Who We'll Be
Liar
I couldn’t believe this.
I had always thought I’ve known him…
…that he’d tell me everything…
…that I’m his best friend…
…until now.
Right now, I’m walking alone on the pavement with the late afternoon atmosphere smothering me, going back to my own house, thinking of the things that a girl I’ve met just this morning told me today.
Everything happened so fast, that it felt like the events were suddenly fast-forwarded by a universal remote or something.
Sky had shouted when we’re still at his house, ‘She’s my girlfriend! Got a problem with that?’ and stuff at the Lauren girl, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her to the kitchen. I could tell he was furious and he was scolding her.
After some minutes, the girl walked straight to me, introduced herself, and said that she was sorry for barging in like that, that she didn’t know I’m Sky’s present girlfriend, and that she just wanted to visit Sky and it turned out that she was Sky’s ex-girlfriend that became a good friend of his.
But her words didn’t seem like she was sorry at all. It sounded rehearsed. She didn’t even look like she tried to mean it, judging by her grinding of teeth.
I had told her it’s okay anyways. I mean, I couldn’t just punch her into unconsciousness, tie her in a tree, and drag Sky away from her, could I?
On the second thought, maybe I could….
Anways, because I had told Sky about my park-walking plan earlier, he asked me if I still wanna go—I think he just wanted me to stay away from Lauren—and I had said yes, and Lauren insisted on wanting to go too, because she wanted to tour around the city, and it turned out that she was staying at a hotel nearby, because she’ll be here for a while. Sky refused, of course, but I said its okay if she’ll come too.
And then the three of us we’re strolling at the park, when Sky’s phone rang—I think it was someone from school—and he told us something urgent happened and he had to go leave Lauren and me alone for a while.
Until I was stuck there, sitting on a park bench next to her, staring at the few people that walked by.
“You don’t seem like Sky’s type…” were the first words that came from her hot-pink-lipstick-covered mouth.
And what does she mean by that? were my first thoughts.
“Huh?” I said.
Lauren had just shrugged and crossed her legs.
“I thought he’s not into…simple girls. Guess that changed.”
After a few minutes, we started talking for a bit…
…until I discovered some things.
Things…
…that just changed my impression of Sky…
…forever.
And as I walked alone, tears ran down from my confused and angry eyes, with the memory of what happened earlier swimming through my head...
…making me realize something…
* * *
“After everything we’ve been through…after saving him…he’s just gonna tell that to me…to be friends…I’m pissed,” Lauren whined while staring people around the park.
Her statement made me confused. We had been talking for a few minutes, but all that came out was her whining, which made me uninterested in talking to her, until now.
I looked at her. “Wait…what do you mean ‘after saving him’?”
She looked back at me.
“What…he didn’t tell you?”
Her raised eyebrow got me even more puzzled.
“Tell me what?”
Lauren laughed without humor.
“You have no idea, like, at all?”
I pulled my eyebrows together, and she looked at me as if she couldn’t believe that I didn’t know, whatever that is.
“Sky should’ve been dead by now…” she said sternly. “…if it wasn’t for me.”
What the…
“Dead?!” I practically screamed as I stood up from the bench. “What do you mean dead?!”
“He seriously didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?!” I yelled, feeling like I was literally dying…out of curiosity.
Lauren looked at me with a serious expression.
“Sky almost committed suicide back in Jersey. And I stopped him. I saved your boyfriend’s life.”
My knees began to tremble as her words struck my very core.
“What!?! Why?!”
She blinked several times, like she couldn’t even believe I’m even real.
Okay, now I really am dying of so much curiosity. “What did he do…? Why did he…do that?!”
“He told me he just doesn’t want to live anymore. He’s too…tired.” Lauren glanced somewhere far away, and sighed. “Of everything.”
“Why…?” It was all I managed to say.
“Oh…he seriously didn’t tell you anything?! Oh, my God…what a jackass Sky is. Not telling it to her own present girlfriend…tsk tsk tsk…” Lauren shook her head out of sympathy.
“Tell me,” I ordered.
Lauren looked at me surprisingly, and gave another sigh as she looked down.
“Sky’s mom died just a few months after they had moved to Jersey.”
