Believing Lies Read online

  I stared at him, waiting for an answer. After a long pause, he finally gave one. “You made your point by coming here today with your cousin and that asshole. If you were trying to get back at me for hurting you, it worked. Did you want to make me know how it feels? Congratulations, Sienna. Now I know. I want to kill him for touching you,” he spat. “Is that how you felt when you saw me with Jenna?”

  I was floored. “Well at least I know her name now, so I won’t forever have to refer to her as The Brunette Skank. You know what? I came here with some friends to try to forget my miserable life for one fucking day! I’m not the one who should be feeling guilty right now.” I was both mentally and physically exhausted. Sophie must have realized the situation was getting out of hand because she was walking toward me fast. I just wanted to leave. Feeling defeated, I begged, “Please go home, Trenton. I don’t want to fight with you anymore.”

  Sophie made it to my side and linked her arm through mine. “I’m taking Sienna home with me. Please just let us come get her stuff tomorrow. You’re a good guy who did a bad thing. Do the right thing now, and let her go.”

  Any good that Sophie’s plea might have accomplished slipped through the cracks as soon as Adam and Conner walked up behind her. They didn’t say a word, but their presence was enough. Trenton looked Adam up and down with complete hatred in his eyes.

  “Came here with friends, Sienna? Nice coincidence your newest friend happens to be the biggest womanizer around.” He cocked his head to the side, and his eyes narrowed to slits. “Did you fuck him? Because you sure as hell weren’t fucking me. Maybe if you had been, I wouldn’t have had to look elsewhere.” His lips pulled into a sneer. “But it appears that all you needed was a week on your own to turn into a slut.”

  I gasped from the pain of the emotional punch I’d just received. At the same time, Adam swung a real punch, hard to Trenton’s jaw. I screamed for them to stop as they exchanged blows, but my words were useless. I kept my head turned as Sophie dragged me to the Jeep and was thankful to see Conner and two other guys pulling Adam and Trenton off of each other.

  “We can’t leave them like this,” I insisted as we both got into our seats and put on our seatbelts.

  “Sienna, we can, and we are. You being here will only make things worse.” She pulled out of the parking lot. This time there was no loud music playing or singing as we drove back to our apartment.

  ***

  My mind was racing a mile a minute as I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Sophie was in the kitchen talking on her phone to Conner. I couldn’t make out the conversation, but I knew she’d be giving me a play-by-play afterwards.

  Trenton showing up at the beach had been unexpected, to say the very least. Now all of our dirty laundry had been put out on display in front of not only Adam and Conner, but strangers as well. Before today, Trenton had never spoken a single rude or hateful word to me. I understood he was upset and hurting, but he caused this, not me. I wished Adam and Conner had just stayed by the truck. Trenton might have left when we asked if they hadn’t walked up. I could see now that if Trenton really did still love me, knowing I’d spent the day around another guy would be painful. Regardless, Trenton had no right degrading me the way he did.

  Reflecting on the day, I realized that I had genuinely been happy for a while. When I woke up this morning, drowning in self-pity, I hadn’t thought that would ever be possible again. A lot of it was Sophie’s doing, but I wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Adam also played a large role. Speaking of Adam . . . I CAN’T BELIEVE HE HIT TRENTON! I knew what Trenton had said was shitty and completely disrespectful toward me, but hitting him was pretty extreme. My mind kept replaying them throwing punch after punch at each other until they were forcefully pulled apart. While I was glad Sophie had dragged me away when she did, I was going absolutely nuts wondering what they did or said after I left.

  My jumbled thoughts came to an abrupt halt when Sophie came into my room and lay down next to me. “How are you doing?” she asked, concerned.

  I gave her a small, nervous laugh. “Pretty sure I’m on the verge of a full-fledged breakdown. Other than that, I’m just peachy keen. Seriously though, thank you for bringing me home when you did.”

  “That’s the first time you called here ‘home.’ I like it.” She sat up. “Do you want to know what Conner said?” She seemed eager to tell me.

