Love Behind Lies

Chapter 16

Brent must have been pretty mad at Sam, because he didn’t say anything about it until we were almost home.
“What was going on back there,” Brent asked me as we pulled into my driveway.
“I don’t know,” I responded.
“What was he talking to you about?” Brent unlocked his car and we both got out.
“Trust,” I said, once I was out of the car.
“What about it?”
“How I need to have some in him.” We were making out way to my front door.
“Why would you have trust in him? After everything he’s put you through?”
“That’s what I told him and he blew up.”
“He makes me so angry!”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry,” Brent said before we opened the front door.
“For what,” I asked, with a sigh.
“Sam. I wish there was some other way that we could save your dad without having to drag Sam along. He is very smart and he is perfect for the situation, but he’s not right for you.”
“Don’t worry about it. I have you, right?”
Brent took another one of his deep breaths. “You will always have me,” Brent said as he tried to open the front door. The door was locked, but we have a spare key under the mat. I grabbed it and opened the door, leading into my huge kitchen. Margaret was either out of the house or sleeping, so we kept sort of quiet. Everyone else was at school and my mom had some meetings today, so she was out of the house too.
“What do you want to do,” Brent asked me after we had settled in.
“I don’t care.”
“There’s got to be something.”
“Okay. Do you want to watch T.V. or something?”
“Sure. That works for me! I never have time to watch T.V. anymore.”
We went over to the couch that always sat in our living room. I turned on the T.V. and sat down next to Brent. He wrapped his arms around me and I leaned against him. I was really tired and didn’t really feel like watching T.V., so I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
About 30 minutes later I was jerked awake.
“What’s going on,” I asked Brent.
“I’m not sure yet. Someone just knocked on your front door and then your back door. It sounded like they were hitting the door with something metal.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just stay here, okay?”
I didn’t say a word. I sat up a little bit and watched as Brent slowly walked over to the window. The banging had stopped for the moment. Brent opened the curtain covering the window in the living room. He looked around but found nothing.
Then, there was another knock at the front door. Brent hurried over to it and opened the door. It was Sam.
“What the heck are you doing here,” Brent asked Sam. “I’m not supposed to see you until Wednesday.”
“Just messing around,” Sam replied, taking a step into my house.
“Were you the one knocking on the windows and doors?”
“Yup,” Sam laughed.
“It’s not funny,” Brent replied with a straight face.
“Yeah, sure.”
“You scared Catherine.”
“Oh.” Sam’s smile faded. “I’m sorry Kate.” He actually looked sorry.
“You don’t mean that,” Brent said as Sam looked straight into my eyes.
“Actually I do.” Sam shut the front door all the way and started walking towards me and Brent followed behind him.
Sam sat down right next to me on the couch and Brent sat down on the other side of me, but a little closer than normal. Well now what was I supposed to do?
“You can fall back asleep if you want, Catherine,” Sam said, putting his arm around me. It felt so right there and I instantly wanted to lean onto Sam and fall back asleep.
“Yeah, on my shoulder.” Brent leaned over and wrapped his arms around me and pulled me away from Sam and onto his own lap and using his hand to force my head to his chest. I slowly closed my eyes and relaxed.
“She can trust me,” Brent whispered to Sam.
“She’ll learn to trust me soon enough,” Sam said. He stood up, grabbed the remote to the T.V. and sat back down. He muted the T.V., afraid of waking me up.
I fell asleep again listening to Brent’s heartbeat and eventually woke up a few hours later. Through the back porch window I could see the sun setting in the west, making the sky turn all sorts of pretty colors. I was still on my couch, but Brent must have moved me because now only my head was lying on his lap. Brent was relaxed, watching T.V. and Sam looked as if he had never moved. I was surprised Brent hadn’t made him leave a while ago.
“Cat, you awake?” Brent asked very sweetly. He must have noticed that I was awake and looking around.
“Yeah, still tired though,” I replied. “What time is it?”
“Around 6:30 PM. When does your family get home,” Sam asked.
“They should be home by now.”
The room was silent as I was thinking of where they were, but then I remembered.
“But William has a late test for one of his midterms. Thomas and Oscar had a party right after school and Margaret had a date tonight. Did she leave?”
“Yeah, she left right before you woke up,” Brent said to me.
“Oh. Okay. My mom has a late shift as work today, after her meetings, so she won’t be home until 8:30 PM or so. She should be the first one home,” I said to the boys.
“So we are home alone until then?”
“Yeah, I guess.” I paused. “I guess I’m still surprised you’re still here.”
“I was never asked to leave,” Sam said.
“Oh. Okay.” I relaxed my head again.
The room was silent for a moment. I was thinking about what we are going to do for the rest of the night. My stomach growled and we all laughed.
“Should we get sleeping beauty something to eat,” Brent asked.
