|| Love to Hate Me ||

{Thirty-Six}

"Come as you are, as you were
As I want you to be
As a friend, as a friend
As an known enemy."
-Come As You Are, Nirvana
__________

Liana lied.

She didn't go to sleep after they left, she finished Looper and started watching Dances With Wolves—anything to distract her from Harlan. She wasn't sure what made this night any different from all the others, she just had a bad feeling.

Perhaps it was the way Laura had placed her hand on Harlan's thigh, the way she whispered into his ear.

Harlan had warned her about people—told her to never begin any relationship built on a lie, no matter how small.

Laura had lied. She knew the moment her hand went to Harlan's knee that she didn't have a girlfriend in Washington—that the story had been a ruse.

Hearing Mark admit he saw Laura and Harlan leave the party through an emergency exit only confirmed her fears. Feeling to be the third wheel, Mark decided to call it a night when Kyle took up with a busty brunette.

"I thought she was a lesbian." Liana sniffled, her tired eyes burned from having cried so much.

She thought Harlan would be respectful enough to keep it in his pants until the end of the tour. She thought Harlan loved her enough not to force her to watch him with someone else—she thought wrong. Harlan was selfish, caring little about anything, especially himself.

"Me too. I thought for sure she'd be all over me if she were straight. I'm mean let's face it, I'm irresistible." Mark nudged Liana playfully, hoping to cheer her up.

Liana smiled through the pain. "I can't believe he'd do this to me. I told him I still loved him, I just couldn't be with him... because of shit like this!" Liana grabbed the first thing she saw, chucking it across the bus. It was her notebook—scattering papers along the walkway.

Mark placed a hand awkwardly on her back, unsure of the appropriate way to comfort her. "I should've kicked him out. I should've kicked him out and kept Robbie. What the fuck was I thinking?" Liana spoke to herself.

"You were thinking you wanted Harlan to forgive you for something that didn't need forgiving." The corner of Mark's lips twisted into a frown.

The bus door came open, causing Mark to swiftly remove his hand. Although he wasn't touching Liana in a suggestive way, he didn't want Harlan getting the wrong impression. He relaxed when seeing that it was Laura instead of a drunken fueled 6"2 guitarist.

"We've got a problem." Laura spoke low, visibly shaken. She was winded, her fit physique suffering.

"What, did Harlan's condom break?" Liana rolled her eyes. "Just take some Plan-B, it's what straight girls do when things like that happen."

"Nice one." Mark whispered with a smug grin.

"I think- I think, Harlan... I think he may have overdosed." Laura admitted.

Liana shook her head, standing from the table. She moved slow and annoyed. "He's just passed out again. I guess I'll go get him."