  I sat up too and put my hands in my lap. “Part of me says no, but the curious side of me needs to know, so lay it on me.”

  “Okay, here it goes. He said that as soon as he and Adam saw Trenton talking to you, they got pissed off.”

  I interrupted her. “Why were they pissed off?”

  She looked at me cautiously, and I could tell she was weighing her next words. “I hope you don’t mind, but when they came over the other day, I told them the Cliff Notes version of why you were living with me. I just said that Trenton cheated on you and you broke up with him.”

  It made sense. She had to say something to them to explain why I was suddenly living in her guest room. “It’s okay. I understand.”

  She appeared relieved. “Adam apparently told Conner that after days holed up in bed, you didn’t need Trenton ruining your first day out of the apartment. They were keeping an eye on you during the whole thing because Adam was really worried about you.” She gave me a questioning look, quirking her eyebrow. “What I don’t get is why Adam was so worried about you in the first place? I mean, today was just the second time you met, right?”

  “Right.”

  I could see her working out an answer to her own question, but I decided to fill in the blanks. “He most likely just felt sorry for the poor girl whose fiancé cheated on her.”

  “I think there may be more to it because Conner told me that Adam got really irritated when he saw you kissing Trenton on the beach.” She hit me with a pillow, catching me completely off guard. “And I want it noted for the record that I was watching the whole thing from the Jeep, and I was pissed off as well. Why the hell did you do that?” She gave me the stink eye. I hated when she gave me the stink eye.

  “I didn’t,” I defensively replied. “I gave him a kiss on the cheek as a goodbye gesture, and he used the moment to kiss me.”

  “Ah, makes much more sense now. I was worried you were taking him back.” I shook my head softly. “So back to what happened,” she continued, “Conner said they saw me walking back to you, and they realized that you and Trenton were fighting. You obviously know what happened when they came by us and, of course, the punch!” She fist punched the air. “Damn, I was so happy when Adam punched Trenton. I was two seconds away from doing it myself.”

  My eyes grew to the size of saucers. “You could have broken a nail,” I said, an attempt at a joke.

  “Pfft. It would’ve been worth it.” She gave me a halfhearted smile before letting out a long sigh. “Maybe I’m out of line on this, but I think overall Trenton is still a good guy deep down. I’ve never disliked him before this week. But after cheating on you, I can’t believe he had it in him to say those things. He needs to get his shit together. I really hope it was just the hurt talking.” Me too.

  I was almost afraid to ask but did anyway, “Did Conner say what happened after we left?”

  “Oh yeah he did. Male testosterone flew rampant, and Adam and Trenton beat the shit out of each other.”

  “But when we left they were being held apart.”

  “Conner said they broke free and went back at it until the guys could restrain them again. Conner finally calmed Adam down enough to get him back to the truck.”

  “This is unreal. Are they okay?” My gut was in a knot waiting for the answer.

  “Adam is pretty banged up. Conner thinks Trenton is just as bad, if not worse.” I winced at the thought of them both physically hurt.

  “This is spiraling so out of hand. I just want my life to be normal again. I don’t know how much more I can take.” I crashed my face onto the bed and covered my head
with my pillow, giving myself a moment to think.

  “Stop being a child.” Sophie pulled the pillow off my head and threw it on the floor. “What’s the plan now?”

  What’s the plan? That was a loaded question if ever I’d heard one. Screw it. Time to face the music. Instead of answering her, I reached over to the nightstand and picked up my phone. Tentatively, I hit the power button. I was instantly blown away by the sheer number of missed messages: sixty three texts and twenty two voicemails. It was overwhelming to think about how long it would take to go through all of them. I was sick of being overwhelmed, so I deleted the whole history. I dialed Trenton, and he answered on the third ring. Sophie must’ve decided it was best to leave me to do this on my own and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

  “I don’t know why I’m answering your call right now. Nice to see your phone works again.” He sounded melancholy but also bitter.

  “Are you okay?” I barely breathed.

