To Find the Lie, We Must Discard the Truth

June. The end of the month that is. Which means there’s less than six months until the wedding. Six months. Currently Veronica and are standing in line for the Weezer concert. I didn’t tell her the tickets came from Sky, and I wasn’t about to now. Some things she just didn’t need to know.

I even tried to convince her not to go. I know it’s probably rude of me to think that way, but she doesn’t even like the band. So why was she here and not Blake? Because she wanted to experience something that I love. Or, in my mind, that means ruin something that I love.

“who in their right mind would get you tickets to this concert?” she asks for the millionth time.

“just an old friend Veronica. And you’re the one who agreed to going, so please stop complaining.”

“I’m not complaining.”

I roll my eyes and shut-up. I seemed to be doing this a lot lately. Veronica loved to have things her way when it came to the wedding. Sure, she’d ask me my opinion but it didn’t matter what my answer was. It was always what she wanted and at whatever cost too. It’s a good thing that both families have money, or I’d be running broke at the moment.

“It was Sky, wasn’t it?”

and there goes my five minutes of silence. “no, it wasn’t Sky.”

“you sure? Because you always get defensive when I’m right-”

“It was Cathy! Okay? Principle Shaw got me the tickets. Are you happy?!” so I flipped on her. Honestly, I think I have the right to do that every now and again.

“might as well have been Sky in that case. I mean, Cathy knows we’re getting married in five months. Why would she get us tickets this late into the season? We definitely have more important things to do for planning the wedding.”

I’m sure Sky knew this was going to happen. She probably chose the band because of the concert date more than who was playing.

Instead of listening to the rest of her rant, I pull out my phone and call Blake.

“what are you doing right now?” I ask after the basic ‘hello’s’.

there was a small pause, “um…Sara and I are hanging out, why?”

“I am begging you two to come down here and save me. Veronica has easily pushed me over the limit.”

Limit of what?”

“sanity.”

“okay, I’ll be there with Sara in about twenty minutes.” Luckily we’d still be in line at that point.

The instant Blake’s car pulled up, I saw that it was Sara driving. I’m glad my best friend thought ahead. I practically pushed Veronica into the car and gave her a kiss goodbye before turning back to Blake who was just standing there smirking at me. “rough day?”

“don’t get me started.”

He laughs, “and that’s what you get to marry.” I send him a glare, “ah come on! She’s not all bad. I mean, most women become their craziest when it’s around planning a wedding. It’s just in their nature.”

“crazy doesn’t explain why I can’t have one peaceful night without her complaining about the concert.”

“true. You didn’t tell her who the tickets were from, did you?”

“am I dead right now? Of course I didn’t tell her! She thinks Cathy gave them to me.” With that said, I handed Blake his ticket since we were getting close to the front.

“Hey Ryan, do you ever wonder why Veronica hates Sky so much?”

Blake was good at a lot of things. One of them being that he could easily find something else for you to worry about. A good talent? I think not. “No, I just assume it’s because she’s my ex and I still care about her.”

He shrugs, “I guess. It just seems deeper than that. I mean, guys and girls break up all the time and stay friends, and the next girlfriend may be jealous a little, but not hate her. Veronica really makes it known that she does not like Sky. But if I remember right, there was only a few months there that she could have met Sky, given the thought that Sky went to her grandparents for help. I’m just saying I’d be a little worried about what went on between the two. Sky keeps pushing you to have this marriage, while Veronica keeps pushing you away from Sky. Wouldn’t she like Sky if she was a supporter?” Blake went off on one of his rambles but for the five minutes it took to get to the front, his ramble actually made sense.

Why did Veronica hate Sky so much? Really, there’s no reason that I can think of to make her feel the way she does. Sky has made it known that she doesn’t like Veronica, but Blake has a point, she still pushes the wedding on me. And she wouldn’t do that if she didn’t think it wasn’t what was best for me.

But Veronica…at the slightest mention of Sky she flips out. Is she that jealous of the girl who left me? or was the first impression between the two of them really that bad?

This led to that night when I got back from the concert. Which, with Blake, was one of the best nights of my life. I’m sure if Veronica had stayed, we would have left early because she was ‘bored.’ Got to love those wanna-be-princesses.

Blakes words got me thinking and I decided that indeed, I did need to know why my soon to be wife hated her cousin so much. I couldn’t be the only reason for their hatred. So I take a seat in the chair across from her when I get home, ready to talk when her show is over.

