerned because you may have problems now. What the hell happened?” I reply.

  “Nothing happened. This wanker talks too much and he was rude to you, and I won’t let anyone treat you like that.” It’s nice to have someone behind my backs but this unsure feeling is following me. I don’t think that Liam wanted to humiliate me. He said something about our father and my birthday. He wanted to warn me about something. I don’t know what to think. Why Ty stopped him; why didn’t he let him finish? Does he know something and doesn’t want to share? Is suspicious but I can’t let him know that I care. Actually, I feel like I cannot trust Ty anymore.

  “Thank you,” I smile at him and he returns it. “We can go home now if you want. I don’t feel very well actually.”

  “I need to stay here and wait for our father to arrive. This prick is in headmaster office now and I will be next. We can go after that.”

  “That’s alright. I will see you home. I have a car and you can come back with father.” I turn to leave. I march through the hallway and when I know for sure that no one can see me, I remove my phone from my pocket and type a quick message.

  Emlyn: Meet me at the suicide spot in 15. Be alone, we need to talk.

  The response comes straight away.

  Liam: Will be there.

  I run to my car and soon enough I am driving through the city.

  *

  I wait for Liam with anticipation. It’s been five minutes already. Where the hell he is? As soon as the thought crosses my mind, the doors to the roof opens. Liam steps in and as soon as my eyes land on him my breath catches. He also has a swollen eye and split lip; it looks like the fight was equally won by them. But the problem is, why would they fight? Liam spots me and I wave at him.

  “You look horrible,” I state. He sits next to me and looks in my eyes.

  “What do you want Morpho?”

  “Explanation is all I need.”

  “I don’t have that for you, I’m sorry.” He rushes and begins to stand up. I put my hand on his shoulder to stop him.

  “Don’t play with me. I know that you know something about me, about my father. I want to know, please, if it’s important just tell me.” I beg and I never beg. He looks at me and let out a breath. He lifts his hand to brush his hair with his fingers.

  “Do you know why I call you Morpho?” He asks instead. Brilliant, it will be harder than I thought. I shake my head as no because I don’t. “Morpho is a blue butterfly Morpho peleides. They are the largest butterflies in the world with wings spanning from five to eight inches. They have so intensive blue colour, just like your eyes. When I was little, me and my mom went to this part or whatever was it and those butterflies we
re always there. We could sit there and just look at them, they were so beautiful. When I looked in your eyes for the first time, I saw them there. Their spirit and colour right in your eyes.” His answer shocked me. I thought that he was being rude because common, Morpho? The name is horrible, it sounds like some monster name or the name of energy drink. The meaning, on the other hand, is magnificent. “Sometimes, when I look in your eyes, I see myself chasing those insects without a care in the world. Your eyes remind me about my freedom and maybe that’s why something is pushing me your way. I want to help you, I really do, and because of that I will warn you. Don’t trust anyone, no your father, no brothers, not even me, because we are made from the same shit and our families push us to do something that we don’t want to do.”

  “Your story is beautiful, but I always trusted my family. I know that I can count on them. They would never do something to hurt me.” I say with a confident voice, but I know that something is wrong and maybe, just maybe he is right. I don’t know for sure, but I will need to find out.

  “Tell me then. Did you know that you weren’t adopted, legally? Your father kidnapped you for ransom. He didn’t find you in the park. That was some cheap bullshit he gave you.”

  “Ho- how do you… you...” My head spins, vision blurs. I try to stand but my legs refuse to obey, my body slides to the ground. Inhale, exhale… Something is happening around me, but I cannot focus, someone is shouting my name, I think it is my name. I try to locate the person, but suddenly I see black.

  *

  I open my eyes. I don’t know where I am but everything around me is in the dark. I try to adjust my vision to the darkness, but it’s not working. I move my body to sit but it also didn’t work well. My head is in pain. I can feel that I am laying on something soft and very comfortable. I turn my head to the left and realise that someone is next to me.

  “I’m sorry. You lost consciousness because of me. How are you feeling?” I know that voice, but I can’t focus, and I am not able to place it to the person.

  “Where am I?” I ask instead. My voice is raspy and for a second I wasn’t sure it belongs to me.

  “My place. I didn’t know where to take you, the only reasonable answer was my place because my father is outside the country and I am not allowed in yours.” Liam, yes that’s him. Now, I remember. He was with me when he told me the news. I still cannot believe it. How could he possibly know that? Maybe I misunderstand something. “You need to believe me. I know I told you to not to trust anyone, but… just ask your father, he owes you an explanation. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” His hand travel to my cheek and I melt at his touch. His voice, his presence, it is something I need. I am not sure if he feels the same but at this moment I want to forget. I lift my hand to his crotch and the reaction of his body shocked me. He told me once that I am disgusting, but his body is telling me a different story.

  “This is not a good idea Morpho. We can’t be together, you know that.”

  “Am I asking you to be my boyfriend or to fuck me?” I ask. His lips fall on mine and my woman parts scream with delight. My body reacts to him as his on mine. We both want it, so why not to just do it? I start to unbutton his pants, but he stops me.

  “I want you, I really do, but…” I don’t let him finish.

  “Take me home Liam.” I gather myself after this rejection. I have never been rejected before. I stand up and move to the doors. He follows me to the front doors and then to the car which stands on the driveway. He opens the door for me, and I sit inside.

  We drive for a short time and we arrive at my place.

