Tell Me Pretty Lies(26)
“I’m sorry if we scared you.”
“You didn’t,” I snap a little too defensively. I clear my throat, looking around and noticing for the first time that we have an audience. “Let’s drop it, okay?”
“Truce?” he presses, not letting me off the hook that easy. I spot Valen pushing through a group of people, heading my way, expression perplexed.
“Fine, yeah,” I agree distractedly, not giving him a chance to reply before I break away, meeting Valen. Thankfully, he doesn’t follow this time.
“What was that about?” she asks, linking her arm with mine. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” I shake my head dismissively, still confused about the whole thing and not entirely convinced that his motives are pure. “He apologized.”
“As he should.”
I glance over my shoulder to find him standing in the same spot, staring right at me, except now, Taylor, Alexis, and the rest of their group are gathered around him with various expressions of contempt and confusion plastered to their faces.
“I guess.”
The leaves crunch beneath my feet, telling me that summer is soon coming to an end as I make my way toward the barn, and this time, I’m prepared. After school, I made a quick pit stop at home to pack a bag, stuffing it full of things I might need. A battery-operated lantern, an extra flashlight just in case, a bottle of water, a peanut butter sandwich, and, of course, my notebook. I feel like an ill-equipped toddler who’s run away from home.
I pull one earbud from my ear, letting it hang freely so I can better pay attention to my surroundings. The last thing I need is Thayer to pull another one of his stunts. I stayed away for a few days just to play it safe, but after today, I felt an overwhelming need to purge my thoughts, and with any luck, clear my head. As if Holden apologizing wasn’t weird enough, lunchtime was even more baffling. Valen had something to do for cheer, so I grabbed a water from the cafeteria before heading out, opting to hang out in my car instead. Holden called out my name from the other end of the cafeteria, and naturally, everyone’s eyes were on me. He waved me over, gesturing for me to sit with them despite the dirty looks from Taylor, but I shook my head in answer, brows pinched together in confusion, wondering why he was so adamant.
Once I get to the barn, I pause the podcast I’m listening to about a teenage girl who killed her own parents, ball my earbuds up, and stuff them into the front pocket of my backpack. Taking one last glance around to make sure I’m alone, I reach beneath my shirt, plucking out the necklace I tied the key to the other day. Except when I go to unlock it, I realize that the door’s not locked at all. The barn door is closed, but the lock hangs from the rusted hook, the latch open.
I must not have realized it in my haste to get home last time.
I pull the door open, letting a sliver of sunlight in that illuminates a path to the couch. I’ll leave it open to take advantage of the sun until it gets dark. I shrug the strap of my bag down my arm, taking a seat on top of the blanket I left on the couch last time, then pull my backpack onto my lap. Unzipping it, I pull out the lantern, my notebook, and a pen. Once I’m situated, my phone buzzes, and my mom’s picture flashes across the screen.
“Hey,” I answer, bringing the phone to my ear.
“Where are you? I just got home and your car’s here, but you’re not.”
“Yeah, I dropped it off after school. I’m at Valen’s house, working on a project.”
“Okay. So, I’m assuming you won’t be home for dinner then?”
“They invited me to eat here if that’s okay.”
“Sure,” she says after a pause. “Just have Valen bring you home by ten.”
The sudden smell of smoke hits my nostrils and I freeze, inhaling deeper.
“Shayne?”
“Hmm?” I stand, trying to figure out where it’s coming from.
“Ten o’clock?”
I spin around, dropping the phone with a scream when I see a figure shrouded in darkness against the back wall. My heart stalls then starts again when I realize it’s Thayer. I can barely make out his form, sitting on an old stool, one ankle resting on his bent knee, but I know it’s him.
“Shayne?” I hear my mom’s concerned voice float from the speaker, and I quickly bend down to pick my phone back up.
“Sorry, dropped my phone. I gotta go, okay? Dinner’s ready.”
I end the call before she can respond, holding my palm to my racing heart. “Jesus Christ, Thayer. Are you trying to kill me?” The insensitive words fall out of my mouth before I can take them back, but if it offends him, he doesn’t show it.
He stands, taking another drag of his cigarette. The cherry burns brighter when he inhales, and tendrils of smoke curl through the air in front of him. He flicks it to the ground, stomping it out with his foot before he stalks toward me. “So it’s not just me then?” he asks, stopping when there are mere inches between us.
“What?” I ask, eyebrows pinching together.
“You lied to your mom just now. Fuck knows how many times you’ve lied to me.”
“I haven’t lied to you.”
He closes the distance between us, towering over me, then pinches a strand of my hair between two fingers. He muses, rubbing the strands between his fingers.