“I think we should,” Sam said, standing up. “Come on.” He put his hands out, offering to help me up. I took his hands and he pulled me up.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“No problem,” Sam said as he walked towards the kitchen. I turned around to help Brent up.
He grabbed my hands, but instead of my helping him, he pulled me back down and all of a sudden I was sitting on his lap again. We both laughed and then he pulled me closer kissing my forehead gently.
I smiled and climbed off his lap and I offered to help him up again. He took my hands and I helped pull him up, but he let go of my hands on the way up and grabbed my face between his hands, kissing my lips softly. His kiss was unexpected, but sweet and it made me smile.
“Do you two lovebirds want something else to eat?” Sam’s voice sounded happy but irritated at the same time.
I pulled away from Brent and walked over to where Sam was. “I am very hungry, Sam,” I said.
“Yeah, I thought you would be.” Sam smiled at me and I had no choice but to smile back.
“What do you think we should have for dinner,” I asked Sam and Brent.
“I don’t really care. We could order pizza or something,” Sam said.
“That sounds good.” Brent agreed.
“Okay then. Let’s order some pizza.” I went over to the telephone and called the pizza shop downtown. The boys told me what they wanted and we all went back to the couch to wait for the pizza.
About 20 minutes later the doorbell rang. I got up to get it, but Sam pulled my back on the couch and Brent stood up to get the door.
“What the heck? I was going to get the door,” I snapped at Sam.
“Don’t worry about it. Just relax,” Sam said to me. He patted the couch space next to him, but I just stood up and went into the kitchen.
Sam had no idea how badly I wanted to sit down next to him with his arms around me, but I couldn’t here; not with Brent in the house.

The pizza was good that night, but there was too much on my mind to really enjoy it. I was worried about Wednesday. I didn’t want Sam to come on the trip, because I was scared that I was going to start showing how much I really liked him and that wouldn’t fly with Brent. I mean I used to hate Sam, but then he forced me to kiss him, and that made me realized that feelings can change quickly.
After dinner, I cleaned up and put everything away. When I was done, I went and sat down on the couch between Sam and Brent. Brent put his arm around me immediately, just to make sure that Sam wasn’t going to touch me. I smiled to myself and laughed in my head.
I think that Brent knew that there was something going on between me and Sam. It wasn’t that hard to figure out. I still didn’t trust Sam, but when Sam looks at me, I can tell he never wants to stop.
As I was thinking, the boys were talking about Italy. I couldn’t listen without stressing out, so I decided to go to my room so that I could relax and collect my thoughts.
It didn’t take long for the boys to notice I was out of it and soon after I laid down on my bed, there was a knock on my door.
“Come in,” I said, expecting it to be Brent.
The door opened and Sam walked in.
“What do you want,” I asked him.
“Brent said that I could talk to you,” Sam said.
“He must really trust you, then.”
“I told him that if I mess up, I won’t go to Italy with you guys.”
“Oh.”
“Can I sit next to you?” Sam walked closer to my bed.
“Sure.” I moved away from where he was about to sit.
“I just want to talk to you.”
“Obviously.”
Sam laughed and then began talking again. “I just want to clarify what is going on between us before we go to Italy. There won’t be a lot of time for the two of us to be alone and I thought this would be a good time.” Sam paused for a second. “I like you Catherine. A lot. I want you to know that. The only thing that I am not looking forward to during this trip is seeing Brent all over you. I hate it when his arm is around you or if he kisses you. I just want to rip him off you and tell him to never touch you again. It makes me so jealous.” He paused and waited for me to look at him. When I did, he began to talk again.
“I haven’t had that much time to get to know you, but from when we talked through the forest, the last time we were in your room, and the incidents at school, I’ve grown to like you. I think you’ve noticed.” I nodded and he kept talking. “I guess I just have a question for you.” I looked up at him and he smiled at me. “Do you like me?”
I took a deep breath before I answered this question. I knew that Sam was going to ask me this question sooner or later. I had my answer too. I just didn’t want to mess up anything that I already had with Brent.
“This is a hard question to answer, Sam.”
“I know, but I have been thinking about it all afternoon.”
“Yes.” I looked down at the floor. Sam grabbed my chin gently and forced me to look at him.
“You know, I already knew that. I just wanted to hear you say it.” He smiled again and I pulled my face from his hands, looking back at the floor. “Tell me more,” Sam requested.
“Okay. I used to hate you. That was obvious, but because I hated you , I thought about you all the time, especially after you ran into me in the hallway, and even when you stood up for me in front of your friends. Everything changed after you made me kiss you. I realized how much you were right and how much I really did like you. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about those nights and butterflies invade my stomach whenever I see you. However, Brent has done more for me. I mean, yes, I enjoyed your kisses, but I can’t base a relationship on that. Honestly, you confuse me too. The incidents at school and when you kiss me, you are the sweetest boy on the planet and I felt like I was under a spell. But when we were in the forest you were so mean to me and that’s when I hated you most. I like you, Sam, but I like Brent more. I want you to get to know you more, and I guess that’s why I actually want you to come to Italy with us, but it also scares me, because I don’t want Brent to find any of this out.” I took a deep breath and waited for Sam’s response. I had been rambling.
