What the hell? “Are you serious?”
She sends me a look that says she’s so fucking serious it hurts.
All I can do is stare at her, my mind going over what she just said. I had her pegged all wrong. Completely and totally wrong and she never corrected me. Not once. Just kept up the lie like it was no big deal. Hell, did she laugh at me? Talk with her friends about what a sucker I was? The longer I think about it, the more pissed I become and I stare at her in shock, her words slowly starting to sink in. She’s not rich. She never was rich. But some of these things aren’t adding up. “What about the house in Santa Barbara? How’d you score that?” I ask like a dumbass.
“I was housesitting for the family who owns it. My mom is their maid and cleans the main house they have in Beverly Hills. They usually come to Santa Barbara for the summer but for whatever reason, that plan fell through. Mama got me the job for the summer so I could earn extra cash to help pay for my tuition.”
Her mom is a fucking maid. Jesus. I lean against the wall, so shocked by her story I’m afraid I’ll keel over. Glancing around, I see that everyone has miraculously gone back inside the house, thank Christ. I don’t need an audience for this particular conversation. “So there’s no rich dad.”
She shakes her head. “He was eighteen and scared shitless when my mom told him she was pregnant with his baby. He ran. Never to be heard from again. She refuses to even say his name so I have no idea who he is.”
That sucks. But she should’ve told me the truth. I wouldn’t have cared. “You’ve been lying to me this entire time then.” When she opens her mouth to defend herself I shake my head. “You’ve been lying to me. Your entire story until now is false. Right?”
Slowly, she nods, her teeth sinking into her lower lip, worrying it before she lets it go. “I thought it was just going to be temporary between us, you know? A fun fling over the summer, where I could pretend to be whatever you wanted me to be. And it worked. You made up my backstory, took care of the minor details for me and I just…ran with it. We had a few ups and downs but overall, it was a…magical summer.” The fond expression on her face makes my heart crack. Yeah, it was good between us but shit. She lied. And like a dumbass I believed every word she said. “Then you left and I figured I’d never see you again.”
“Until you did,” I add.
“Exactly. And I felt like I had to keep up the pretense, you know? I was scared, Gabe. Scared you’d leave me once you found out the truth,” she admits softly. “Especially now, with everything that’s happening.”
I run both hands over my head, gripping my hair so hard I pull on it, making myself wince. Fucking hurts. All of this fucking hurts. Is she lying about the possible pregnancy too? Is this all one big trick and I’m just being played?
I never asked for this. I didn’t want a serious relationship this year. Hell, this is my last year of freedom and instead I get myself involved with a girl who’s nothing but shackles and chains. “I don’t know if I can handle this.”
She frowns. “Handle what?”
“All of it. The lies. The truth. The fact you might be pregnant with my baby. Or maybe you’re not. I don’t know. I can’t trust you to tell me the truth.” I drop my hands and stare at her. “I’m not ready for any this.”
Her expression freezes, eyes filled with shock and horror. “I-I understand. You have every right to hate me.”
Her words make me feel like shit. I don’t hate her. I could never hate her but…damn it, she lied to me. She betrayed me and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get over it. Don’t know if I’ll be able to get over Tristan’s betrayal either.
Talk about a fucked up night.
How can I trust them? Tristan and I have been through ups and downs over the years so I figure we’ll work it out somehow. But how will I ever be able to trust Lucy again? For all I know this pregnancy talk is a bunch of bullshit.
“I should probably go,” she finally says in the lightest whisper, her head hanging down.
“That’s probably best.” I stare at her bent head, my lips aching with the need to kiss hers. But I gotta stay strong and resist the urge. “Can I—can I call you?”
Why did I have to go and say that? Shit.
She slowly shakes her head, the tears falling freely now. So freely they’re dripping off her cheeks and onto the ground. Seeing them fall breaks my already aching heart. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
And with those final words, she’s gone. Out of my life.
Like she never even existed.
“Are you skipping your marketing class again? You’re going to flunk out,” Gina calls from the doorway of my bedroom.
Gee, thanks for reminding me, Gina. I had no clue that could happen. I want to yell at my roommate but I restrain myself. Why make this worse? She’s been nothing but supportive since the night I came home a few days ago, crying so hard my stomach hurt, my face hurt…my entire body hurt. She comforted me, put me to bed and told me I’ll feel better in the morning.
I didn’t feel much better. I still don’t. I miss Gabe so badly my body aches.
“I can’t face him,” I say into my pillow, my voice muffled. “I’m going to try and withdraw. It’s too late to pull out completely but a W on my records is better than an F.”
“So true, I guess.” Gina sighs. “Then you should come with me.”