Page 55 of The Lie
“Roman?” Cadence sits beside me and does up the straps of her small heel.
“No, Hunter thinks it’s Jace.”
I see the puzzled expression on Sadie’s face.
“This isn’t the first rose. I got one last Saturday. Now I have two more.” I’m trying to find the meaning behind them. Why is he giving me two tonight? Is that Jace’s way of saying sorry and he wants me to be his…what? Friend? Girlfriend? Not happening.
“But let’s not think about that. I spoke to Hunter, and he knows Tyler and said he will ‘set it up.’”
Cadence squeals so loudly my ear rings. I rub it and she mutters, “Sorry,” but then she jumps up, wobbling on her heels, and jumps a few times. “This is it, Sadie. You have to dance with him. Maybe go on a date with him?”
Sadie has her arms wrapped tightly around her waist and is shaking her head and mouthing, “No.”
We’re both nodding yes, but it doesn’t seem to help. Maybe I overstepped and she’s not ready for this. Or maybe she’s just an introvert and needs a little push?
“Okay, what if we do nothing and nothing happens, and he graduates, and you never get to find out if he was your forever, and now you’re forty, alone and sad because you never took the chance at the homecoming dance to be with the sweet and cute Tyler Hall?”
Cadence snorts. “You paint a pretty picture there, Mila.”
I shrug. “I try.” Then I poke my tongue out at her.
Sadie paces a few times and, finally, she stands straight with a smile on her face. “I can do this. If he wants to dance with me, I will.”
I smile and let out a deep breath. “Oh good, because when I said Hunter will set it up…” They both look at me, and I smile. “Tyler’s going to come up to you and ask you to dance. He’s expecting you to say yes, so please don’t say no. Hunter said he’s kinda shy, so please tell me now if you’re going to say no so I can give the guy a heads-up.”
Sadie holds her hand over her mouth and shakes her head, then nods, then shakes, and I’m confused if that’s a yes or a no.
“Yes, I will say yes.” And she jumps around with Cadence.
Standing up, I walk around the room in my heels. I prefer my sneakers; these things will be killing me by the end of the night.
“Let’s go get our dance on,” I call out behind the girls as we all file out and down the stairs. At the last moment, I change my mind and ditch the heels. Cadence laughs as she watches me slide my foot in my sneaker and sigh.
“I told you, the higher the heel, the greater the pain.” Shetsksat me.
I shake my head and smile up at her as I slip my other foot in. “My mother taught me, pain is beauty. I’m used to wearing heels for all her stupid functions. I don’t know why I even bought them, to be honest. Old habit, I guess. I forgot I can be my own person here. If my mom saw me wearing sneakers, she would drop dead.” And that’s the truth.
I double-check my small bag—I have my phone, purse, keys, lip gloss, and eyeliner, just in case. You never know when you need to touch up, and I did my favorite smoky eyes. God, if Mom could see me now.
Closing the door behind me, I bounce over to Sadie’s red coupe, something I never could have done in those death traps women call heels. Cadence is in the back so I can sit up front. My dress is too tight to squish back there and not rip the slit higher. As I get to the car door, my phone starts to ring. I open my bag and see the caller ID.
Roman.
I quickly answer and put it to my ear. “Roman?” There’s no sound at first, then I hear his dad, yelling, and something smashing.Shit.
“Roman?” My throat grows thick as my hand flies to my chest to stop my heart from beating out of my chest.
“Please, are you okay?” I choke out.
Why doesn’t he say something? He never calls me. Why is he calling me now? Does he need me? I hear him breathing, his voice deep and raspy, like he’s been screaming for hours.
“I love you,” is all he says. Then it disconnects.
“Roman,” I scream at the phone as I try to call him back, but it goes straight to voicemail.Fuck. Shit. This is bad.
Two sets of eyes are on me, and my hands shake as I search my bag for my car keys.
“We can drive you,” Sadie calls out, and I shake my head.