My eyes bulged out of shock.
But Sky had told me…
…’she’s doing good’…
…so he was lying.
“H-how…?” I stammered, feeling like a question machine.
“She was abused…by Sky’s father,” she said, looking at me again. “But that’s just part of the reason she passed away.”
I sat back on the bench, and tried my hardest to stop my hands and knees from shaking.
“Mrs. Winter received bruises and scars from Sky’s dad almost everyday. She was a battered wife. But she never fought back. Sky was abused too, but Sky’s dad’s way of treating was worse. Way worse.”
Lauren seemed to know all the details, I thought. But why does she know?
There’s only one thing I could think of.
Another one of Sky’s lies.
Sky and Lauren had a serious relationship.
“Time came when she finally decided to give up, to file a divorce, but Sky’s father refused. Sky fought with his own father, but he ended up locked up in his room, bleeding and covered with bruises too.”
I couldn’t believe Lauren, an ex-girlfriend of my boyfriend, whom I just met today, was telling me all this.
“Sky’s mother finally decided to ran away, out of fear for Sky,” she continued. “Sky was with her. And they stayed and hid at our house for a while, my parents welcomed them. They were convincing Sky’s mom to sue Sky’s father…but…she loves him too much. And I think that was the stupidest thing ever. I mean, she wants to file a divorce, but she doesn’t want to go against him. So crazy.”
Why…did Sky’s mom refused to do that? Why did they go to Lauren’s house? Why did his father…
Questions started flooding my mind like a violent cyclone.
“And one night Sky’s mother decided to go back to Sky’s father’s house, to check how he’s doing…Sky, of course, was completely unaware of this, I think he’d prefer to die first than allow her to do that.”
Lauren started playing her fingers, showing her less-confident side.
“But she never got the chance to see him. She got hit by a car along the way. She died in a car accident. We went to the hospital she was carried to, but we never got the chance to see her alive. A few months passed, and we got news that Sky’s dad already remarried.”
I covered my mouth with my hands.
“But Sky didn’t seem like he cared at all. Well, at first.”
Lauren looked away, as if she’s trying to remember every detail.
“Until I noticed him doing ridiculous things. He would stay all night at the bar, sleep around with girls he didn’t even know, and come home about four in the morning smelling like alcohol. Of course, I was there to scold and lecture him and everything.”
I get easily jealous when Sky was just even looking at some girls and easily angry whenever he was drinking even just a bit. And now, I found out he was doing this…
I could tell Lauren was even hiding some things I wouldn’t want to know.
“His dad tried to make it up to him, by giving him everything he needed, but that just wasn’t enough…”
“And one day, I decided to check on Sky’s room, to make sure he’s doing okay…
“And I saw him grabbing my dad’s gun, and pointed it right to his head, about to pull the trigger…and, of course, I stopped him.
"I hugged him so tight, and I told him everything he needed to hear...that everything's gonna be okay..."
"We had a long-term relationship, but I felt that he just wasn't...happy. So I let him go...temporarily. And one day he decided to come here, to…’forget everything’. And I followed him here."
Lauren's eyes gazed somewhere far away, while mine suddenly felt stingy.
I wanted to cry.
For some reason, I felt so...left out.
So...abandoned.
So…betrayed.
By Sky.
“Lauren…how did you…know all this?” I tried to choke back my tears.
She smiled at me.
“Because I was there.”
“But you weren’t together at first, right? But you were there…” I said, trying to analyze. “Because…?”
Lauren’s confident smile widened.
“Because I’m his…best friend.”
I just looked down.
“Honey, if he’s been lying about that to you…what else could’ve he been lying about?” she said a little too dramatically.
I know she said that only to get me angry at Sky even more...but she was right.
That time, I couldn’t hold back the tears streaming down my cheeks, while everything Lauren said swirled through my already-confused mind.
My whole life, I thought I’ve known Sky…
…that I knew just everything about him…
….that playful, cheerful boy that was my best friend…
…turns out I’m wrong.
Very wrong.
I realized…that the boy I knew…
…is gone now.
And the Sky with me is a complete and total stranger.
* * *
And it all came to this.
I realized...
