Aquiver (Original)

Lies

Slowly entering the house, Becker kept as quiet as he possibly could. Everything was quiet. He set his backpack down and he took off his shirt and coat. He set it on the edge of the couch and took a deep breath, stretching his body. He groaned slightly as he let out the breath and he laid down on the couch. He soon fell asleep.

As the months passed, Becker snuck out more often to be with Isabella. His friendship sparked with her like a wildfire.

"Becker, I'm truly sorry for the way I've been treating you..." Julie said one evening as they were out walking downtown. 

Becker held her hand, but he absolutely despised it on the inside. "I forgive you," he replied. She smiled and leaned against his shoulder, shielding herself from the biting wind. Becker let her nestle into him as they walked. He felt his phone buzz and he took it out. He saw it was Isabella. 

"Who's that, love?" Julie asked.

"Just a friend," he replied. "It was Alex." He smiled. "He was just wondering if he could meet up with us."

"Oh! Yeah. Sure. He can get some hot chocolate with us."

Becker nodded and he texted Alex where they were. Minutes later, the nicely-dressed greaser came up to his best friend. "Hey Beck!" Alex said. "Hot chocolate? I'm paying."

The three individuals got some hot chocolate and everything seemed normal. In public, Becker and Julie acted like a completely normal couple. Alex only knew the abuse was happening cause Becker told him whenever he snuck out to see him or any of their other friends.

"So, Alex! Have you found a girl yet?" Julie prodded. She wanted to set him up with one of her friends but Becker knew that Julie's friends weren't much better than Julie herself.

"Um...yeah! I did!" Alex lied. He was a very good liar, able to hide it easily and not make anybody doubt him. He didn't lie often, but when he did, he was very convincing of it.

***

That night, Alex went home and Becker was once again, alone with Julie. "Becker, is Alex actually dating anybody?" she asked as she took her coat off.

Becker's phone buzzed. He looked at the screen. Isabella. If Julie ever found out...

"Hmm?" he mumbled. "Oh. Yeah! He is! He's head over heels for her."

Buzz.

"Who's that?" Julie asked.

"Nobody. Just Alex, I think," Becker replied.

Buzz.

"Are you sure? He'd hardly ever text you multiple times like this."

"Trust me. It is!"

Buzz.

"Give me your phone. Now," she ordered.

Buzz.

Buzz.

Buzz.

She snatched the phone from his hands and saw the texts. "Who's Isabella Johnson? Huh?" she snapped.

"A friend!" he replied. He felt his heart sink to his stomach and he knew he'd never hear the end of it.

Scrolling through the texts, Julie got even madder. "Why's she calling you stuff like love, dear, sweetie, sweetheart?! What the heck is this, Becker?!"

"She's my friend!" he replied. "We met through Alex! She's originally from Kentucky, so some words she uses have different meanings depending on the context! Like sweetheart? Down there, it's used as a friendly term! Same for sweetie! Don't you dare attack her!"

Julie paused at him defending his friend. "Don't dare attack her?" she asked. "Attack her?! Becker! By this conversation, it sounds like you're going to leave me for her! I want to attack her!"

"I honestly don't know anymore, Julie. I might, I might not. I haven't thought that far yet," he lied.

"If you dare leave me for her, I'll destroy you," she growled.

Becker looked her in the eye and knew she meant it. He watched her set his phone down and then leave to go upstairs. He got his phone and sighed, trying to think of how to get out of his relationship with his abuser.