21.
Have you ever told a lie for someone and then it completely spiraled out of control?
Suddenly, you can't remember which lies you said to certain questions and you're constantly overanalyzing everything you say to make sure everything overlaps perfectly.
This ploy Ophelia concocted was supposed to be a quick, surface-level lie.
Instead, I find myself creating more and more lies as I fall deeper into this fa?ade.
Here, we were in his car and what probably was mere seconds, in reality, felt like minutes, as I tried to rack my brain for an answer to his question.
It was a simple question deserving a simple answer.
Yet, I was periodically going through every interaction I've had with him to figure out if I ever mentioned myself, Charlotte, living alone or with my sister.
"Same address as Ophelia's," I said with what I hoped was a small, confident smile and not at all indicative of the nervous wreck I truly was.
An uncomfortable feeling settled in my stomach as his brown eyes lit up before settling his gaze on the road.
I wasn't necessarily lying. It used to be her address when we did live together and technically was her address on her contact information at work.
I told myself it was a harmless lie, but it didn't stop the weight in my stomach from going.
I hated lying. Especially to handsome, sweet, innocent men built like Greek gods. The more I lied, the more the dread and guilt grew. It was easier to lie when he acted like a jerk. It was easier to convince myself he deserved it, then.
The drive wasn't long. I was so lost in my thoughts I almost didn't notice when he pulled up in front of my apartment building. Pulling my bag closer to me, I turned towards him to find him scanning the parked cars.
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he suddenly turned his car off and stepped out. He made his way to my side, opened the door, and reached his hand outward for me to take.
"Uhm, thank you?" I placed my hand in his, holding the small sigh of contentment I wanted to release at his gentle grasp.
I straightened out of the car, pulling my purse higher on my shoulder. I faced him offering a small, shy smile as I bid him good night.
"I'll walk you up."
"It's not necessary."
"I insist," His tone was final, offering no room for arguments. It reminded me of how he was adamant about driving me home, as well.
The breeze blew a strong wind past us, making me visibly shiver from its chill. I nodded and made my towards the entrance. The ride to my floor was filled with comfortable silence. The only other sound was the beat of my rapid heart pounding in my ears.
Before my mind could start wandering towards thoughts of how he smelt amazing or the way his stubble would feel under my hands, the elevator doors opened. I stepped out first and searched my bag for my keys, needing to put as much space between him and myself as possible.
Once the door was unlocked, I opened it and hung my purse on one of the hooks at the entrance. I turned back to face him. His face was neutral, lacking any emotion. I couldn't tell whether his expression was good or bad. For some reason, that scared me.
"Thank you for walking me up. You didn't have to."
"Well, I had to make sure no one was going to rough you up," His lips pulled into a teasing smirk, his dimples popping as he placed his hands in his front pant pockets. "Before I go, by any chance, is Ophelia here? I need to discuss a minor change in one of the contracts she needs to adjust."
The reality that he was here for Ophelia crashed onto me like a ton of bricks.
It's hard to explain, but when I'm with him, it's easy to forget that I'm pretending to be someone else.
Maybe because in a fucked up way, I wasn't pretending.
Yes, I was lying but I never acted differently than who I truly was.
Slightly uncomfortable, I looked around the apartment before facing him.
"Let me go check if she's asleep. I'll be right back." I motioned for him to come inside, as I walked down the hallway to the room that was once Ophelia's.
There were still a few things of hers that she had either left behind on purpose or forgotten. Occasionally, we did have movie nights that led to her sleeping here. Still, the emptiness of the room saddened me. I loved living with my sister and I always cherish those years we spent together.
I closed the door, mostly for show in case he was watching me from the hallway. I made my way back to him, quietly. He was standing, his strong legs shoulder-width apart as he tapped aggressively on his phone, both hands gripping the small device.
"She's sleeping," I spoke lowly. His head snapped up to mine with a small frown. His eyes scanned my entire face, analyzing my expression. With a large smile, his dimples taught and deep, he pointed towards the exit.
"I should go then. Tell her to call me." He turned and made his way to the elevator. I shut the door and watched through the small peephole as he made his way into it before the doors shut on his beautiful face.
Banging my head softly on the door, I let out a low groan. I stood there, the coldness from the door seeping into my forehead, for several minutes. I took my time getting ready for bed and when I finally did slip under the cool, heavy blankets I let out a sigh of contentment.
I reached over to grab my phone and found several notifications. I had missed two calls from Ophelia. I made a mental note to call her back later. I had one message from Mason.
See you tomorrow, love xx
As simple as the message was, butterflies exploded from my chest. It would be too obvious if I messaged him back, seeing as I told him I was asleep. I placed my phone on the nightstand and smiled upwards at the ceiling. One thing for certain was that I was excited to see him tomorrow.
HI,
I know updates are super slow. I completely understand if you guys want to take the book up after it's completed. I'm trying my best to update as consistently as I can so I do apologize for the inconvenience!
The next chapter is going to be JUICY!! Let's just say...shit's about to go down. I'm starting spring break tomorrow so hopefully, I can crank out a lot more chapters for you guys :)
I hope everything is going well in your lives and I'm happy to be a part of it in some form!
Thank you for all the love XX