…that I couldn't just be with someone I don't even know.
I had always thought I’ve known him…
…that he’d tell me everything…
…that I’m his best friend…
…until now.
Right now, I’m walking alone on the pavement with the late afternoon atmosphere smothering me, going back to my own house, thinking of the things that a girl I’ve met just this morning told me today.
Everything happened so fast, that it felt like the events were suddenly fast-forwarded by a universal remote or something.
Sky had shouted when we’re still at his house, ‘She’s my girlfriend! Got a problem with that?’ and stuff at the Lauren girl, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her to the kitchen. I could tell he was furious and he was scolding her.
After some minutes, the girl walked straight to me, introduced herself, and said that she was sorry for barging in like that, that she didn’t know I’m Sky’s present girlfriend, and that she just wanted to visit Sky and it turned out that she was Sky’s ex-girlfriend that became a good friend of his.
But her words didn’t seem like she was sorry at all. It sounded rehearsed. She didn’t even look like she tried to mean it, judging by her grinding of teeth.
I had told her it’s okay anyways. I mean, I couldn’t just punch her into unconsciousness, tie her in a tree, and drag Sky away from her, could I?
On the second thought, maybe I could….
Anways, because I had told Sky about my park-walking plan earlier, he asked me if I still wanna go—I think he just wanted me to stay away from Lauren—and I had said yes, and Lauren insisted on wanting to go too, because she wanted to tour around the city, and it turned out that she was staying at a hotel nearby, because she’ll be here for a while. Sky refused, of course, but I said its okay if she’ll come too.
And then the three of us we’re strolling at the park, when Sky’s phone rang—I think it was someone from school—and he told us something urgent happened and he had to go leave Lauren and me alone for a while.
Until I was stuck there, sitting on a park bench next to her, staring at the few people that walked by.
“You don’t seem like Sky’s type…” were the first words that came from her hot-pink-lipstick-covered mouth.
And what does she mean by that? were my first thoughts.
“Huh?” I said.
Lauren had just shrugged and crossed her legs.
“I thought he’s not into…simple girls. Guess that changed.”
After a few minutes, we started talking for a bit…
…until I discovered some things.
Things…
…that just changed my impression of Sky…
…forever.
And as I walked alone, tears ran down from my confused and angry eyes, with the memory of what happened earlier swimming through my head...
…making me realize something…
* * *
“After everything we’ve been through…after saving him…he’s just gonna tell that to me…to be friends…I’m pissed,” Lauren whined while staring people around the park.
Her statement made me confused. We had been talking for a few minutes, but all that came out was her whining, which made me uninterested in talking to her, until now.
I looked at her. “Wait…what do you mean ‘after saving him’?”
She looked back at me.
“What…he didn’t tell you?”
Her raised eyebrow got me even more puzzled.
“Tell me what?”
Lauren laughed without humor.
“You have no idea, like, at all?”
I pulled my eyebrows together, and she looked at me as if she couldn’t believe that I didn’t know, whatever that is.
“Sky should’ve been dead by now…” she said sternly. “…if it wasn’t for me.”
What the…
“Dead?!” I practically screamed as I stood up from the bench. “What do you mean dead?!”
“He seriously didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?!” I yelled, feeling like I was literally dying…out of curiosity.
Lauren looked at me with a serious expression.
“Sky almost committed suicide back in Jersey. And I stopped him. I saved your boyfriend’s life.”
My knees began to tremble as her words struck my very core.
“What!?! Why?!”
She blinked several times, like she couldn’t even believe I’m even real.
Okay, now I really am dying of so much curiosity. “What did he do…? Why did he…do that?!”
“He told me he just doesn’t want to live anymore. He’s too…tired.” Lauren glanced somewhere far away, and sighed. “Of everything.”
“Why…?” It was all I managed to say.
“Oh…he seriously didn’t tell you anything?! Oh, my God…what a jackass Sky is. Not telling it to her own present girlfriend…tsk tsk tsk…” Lauren shook her head out of sympathy.
“Tell me,” I ordered.
Lauren looked at me surprisingly, and gave another sigh as she looked down.
“Sky’s mom died just a few months after they had moved to Jersey.”
