All The Pieces (Pieces of Lies 3) (20 page)

Weston turned to me, eyeing me up and down, making a new kind of assessment. “You knew you had to tell me so she’ll believe the truth when you confront them. You need me to back it up. Right?”

The guy wasn’t as dumb as he looked. “You’ve got to admit, it will certainly sound more believable coming from the both of us, especially if we are up against someone she has trusted nearly all her life. It’s not going to be easy for her to see the truth. She won’t want to believe her precious little best friend is capable of something so dastardly. Hollows could try and spin this a different way, which is why we need to confront them together.”

Clint started tapping his toes, considering what Josh might do when cornered. It didn’t take long for him to sit on what I was saying and get on the same side. “So when do we confront them? In New York, tomorrow?” Clint was eager to get the ball rolling.

“They are in Europe right now on holiday. Art and churches, that type of thing. Her Dad told me they went. Should be back in a few weeks.”

“I think we should head overseas now. Expose him. He doesn’t deserve to be on holidays with her...” Clint then muttered under his breath, “That lying sack of shit. I’m going to destroy him.”

“No, we’ll wait till they are back in New York. I will contact you once they are home. Her Dad will mention that they have returned, I’m sure. Then we will go to her, and tell her the truth. Together. I think it would be kind of crazy if we head overseas now, guns blazing. Len might freak out and run from Hollows, and I don’t want her angry, upset and on the loose over there.”

Clint sucked in a breath. “You are right. Best we tell Norah when they get back from their holiday. We’ll need to be able to keep an eye on her. The reaction is going to be bad. It’s going to really crush her when she finds out.”

“Yes. I agree.” I thought quickly about how this lie was really going to bring Len down this time, probably to a breaking point she might not recover from. It was important that we were in a place where we could help minimize the explosive outbreak she would surely have. “So are we settled now? Do we have an understanding then?”

Clint nodded, backing away from me. “Yeah, we are good Voltaggio. I suppose I should thank you for pursuing this and finding out the truth. I can’t believe it. I should have known there was more to how everything played out. It seemed too advantageous for Hollows from the start.” Clint kicked at the ground as he made his way back to his car, turning once before climbing in. “Fuck, she might have married this guy one day and been none the wiser.”

My eye brows raised up at such a notion, an exasperated huff coming out of my throat. “Yeah...Imagine that.”

Present.

I was tip-toeing through the darkness, trying to be quiet as my feet padded along the floor. It was 3am and I was no closer to getting any sleep. I couldn’t sleep. My mind was wide awake with so many thoughts and feelings about what happened at the club, that I needed to be near the one person who would could give me a real sense of comfort. I made my way slowly to the bed. I was just going to crawl in, snuggle up and close my eyes. I wanted the body contact, the support, and to know they were next to me. After the night we had, I didn’t want to be anywhere else. I knew it was a few days before I was leaving, but time already felt like it was slipping away from underneath me. Every second that went by, was already becoming a distant memory. I didn’t want my present to become my past so quickly. I was nowhere near ready to say good-bye. Especially to my best friend.

I knew the huge four-poster bed was close. It was closer than I thought because I kicked the corner of the bed, the wooden pillar stubbing my big toe.

“FUCK!” I screeched, the pain shooting up my leg.

 “Can’t sleep either hey?” Tess’s voice emerged from the darkness.

My feet pounded on the floor as I hopped up and down, trying not to put weight on my injured toe. “Arrgghh. No, I can’t sleep.” I half fell onto the edge of the bed as I lost my balance on my feet. “Can I come in into bed with you? I don’t want to be alone.”

“Of course,” Tess said. I heard her shuffling in the dark as she moved in her bed, the sound of the comforter being thrown open, allowing me to slide in next to my best friend. I snuggled in next to Tess, my head resting on her pillow, staring up into the black air above us. The moment I rested my head next to hers, I felt calmer. More relaxed. I was taking note of all these little moments, trying to remember every detail, every sound, every conversation. I didn’t want to forget anything.

“Well, what a difference a day can make,” Tess said bluntly. I could hear in her voice the pain behind the expression.

“That’s an understatement.”  I said with a bite in my words.  My voice became angry as I vented my own frustration. Of course I wasn’t angry with Tess, just angry at the whole course of events that lead to this. I was angry that my father felt he had no other choice but to hide me from the public to keep me safe. I was angry that the small bits of happiness I had pieced together in this real life, that I now had to give up.

“When did you find out?” I asked her, knowing she had knowledge of this secret before I was given the letter. I should have been upset that she hadn’t told me sooner, but again, it became another situation where feeling angry no longer mattered. This was no time to be a sulking bitch. That reaction would be reserved for some girl who would eventually just be known as Lenorah Rossi. A person, who in a couple of days, would no longer exist.

Tess moved so her head was tilted and resting on my shoulder. “I was told this afternoon while you were napping. Clint and Samuel found me in the maze and explained what was really going on.” Tess’s voice cracked a bit. “Sorry for wigging out the way I did before the club, it just hit me there, and I kept thinking if we didn’t find Josh...if we didn’t finish what we had to do, then you would never have to leave.”

I shifted so I could tilt my head and rest it on her shoulder.  “Don’t apologize Tess. I get it. I’m sure I would have been the same way.”

We lay silently again for a minute, just thinking again about the night. How quickly our lives changed. It had happened in a blink of an eye, and I never saw it coming.

