Page 97 of Surviving Lies

“But it’s also refreshing to see two people so much in love, right?” she added.

I still only stared at her, not sure if she was looking for answers from me or not.

“I find it interesting that you’re dressed as a pirate tonight, Ty,” the pixie said, gesturing to my costume. “It’s a good pirate costume. Not just some cheap store-bought one either. You put some time into it. You look good.”

By then, I was invested in the time she was giving me. I leaned one shoulder against the wall we were close to and took a long drink of the beer from my cup. She followed suit, lining her body up with mine, but about a foot below, meaning she needed to crane her neck, she was so tiny.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked.

“Well, I have a fifty-fifty shot at getting it right,” I answered her.

She seemed amused by that.

“Well, take your shot, big guy.”

I could very easily see this one being friends with Becca. They had to have become besties almost immediately; they were cut from the same cloth.

“Ava!”

Another girl yelled from across the room. The petite pixie tried not to respond, but the twitch of her head was just noticeable enough for me to see.

Then the other roommate joined us.

She was beautiful. The combination of her light-brown skin and light-blue eyes was stunning. It was her costume that was hard to decipher. She was dressed as a guy, I thought, wearing a blazer and a weird red hat with flaps on the side.

“Ava, I couldn’t find you,” she said. “Who is this you’re talking to?” The flirtation came through in her voice as she turned to look at me. “Hi, I’m Macie.” As we shook hands, a look of recognition overtook her face. “Oh, wait, you’re Ty! OMG, hi! I didn’t recognize you at first,” she squealed.

“Hi,” I said in return. “Macie, you said, right? So, you’re Ava. Correct?” My voice held a bit of cockiness in it, knowing Ava was bitter at not coming out on top of this one. I held my hand out to the tiny vixen, and she grabbed it fiercely and shook it while I laughed.

“Always with the perfect timing, Macie,” Ava grumbled.

“What did I do?” she questioned. “It’s not like you can flirt with him. He’s taken.”

Both mine and Ava’s heads turned toward Macie when she said that, but she had already gotten lost in the growing crowd.

“What is she dressed as?” I asked Ava.

“We don’t really know. She’s quite the book nerd, and she usually dresses as one of the characters from a book she loves.”

I nodded, and silence settled between us. At least as much silence as one could find in the crowded basement of a college party. I wasn’t sure what the purpose of her approaching me was.

“Well, it was nice to finally meet you. Thanks for coming over,” I finally said. As I was about to walk away though, Ava grabbed my arm.

“Ty,” she said seriously.

I looked down, suddenly curious about what she might have to say.

“Listen, I don’t know you at all, and I know I’ve only known Becca for a few months. But I feel like she and I have bonded pretty well.” Her eyes scanned the room, and I joined her. We both knew who we were looking for. “We talked before coming tonight. She’s on fire, wants nothing to do with you tonight. She’s on some roll about being independent, wants to start fresh, some shit like that.”

My heart sank.

And I believed every word Ava was saying, because that sounded just like Becca.

“But Ty,” Ava continued, “I don’t buy it. She’s full of shit. You shouldn’t buy it either. I don’t know if you should do anything tonight, but she’s not over you. I just wanted to let you know.” Her look lingered for an exaggerated moment to drive her point home before she started walking away.

“Ava, wait,” I called out to her, and she stopped. “How do you know that? How do you know she’s not over me?” I hoped my pleading eyes were enough for her to give me something.

“Let’s just say the walls are very thin at our place.”

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