My eyes bulged out of shock.
But Sky had told me…
…’she’s doing good’…
…so he was lying.
“H-how…?” I stammered, feeling like a question machine.
“She was abused…by Sky’s father,” she said, looking at me again. “But that’s just part of the reason she passed away.”
I sat back on the bench, and tried my hardest to stop my hands and knees from shaking.
“Mrs. Winter received bruises and scars from Sky’s dad almost everyday. She was a battered wife. But she never fought back. Sky was abused too, but Sky’s dad’s way of treating was worse. Way worse.”
Lauren seemed to know all the details, I thought. But why does she know?
There’s only one thing I could think of.
Another one of Sky’s lies.
Sky and Lauren had a serious relationship.
“Time came when she finally decided to give up, to file a divorce, but Sky’s father refused. Sky fought with his own father, but he ended up locked up in his room, bleeding and covered with bruises too.”
I couldn’t believe Lauren, an ex-girlfriend of my boyfriend, whom I just met today, was telling me all this.
“Sky’s mother finally decided to ran away, out of fear for Sky,” she continued. “Sky was with her. And they stayed and hid at our house for a while, my parents welcomed them. They were convincing Sky’s mom to sue Sky’s father…but…she loves him too much. And I think that was the stupidest thing ever. I mean, she wants to file a divorce, but she doesn’t want to go against him. So crazy.”
Why…did Sky’s mom refused to do that? Why did they go to Lauren’s house? Why did his father…
Questions started flooding my mind like a violent cyclone.
“And one night Sky’s mother decided to go back to Sky’s father’s house, to check how he’s doing…Sky, of course, was completely unaware of this, I think he’d prefer to die first than allow her to do that.”
Lauren started playing her fingers, showing her less-confident side.
“But she never got the chance to see him. She got hit by a car along the way. She died in a car accident. We went to the hospital she was carried to, but we never got the chance to see her alive. A few months passed, and we got news that Sky’s dad already remarried.”
I covered my mouth with my hands.
“But Sky didn’t seem like he cared at all. Well, at first.”
Lauren looked away, as if she’s trying to remember every detail.
“Until I noticed him doing ridiculous things. He would stay all night at the bar, sleep around with girls he didn’t even know, and come home about four in the morning smelling like alcohol. Of course, I was there to scold and lecture him and everything.”
I get easily jealous when Sky was just even looking at some girls and easily angry whenever he was drinking even just a bit. And now, I found out he was doing this…
I could tell Lauren was even hiding some things I wouldn’t want to know.
“His dad tried to make it up to him, by giving him everything he needed, but that just wasn’t enough…”
“And one day, I decided to check on Sky’s room, to make sure he’s doing okay…
“And I saw him grabbing my dad’s gun, and pointed it right to his head, about to pull the trigger…and, of course, I stopped him.
"I hugged him so tight, and I told him everything he needed to hear...that everything's gonna be okay..."
"We had a long-term relationship, but I felt that he just wasn't...happy. So I let him go...temporarily. And one day he decided to come here, to…’forget everything’. And I followed him here."
Lauren's eyes gazed somewhere far away, while mine suddenly felt stingy.
I wanted to cry.
For some reason, I felt so...left out.
So...abandoned.
So…betrayed.
By Sky.
“Lauren…how did you…know all this?” I tried to choke back my tears.
She smiled at me.
“Because I was there.”
“But you weren’t together at first, right? But you were there…” I said, trying to analyze. “Because…?”
Lauren’s confident smile widened.
“Because I’m his…best friend.”
I just looked down.
“Honey, if he’s been lying about that to you…what else could’ve he been lying about?” she said a little too dramatically.
I know she said that only to get me angry at Sky even more...but she was right.
That time, I couldn’t hold back the tears streaming down my cheeks, while everything Lauren said swirled through my already-confused mind.
My whole life, I thought I’ve known Sky…
…that I knew just everything about him…
….that playful, cheerful boy that was my best friend…
…turns out I’m wrong.
Very wrong.
I realized…that the boy I knew…
…is gone now.
And the Sky with me is a complete and total stranger.
* * *
And it all came to this.
I realized...
…that I couldn't just be with someone I don't even know.