To Find the Lie, We Must Discard the Truth

The last place I wanted to be was at the resort with my family. Not only do I have to share the suite with Veronica, but I also have to introduce her to everyone. If Sky were here then I could skip that last part. The car ride there was silent, which was killing me. It's not like we had been fighting. Though we also weren't best friends or anything either.

I park next to a car I recognize as Kyles and groan. Why did he have to be here?

When we enter the hotel I walk up to the front desk, recognizing the guy as Nick. “room 24” I request.

Nick pulls out the keys and handed them to me, “thought you were dating a brunette...” he says

“we broke up.” I say, the words stinging each time I had to say them. Because honestly, we didn't break up. She just left with a hint that she was coming back.

I get into the elevator with Veronica, “so I should warn you that my parents gave us the honeymoon suite.”

“why would they do that?”

“probably because we're getting married in eight months.” I set our bags by the closet and flip on the T.V.

“what are the plans for tonight?” Veronica asks, sitting next to me on the bed.

“around four we'll go down and introduce you to everyone. Dinner is at six.”

“okay. Then can we talk about something?”

I mute the T.V. and look over at her, “what about?”

“your ex.” she says simply.

I try to dodge it, “Amanda?” I ask hoping she wouldn't realize I had more than one.

“no, the other girl.”

I look back at the T.V. “I don't think that's a good idea.” I say and just when I'm about to grab the remote and turn the volume back on she gets to it first. The T.V. gets turned off and the remote is tossed aside.

“Ryan, you need to talk about this.”

“fine. But not with you.”

“and why not.”

“because.”

“because why?!”

“just drop it Veronica.”

“no, you've been ignoring the subject long enough. Tell me.”

“no.”

“tell me why you won't tell me.”

“no.”

“Ryan, I've been respecting your decisions for the past couple of weeks, but this is getting too much. Do you want me to call Blake or Katie and get the answers out of them?” she pulls out her phone, about to dial a number.

“NO!” I scream at her.

“then tell me.”

I sit there, staring at the phone in her hands. She was going to call them and though Katie wouldn't tell her, Blake would.

“put down your phone. I'll tell you.” I give in. She smiles victoriously and sets her phone down on the bedside table. “what do you want to know?”

“I want to know what you're hiding from me?”

I take in a deep breath. “do you have any aunts besides Mary?” I ask. No point in telling her the whole cousin part if she didn't know.

“well, there's this one woman that got pregnant when she was fifteen.” Veronica laughs, “I mean, really, who does that? Anyways, she got kicked out of the family obviously. No one wants that type of reputation on their family. I think her name was Diana but I'm not positive. Why does it matter anyways?”

“because,” I start, “she was your cousin.”

Veronica paused for a second, “wait, who was my cousin?”

“the ex we're talking about?” I say in a 'duh' tone.

She starts to laugh again, “you dated my cousin. Ha, that's great.”

“fine. I won't tell you then.” I get up and walk over to the bathroom, “I'm going to take a shower.”

Veronica gets up from the bed quickly and stops me, “Wait, Ryan. Please, I do want to hear about this.”

“you not only insulted your family but you insulted a girl I really care about. Why should I tell you more?”

“I won't say anything. I promise.”

“fine. But one rude comment and you're not hearing it.” she nods and we go back to our seats on the bed.

“so, what's her name?”

“Blue Sky Anastasia Reynolds.” I tell her.

“like the soda?”

“like the soda. Her dad was holding it when she was born and they decided to name her after it.” I explain, “we met when she was in kindergarten and I was in first grade. Though she always kept her distance from people and we were never really friends. Last year, some things happened that brought us closer. What really triggered it was that she got bumped up from being a sophomore to being a junior. After that things got a little complicated. I was still with Amanda during this time and she was the jealous type, not wanting me to hang out with Sky outside of...well actually just not wanting me to hang out with her.”

“that's the girl that got sent to jail, right?”

“yeah. Our play last year was Pride and Prejudice. Sky got the part of Elizabeth and I got Darcy. We were forced to practice outside of school which didn't make Amanda too happy. My niece and nephew loved Sky and would talk about her nonstop to their parents. This made my family think that Sky and I were dating. My sister was getting married and kept bugging me for the name of my girlfriend. I didn't want to have Amanda at the wedding because she just attracts drama, so I did what any reasonable person would do.”

“please don't tell me this is some type of fake-relationship love story.”

I just smile in response. “so after that she was my girlfriend to my family and just a friend at school. Though I liked her more than friends. On Halloween I told her that I liked her and she told me that I shouldn't. We didn't talk to each other for a week after that. Finally, on her birthday, I took her out and she forgave me. um...it wasn't until December 5th when we officially became a couple. Everything was going great after that. We spent spring break at the Shaw Cabins and when we got back some problems came up.” I ended it there.

“that's it?”

“that's it.”

“where is she now?”

I shrug, “no one knows.”

“so she ran away.”

“yes.” I say quietly. Veronica gets up from the bed and goes over to her bag. She rummages through it before finally finding what she wanted. In her hand was an envelope.

After sitting back down, she sets the envelope on the table next to her. “so, what was she like?” Veronica asks.

“intelligent, independent. Very, very quiet.” is say.

“okay...let me rephrase the question. What attracted you to her?”

