The Liar

Chapter 23

It was early in the morning and for once I was sober. Too sober.

I sat in my usual spot on the couch; in front of me, resting on the coffee table, was an unopened bottle of dark wine. It's golden label taunting me, asking me to drink it though I knew I didn't want to.

My palms were clammy and my mouth was suddenly so dry just by staring at it.

Minutes came and passed, and I was inching closer to the edge, to defeat.

Just as I was on the verge of giving in to the temptation, my front door swung open and next thing I knew, Chen was standing in front of me.

"What are you doing?" He frowned and looked back and forth between me and the bottle, "Are you going to drink that? This early in the morning?"

I opened my mouth and tried to speak but no words came out. How could I explain that my depression had taken me to the point of near alcoholism? I couldn't.

Chens brows furrowed even deeper and his mouth fell as he put the pieces together in his head.

I suddenly felt embarrassed and couldn't bring myself to keep looking at him.

He sighed and, thankfully, didn't say anything. Instead, he grabbed the bottle by the neck and disappeared into the kitchen. Where, a couple seconds later, I heard the sound of liquid being poured into the sink.

"Chen!" I stood up and went to stop him. But he shook me off and began to rummage through my cupboards.

"Where do you keep the others?" He kept looking until he found the other bottles I kept. His eyes widened at the amount and variety of alcohol I contained.

All I could do was stand there helplessly and watch as he emptied them down the drain. I couldn't even tell if I was angry or grateful, he was doing what I'd been to weak to do myself.

By the time he was finished, my entire trash bin was full of glass bottles. Without hesitation, Chen pulled the plastic trash bag out and swung it over his shoulder before walking out of the front door.

I took a seat on my couch and watched him from the window as he threw the bag into the trunk of his car.

"Where's Luhan?" Chen asked when he came back.

I looked down at my hands and picked at my nails, "Out." Was all I could say.

This morning, to my surprise, I had woken up to an empty bed. I had no idea where Luhan was, and I just hoped he wasn't causing trouble anywhere.

Chen sighed and fell into the spot next to me, "So what do you want to do?" He asked bluntly.

I shrugged, "I was planning on getting drunk and watching some old movies but I guess that's not an option anymore."

"We can still do that," He grabbed my stash of movies from under the coffee table, "Just without getting drunk."

After almost half an hour of arguing lightly over what movie to watch, we finally settled on Miracle in Cell No.7. Not an old movie, but definitely a good one.

As the movie began, I was surprised to feel Chens arm snake around my waist and pull me closer to him.

It felt strange, too comfortable, but I decided to not turn it into something it's not and instead moved to rest my head on his shoulder.

I was busy caught up with watching the film, I flinched when his thumb ran across my cheek. I looked up to see him looking down at me with a smirk.

"You're crying." He stated.

"I am?" I asked and he held his thumb up to show me the tear drop that he'd swiped from my cheek.

I laughed nervously and tried to sit upright, only to have Chens arm tighten around me and pull me back.

"I'm cold." He looked me in the eyes before I watched his gaze trail down my face and settle on my lips.

No.

I wanted to back away as he moved closer, but I couldn't make myself.

No. No. Please, no.

His breath fanned over my face and next thing I knew, his lips were against mine and his hands were tangled in my hair.

On the inside I was screaming and pulling myself away from him in guilt. But in reality, I found myself pushing into his kiss, allowing him to do this to me.

This is cheating.

You are a cheater.

A liar.

I inhaled deeply before forcing myself away from Chen, moving back to the opposite end of the couch.

"Chen." Was all I could whisper in horror. Though I knew this was also my fault.

His face mirrored mine. He opened his mouth to speak, hopefully to apologize, but the door swung open suddenly and we both jumped from being startled.

And to make matters worse, it was Luhan that walked in.

His blonde hair still messy though I could tell he'd at least tried to make something of it. He wore a plain white hoodie with distressed jeans and high top shoes.

But what really caught my eye was what he held behind his back.

A bouquet of flowers, in different hues of yellow, pink, and purple; wrapped in white and thin paper.

Luhan stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Chen and I sitting on the couch.

He looked confused for a minute before taking in the situation, our position, and then his face turned red. The beautiful flowers fell from his hands and before I knew it he was out the door.

All this happened so quickly, it took me time to even process what just happened.

Only when the door slammed shut did I really snap back into reality.

"Luhan!" I cried and got up.

Chen grabbed me by the arm and held me back, "No, no. You stay put. Let me talk to him." He pleaded.

I tugged at my hair and fell to the floor, tears threatening to spill.

My eyes landed on the bouquet that laid, tattered, on the floor.

What have I done?