Veronica spent about five minutes looking between the TV and me before turning off the show, “what is it?” she asks rudely, obviously wanting to watch whatever reality TV show was on tonight.

“I have a simple question for you.” I say, and was about to ask it when I heard her squeak.

“finally!”

“um, Veronica, not that question.” Well that’s one way to make this conversation a hell of a lot more awkward. “I was actually going to ask why you hate Sky so much…”

Her face already tightened with anger, a major sign that even the name made her mad. “do you want to be here all night?” she asks and I look around the room at our house.

“well…it’s our living room, so I don’t really mind.”

“I can also just not answer you if you’re going to be sarcastic.” I put my hands up in surrender and let her continue. “If you must know, which I’m assuming you won’t stop asking until you get an honest answer, Blue Sky and I met in about late April. I was home for a couple of days from school and she was there. Why? I don’t know. Who she was? I didn’t know. I just know that she was acting all needy and clingy. It just annoyed me! they were supposed to pay attention to me! the daughter they haven’t seen in months. Not some street kid that they hadn’t even recognized as a grand-daughter. But no, it was all about Blue Sky this and Blue Sky that. Although they’d call her Sky, not Blue Sky. Point is that she stole my family and that began our fights. I guess if I really think about it she tried being friends with me but I just wouldn’t allow it. Have you seen that girl? She’s like a-” Veronica stops mid-sentence and I raise my eyebrows at her, daring her to finish her thoughts. She just shakes her head, “never mind that. We didn’t get along to begin with. It’s like tossing Franceand England into a room together, not a good mix. My parents expected me to treat her nice and all that bull-crap but I didn’t. Well, I did in front of them, just not behind closed doors. She wasn’t all too nice back either. After she tried to be friends, she was just plain mean. Always had a rude comeback to whatever I said and was never straightforward with an answer. Always sarcastic. And another thing, her smartness. I mean come on! We get it! You’re a genius, how many times do you have to shove it in my face?!”

“so you were jealous of her?” I ask, trying to clarify the rant I just heard.

“what?! No! I’m totally not the jealous type.” I definitely know that’s a lie. “It’s just when I got here I thought it would be different. I’d finally be able to get away from the house that was now all about Sky and nothing about Veronica. Turns out though that you’re just as obsessed with her as everybody else. So do I hate her? Yes! She practically took over my life!”

I stare at Veronica for a moment. I wish I could say she wasn’t always this…egotistical, but that would be a lie. This was just straight-up Veronica. Jealously was her personality. She doesn’t even take into consideration the life Sky grew up in before stopping at her grandparents. And the fact that she even did that small action, meeting her grandparents, means that she really was in trouble.

This shows that I’m gonna be a terrible husband, huh? I hear her story and all I care about is Sky. It’s just not Sky’s fault so I don’t know why Veronica is so mad at her. “so you hate her because for the time that you were at your house, with her there, your family ignored you?”

“well they didn’t ignore me. they just wanted me to hang out with Blue Sky, and talk with Blue Sky. It was all about her, not me.”

I sigh, trying to figure out the nicest way to say my next words. “Veronica, you do realize that you just sound like a spoiled brat when you tell that story. Right? I mean, you couldn’t take a few days and just be nice to someone?”

“she took over!”

“I don’t care if she took over or not! Even if I didn’t know who you were talking about it’s still rude the way you acted!”

She stands up now, obviously angry, “that’s the thing Ryan, you do know her! And no matter what happens you’re always going to side with her, not me.”

“I’m not siding with anyone Veronica. I’m just telling you that your actions toward her were not nice.”

“and how would you know she wasn’t being just as mean to me?”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “Because that’s not her.”

“People change Ryan!”

“not like that they don’t!” I run a hand through my hair, “look Veronica, Sky never was one to fight back unless it was about someone she cared for. Amanda dumped ice cream on her and Sky just went and got the mop to clean up the mess. That’s what I mean when I say she doesn’t fight back. I’m not saying that she wasn’t ignoring you, or being sarcastic. I’m just saying that she isn’t the type to be mean.”

“then what am I?”

“honestly, you’re a mean girl. From what I’ve heard around kids at your school, that’s how you treat everyone, as if you’re better than they are. And when someone proves to you that you’re not, you instantly find a way to take that person down.”

Veronica just stands there, glaring at me, “you know nothing about me Ryan.”

I just laugh at that statement, “and you know nothing about me.” I start to leave the room and then turn back around to add one more thing, “oh, and those tickets? Yeah, those were definitely from Sky.”