The Ugly Truth

The next day, I called Riley to see how he was doing but after seven rings, I gave up. Maybe he just wanted to be alone. A tiny part of me wished he needed me in these kind of moments, but we weren’t best friends or anything, at least not anymore. I couldn’t really expect him to want to hear my awkward comforting words.

A knock on my front door pulled me from my thoughts back into reality. I went to open it and found a blonde girl I didn’t know on my doorstep.

“Are you Lindsay?” she demanded, arms crossed over her chest.

“That’s me. Do I know you?”

“No, you don’t. Caroline sent me.”

“Couldn’t she come herself?”

“No, she’s busy. She said to tell you she’s been generous these past weeks, but she’ll send you something today,” she snapped.

“Tell her I don’t want to do this anymore,” I said, beginning to close the door.

I was real tired of all the things Caroline had been putting me through and I was finally going to put my foot down. Who cares if they had one picture? I sure didn’t anymore.

She put her foot in front of the door to stop me from closing it.

“I would do whatever Caroline told me to if I were you.”

“Well I don’t need to suck up to her like you seem to.”

“Fine. She’s going to show everyone that picture of you. I’ve seen it and it’s pretty awful.”

“Oh, what a pity. Too bad I don’t care anymore,” I replied, sarcastic as ever.

“Have you heard Riley’s parents are divorcing? Because I have.”

How did she know? I didn’t think he would tell many others.

“Everyone knows, honey. Word gets around fast around here. Now, do you really want to make him hurt more than he should?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean, do you want me to show him the reason his parents divorced?” she said, pulling out her cell phone and showing me a picture of Riley’s dad and a pretty woman I didn’t recognize.

“He’s Riley’s hero, isn’t he? I can almost picture his face of devastation if he found out his dad had an affair.”

My breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t believe what she was telling me yet she seemed pretty confident about it. She even had pictures to prove it. Maybe there were more of them and maybe they weren’t as discreet as that one. Riley couldn’t see that. And if anyone told him about this, it had to be his own dad.

“Now, if you don’t do as we say, we’ll tell him. And we’ll also tell him you’ve been hiding it from him. So, did you have a change of heart yet?” she asked, faking sweetness.

“What do I have to do?” I demanded.

“Great! Caroline will text you later. Bye!”

And just like that, things were an even bigger mess than ever. I had to carry the weight of this secret around and I was still Caroline’s puppet. If only I hadn’t tried to be brave or stand up for myself, things would have been bad but not as disastrous as they had turned

At that precise moment, I got a call from Riley. He explained he had been busy and couldn’t answer before.

“And you’re doing okay, right? Well, of course you’re not okay, but, you know, sort of okay?” I asked him.

“Yeah, I’m sort of okay,” he replied, even chuckling a little.

“Sometimes people do things because they love you, even though from your point of view it doesn’t look that way.”

“Maybe. I just wish we could go back to how it was before.”

“It’ll be okay. Just hang in there."

“I’ll try. Thanks for checking up on me, Linds.”

“That’s what friends are for.”

“Thanks anyways. See you around?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Perfectly timed, Caroline’s text arrived only a few minutes after I had hung up. I was reluctant to open it, since I was afraid she would be crueler than usual.

<i> Go to the diner for lunch and ask for Caroline’s order. Consider it a gift from me to you. But you’ll have to eat every last bite for this to count. </i>

I had no idea what she was planning to do. Make me eat? As if that was such a big deal. Well, come to think of it, she was probably the type that only ever had salad and water, so maybe eating a hamburger was a tricky feat to her. Either way, I was a bit relieved. Luckily, people went more for a snack or dinner, so I had all the odds in my favor.

I hadn’t returned to the diner since that first day and for once it was actually pleasant to do what Caroline said. As always, I was greeted warmly by one of the waitresses.

“What can I get you, honey?” she asked, poising a pencil over her notepad.

“Well, a girl I know, Caroline, said she’d pay for my lunch today…”

“Oh, yes. I remember she came in this morning. You must be pretty special for a friend to do that for you,” she smiled, walking off.

I cringed at the thought of us being friends. I had been crazy to think that she had had change of heart at the beginning of the summer. Bad people don’t change.

As I fiddled with the napkin dispenser, bored waiting for my order, I heard some loud talking near the entrance. I turned around and saw a big group of guys entering the diner and, to my dismay, I realized I recognized most of them. They were the football guys from when I was in high school. It looked like some sort of reunion. I quickly turned around and sank lower in my booth, hoping they wouldn’t see me. I knew Ethan was among them, since he was a football player, and I did not want to run into him or any of his buddies.

Just then, I saw the waitress return, tray full. There were all sorts of foods: hamburgers, pancakes, hot dogs, ice cream… It couldn’t be what I had to eat. No way.

“Here you go, sweetheart. You’re not going to eat this all by yourself, right?”

I just laughed and stared at the huge order. Of course there had to be a catch, although I didn’t quit understand the reason behind it. So Caroline wanted to make her eat lots? It just didn’t make any sense. Either way, I had to down it because I knew Caroline was watching like some Big Brother.
It wasn’t that bad until I was full and still had plenty of food left. I sat there wondering how in earth I was going to finish the three plates that were still untouched. Maybe I could wrap them in napkins and stuff them into my purse before anyone could see.

All of a sudden I heard some sharp heel clicks on the tiled floor and I just knew it was her. The devil personified. I kind of hoped she would fall, but instantly felt bad for thinking it. Caroline was too perfect to fall in the middle of a diner anyways. As her footsteps got closer and closer, I clenched my teeth, bracing myself for seeing her appear at my side.

“Oh, if it isn’t Lindsay!” she said, in a very fake and very loud way.

I just stared at her as she invited herself to sit in my booth. I could feel the eyes of the ex-football team staring at her. I was glad my back was to them.

“Hey! Oh my god, it’s like a high school reunion!” Caroline squeaked, waving to the guys.

She was acting surprised but I knew she had planned this. There was no way it was a coincidence.

“Let’s go say hi!” she said, pulling me up by my arm and leading me to the table full of guys.

I smiled awkwardly and said hello. Ethan smiled widely. The rest ogled Caroline so I just stood back while she talked to them. They had started reminiscing about high school days and I didn’t really want to think about that at all. I was considering making a run for it while they were so busy talking but Caroline seemed to read my thoughts and looped her arm through mine as if we were best pals.

“Leaving so soon?” she said, turning to me, “You know, it’s simply not healthy.”

I stared at her, confused, as everyone at the table quieted down.

“Did you guys see all the food she ordered? I don’t think that’s healthy, Linds.”

“Um…” I was starting to go red.

“I don’t think you’ll mind me telling them right? We’ve all known each other a while. She’s, well… Lindsay has a problem,” she said, putting two fingers in her mouth and sticking her tongue out.

No. She did not just imply that I had bulimia. She really was the devil!

“No, I don’t!”

“It’s alright, sweetie. We all figured anyways, considering your weight loss,” Caroline replied, placing a hand on my shoulder, faking empathy.

“N-no!”

I could only stutter as I saw the evil gleam in her eyes. The guys had started talking quietly to end the awkward moment but I knew they were all listening to everything intently. No matter what I said no one would believe me.

“So are you going to go puke now?” one guy laughed.

And pretty soon everyone started laughing too. Caroline started making the gagging gesture again, which only made them laugh harder. I looked to Ethan for help but he wouldn’t look me in the eye.

“You’re all sick,” I said before walking away.

“Funny, coming from a binger!”