Reign of Lies

The Verdict

As Finn closed the kitchen door slowly on Adeline, he was still unsure of what to tell the waiting crowd. Adeline had told him everything. From her thoughts in the bathroom all the way up to the seconds before Finn entered the kitchen. Adeline hadn't left a single detail out, and Finn was honored that Adeline felt like she could tell him the truth.

However, when Finn saw the waiting crowd, he didn't know what to do. He promised to protect Adeline, but Finn couldn't lie to everyone. The crowd already knew that something was wrong, but they wanted Finn to confirm it.

"Well?" Maria asked expectantly. Not a single person was talking in the room. Even the band stopped playing to hear Finn's verdict.

"Adeline definitely fell down the stairs," Finn began still unsure of how much to say, "Her ankle is hurt, I checked it out myself. However, I don't think it's broken."

"So she lied?" Maria asked angrily.

"No, lying is the wrong word," Finn said shaking his head, "I guess she exaggerated a bit."

"I can't believe she lied to me," Ricky mumbled as he looked down at the floor, "Why would she do this to me?"

"She lied to all of us," Maria corrected Ricky, "I wonder what else she lied about."

Finn stood there, helpless. He couldn't defend Adeline because she had told a lot of lies, but he wasn't about to turn his back on his best friend. They had been through too much together for Finn to stop caring about her now.

"I bet she lied about dating a supermodel!" a voice cried out.

"I know she didn't go shopping with Michael Kors!"

"She probably lied about stealing her dad's Audi and going for a joyride."

Finn smiled. Maybe Adeline hadn't told only lies.

"Actually, the Audi thing is true," Finn told the group, "I was with her."

"It doesn't matter," Maria said as she turned to face the rest of the group, "One truth is not going to excuse all the other lies Adeline has told us! She needs to learn how we feel."

Finn looked around at the group. Everyone seemed to be on board with what Maria was saying. There was no way Finn could turn everyone back to Adeline's side. They were too angry for that.

"I think we should kick her out of the party," Ricky said standing next to Maria, "then we can make up all kinds of lies about the party and see how she likes it!"

A chorus of agreement circled through the crowd. Without any warning, Finn was swarmed by the crowd of people rushing into the kitchen. He couldn't reach Adeline in time to warn her, and now, she was going to be humiliated.

When Finn finally reached the front of the crowd, he saw Adeline still lounging on the counter. Only this time, she wasn't relaxed. Adeline was tense as she listened to Maria's rant.

"...you honestly think you could get away with lying to us? About everything? About dating a model? About shopping with Michael? About Hawaii? About stealing your dad's car? Tell us the truth," Maria ranted, "I dare you to tell us the truth."

Adeline's lips let out a small smile before she answered Maria. Finn knew she was laughing about her dad's car, too.

"I went on one date with a model, it wasn't long term," Adeline began spilling out the truth, "I went on a shopping spree at Michael Kors, not with him. I didn't steal a horse, but I did ride one on the beach. However, I did steal my dad's car. That one is true."

"I can't believe you lied to me," Ricky said tearfully, "Why did you do it?"

"It doesn't matter why she did it!" Maria cried, "The point is that she lied, and that's not okay."

Finn watched Adeline closely. She was visibly upset about being called out, but her cool demeanor never faded. She never let her eyes drop from Maria's face, and she relaxed her shoulders every time they tensed up. The only person Adeline had not looked at was Finn. He was afraid of Adeline's anger, but he knew that it wouldn't do him any good to take Adeline's side. There wasn't anything for him to defend anyway. Adeline had lied, and it was her choice to do it.

"I think you should leave," Maria said coolly crossing her arms.

Adeline blinked twice before looking around the room. Finn wrung his hands as he watched all the kids murmur in agreement with Maria. Not a trace of sympathy was on their stone-cold faces, but Adeline didn't seem too upset.

"You're kicking me out of my own party?" Adeline asked slowly.

"We don't want a liar at this party," Maria informed Adeline, "It's not okay to lie to us and get away with it. You need to leave."

"Is that what you all want?" Adeline asked looking around the room. She stopped her gaze at Ricky. He was Adeline's last hope in staying at the party.

At first, Ricky's gaze seemed to soften in sympathy, but Maria nudged him. After a quick glance around the room, Ricky let all emotion out of his face and turned to look at Adeline with glaring eyes.

"We all want you to leave," he said definitely.

Adeline let out a huge breath and hopped off the table. She winced at the impact on her foot, but no one seemed to feel bad.

"Fine," Adeline said, "I'll go, but I know I'm not the only one who's lied before. Just remember that. Today I might've lied, but I guarantee that I'm not the only one who's lied before."

Without glancing at anyone, Adeline whirled on her good foot and went out the back door of the kitchen.

Finn wanted so badly to follow Adeline out the door, but he knew it wouldn't do him any good. The crowd around him was dispersing, and it would only cause an argument with someone if he left. Finn could only hope that Adeline would forgive him but following her wasn't the answer. She needed time to decompress and recover from the shock. Finn followed the crowd back into the main room of the party to try to enjoy the rest of the party.