Tell Me A Lie

Chapter 2

Hearing tapping at my window, I frowned. Getting off of my queen-sized bed, I walked to where the sound was cautiously. I assumed it was a raccoon, but I wanted to make sure.

So as I approached the window, my eyes widened when I discovered it wasn't an animal rapping at my window. It was Jai. With a frown forming on my wide-eyed face, he waved.

I quickly opened the window and hissed, "How did you get there?"

"It's not about the journey, but the destination," he simply said. "Let me in."

"No!" I exclaimed quietly. "My mom's home. I don't want you guys to meet."

"Oh, the bitch is home." He sighed. "Well, I do have some things I want to say to her."

I had to press my lips together to fight off my smile. Jai knew about my parents through my comments about them being bitches here and there. He wasn't their biggest fan due to that, which was nice since everyone else seemed to like them for some reason.

"Are you really going to leave me out here." He pouted. "It's October and it's cold. I climbed up a tree for you."

I rolled my eyes and stepped away from the window. Jai stepped in and smiled. He smiled that smile that brightened up all his features, making my heart warm. Ignoring that feeling, I crossed my arms over my chest.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I wanted to see you," he answered simply, walking over to my bed.

"I saw you yesterday," I said, watching as he kicked off his shoes.

"That's a total twenty four hours ago."

I watched as Jai jumped onto my bed. Laying on his back, he placed his hands behind his head and exhaled quietly. My eyes were glued to him as he made himself comfortable.

After a bit, he said, "Come here."

He patted the spot beside me and I frowned. I wasn't a fan of being too close to people. And this seemed too intimate.

"Scarlett, I climbed a tree for you," he said, closing his eyes.

I sighed. "Are you really going to use that against me for the rest of my life?"

When he didn't say anything, I took a cautious step forward. Reminding myself that this was Jai and that he would never hurt me, I made way to my bed. I took a deep breath in. I didn't know why I was so nervous.

Getting on the bed, I went to the pillow next to his. Lying my head down on it, I watched as he smiled. He then suddenly turned to his side, facing me. My cheeks flushed at how close we were.

Jai then put an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. My face was now against his chest, and his arm was wrapped strongly around me. My cheeks felt like they were on fire as he held me. I wasn't used to being this close to a guy - or anyone. But surprisingly, Jai was giving me more experience with guys.

This was what I didn't get about our friendship. Jai never flirted with me. Other than small compliments here and there, he never actually hit on me before. But, he always seemed to touch me. From hand holding to playing with my hair, he did everything an affectionate boyfriend would do. It was strange and I tried not to think about it too much since I wanted our friendship to be normal, but I didn't get it. People might say he was desperate, but he wasn't. Especially seeing how good looking he was, he could get action from anyone. Plain, old me should never have been even looked at.

"What are you thinking about?" Jai suddenly asked.

"Nothing," I lied, feeling my ears heat up. "Just how in the world did you climb up a tree."

"It wasn't hard," he said. "It just takes motivation."

"What kind of motivation?" I asked.

"Wanting to see my favourite girl."

I smiled against his chest. One of the things I loved about Jai was that he made me feel appreciated. With simple words like this, he did.

"So, I have another important question for you," Jai said.

"What?"

"Why don't you leave?" he asked. "Just get out of this house."

I froze. I hadn't expected a question like that. One without an answer either. The solution to my problems was to leave, but I didn't know why, but I couldn't. There was just something keeping me linked to this place, and I wasn't sure what.

"I don't know," I said honestly.

"You're so tense." He rubbed my back gently. "You should."

I bit my lip as he rubbed my back. His hand was so gentle and warm. It had my body curling towards him in pleasure.

"Scarlett, I'm serious," he said, suddenly stopping.

I moved away from him for a second, wondering what had brought on the topic. The expression on his face gave nothing away, so I frowned. Jai and I tried to avoid conversations like this, so I wondered why he brought it up.

But as I thought about everything more, I realized I didn't know much about Jai. In the two months I had known him, I was almost clueless about his life. Other than the fact that he was fucked up, I knew nothing. Bringing my eyes to him, I wondered if I should ask him about his life.

But as I opened my mouth to ask him, I heard mom my scream, "Scarlett!"

I stiffened in my place. My heartbeat picked up its pace, and I wondered if she'd catch Jai here. Quickly moving away from him, I sat up.

"You should go," I said, sighing tiredly.

He frowned as he also got up. "Dammit. She's coming, isn't she?"

I nodded and his eyes softened. He got up and walked over to the window. My heart was still beating rapidly as I heard footsteps making their way up the stairs.

"You know, we should hang out soon." Jai smiled as he pushed the window open. "I mean, we should actually go somewhere together.

"Sure," I quickly said, even though the idea interested me. "Get out."

Winking at me, he then duck under the window and left. I let out a breath of relief, but soon the door to my room flew open. My mom stood at the doorway, looking furious.

I stared at her calmly as she glowered at me. She was pretty, I had to admit. With her blonde hair, rosy lips, and blue eyes, she was gorgeous. Gorgeous enough to get someone better looking than my dad. When I was younger, I used to wonder how they ended up together. But then, I realized they were both bitches. Bitching together had probably drawn them to each other.

"Didn't you hear me call you!" she shouted, putting a hand on her hip.

"No," I lied.

"Are you deaf!" she screamed. "Stupid child."

Once again, the words brushed passed me. I was used to it by now. Honestly, this wasn't anywhere near the rudest thing she had told me.

"Sorry," I apologized, hoping she'd go on with what she wanted.

"Whatever," she simply said. "Go wash the dishes."

"Okay."

My mom turned around and left, leaving me alone. I glanced at the window and sighed, already missing Jai. Life still sucked, but something had changed when we became friends. I wasn't sure what, but it seemed like now at least I could look forward to tomorrow. That was, until my parents destroyed the last thing that mattered to me.