Easier to Lie

Chapter Nine

Over the next five days, Leah's moods were on extremes. She would either be depressed and not eat or leave the bed, or she would be up and dancing and wanting to go for a swim. When Adam wasn't working, he was by her side.

I had a private conversation with Adam the night after he was released from jail. It was the first time we ever talked alone.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked him. I was sitting outside on the balcony drinking hot chocolate.

"Maybe," he shrugged his shoulders and lit a cigarette. "I think she will. She's stronger than she thinks she is."

He said something last night that really bothered me. Now was my chance to ask him about it. "So, last night... you told Leah that you love her. Why would you say that?"

"Because I do love her," he said matter-of-factly. "I broke things off with Jordi. I'm staying here."

"What about college? She's going to Clemson."

"Then I'll find a job in that area. I'm serious about being with her. I want you to believe that, okay?"

"Then convince her to tell her parents what happened."

"Why do they need to know? She doesn't need to relive it."

"They're her parents, Adam. If it was your daughter, wouldn't you want to know?"

"No. Leah has me to protect her. She needs to move forward. You're wanting her to stand still, to keep this at the front of her mind."

"I don't want him to get away with it, that's all."

"He won't. He's going to get what's coming to him."

"What do you mean? What are you going to do?"

We stayed out there talking for another hour or so. He didn't have a plan, at least not one he wanted to discuss with me. The more we talked, the more I could understand why Leah was drawn to him.

He was smart, street smart. He was a survivor. His mom, Yolandi, was a drug addict who changed boyfriends every other week. Adam had worked odd jobs since he was twelve years old just so he could buy food. He got in contact with his biological father when he was fourteen.

Yolandi overdosed and Child Protective Services contacted his dad. Adam lived with him for six months then went back to his mother. She needed him more than his dad did. To please everyone involved, he began living with his dad during the summers.

"I barely graduated high school," he told me. "My mom caused a big scene at graduation. She was drunk and high on pain pills. So, I packed up and moved here."

"We're kids, Adam," hearing his story made me realize how much growing up I had to do, "your life shouldn't be like that."

"It is what it is."

"Hey, guys," Leah appeared in the doorway. Her hair was brushed for the first time in days and her face had been washed.

I thought she would go to Adam, but she sat on my lap instead and rested her head on my shoulder. "You okay, Bestie?" I asked when I hugged her.

"I'm good," and she sounded like she meant it. "I'm ready to start having fun again."

"Me, too. I have to be honest, though, I'm kind of ready to go home."

"I'm not. There's nothing for me there. I want to stay here."

"Like, move here?"

"Yeah. My friends are here. My parents couldn't care less what I do. Maybe you could consider college here. Stay with me."