  “Never talk to me again. I don’t want to hear your lies anymore. You are doing this only because of your father.” I leave him looking at me and proceed to walk to my house. A short time after that, I hear the squeal of the wheels and turn around to find his car disappear in the dark.

  I step in the house and follow the voices. They lead me to the dining room. When I step there, all eyes fall on me.

  “Where the hell have you been?!” Ty’s angry voice rings in my ears and the pain in my head automatically appeared.

  “Out,” I state with a soft voice. Ty comes closer to me and look me up and down.

  “We saw the car. Were you with him?!” I didn’t answer this question because if he saw us then why is he asking? “Answer the fucking question Em! What the hell are you playing?!”

  “Am I playing something? Are you serious right now? What about you?” I eyed my father and Tyler. “What game are you playing huh? Did you ever wanted to tell me the truth about my adoption? Were you planning to tell me?!” I shout at them and my eyes begin to water. I hate them, I hate when I cry because it only shows how weak I am, and I am not weak. Both of them look at me shocked and Tobias’s eyes jump from me to them with concern. He didn’t know. I see it. He is as surprised as I was when Liam told me.

  “What the hell? What are you talking about Em?” Tobias asks.

  “Tobias, Tyler go to your room. I need to speak with Emlyn alone.” My father answers.

  “No, no fucking way. They are staying and you will tell me the truth.” My father motion for us to sit on the sofa. We do as we are told and wait for him to begin.

  “Yes, this is true that you weren’t adopted as I told you. I mean, I have adopted you but not legally. I changed your name and gave you my surname. I gave you a completely new identity and changed my data from two to three children. A friend of mine helped me to do this under the radar and we moved to London in order not to arouse suspicions.” I take a deep breath. My whole life was a lie. I erased the memory and focused only on the good things. I knew that their story about migration for better life was shit. The story didn’t add up, but I never suspected that it has something to do with me. My father sits next to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. “I also didn’t find you as I told you, but you already know that. My business… is bigger than I told you. I am a boss man in three countries, and I am still expending the territory. Our family is powerful, but we have competitors, enemies. I had a friend once. We have been co-workers, you can say. We planned together, we invested together but one day he fell in love and leave me without capital. He took more than a half of his shares and most of our customers. I needed to build my empire from scratch and I also had a wife who was pregnant. I wanted to build for her and my child a stable home, and that asshole took everything from me! I planned my revenge slowly and carefully. I didn’t want to take money or clients from him because that was something easy to take. I wanted him to hurt as much as his betrayal hurt me. I waited four years, four long years and still didn’t have an idea how to hurt him. Then my wife died in a car accident and I felt nothing. The idea enlightened me then, what is the best revenge? Take something from him, something he desired. A child. I knew that his wife born a girl at exactly the same time Tyler was born. I thought that I will take you and ask him to beg, to beg for his only child. Beg for mercy. But it didn’t go like I planned. When I took you and ask him for begging, he rejected. He said that you were the obstacle which I kindly took away. He was happy that you are gone. His wife was a model, she wasn’t a mother material and she was happy to give you for free. Those assholes even asked me if I need your clothes or if I will buy you new ones. I wanted to leave you somewhere. I was angry, angry because my plan failed. But then I took your hand and you smiled at me. Your eyes shined with this energy, with love. You squeezed my hand and said that everything will be fine and if I want to play with you. My heart melted because you were that light in my life. You made me smile and I didn’t smile for a long time. It showed me that I cannot give you away, that I need to take responsibility for my actions and become your father. A father who will provide for you, who will love you and help when you need help. Of course, I gave you choice. I couldn’t decide for you, so I asked if you want to come with me and you agreed.” I cry for the whole time. This story is so unbelievable. They didn’t want me. I was an object that wasn’t wanted. They throw me away as soon as the c
hance appeared. Tom kidnapped me for bad reasons, he used me. He didn’t respect that I was a child, a human, he just took away my life. But is it really that bad? If I agreed to go with him, maybe I wasn’t happy there? Tom gave me his love and become my father. He never treated me bad and maybe I shouldn’t judge his actions. But everything is so unexpected that I don’t know what to think now. I need time.

  I stand up, look at my father and Tyler, and Tobi who is crying. I smile at him and focus on my father.

  “I need time. You should have told me. If I was that important for you, you would tell me. And you Ty, if you would love, you would never hide the truth.” With that, I leave the room and house and go to the only safe place I know.

  Chapter 15

  I take my motorcycle from the garage. I put the helmet and start the engine. On the way to the roof, I realise that Liam could be there, and I don’t want to see him right now. What would I tell him? That he was right? That my family lied to me for my whole life and I blindly followed their orders like a lost dog? After my dead body. I stop Kawasaki and call the only number, I know, will always pick up.

  “Hello beautiful? What’s up? Do you need some Zacky’s sweets? Are you already want a second round?”

  “Yes, actually I want to come to your house, right now, if you’re not busy.” A muffled voice echoes on the other lane. Something covers the speaker and someone on the other side start to run or clean, I don’t know.

  “Ah, are you serious now babe or are you messing with me?” Zac asks.

  “No jokes here. Gimme your address.” He gives me an address as I asked, and I start to drive again.

  When I arrive at his property, my jaw drops. Hell, I didn’t know that Zac is so rich. I stop at the gate which opens automatically. I drive through a short driveway and park my ride in front of huge metal garage’s doors. I slowly make my way to the front doors where Zac is already waiting. He welcomes me with a huge grin.