Two Hearts Are Better Than One

Chapter One

"This isn't what you think," Christopher Shupe said.

"Not what I think. You mean that's not a very pretty girl sitting on the end of your bed?" Lilly Gray demanded. She was standing in the open doorway of his small rented room, trembling somewhere between anger and the hope that maybe, somehow, by some stretch of the imagination, it really wasn't what she thought. "Hello in there, by the way. My name's Lilly."

The girl inside waved back, looking embarassed and uncomfortable. "Angela Byrne. Uh, nice to meet you...?"

"She's...she's is a friend, is all," Christopher said, pointing to the girl, his voice unusually shrill. "We were just talking."

Angela stood up, looking annoyed. She retreived her purse and walked toward them.

Lilly stood rigidly, trying to supress the sense of humiliation and the growing realization that the feelings already eating away at her insides were only going to get worse. She felt like she was in free fall, weightless, knwoing she would invitably hit bottom.

"Christopher...you said you didn't have a girlfriend," Angela muttered.

Christopher's eyes went wide, but then he tried to work up a semblance of anger. "Hey, no one ever said I couldn't see whoever I want," he said to Lilly. "Not that it was like that. Not that I'm really seeing Angela." Without a break, he shifted his attention to Angela. "I mean, we're not, Angela, not really. More like we were getting acquainted. Right?"

Lilly glanced at Angela. Better to know the truth, no matter how devastating it was. "Is that true, Angela?"

The girl hesistated only a moment. "Actually, no. We were making out. I met him at the mall a couple of days ago--"

"I know," Lilly interupted. "I was there."

"You were there?" Christopher demanded in a convincing portrayal of outrage. "You were spying on me? Stalking me?"

"He seemed like a really nice guy, charming, and ambitious and all," Angela said regretfully. "I like guys who have goals, you know? Most guys don't."

Lilly nodded mutely. Yes. I was one goal. This pretty blond girl was another. Christopher has many goals. 

"Anyway, I'm out of here," Angela said, giving Christopher a disappointed shrug. She pushed past him, using the back of her hand. "I don't like guys who screw around behind their girlfriend's back, Christopher. Sorry," she said to Lilly. "I had a boyfriend like this once. My advice is to lose him."

"Wait!" Christopher yelled after Angela.

"I love your hair, by the way," Lilly told the girl, for no particular reason except that none of this was Angela's fault. Lilly couldn't blame her for falling for Christopher's act. He could be very convincing. He'd convinced her, hadn't he?

Angela stopped halfway down the steps and scooped the long blond ponytail over her shoulder. It fell to the middle of her behind. "Thanks, but I'm thinking of getting it cut. It attracts all the wrong kind of guys." She disappeared down the stairs, a clatter of sandals, and a moment later Lilly heard the front door of the rooming house close.

They were alone, face to face. If he would only apologise, explain that he would never deceive her again. If only he would give her some way to forgive him.

Lilly did not want to have to walk away alone.

"Now look what you did!" Chrsitopher exploded. "I was going to...to do her parents lawn. That's the only reason I was even...because, see, her parents own this big house with a huge garden and lawn and shrubs, and I was going to make a bid on, you know, on....." He seemed to be running out of steam.