  He remained calm as he asked, “What do you think, Sienna? I just lost the love of my life, and I’m sitting here alone in my bedroom, bleeding and bruised from getting in a fight with your new fuck-face boyfriend. How would you feel if you were me?”

  “I’m sorry. I never meant for any of that to happen. I may not be physically bleeding and bruised, but you hurt me in other ways today. And he’s not my boyfriend, not even close. And you know damn well that I didn’t sleep with him.” There was a deafening silence. I pulled my phone away from my ear and glanced at the screen to make sure the call hadn’t dropped. It hadn’t. “Trenton?”

  “I’m here. I know you didn’t sleep with him, and I’m really sorry for what I called you. I didn’t mean it. But a word of advice, Sienna, that wasn’t the reaction of a guy who’s only interested in being your friend. I think you’re fooling yourself if you think that.” I didn’t know how to reply to that, so I didn’t say anything at all. “Look, maybe it took me literally getting an ass beating to realize how much I deserved one for what I did. I want you to know I’ll always be sorry. I understand that it’s a losing battle right now for you to forgive me, but I hope you eventually will. I hope that one day you’ll still become my wife.” I could hear him choking up, and I started to openly cry. “I’m letting you go, Sienna. Not because I want to, but because you want me to. I want to make you happy . . . even if it tears me apart.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered. “I know it’s the right thing.”

  “Doing the right thing sucks.” He gave a failed attempt at a chuckle. “I’ll call Paul, and we’ll drop off your things tomorrow. Since I’m the reason you’re leaving in the first place, I’ll take care of it. I went through your box that’s marked Pictures and Books yesterday and took a few pictures of us out.” He paused. “Do you mind if I keep them? How big of an ass am I that it took you being gone for me to notice I didn’t even have a photo of you to look at anywhere in our apartment?”

  “That doesn’t make you an ass. You can keep the pictures.” I wiped the tears away and stopped crying.

  “Thanks. I work during the day, but I’ll be there after six tomorrow. I’ve taken sick time this week, but it’s time to go back.” My heart broke a little more knowing that he’d been home these days feeling as miserable as I had.

  “Six is okay.” I paused. I didn’t know if I should ask my next question, but if we ever had a chance of getting back together in the future, I needed to know the answer. “Trenton, was it just the one time?” My voice was shaky.

  He hesitated, and that alone revealed the truth before he even spoke. “No, it wasn’t.”

  My heart and a little bit of my ego were crushed, but I somehow managed to give no indication of this in my voice when I replied, “Thank you for the truth.”

  “I’m so sorry, baby . . . Please know I never meant to hurt you, and I—”

  I couldn’t listen to anymore. I cut him off by abruptly saying, “Goodbye, Trenton.” I hung up the call and cried.

  Chapter Eight

  A little over a week had passed since the day at the beach, giving me the time I needed to clear my head and get used to life post Trenton. My bedroom was set up with my own things, making it feel much more permanent. Sophie and I had transitioned to being roommates smoothly. We’d spent a few nights watching movies and just hanging out. The two nights that she went out to the bars with Conner, they invited me along. But I hadn’t felt like being social. Instead, I opted for pajamas and my eReader.

  I finally called Courtney today. I hadn’t spoken to her since she went home for the summer, so she was absolutely floored when I filled her in on everything that had happened. I couldn’t wait for her to return when school started. I missed her immensely.

  Each day had brought me closer to feeling like my old self as I got back into a somewhat regular routine. I was still being a recluse for the most part, not seeing anyone except for Sophie and occasionally Conner in passing. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about Adam. I wondered about how he was doing and hoped that he would come over with Conner. It was probably best that he hadn’t.

  I was going to meet my parents for dinner tonight. My mother had originally suggested brunch at the club, but my dad felt a family dinner at home would be better. I was grateful we wouldn’t be talking about my personal life in a public place. Plus, I didn’t want to chance seeing Trenton or his parents there.