I pause to think, “I don't know. There was just something about how content she was to be sitting at lunch, all by herself that made me want to know more. No one really knew her and then finally I was able to break through the wall and when I did there was this amazing girl behind it. She was great with kids and there wasn't anything she couldn't handle. I guess I just really admired that.”

Veronica takes the envelope off the table and twirls it around in her hands. “I'm amazed you haven't asked yet.”

“asked what?”

“If I knew her.”

I look at her, confused. Did she know Sky? But how, Sky didn't know any of her family. “because I know you didn't.”

“ah, but that's where you're wrong. She left in April, didn't she?”

I study her for a second, was she bluffing? “do you know where she is Veronica?”

A sly smile creeps upon her face and she hands me the envelope. “I'm going to take a shower.” and with that she disappeared into the bathroom, leaving me with the envelope.

I slowly open the flap and take out the piece of paper.


Dear Ryan,

What did I tell you about looking for me? At least you've finally talked about me to someone other than Katie.

Okay, seriously, she knows me way to well. Just saying.

So how's it going with Veronica? Not so well I'm guessing if you're still trying to figure out what happened to me. Don't worry though, I'm safe and sound. Obviously, or you wouldn't be getting this letter. I hope everything is going good at school. Please don't become anti-social, you never were good at being alone.

Love you,

-Sky

p.s. I'm not far, but please stop looking. We'll see each other again, I promise.

p.p.s. Remember not to dream about me, or Veronica for that matter. Last time that didn't go over too well ;)

p.p.p.s. Still, no one knows where I am. So you can ask all you want but they won't have the answers.


I smile and set the note aside just in time to hear the shower shut off. My phone rang also at this time and I answered it.

“Ryan, twenty minutes to get your ass down here.” my mom says without a hello.

“hey mom. And yes, I know. Veronica just got out of the shower. We'll be there in twenty.”

“and you two have to act all lovey-dovey.”

“um, why?”

“because, we can't have them to be confused when the engagement part comes in January.”

“right, of course. Twenty minutes and act like we love each other. Got it.” she hangs up and I shut my phone. I hadn't noticed that Veronica had stepped out of the bathroom, but she had, with a towel tightly wrapped around her body.

“oh, sorry.” she says, still grabbing something from her bag, “I forgot my straightener.”

I smile slightly, “it's fine. We've got twenty minutes or so.”

“okay.” she walks back into the bathroom and I walk over to my bag, changing into a nicer pair of jeans.

About fifteen minutes later Veronica comes out of the bathroom. Her short hair was straightened, making it a little bit longer. She had on a simple short-sleeve black dress and a pair of heels.

“you look great.” I tell her.

“really?” she asks, surprised.

“unless you don't want to look great...”

Veronica laughs, “no, no. It's just that's the first time you've complimented me. I wasn't expecting it.”

“well, you better be expecting that, and a lot more, this weekend.” I tell her.

“what do you mean?” I grab the key to the room from the table and slip it into my pocket before grabbing her hand.

“we're a couple, remember? As in, we're in love and getting married in nine months.”

“oh, I guess I had forgotten about the whole arranged marriage thing.” we enter the elevator and I press the lobby button. “wait, does that mean we have to...” she trails off, allowing me to fill in the blank.

“yup. And my mom expects more than just one kiss. She'll want us to do that 'stealing' kisses thing all the time.”

“oh.” I step around so that I' facing her with her back to the wall. “what are you doing?”

“would you rather it be awkward in front of everyone?”

“no. I guess not.”

“then...” I brush a piece of hair off her face, hooking it around her ear and allowing my hand to rest on her cheek, “Ready?” she slowly nods and I lean in, pressing my lips against her. If you had asked me what it was like to kiss Veronica I would tell it was the exact same as kissing Sky. Though that couldn't be possible since I love Sky and I don't love Veronica. But that same spark was there. The one that showed up when I'd touch her, and now kiss her. The one that, before Veronica, only came about when I was with Sky.

The kiss lasted about a minute. Her hands were on my shoulders, holding me close even after we pulled apart. Before I could step away the elevator door opened and I heard glass crashing.

We smile at each other, “see, now it won't be as awkward.” I whisper, giving her one last peck before grabbing her hand and walking out of the elevator. All eyes were on mine and I found my mother's, she was smiling at me with a thumbs up. I roll my eyes and step farther into the room with Veronica right by my side. It took a moment for everyone to go back to what they were doing previously, but they finally did.

“ready?”

“not even close.” she says and I smile, “but I have a feeling I don't have a choice in this either.”

“nope, you don't.” I drag her to the easiest people first, my girl cousins.

I was surprised that, by the end of introductions, I was able to stay away from Kyle. “want to go back up the room?” I ask Veronica, who was looking fairly tired.

“yeah. I didn't know meeting people could be so exhausting.” I laugh and we start to head back toward the elevator.

“thought you could just skip me Ryan?” that terrible voice said behind me.

I turn around, “what do you want Kyle?” I ask.

“to meet your beautiful girlfriend obviously.”

I glare at him, “Veronica, this is Kyle, Kyle, this is my girlfriend Veronica.”

“nice to meet you,” he says.

Veronica laughs, “yeah, well, first off my eyes are closer to the top of my head and second we were just going.”

she tugs on my hand and pulls me along to the elevator. It was then that I knew everything would work out in the end.