Fall Away
I Never Lied
I rested my head against the window, watching the town flash by. Nothing had changed, but it seemed so much smaller. Maybe because it didn’t give me enough space to hide from my problems.
Soren’s fingers drummed on the steering wheel, the only sound in the small car. “Are you going to talk?” he finally asked.
“Are you going to lie to me?” I replied, not turning my head away from the window.
I took his silence as an answer. I told myself not to be disappointed – I hadn’t really been expecting anything else. Still, the rejection hurt.
“So we don’t have anything to talk about,” I finished.
The silence returned to the car. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Soren, not wanting to know if he even cared that I was upset. I watched as the houses grew more and more familiar, and more and more rundown.
“If you’re done pretending to care, you can drop me off at my actual house.”
“I care,” Soren protested, and I finally turned to look at him. His hands were clenched on the steering wheel, and he was staring straight ahead, biting his lip.
“Why? Because we’re such good friends?”
“We are,” Soren snapped.
“Really? Because maybe it’s just me, but in my experience friends don’t lie to each other.” I motioned for him to turn down my street before falling back onto my seat.
“I never lied to you.”
Soren’s voice was strong, sure. I opened my mouth, then stopped as he began talking again. “I didn’t always tell you the whole truth, and I sometimes let you assume things, but I never lied.”
I rolled my eyes, pointing to my apartment building. “Well, let me put it this way: I might not have many friends, especially in this town, but none of the ones I do have keep huge, life-changing secrets from me.”
I had my hand on the door handle, preparing for my dramatic exit, when Soren’s voice stopped me.
“I won’t.”
I froze, turning towards him. “Won’t what?”
He was quiet for a moment, rubbing his eyes before letting out a sigh. “If you give me a chance to explain, I won’t keep secrets. And I won’t lie to you.”
“Promise?” I asked, my voice quiet.
“Promise.”
I had no reason to believe him, but I did.
I shouldn’t want to hear his explanations, but I did.
I didn’t want to trust him, but I did.
Soren’s fingers drummed on the steering wheel, the only sound in the small car. “Are you going to talk?” he finally asked.
“Are you going to lie to me?” I replied, not turning my head away from the window.
I took his silence as an answer. I told myself not to be disappointed – I hadn’t really been expecting anything else. Still, the rejection hurt.
“So we don’t have anything to talk about,” I finished.
The silence returned to the car. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Soren, not wanting to know if he even cared that I was upset. I watched as the houses grew more and more familiar, and more and more rundown.
“If you’re done pretending to care, you can drop me off at my actual house.”
“I care,” Soren protested, and I finally turned to look at him. His hands were clenched on the steering wheel, and he was staring straight ahead, biting his lip.
“Why? Because we’re such good friends?”
“We are,” Soren snapped.
“Really? Because maybe it’s just me, but in my experience friends don’t lie to each other.” I motioned for him to turn down my street before falling back onto my seat.
“I never lied to you.”
Soren’s voice was strong, sure. I opened my mouth, then stopped as he began talking again. “I didn’t always tell you the whole truth, and I sometimes let you assume things, but I never lied.”
I rolled my eyes, pointing to my apartment building. “Well, let me put it this way: I might not have many friends, especially in this town, but none of the ones I do have keep huge, life-changing secrets from me.”
I had my hand on the door handle, preparing for my dramatic exit, when Soren’s voice stopped me.
“I won’t.”
I froze, turning towards him. “Won’t what?”
He was quiet for a moment, rubbing his eyes before letting out a sigh. “If you give me a chance to explain, I won’t keep secrets. And I won’t lie to you.”
“Promise?” I asked, my voice quiet.
“Promise.”
I had no reason to believe him, but I did.
I shouldn’t want to hear his explanations, but I did.
I didn’t want to trust him, but I did.
♠ ♠ ♠
Dude.I got two more stars.
That’s awesome.
And tons of people have been commenting, which is also awesome.
I’m back to loving this story, thanks to all of you :)
The next chapter is almost done - it should be up sometime tomorrow. But swimming starts up again tomorrow, too, so I may nap instead of writing.
In which case the chapter might come out a little later than planned.
But it's all coming together now. Anyone have any predictions on what's going to happen?