The Truth in Lies (The Truth in Lies Saga) (15 page)

“If
by good you mean lucrative, then yes,” he stated with a chuckle.

Nate sounded happier, even though everything
still felt tense between us.  It comforted me to think he might be happy with how things were falling in his life now.

“I’m glad to hear it,” I noted.

A long pause ensued between us.  Neither sure what to say next.  Finally, he broke the silence.  “Look, I’m heading out again tomorrow.  I’m off to Denver and then Albuquerque, but I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.  I don’t have anything scheduled for a month following that.  I was hoping you’d be willing to get together.”

“Wow!  That’s longer than you usually do.”

Nate sighed.  “I’ve asked for them.  I hate being alone in the house.  It’s not the same without you.”

“Nate,” I whispered.

“Please, let me see you,” he pleaded.  “I miss you so much.”

And just like that, the comfort I felt in him finding solace was gone.  He wasn’t happy.  He was miserable.

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” I replied.

“Why not?  Are you seeing someone else?” his voice was full of trepidation.

“No.  I’m not seeing anyone, Nate.  I just don’t have it in me to fight anymore.”

“I promise we won’t.  I just want to see you.  I miss you.  I miss my best friend.”

The agony in his tone was more than I could bear.  “Okay,” I conceded.  “Call me when you get back in town.  We’ll talk then.”

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“Get some rest, Nate.  I’ll talk to you soon.  And please, be safe on your trip.”

“I will.  I promise.  Goodnight, McKenzie.”

“Goodnight,” I whispered. 

I held the phone to my ear for a moment, thinking he had disconnected.  My mind reeled with his pleas to see me.  I felt guilty for pushing him away, but I knew it was for the best.  That’s when I heard him say, “For what it’s worth, I still love you,” and he hung up.

Laying the phone on the nightstand, I reached over and turned out the light.  Thick with tears, I closed my eyes, as they rained down my face.  Why did he have to lose me to want me?

With the lack of sleep from the night before and feeling distraught over everything going on around me, I dozed off.  I was awakened by the sound of Olivia giggling.  I poked my head outside my bedroom to see Olivia and Drew stumbling down the hallway, falling over each other. 

“Shhh,” Drew snickered and hiccupped, barely able to hold his finger to his lips.

Olivia waggled her hand, flapping it in front of his face.  “She’s dead to the world,” she stage-whispered.

I could only assume, but I was pretty sure that they were both drunk.  The thought of him drinking again concerned me, but who was I to say anything? 

Drew looked down the hall and caught my eyes as he disappeared into Olivia’s room.  Just when I thought I couldn’t feel lower, that had to happen. 

Closing the door behind me, I felt my heart pounding against my chest.  The weight of my emotions carried me to the floor.  With my knees pulled tight to my chest, I fell apart in the confines of my own room. 

I attempted to convince myself that I had developed a rebound crush on my best friend’s boyfriend.  It was harmless.  He was a nice guy and easy to like, but deep down, I knew I was
lying to myself.  The truth was, I’d fallen in love with Drew. 

The more I cried, the more clarity I found in myself.  Being in that apartment, with them, was not only unfair to them, but to me.  There weren’t enough good reasons in the world to keep me there.  Olivia and Drew deserved to have their alone time, and being there only set me up for heartache.

I determined in myself that come morning, I’d search for a new place live.  It’d be a whole new experience for me, since I’d never lived on my own before. 

This would be a good thing for all of us.  Olivia wouldn’t have me secretly slobbering all over her boyfriend, Drew wouldn’t have to endure me throwing myself at his feet, and I could get my life on track.

“For what it’s worth, I still love you,” Drew’s husky voice whispered in my ear.  Intense electricity shot throughout my body, jolting me awake. 

My sheets were soaked with sweat.  I could barely breathe.  Drew had been right there, in my bed, whispering his laments of love, but it had all been a dream.  A glorious, yet, horrible dream.

I gripped handfuls of hair and tugged.  “What the hell?” I demanded from the empty room. 
It had been Nate who uttered those words, not Drew
, I reminded myself.   I sat up in the bed.  My chest heaved for air.  The weight of the situation poured down on me.  I was reflecting my misguided emotions on Drew.  How was I going to juggle my feelings and keep my friendship intact with him?

Darkness was my enemy.  The walls of my room once again felt like they were closing in around me.  I had to get out of my room and away from my thoughts.
 A good run was in order.  I pulled myself from the confines of my bed and peered out the window. 

“Just my luck,” I grumbled.  It was pouring rain. 

Still needing an escape, I shrugged my tiny silk robe over my shoulders, and cracked the door to my bedroom open.  The hall was silent, so I knew I was safe in passing Olivia’s bedroom.

My bare feet were cushioned by the plush carpet of the hallway as I headed toward the kitchen.  To my surprise, the kitchen light was on, and the strong fragrance of fresh brewed coffee filled the air.
 I hadn’t even considered what time it might be since it was still dark outside, but then again, it was raining.  Hope sparked in me that maybe I had slept through the night, and Drew had already left. 