“So, where did Josh go? You guys not sharing a room?” Tess asked.

When we arrived back in the mansion, Josh had asked Clint to get him set up in a separate room. He was really intent with me not making any decisions until after I went on the dates with Clint and Samuel. He was keeping his distance, which only hurt me more. I just couldn’t wrap my head around his thinking. Was it just about the guilt of what he did to Clint, Samuel and myself that made him suggest such an insane idea? Or did he genuinely believe that I didn’t want to be with him forever and this was his way of pushing me away? I wanted to ask him so many questions, but at the same time, I was so offended by what he asked me to do, that I didn’t want to go near him. I was hurt, sad and disappointed. I felt like I didn’t know Josh at all, and I wasn’t about to chase him for answers. I had already chased him through Europe to get him back. That was more than enough.

“He is in a room down the hall. He has barely said two words to me since the club. I just don’t understand his thinking Tess. I don’t get it. After everything I’ve done. How nothing he did mattered to me. I’m just so...” I stopped talking as the tears rolled down my cheeks. I was thankful I was in the dark. I didn’t want Tess to see how hurt I really was. She moved closer, already sensing from my body my weak emotional state.

“I know Nor. I know it must hurt like a motherfucker what he did. And if it makes you feel better, I went out to the back of the club and tore him a new one. I even punched him. Right in the face. It was a solid effort. He cried like a girl too.”

That made me laugh out loud, the few remaining tears bursting from my eyes. “You did? Really?” I don’t know if Tess was lying or not, but God, it made me feel better. I was going to miss her so much. I was starting to understand the real true meaning of soul mates. They weren’t necessarily people who you are supposed to spend forever with. No, they are people who know you, really know you, and who you’ll always be connected with, no matter what time passes and where you are in the world. I would always have that with Tess. That infinite connection that would not be broken in time. I knew that.  I felt it.  I believed it wholeheartedly. She was one of my soul mates. She just understood me through and through. Our friendship will live on in spirit — one tequila shot at a time.

“You know Nor, I should probably tell you what I got you for a wedding present,” Tess chimed in, knowing my somber mood had lifted.

“You got me something?” I had a small hint of excitement in my voice.

“Well, not really. Kind of. It was a surprise. But now, uhhh, it sort of doesn’t matter.”

“Everything matters,” I said, nudging Tess with my shoulder.

“Okay...well, I kind of got a new job in New York. I’m going to be moving there next month.”

I gritted my teeth. I didn’t think this situation could be any worse, but just like that, it was. “Oh...” I whispered, hiding my disappointment.

“Yeah I know...surprise.” She sounded how I felt. Sad from the loss of what could have been. Thoughts of Tess and I hanging out, going to cafes, art galleries, museums, restaurants, clubs. The girl times we could have had, but now won’t ever get the chance to share. I was losing more than a friendship; I was losing a life that could have been in New York.

“Tess, I’m going to...”

“I’m going to miss you so much too Nor.”

Tess knew what I was about to say and finished it for me. I loved this girl. I always would.

“So,” she began. “Are you really going to go through with those dates? With Samuel and Clint, like what Josh asked you to do?”

“You know what Tess, I never thought Josh would ask me to do such a thing. I didn’t think he would hurt me like this. But, now that I think about it, I would like the opportunity to spend time with those guys, say what I need to, and then say good-bye. No regrets, nothing unsaid. It will be good to have that chance before I leave.”

“Will it really be good-bye though? I mean, are you sure there isn’t something more with one of them that could make you change your mind? You know Nor...it’s possible. There is one guy in particular I’ve seen you with over the last couple days, and it looks, well it kind of looks...”

“Tess. Stop. Please. Honestly, I’m just going to do it so I can say a proper good-bye to them both, and then Josh and I...well...we will figure it out.”

Tess's body tensed next to me.  I think she was debating her next words.  I sensed a part of her telling her to let it go, but I knew the more determined side her personality would never allow her real feelings to stay silenced.  “Norah. It’s alright if it is not Josh in the end. Just so you know. You really do deserve someone who...well...is really in your heart. Someone who understands you wholly and solely. Someone who will always take care of you and keep you safe. Someone who you have known you’ve had a connection with from the very first moment your eyes met. Someone you’ve always known is everything you’ve always wanted. Who compliments you. Someone who isn’t necessarily a soul mate but a real true love.”

We both went very quiet. The darkness speaking for us. I knew who Tess was talking about. I knew who she believed that I still had a connection with. Tess then giggled to herself, breaking the tension. “Well, I’d never thought I’d get all deep and meaningful like that. Shit, fuck, bitch.”

I laughed back at her. “I really do love you Tess, and it fucking sucks we won’t get to take on New York together.”

“Yeah, it totally does,” she said back immediately. Her arms lifted above her head as she stretched her body, like she was relieving it from being wound up with pressure. Another deep, heavy sigh escaped her lips. “God damn it Norah. How do we say good-bye? How do I pretend you are dead and go to a fake funeral? How the hell am I going to do all that?”

I fell back into a state of numbness and silence, pondering her questions, trying to figure out how I was going to start all over again in whatever place I was being sent. I reached across Tess’s body and held her hand. She squeezed my hand tight. We didn’t have any of the answers about how we were going to handle the next step, but for tonight, we would lean on each other for strength, and hold onto this moment of closeness for as long as we could.