  I gave myself one last look in the floor length mirror before leaving my room. I was dressed casually in jean shorts and a tank top. Mother could just deal with it if she didn’t like my outfit. I was getting sick of trying to please everyone, especially her.

  Sophie was at the mall, so I jotted down a quick note to her and grabbed my keys. Walking to my car, I felt excited to get the roof down and enjoy the warm weather. My parents lived just outside Madison, and it would take me about thirty minutes to get there. I pulled my hair into a pony, so it wouldn’t get too windblown, and set off to face the last of my obstacles in moving forward: My mother.

  I was surprisingly relaxed during the drive over to my parent’s house. But the moment I pulled into the driveway, I was hit with a wave of anxiety. I sat in my car for five minutes before mustering the courage to go inside.

  I used my key and walked into the foyer. A beautiful vase of fresh red roses were on the center table. Even though the flowers filled the area with a lovely fragrance, there was an underlying scent of cleaner in the air. Since my mother didn’t even know how to work a vacuum, I assumed that the maid service must have been by today. Even though the house was large, I knew exactly where my Mother would be. I walked into the kitchen and found her pulling a lasagna out of the oven. Some may find it shocking that a woman as formidable as my mother would dirty her perfectly-manicured hands making a home-cooked meal. However, she found cooking and baking to be therapeutic.

  “Hi,” I tentatively said. “Thanks for making lasagna. Do you need help with anything?”

  She smiled before setting down the dish and closing the oven. “I thought I’d make one of your favorites. The salad is on the island. Please add the dressing and toss it.”

  She opened the top oven and pulled out garlic bread covered in cheese. It looked delicious, and I was very appreciative that she went through all of this work for me. My dad didn’t like garlic bread, so I knew that she’d made it especially with me in mind.

  I tossed the salad, she put the bread on a serving dish, and we carried the food to the dining room. The table was set with her favorite China. I went back to the kitchen to grab the milk from the fridge. It wasn’t lost on me that we would be drinking milk out of stemmed glasses. I had Alvin and the Chipmunk glasses at the apartment that I used. It would be humorous to see my mother drinking from my Chippettes glass.

  My dad came in and joined us, looking very handsome in his button down shirt and khakis. He had salt and pepper hair, which gave him a distinguished look. “Hello, Pumpkin. Thank you for coming,” he said as he embraced me in a bear hug.

 
; “Of course, Dad.”

  We all sat down, and my dad looked to my mother. “It looks wonderful, darling. Thank you.”

  She blushed. “You’re welcome. I hope everyone enjoys.” After twenty-five years together, my dad still affected her. He was the only one who brought out the soft side of her.

  We dished up and began to eat in a comfortable silence. The lasagna was so good that, as I savored each bite, the original reason for my visit was all but forgotten. However, my lapse in memory was short lived. As I took my first bite of garlic bread, my mother decided the time for discussion was upon us.

  “Sienna, it’s time we address the elephant in the room and talk about your engagement,” she said, setting down her fork.

  “There is no engagement to talk about. He cheated. I left him. End of subject,” I replied firmly. “I wish you would understand and support me on this.”

  “This is not the end of the subject. He made a mistake, but now it is time to forgive him and move past this. There still can be a wedding.”

  “Screw the wedding. Is that all you care about?” I retorted, speaking my mind candidly to my mother for the first time in my life. It was liberating.

  She appeared to be hurt by my accusation. “I care about you, and I know that if you would stop being stubborn, you and Trenton could still have a very happy life together.”

  My dad must have known I was one second away from showing Mother just how “stubborn” I could be because he decided to speak up. “Clarice, enough,” he said with finality in his voice. OOH. Gauntlet dropped! “Sienna’s made up her mind. You can’t force them to reconcile if her heart isn’t in it.” He turned his attention to me. “Your mother just wants what’s best for you, even if what she thinks is best differs from your opinion. That being said, we will stand behind you in whatever you choose.”

  I exhaled and instantly calmed down. “Thanks, Dad. I know you will.”

  “Not me, we. Your mother and I will both support your decision.”