Alas, my luck had failed me. 

I tiptoed into the kitchen, summoned by the smell of coffee, only to find Drew sitting alone at the bar.  His long legs dangled from the bar stool, as he poured over a copy of the Sunday paper.  I stood in the doorway staring at him for a few minutes.  He looked innocent as he sipped from his coffee mug. 

He licked his thumb and turned the page of the section he was reading.  A deep growl followed by a snarl of discontent rumbled from his chest.
 My eyes slowly drifted down his body.  His unkempt hair practically stood on end.  He wasn’t wearing a shirt and his feet were bare.  The khakis he had been wearing the night before hung around his waist showing the perfect lines of his abdomen.  

Even disheveled, Drew was gorgeous.
 

I marveled at his sculpted chest and the look of innocence on his face.
 A silly thought crossed my mind, and I had to fight to keep a tiny little chuckle from escaping my lips.  I could imagine a younger version of Drew, sitting the same way, with a bowl of cereal in front of him.  I wondered what he was like as a kid.  I bet his mother had her hands full with him.

“Are you just going to stand there or do you plan on joining me?” he asked, his eyes never looked up from his paper.

I jumped, letting out a little squeak. He chuckled at my reaction. 

How the hell did he know I was here
? I pondered.

In an attempt to collect myself, I adjusted the knot on my robe, making sure my nightshirt was covered.  Meandering past him to the coffee maker, I poured myself a cup, careful not to make eye contact with him.

“Much better.”  His gaze raked over my body and I suddenly became aware of how skimpy my nightshirt might seem to him.  “Nice jammies,” he added.

Heat burned across my skin, as Drew’s warm chuckle embraced me. 

“Jammies?  What are we?  Five?” I croaked, cursing my voice for cracking.

I added my usual cream and sugar to the black liquid trying hard not to think about the fact that my hair was a mess and I had no makeup on whatsoever.
 Plus, my face had to be puffed up like a puffer fish from the amount of crying I had done prior to falling asleep. 

Stirring my coffee, I told myself that my appearance didn’t matter.  Drew was with Olivia, and that’s how it should be. 

“I’m not the one wearing a Darkwing Duck nightgown, now am I?”

“A wha– How’d you–” I stammered.  I looked down to see the word
Dark
and the top of his hat peeking out from under my robe.  “You think you’re so clever.”

He took a sip of his coffee, his smirk shined from behind the mug.  “That goes without saying.”

I grumbled at his arrogance.  Grabbing the pen off the shopping list on the refrigerator, I padded to the seat beside of him and hopped on the barstool.  My robe pushed up over my thighs, forcing me to adjust it.

The morning newspaper lay flat on the counter.  I rifled through the sheets, unable to locate what I needed.  “Have you seen the classifieds?” I asked.

He titled his head, eyeing me suspiciously.  “Yeah, they’re right here.”  He thumbed through a few pages and located the section in question.

“Thanks.”  I pulled the paper out of the area he was holding.

“What are you looking to buy?”

That wasn’t a question I had prepared myself to answer, but now was as good of a time as any to announce my decision.  I opened the pages and began searching through the advertisements.  “I’m looking for an apartment.  It’s time for me to move out.”

“Oh,” he muttered.

There were so many places to choose from.  Just as I thought, finding me a new place wouldn’t be too hard of a task.  Finding a promising prospect within my price range, I circled the address.

“You don’t want to live in that neighborhood,” he commented.

“How would you know?”  I glanced over to him, noticing that his eyes were focused on the classifieds with me.

“We get a lot of business in our criminal division from that location.  I wouldn’t feel comfortable with you living there.  You wouldn’t be safe.”

I fought back a smile that tried to emerge on my lips.  “Where would you suggest then?”

“I have a few places in mind, but you won’t find them in the classifieds.”

“You do realize I have a budget, don’t you?”

He took the classifieds from me and folded them up.  “I’m very well aware you have a budget.  That’s why I was so upset about you buying me a suit.  You work hard for your money, and I hate the idea of you blowing it on me.  However, I do work well within a budget, and I’m certain I can find you something comparable to your needs.”

“Attorney by day, realtor by night?” I joked.

“Let’s just say I have an interest in real estate.”

“Fair enough.  I appreciate the help.  Now I have to break the news to Olivia.”

Drew returned to reading the sports page.  “Is this about last night?”

I took a sip of my coffee, relishing the heat as it poured down my throat.  “I’ve been thinking about it for awhile.  Last night put things into perspective for me.  That’s all.”

Drew rubbed the back of his neck.  His face was contorted in thought.  “I have to admit I was a little drunk last night, and she suggested we come back here because it was closer.  It sounded like a good idea at the time, but now I see it wasn’t.  I didn’t mean to hurt you.  I’m so sorry.”

“It’s really okay.  You two shouldn’t have to worry about me.”  I faked a smile.  “You need your privacy, and I’m in the way.  Besides, it’s time for me to move out.  I need to get on my own two feet.  I’ve relied on you and Liv for way too long.”

