Born a Liar

The icy atmosphere in the room was almost unbearable, to at least one of the occupants. A young man stood there, his fists clenched, his eyes flashing with anger. The object of his anger was a petite young woman with chocolate brown hair and an innocent expression across her flawless features. Oh, she was flawless on the outside, Danny knew that. But inside, he knew now that Natasha was rotten. It had finally dawned upon him that there was nothing he could do, and it angered him as much as it pained him.

"You were born a liar," he said softly, the anger dripping from his words. He watched Natasha as the words reached her ears. Her eyes widened slightly and she opened her mouth by a fraction, looking, as always, like an innocent child being scolded for something she hadn’t done. It used to melt Danny’s heart, but now it angered him to the point where he wanted to scream. Everything about this girl was false, and he felt like an idiot for never seeing it coming.

"I was born a what?" Natasha asked softly, her words delicately chosen, the tiniest hint of betrayal in her words. Danny stayed strong this time. He couldn’t continue buying into her fantasy life.

"You heard me," he replied. "You were born into this world, weren’t you? I doubt you even know the truth about yourself after all this time."

"I don’t know what you’re on about, Danny," Natasha whispered. She reached for Danny’s hand, but he snatched it away.

"Don’t try this on me," he told her firmly. "Everyone else may think you’re a little angel, Natasha, but I see through you. I can see what you’ve been doing. You were born a liar and you’ll never quit, will you?"

"Where has this come from?" Natasha asked, innocent brown eyes wide, hand over her mouth in shock. She moved her hand slowly so Danny could see the slight tremble in her bottom lip. Danny remained strong.

"I’ve been looking into things, Natasha," he told her, keeping his voice strong, letting her know that her guilt trips wouldn’t work on him last time. "I know now what your little game is."

"I’m not playing any game," Natasha replied, and Danny heard his proof in her voice. He could hear the defensive tone coming out, and he knew her brain was whirring, grasping a hold of more false tales to tell him, going over the web of lies she was dangling in, and she didn’t even realize.

"What about your life is actually real, Nat?" Danny asked, glaring at her. Now when he looked at her, he could feel only revulsion. He saw past her long, curly brown hair which bounced around her heart-shaped face. He could see past those large brown eyes with specks of gold in them. He could see past those full lips and little nose and flawless skin. He could see past it all, down deep into her soul, to see the black mist that surrounded it.

"Would I lie to you?" Natasha asked.

"Yes," Danny hissed. "You would. Tell me what’s real, Natasha."

"It’s all real," Natasha whispered. "You think I would lie about the things I said happened to me?"

"I think you would," Danny shot back. "It was funny, how you always seemed to remember these tragic events when you wanted your own way. Wasn’t it always oh so convenient? How whenever I wouldn’t buy you something, you tragically told me about how you were never properly provided for as a child? Isn’t it funny, how you suddenly had paranoia problems when I met someone you didn’t like? Isn’t it just hilarious how I could never criticise you even constructively, for fear I would bring back your depression, or your eating disorders, or your self-esteem issues?"

"You’re actually saying I would lie about that?" Natasha demanded, and although her eyes were filling with tears, Danny could see the anger behind them. Perhaps, there was even humiliation there. He had her backed into a corner, and he knew she wouldn’t be able to lie her way out of this one.

"Your mom seemed to have never heard anything about it. Your best friend remembered a happy, confident girl at school."

"You don’t know anything."

"I know enough, Natasha. Why did you do it? Why did you lie so much? I would have loved you for who you were."

Natasha narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t quite sure how he had worked out that she had been creative with the truth, but he wouldn’t understand any other way. She needed to tell him these things to keep him in line. She sank onto the bed, running her hands through her hair, tangling the curls and scuffing her feet against the floor.

"If you really think I would lie about this sort of thing, Danny," she said softly, choking her voice up, using her hair to hide the fact she wasn’t really crying. "Then you’ll just leave now. If you’re so sure I would be an attention seeker like that, then you clearly don’t love me."

"I thought I loved you," Danny said softly. "But then I realized that inside, you’re just as manipulative as anyone else. If, one day, you decide that you really would like to give me the decency of telling me the truth, you know where to find me."

"I’m telling you the truth."

"Stop playing around with me, Natasha!" Danny suddenly said loudly, and she jumped at the sound of his raised voice. "You were born a liar, you’ll stay a liar, and you’ll die a liar. Rest assured, you’ll be dying alone if you keep on going down this road. You’re lying to yourself more than anyone else. You need to just be honest with yourself. Goodbye."

Natasha sat still until she heard the door slam.

Then, she picked up the phone, calling her best friend.

"I left him," she sobbed. "He was hitting me."