Tell Me a Million Lies

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen:

Present Day

Senior Year

            My head was pounding as I pressed my finger against my temples trying to soothe it down. Not only was my head throbbing, but my whole entire body was aching as if I was having a hangover when I obviously haven’t even drink. A Starbucks cup was placed in front of me on the table as I looked up to see Kieran slipping into the seat across from me with a cup in his hand. His face was completely blank not letting me read what he was thinking.

            He used to be like an open book. Before he can finish what he was going to say, I would always guessed his next words. That was how easy for me to read him. Now as he sit across from me with his head lowered, he felt foreign just like the way it was with Hailey. I crumbled the piece of tissue in my hand and threw it into the nearest garbage can.

            “Thanks,” I whispered as I wrapped both of my hands around the burning hot cup.

            He looked up for the first time and nodded. “You alright now?”

            “I’m good.”

            The awkward silence has taken over once again as we both stared out the window searching for something to help us go on. It doesn’t surprise me that he didn’t ask me what was wrong. Kieran was always the kind that will stand by your side and stay quiet until you are willing to tell him what the problem was.

            I missed him.

            I missed having my best friend standing by me and comforting me when I need it.

            But even though he was right there in front of me, I didn’t feel comfort. All I could feel was the melancholy darkness that was covering us up like a dark ash of curtain. Kieran should be smiling at me with his arms around my waist as we sit here in Starbucks. This should have been a warm sweet date, instead now I have tears in my eyes as he stared out the window with an unreadable expression.

            “Did you see Hailey,” he asked his voice low and deep. I shivered involuntarily at the sound of it.

            Tightening on the grip of my cup, I nodded. “I saw her,” I whispered wishing those words could just evaporate. But they don’t. They’re as solid as a rock.  “Did you?”

            He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “No,” he simply said.

            I found it amusing that once we were three best friends that can barely be separated and now? We can barely even have a word together. I didn’t know when did things starting to become this distant. The nostalgic feeling settled in the center of my stomach and at this moment, I wished things were just like it was before the incident. I wanted to be able to talk without the silence; I wanted to laugh at those stupid jokes Kieran used to come up with.

            “How is she?”

            “Fine, I guess.”

            He leaned back against the chair. “I really don’t know what happened between us, between our friendship,” he said his voice so innocent.

            But he was.

            He had absolutely nothing to do with it. Hailey and I were the ones that screwed everything up. We were the one that led to this situation right now. “I don’t know what went between our friendship two years ago and I don’t plan on knowing, but just acting like this,” he said nearly begging. “You weren’t this much of a bitch.”