“Can you say that again, please?” Sam was smiling.
“Are you serious? I can’t remember all that,” I said.
“Just the part about how much you like me.” Sam’s eyes were shining.
“Sam, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since that kiss,” I said, looking down at my hands.
“I know. I haven’t stopped thinking about you either.”
“But, Brent,” I said, conflicted.
“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry I’m putting this stress on you and being so confusing. The first time I talked to you, I was sweet, like you said. The second time we talked, I was kidnapping you in the forest. I can see why you would be confused and stressed. Trust me.” We both smiled. “Thank you for talking to me Kate.”
“You’re welcome, but just because I confessed that I like you, doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” He smiled and I just shook my head. Maybe I liked that too, when he teases me.
We walked down the stairs and I sat next to Brent on the couch. He put his arm around me and I instantly thought of how much that made Sam jealous. There was nothing I could do about that though. If I moved away, Brent would think that I was mad. So, I just sat there and thought. Everyone would be home soon and the boys would have to go home anyways.
There was a knock at the door. I looked at Brent and he immediately got up to get the door. I moved towards Sam who put his hand in my hand and as soon as he touched my, I forgot everything. I had to focus hard just to realize who was at the door and it was then I realized I recognized the voice; Loren.
“What is he doing here,” I whispered to Sam.
“I have no idea,” Sam replied and ducked down so it looked like he wasn’t here.
“What are you doing here,” Brent asked Loren, who was standing outside.
“What are you doing here,” Loren asked Brent.
“Catherine and I are hanging out.”
“Oh.”
“So, answer my question.”
“Oh, yeah. I just wanted to talk to Catherine, that’s all.”
“Why do you need to talk to her,” Brent asked.
“I wanted to talk to her about your trip to Italy.”
“What about it,” Brent was getting angry.
“Just please let me talk to her.” Loren was fed up too.
“Cat, Loren wants to talk to you.” Brent yelled across the room. I got up, leaving Sam on the couch and walked over to the front door, where Brent and Loren were.
“Hi, Catherine,” Loren changed his tone of voice.
“Hi,” I mumbled.
“Can I talk to you outside for a moment,” Loren asked me.
“No! You can both come in here,” Brent demanded. “I will leave the room.” Brent shut the front door, sat us down at the table and winked at me. I knew that he remembered that Sam was on the couch, and would listen in, or help me if I needed it.
“So, what’s new,” Loren asked me.
“I thought we were talking about Italy,” I said.
“Why are you so stubborn?”
“I don’t want to talk to you, so let’s get this over with.”
“Did he tell you everything?” I knew that Loren was talking about Brent.
“I don’t know.”
“Okay, let me tell you some important details.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you know about your dad?”
“That he was kidnapped.”
“Do you know why?”
“I think so,” I said hesitantly, thinking of Nick’s dad and his history with my dad.
“So you don’t know for sure?”
“No, I don’t know, why?” I just wanted Loren to leave.
“I think they left out something very important.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you think you are going with?”
“To help find my dad.”
Loren laughed. “That’s what Brent told you?” I had nothing to say. I was terrified. “Would you like me to tell you the real reason why you are going?”
“Sure,” I wasn’t sure what to say and my hands were shaking.
“Loren! You’re scaring her.”
Loren’s head snapped up in surprise. Sam sat up and walked over towards where we were sitting in the kitchen. Loren was speechless. He has no idea Sam was in the other room. Brent came into the room as well.
“What is going on here?” Loren was so confused.
“Sam said you were scaring her and I’m pretty sure you don’t know the real reason or have the right to tell Cat that information,” Brent said. His face was serious. I wasn’t going to ask any questions. I was going to make Brent and Sam tell me later. I had to get Loren out of my house first.
“I know what Sam said. What is Sam doing here?” Loren snapped.
“I’m hanging out with Brent and Catherine.”
“Right.” Loren seemed angry. “You’re switching sides.”
“I think you should leave now,” Sam said, ignoring Loren.
“Fine, I will leave then, but she deserves to know Brent.” Loren pointed at Brent, looked at me and then walked out the door, letting himself out without another word.
Once the door was shut and I was sure that Loren was gone, I stood up and went to the couch.
“What was Loren talking about,” Sam asked Brent as I walked away.
“Nothing you need to worry about, Sam,” Brent said with no expression.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know anymore. All I wanted to know was why I wasn’t told earlier and why Loren thought he could come over to my house to tell me.
Now I was 100% sure that Brent was keeping something from everyone. I don’t think Sam or I know what we are truly getting into, but I can’t back out now. I need to make sure my dad and safe at home by next week.