Page 67 of Surviving Lies

His white teeth reflected the sun shining on him as he smiled wide in his retreat. His summer blond highlights, I noticed, were fading a bit. He was back to his darker-blond hair, which went so well with his whiskey-colored eyes.

Ugh, whiskey. Why did Ty’s eyes have to remind me of the man who was pissing me off at the moment?

My small wave to Ty as he walked away made his smile grow. I put my sunglasses on and continued on my way home, happy my glasses were hiding the sadness.

Chapter 19

Ty

My entire life seemed to be crumbling around me. I fucked up my relationship with Becca, and now I had fucked up my friendship with my roommate as well. I made it home before Jake last night and didn’t come out of my room when I heard him stomping around in the kitchen. Every decision I made lately was either the wrong one or backfired on me.

It was time to make some changes.

For starters, I needed to make amends with Jake. There was no way I was going to allow what I did to linger and affect what was showing signs of being a true brotherhood between us.

But as I made my way to my bedroom door to head downstairs to him, my phone pinged. My heart always rose a little with the hope it would be Becca, but when I checked, I saw Lanie’s name on my screen.

Lanie:

Want to go bowling tonight Thought you could use some time with friends before fall break Xander and me and some of his brothers are going

Putting my phone back in my pocket, I decided to wait until after talking to Jake to respond to her.

My feet felt heavier with every step I took down the stairs; I was tired of dealing withissuesI’d created in my life. Hopefully, this one would be easier to handle than Becca. As I rounded the corner to the kitchen, I found Jake sitting at the island with a bag of ice held up against his face. He heard me, evident as his head slowly turned in my direction.

“Hey,” I said, the apology already starting in my voice. “How ya feeling?”

His eyebrow notched up a bit at my question, maybe wondering if it should be a rhetorical one as we both looked at the ice he put on the marble counter in front of him. Moving closer with slow steps, I motioned to his swollen nose and split lip.

“I thought I broke your nose – glad to see I didn’t,” I told him, a little laugh escaping my mouth, trying to lighten the mood. His nose was puffy, but not broken.

Jake laughed with me. “Yeah, your hook is harder than I expected, man.”

“Jake, man, I’m sorry,” I started, but he held his hand up, stopping me.

He stood from the stool and grabbed the bag of ice as he walked toward the sink. When he threw it in the sink, it crashed against some of the dishes that were awaiting the dishwasher. Turning around to face me, he leaned against the counter, his arms now folded across his chest.

“I deserved it, Ty. I was an ass, and what I said about Becca was wrong. You deserve the apology,” he said as his eyes lowered to the ground, his voice fading as well. “I’m sorry.”

“No one deserves to be hit, Jake. I shouldn’t have done that.” I moved to take a seat on a stool, wanting to make sure that this conversation wasn’t going to end, that he was going to stick around for a bit. “I appreciate you saying that, but I’m still sorry I hit you.”

He nodded, his head still bobbing as his face transformed with a wider grin. “I’m serious, Brennan; you have a serious hook. Have you ever considered underground boxing or anything? We could make some cash off of you.” He laughed out loud now. “Besides, after you left, I got so much attention from the Beta girls, I should be thanking you.”

I joined in his laughter, picturing the sight of him being fawned over by the sorority girls due to his injury. I’m sure he milked it for all it was worth.

“Glad I could help,” I joked. “So, are we, uh, good?”

He tried to smile, but stopped, his hand rushing to his split lip, which seemed to hurt as he tried. “Yeah, man, we’re good.” As soon as he said that, he stood and went straight for the fridge. “I need to drink my food for a few days. We got any beer?”

“I think it’s a bit early for that, but any interest in coming bowling tonight? Lanie, Xander, and some of the guys are going. Thought I’d see if you’d like to come.”

He swung around, the fridge door still open in his hand. “Today’s Wednesday, right?”

“Yep,” I answered, knowing exactly where this was going.

“It’s sorority night at the lanes, isn’t it?”

“Pretty sure,” I said.

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