He turned the page of the newspaper.  His shoulders slumped forward and his mouth turned down.  The usual crinkles around his eyes were flat.  “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“I’m positive.  And you can still come over and play video games with me.  I’m just giving you and Liv some space.”

I could’ve sworn I heard him whisper, “But I don’t want space from you,” but figured I was imagining things.  I sipped on my coffee in silence, unsure what to say to him.  He continued to muddle through the section he was reading.

“Are you okay, though?” I asked.

He tilted his head a little, looking at me from the corner of his eye.  “Why would you ask me that?”

A heavy sigh bounded from my chest.  “Because you just admitted you were drunk last night.  I worry about you, Drew.  That’s twice this week that you’ve had a drink.”

A weary smile toyed with the corner of lips.  “Thank you for worrying about me.  And yes, I’m fine.”

My coffee had begun to cool as I took another drink of the substance.  “Promise me, you’ll not drink again.  I don’t want you to fall back to that dark place you told me about.  I care too much for you to see you hurting like that,” I pleaded.

Drew ran his fingers through his disheveled hair.  Chagrined, he turned to me, and placed his hand over mine.  “I care about you too, Mickie, and I promise, no more drinking.”

I ignored the butterflies in my gut, focusing on the intense look in his eyes.  Even though I probably shouldn’t have, I believed him.

“Thanks, Andy,” I breathed, slipping my hand away from his.

I reached for the comics section that was sitting on top of the stack of newspaper.  He grabbed my hand again.
 “Excuse me, but I haven’t had a chance to read them yet.  I must have my dose of Garfield in the morning.”  

“Well, if you weren’t so interested in the sports page, you could’ve already had a good laugh this morning.
 However, you determined sports were more important, so therefore, I’ll extract the funnies from ya.”  I tugged the pages from the stack eliciting a laugh from him.

“Please.
 By all means help yourself.”

“I do believe I already have.”  I opened the paper and started reading over the comic strips.

Drew’s eyes grazed down the length of my body.  The heat of his gaze made me feel self-conscious of how I looked.  I drank my coffee and tried to focus on the paper.  The tension between us was electrifying.

Just because he had mentioned Garfield, my eyes went straight for that strip.
 It had John sitting next to Garfield looking forlorn, talking about how he was so dull that he was practically invisible. Two frames later Garfield was still sitting next to John as the caption ‘I wonder who said that’ appeared above the fat cat’s head.  I laughed.  I had felt that way so many times that it struck me as funny.

“What’s so funny?
 I want to see.”

Drew tried to tear the paper from me again, but I slapped my hand down hard over the sheet, preventing him from taking it.

I squealed, “Mine!”

“
Not yours.  I told you, I need my dose of Garfield.”

“But I was reading it first.”
 Taking the comics with me, I hopped off of my barstool, and walked to the other side of counter, away from Drew.  Safe enough away from his prying hands, I placed the paper on the counter and flattened it back out over the marble.  Resting my elbows on the hard surface, I leaned over the crumpled comic page, and pretended to read it.

I glanced up to see him folding the sports section neatly, before laying it back on top of the stack of papers.
 

He slid off of his barstool and stalked toward me.
 I watched him carefully.  Just as he got close enough, I picked up the paper and moved in the opposite direction of him.  He looked like a wild animal in pursuit of his prey.  I held the paper tight to my chest and prepared to run.  

I backed away, as he continued to pursue me.
 An evil smirk appeared on his lips.  His eyes darted to each side of me, calculating my next move.  His eyes danced with laughter, as he took another step toward me.

“Give me the paper, Mickie, and no one has to get hurt.”

I cupped my mouth trying hard not to laugh at his reaction. “Nope! First come, first serve,” I proclaimed.

“You asked for it.”

“Gotta catch me first.”

I turned my back to him and made a beeline for the kitchen door, clinging to the funny pages.
 If I could get to my room, I’d be safe.  Drew, however, must have anticipated my course of action.  He hopped onto the kitchen counter and slid over the slick surface.  I made haste to get away, barely reaching the kitchen door when he caught me by the waist.

He tugged against my hips, pulling me back from the door.  I tried to get away by pressing my heels against the tiled floor, but with bare feet, I had no resistance. 

Drew wrapped his arms around me, pinning my arms and the paper to my chest.  I squirmed and wiggled, hoping to break his hold, but his was too powerful.

“The comics, now, please,” he growled in my ear.

The heat of his breath blew over my neck causing me to tremble in his arms.

“Nope.
 I’m not done with them yet,” I squeaked.  The pounding of my pulse rattled in my ears.

“I believe you are.
 Now give them here,” he demanded.

“No!”

In a last effort of escape, I bent my knees and pushed my body toward the floor.  Instead of dislodging myself as I had intended, my feet slipped on the tile.  He wasted no time in readjusting his hold on me.  The room began to swim, as he flicked his wrist to turn me around in his grip.