Page 100 of Surviving Lies

They had already moved onto the couch, the game controllers in their hands. I joined them as they chose the game we would play.

“Mario KartorCall of Duty. Whatcha in the mood for?” Jake asked us both. I didn’t really care, but I knew Aaron would want to shoot ’em up in COD.

“Let’s play COD,” I said, and that seemed to make everyone happy. We settled into the couch, the three of us crammed in together, elbow to elbow. It felt good to be hanging with them, and to have my mind off of Becca.

My phone buzzed, but I wanted to get the last kill. Jake would be pissed if I got up before covering him in the corner he was trapped in. But then my phone pinged again. I threw my controller down in search of it; I left it somewhere in the kitchen.

Hoping it wasn’t Kelly and something about the baby, I opened my messages.

It was Becca.

Becca:

Can we talk tonight?

My heart skipped a beat. I wasn’t expecting this after the way things went on Friday. I wasn’t expecting her to want to talk. At least not anytime soon.

Me:

Yeah sure my place or yours

Becca:

yours 9pm

Me:

I’ll see you then

Holy shit.

She was giving me a chance.

Becca hadn’t acted herself at the party due to how drunk she was. It didn’t excuse her behavior, or how she treated me, but it was the reason. And it may have been a shitty reason, but we were in a shitty situation. To be honest, I was thrilled she reached out to me. Some might think that’s a bit pathetic, but there’s give and take in relationships. I was willing to talk to her if she was reaching out to me.

I looked at the time; it was already after seven. Running up the stairs, I realized I needed to clean up my room. And I wished she’d given me more of a heads up; I would have gotten a haircut. But at that moment, I wouldn’t be picky.

“Dude, where ya going?” Jake yelled at me.

“Becca’s coming over soon!” I yelled down to them. They didn’t question it; they knew things had been rocky, and if she was coming over, it was a big deal. I hoped they would give us some well-needed space in the apartment, but if not, my room would have to suffice.

As I entered my room, I realized I had more work to do than I first thought. I jumped in the shower first; then I would get to work on the mess.

Should I change the sheets on the bed?

I decided making the bed would have to be good enough. I barely had time to put away all the clothes that covered my floor before the clock hit nine. I ran downstairs so that the moment she arrived, I could open the door. I was literally by the side window, waiting to see her walk up the path.

A few minutes passed before I got my wish. She dressed for the weather in jeans and a cozy sweater; the temperatures dropped significantly in Virginia by November. Her hair was straight and long down her back, shining in the street lamps of the parking lot. I pulled the door open before she even got to the top step.

“Hi!” I exclaimed, probably a bit too excited for what we were about to endure. But I was so damned happy to see her. It took all my restraint to not pull her into my arms and connect my lips to hers.

“Hi,” she responded with a small smile and a wave. She was definitely hesitant as she walked in next to me, but she made sure to not touch me as she did.

“So, my roommates left and gave us some privacy, but it might still be better if we go up to my room. One of them doesn’t know that this is happening. He might come home, and, well ...” I didn’t know how to complete my thought.

“Sure, that’s probably best,” she said.

She was quiet, which was unfortunately the new norm for Becca. But I understood. She was about to hear some shit she’d been dreading for a long time.

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