Page 124 of Tell Me Lies

Kaelie is faster than I ever could have predicted. The sound of the slap rings out and I catch Amber as she staggers back. That was probably the worst thing she could have ever done.

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Kaelie Carter

I know I have made a mistake the moment my palm connects with her face. But it has been months of this shit and I just finally snapped. Matthias looks shocked and Amber is pissed.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!” Amber roars, lunging at me.

Matthias catches her just before her hands reach me and pulls her back. People have stopped walking to stare at what is happening. I feel myself blush at all the attention and I wish the earth would split open beneath my feet so I can fall into the fissure.

“You’re going to regret doing that!” Amber continues to screech.

My gaze connects with Matthias’s and I can see the question there. Should he do something? I shake my head before turning my attention back to Amber.

“You have made my life a living hell for almost a year!” I yell back at her. “You’ve known me since we were five years old. How long did you think I was just going to sit back and do nothing? You know me better that.”

I see Amber’s little blonde friend come from the side and turn my glare on her, stopping her in her tracks.

“You don’t deserve to be here!” Amber yells.

“I worked my ass off to be here!”

“Your mother killed mine.”

I see the hate in her gaze. The fact that she fully believes the words coming out of her mouth finally pushes me over the edge.

“It takes two, Amber.” I’m calm as I step closer to her. “Your dad is just as guilty of fucking my mom as she is of fucking him. I’m sorry your mom killed herself, but it isn’t my fault. And it isn’t yours either.”

The last words leave me softly. I used to love Amber, she was my best friend, and deep down I don’t want to hurt her. I just want her to back the fuck off. Amber starts crying and turns into Matthias’s embrace. He holds her as she shakes, his gaze glued to me. And I know, no matter what, this is going to get so much worse before it gets better.

Chapter Nine

Matthias Delgado

“Can we talk about what happened yesterday?” I ask Kaelie after our tutoring session.

“No.”

“I need to know what’s going on. Amber is going nuts, threatening to take everything you love from you.”

“What?” Kaelie asks, clearly panicked.

She rips her phone from her pocket and dials a number before pressing the unit to her ear. I watch her as she paces the length of the deck we’re sitting on. When there is no answer, she redials. With each passing second, I see her anxiety grow and I want nothing more than to pull her into my arms and hold her until the panic fades from her beautiful face.

“I need to go.” She grabs her bag and turns to walk away but I catch her arm.

“You need to talk to me,” I say. “It’s been more than a year that you’ve been dealing with her shit and this is the first time I’ve seen you freak out.”

“I can’t take the time to explain this to you right now. I need to call an Uber because the bus will take over an hour to get there.”

Her voice has gone up an octave as her panic skyrockets. Her breathing becomes labored and tears cling to her eyelashes. My heart starts beating harder as I watch her try to hold back what I’m sure will be a breakdown.

Taking her face in my palms I force her to look at me. “I will drive you, but you are going to tell me what the hell this is about.”

“Why do you care?”

“Just because you’ve moved on doesn’t mean I’ve stopped caring,” I tell her the truth hoping she will trust me.

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