It All Started with a Lie

Chapter 9

This body had carried me
through a hard life.
It looked exactly the way
it was supposed to.
~ Veronica Roth

Chapter 9
Her POV
I took Richard's arm as we walked across the boardwalk. The wind blew our sundresses softly as we watched the sun set. Her youngest brother had hand sewn each of our dresses but you would have never guessed it. They were stunning, probably the nicest piece of clothing I owned. I swear he'll be a world renown fashion designer one day. He had so much talent for someone so young, only sixteen. "So you danced with him for half the night?" Richard giggled.

"It was not half the night!" I defended. She clearly didn't believe me, and I could practically hear her thoughts. "Don't you dare say it."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." But her smile gave everything away.

"Oh really? So you weren't just gonna make an enemies to lover joke?"

Her smile grew larger, if that was even possible. "Oh come on!" She waved her book in my face. "This is the start of every enemies to lovers romance! It would be so cute."

I gaped at her. "Are you forgetting he's the reason you had to scrub pigs blood out of my hair?"

She grimaced at the reminder. I'm pretty sure we had blood caked under our nails for a week, no matter how hard we scrubbed it. "Good point."

"I still don't even know what he did it for. I mean what did he get out of it?"

We had come up with a dozen possibilities but none of them seemed logical enough to justify his actions. Our best option, he enjoys pissing me off.

"Enough about me," I changed the subject. We had talked about me for long enough, we had talked about him for long enough. "What was the good news?"

She practically lit up as she began to speak. I'd never met anyone happier than Richard. She wasn't always like this, especially not when we first met. I think my brother really opened her eyes to how great the world could be, enough to encourage her to change, focus on herself a little more. I could never fathom how one person could change someone so much, but here she was, a ray of sunshine. Happy, healthy, still struggling with everything she's been through, PTSD, but fighting and winning. "You're not gonna believe it, Claudia!" She took both my hands in hers and suddenly my grin was as wide as hers without even knowing what we were so happy about. "I'm getting cosmetic surgery for my feet!"

I squealed, pulling her into a hug. Richard has always been insecure about her feet, as long as I'd known her. She'd mentioned surgery once or twice, but as far as I knew, it was too expensive. And she wouldn't let me or my brother help pay for it, even though she knows we would, in a heartbeat if it meant making her more confident in her own body. "How?" I asked as soon as we finished screaming.

She shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know! My brother said he's been saving up for it for years but I still don't understand how he could have made so much." We continued walking as she spoke. "He's been working double shifts but I mean that surgery is so expensive. And insurance won't cover any of it." Her voice softened as her gaze fell to the floor, her bright smile dimming. "I tried to convince him to keep the money for himself, spend it on something he wanted, but he refused."

I would expect nothing less from him. I'd never met Richard's older brother but from the stories she tells me, he would do anything for her. Richard hated it, she always told me how much she wished he wouldn't put so much pressure on himself. I don't think he ever really got the chance to be a kid. And he is the one thing in the world Richard would die for without a second thought, in fact, she nearly did. "When do I get to meet your brother?" I asked. We'd been friends for over a year and I'd never met him. It seemed whenever I was around, he was out. And the times we hung out as a big group, my family and hers, it was always at the beach, so he never came because he's afraid of the beach. If I hadn't seen him in so many pictures, I would have almost thought she made him up.

She gave me a sheepish grin. "You know he's just always so busy..." she trailed off avoiding my eyes.

I sighed. "Richard, why don't you want me to meet him?" I'd always gotten the feeling that this was the case. "Was it something I did?"

She took my arm again, letting out a long breath. "It's not that. It's definitely not that. I just—" she paused, pursing her lips as she thought. "Back at our old school, before we moved here, girls would pretend to be my friend to seduce my brother. All. The. Time."

My mouth fell open. "Gods, Richard I would never!"

"I know! But, what if you meet him and you're just so insanely attracted to him?"

"He's your brother!" I would never betray Richard like that.

"Look, from what Ryder's told me, he's exactly your type."

I had seen her brother in the pictures, he most certainly was not. I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't a superficial person. I wasn't interested in personality; maybe if I was looking for a significant other, I might be. But the only thing I'm looking for in a person right now, is a good time. I'm too young and too ambitious to settle down. To put it bluntly, I am into strong, narcissistic, assholes. Like that jerk from the other night, or the girl who sits three rows in front of me in sociology 101—I'm pretty sure she could toss me over her shoulder like a rag doll. That was my type. Her brother was far from that, the guy was built like a spaghetti strand, an absolute sweetheart. Nothing wrong with it, but never someone I'd be interested in. "I can guarantee you, he is not."

"Are you sure, because I mean, Ryder says he is."

"You trust my brother more than me?" I don't think my twin brother even knew me well enough to know my type.

She looked at me like I was crazy. "Of course not!" She drew in a long breath. "Fine, you can meet him. We'll have dinner together."

I couldn't resist my smile. "Yes!" I cheered as I twirled around in joy, earning a giggle from Richard. I threw my arm around her, pulling her into a hug. "I promise, under no circumstances will I attempt to seduce your brother or fall madly in love with him."

"Gee thanks." Her addictive smile was back.

A/N
Hi lovies!
Great news, this book should be updating twice a week now!

I hope you all are still enjoying it and it should pick up soon in the next few chapters.

Also side note, but I am swamped in work and I all want to is write, it is heartbreaking.

QOTD: favorite book genre?

Lots of love,
Rachelle <3