It All Started with a Lie

Chapter 24

I lie to myself all the time.
But I never believe me.
~ S.E. Hinton

Chapter 24
Her POV
I finish changing out of my leotard and tights into more casual clothes. The rest of my team has left for group bonding in one of the nearby rooms—I am not invited—but Peter waits outside the bathroom for me to walk to our cars.

I pack up my bag and rustle through the side pocket until I find my ring, attached to a hook in my bag to ensure its safety. I slide the gorgeous ring onto the only finger it fits, my left ring finger, and admire its beauty. I have worn it since Klaus gave it to me and have only taken it off for practice so it will not get damaged.

I run my finger across the amethyst, the engraved letters, the worn spot where another name once sat. The metal is perfectly smooth beneath my finger and I wonder what the other name was, and how many times she must have drawn her fingers across it to fade it away. Had she loved him so much he became nothing? How beautifully tragic.

Peter stands across from the bathroom, dressed in sweats. He falls into step beside me, complementing my band shirt, which is Richards but I accept the compliment on her behalf. When I brush my hair into a ponytail, his grin widens and I only look at him funny in response. He lifts his fist to mine bumping them together, the soft sound of metal clanking rings through the halls with the motion. "Twins!" He cheers.

I stare at his hand to see what he is meaning and decorating his left ring finger is a silver band. I laugh. "Did An-mei put that on you so people would stop hitting on you?" It wouldn't work if she did.

He nods, showing off the ring proudly. "Yep, she said, and I quote, 'maybe those Beta Sigma bitches will back off if the see you have a fiancé.'"

My eyes practically bulge out of my head. "Fiancé? You proposed? She proposed? Someone proposed?"

I have never seen him look so happy. "I proposed, last weekend. She bought me the ring the next day and demanded I wear it. It didn't take much convincing."

I cannot contain my excitement, practically screaming, which earns me a stare from my teammates through the glass room we pass where they sit in a circle playing icebreakers. "Congratulations! When's the wedding?"

"Weddings." He corrects. "One for my family and one for hers. We're thinking summer weddings."

"Summer? That's only a few months."

He nods in excitement, pulling up the Pinterest boards she has designed for both a Chinese wedding and a Western wedding. He shows me all the details she is thinking of, and the ones he likes best, and gushes about how excited he is during the entirety of our walk, and I am happy to listen, to be a part of something so wholesome.

He tells me that I am the first friend he's told, and that An-mei will be upset that he beat her to it. "Don't worry, we will get you your invite as soon as it is printed," he says as we make it to my car.

"I'm invited?" I can't help but sound surprised.

He is amused by my confusion. "Of course you are."

I can't wait to tell Richard the news, she loves Peter and An-Mei, so when I get in my car and Peter heads to his, I pull out my phone to dial her immediately as I toss my bag into the passenger seat. "Richard's circumcisions, you flop 'em, we chop 'em, how can I help you?"

Just as she answers, I reach for my water from the side of my bag to find it missing. "One sec' Richard, I'll call you back. I left my water in the studio."

She's a little bewildered by my statement but goes with it nonetheless. "Okay, be safe!"

I assure her that I will and remove my keys from the ignition before heading back inside the building. It is well past sunset so I carry my keys between my fingers, having left my pepper spray in my car by mistake. Even the building is dark, the only light being from the glass room that my teammates are talking in. They shoot me a glare as I pass them and the President smirks, proud that I am not invited. I do not care. I walk past them with my head high.