Page 83 of Surviving Lies

But I couldn’t leave.

There were still things that had to be said. So I resumed sitting on his stoop.

And I waited.

At first, I was nervous that Gage was going to stay at Becca’s place. About twenty minutes had already passed and he still hadn’t returned. But then I heard the rumble of his engine and saw the headlights of his Mustang come around the corner. I steeled myself for a conversation I really didn’t want to have, but knew I had to.

He shook his head at me as he walked toward his door, his disbelief obvious.

“Is this where you beg and plead for me to help you get your girl back?” he asked.

I stood from the brick step and went chest to chest with him. “No. That’ll be on me. But I do need to talk to you. Can we go inside?”

He didn’t answer me right away. And I didn’t blame him. He had no real reason to allow me the opportunity to talk to him about anything. The only thing we had in common was our mutual interest in Becca.

And I guess he felt that was enough.

“Sure.” He held the door open and followed behind me.

His place was different from what I was used to seeing around these parts. I knew he had worked for some years, but this looked like he had to come from money. This was not the apartment of a guy in his mid-twenties coming back to school.

“Want a drink?” Gage asked.

“No, I’m good.” I needed to get right to the point. This was not a social call. This could turn ugly between us. “Listen, um, this isn’t an easy thing for me to do. Talking to you about Becca, well, it’s probably the last thing I’d like to do, ever.”

He had walked into the kitchen area, taking a seat at the island, so I joined him.

“Well, you’re the one who asked to do this, man. No one is forcing you.”

“I’m not doing it for me; I’m doing it for Becca. It’s always for Becca.” I paused to gather my thoughts. I needed to say this right the first time. “I saw the girl who was here with you last week. She looked like more than just a casual hookup.” I studied him for his reaction, but he was stoic. “One thing you need to know about Becca is she hates lies.”

I refused to lose it in front of this guy. The lump in my throat was getting harder and harder to swallow over as the tears welled up in my eyes.

“Can I have that glass of water now?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said. He got a bottle from the fridge and placed it in front of me on the island. I drained the entire thing in one gulp.

“Even if what you two are doing is ‘casual,’ she won’t forgive you if you’re lying to her. It’s where she draws the line. I’m pretty sure Lanie told her about whoever was here, so she already knows. But what she doesn’t know iswhoshe is.” And now I really studied him. The fidget as he adjusted his watch, the rubbing of his eyes, the folded hand now under his chin. “I think she’d be pretty devastated by that information, wouldn’t she?”

He stood up from his stool and stared down at me. “I think you’ve done a pretty good job already of devastating her, Ty, don’t ya think?” he asked.

“Yeah, I know I have. That’s why I’m telling you this. She can’t handle any more. Don’t hurt her. And if you are lying to her, fix it. Fix it, unlike I did.”

Chapter 24

Becca

Jesus fucking Christ. I couldn’t believe Ty showed up at Gage’s place. He actually showed up at the house of the other guy I was sleeping with.

The car ride home was really uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure what made Gage more angry: that Ty was there or that we, once again, had our sex interrupted. But he was quiet on the ride. Thankfully it was short, only a block to my place. We said a simple goodbye and I hightailed it out of his car.

And I wasn’t sure what I was most mad about. Having Ty show up there was ... embarrassing? Maybe that wasn’t what I was feeling. My emotions were so jumbled up in my head and heart. I couldn’t make sense of them.

When I barreled into the apartment, I heard voices. Lots of voices. And I couldn’t be happier. I thought I was going to be coming home to an empty apartment, and I had no interest in being alone after what just happened. Rounding the corner from the hall to the kitchen, I caught sight of the three of them unpacking bags of food into the fridge and freezer. They hadn’t noticed me as they continued with their conversation.

“Ava, do you have a boyfriend?” Lanie asked.

Ava was bent over, putting food into the fridge. I could only imagine Ava’s eyeroll at Lanie’s question. “No, I’m not the relationship kinda person,” she responded as she closed the refrigerator.

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