Page 86 of Surviving Lies

Ava stood to follow Macie, suddenly seeming concerned for her friend as she walked away with her shoulders slumped.

“Need some more ice cream, kiddo,” Ava said to Macie’s back. Then she turned toward Lanie and me. “I think we have two girls tonight that need some cheering up about their love life,” she proclaimed. She went to Macie, her arm going around her body and pulling her in close for a hug. Macie resisted at first, but eventually gave in.

“I really liked him,” Macie whispered into Ava’s shoulder.

After a brief moment, Ava brought the two of them back to the living room, and they were ready to join us.

“I’m sorry he did that to you,” I said to her. “Guyscanbe assholes, and he has no idea what a great thing he’s fucking up by ghosting you. You will find someone who deserves you, Macie. Don’t worry about that.” Not that I was the one that should be giving advice on guys at the moment, but she looked so sad, I needed to say something.

And she smiled when I was done.

“And like they’re saying, I don’t really know Ty. I think you need to give him the chance he deserves. He’s sticking around and working hard for you, unlike Jace. So maybe he is worth giving another chance to,” she said, her small smile a bit of an apology.

Ava crawled closer to me, her tiny frame squeezing next to me on the couch. “I say you listen to Lanie – consider talking to him when you’re ready. And in the meantime, we put on the movie and get back to our girls’ night.” She pulled the blanket over us and grabbed the remote from the table.

I had a lot to think about. They had given me a lot to think about.

As Ava started scrolling through the channels, Lanie’s phone lit up with a message that grabbed her attention. As she looked at her phone, her eyes found mine.

“Is it Ty?” I asked.

Lanie nodded as she resumed reading from her phone. “He wants to meet tomorrow, to talk. To me.” She sounded unsure and nervous. “What should I say?”

At first I was pissed; he reached out to her and not me. The little fucker! But he knew as well as I did I wouldn’t talk to him right now, let alone read a message from him. It made me think back to last year, when Xander faced having to leave school, and Lanie, and couldn’t tell her about it. He spoke to me and not her, and it devastated Lanie. But now I understood.

“Do it,” I told her. Even though I was in no mood to see or talk to him, I wanted information. This was the best of both worlds. “Do it for me, and him, please.”

Lanie nodded and typed a response to Ty. Once she’d put her phone down, we resumed our spots, and the room lit up with blue light as the movie began. Ava chose a sappy love story, which was fine. More crying was bound to happen for me tonight, anyway. Might as well be about a movie.

But as the first scene started, Lanie’s phone lit up again.

“Is that Ty again?” I asked.

“No, it’s not ...” Lanie responded.

Her answer seemed distant.

“Well, just tell lover boy you’re all ours tonight. I’m not giving you up,” I told her. She laughed as she looked at her phone.

But then she stopped laughing.

And by the light of the TV, and the look on her face, I knew who the message was about.

I jumped off the couch and was immediately by her side.

“Who is it, Lanie?” I asked her. Her hands were shaky as she held her phone.

“It’s Bryce,” she said.

Bryce was Xander’s brother, but he was also a detective that had been involved with her case last year.

“What does it say, Lanie?” I asked.

She handed me her phone.

Hey Lanie just wanted to give you a head’s up that Max and his dad were let out of jail last night, they’re both on house arrest until the trial but the charges they put them in for couldn’t keep them in any longer. THEY ARE NOT IN JAIL ANY MORE

Well, fuck.

---