Bad Liar

Chapter Nineteen

~Alice P.O.V~

Something hadn't been right around the house the last few days. Dad had been running round in a flap, mum didn't do much but lie in bed. Lee, Johnny, Nance and I just got on as normal, we'd learnt in these situations it was better to ignore it and let mum and dad tell us in their own time rather than us confronting them.

I'd been keeping myself to myself essentially, nothing was new or different. I was still in the same crater, that each day, each movement I made seemed to carve it even deeper. My desire to get out was shrinking, I kept carving down and the part of me that wanted to climb up grew less and less.

I tap on my shoulder jolted me out of my day dream and I pulled the headphones from my ears.
"I'm afraid we're closing the gym now, but don't worry the changing rooms are still open for half an hour." The smiling employee nodded after I said a light thank you and hopped off the treadmill. One thing that was different was I was going to the gym. A lot.

I looked in the large changing room mirror, sweat decorated my hair line in beads, the beads had broke in certain places and ran down my face. Turning the cold tap on I pressed the water to my face, quickly bringing my head back up a sudden wash of sparkling black decorated the corners of my vision and it felt like someone had quickly, and successfully, forced the breath from my lungs.

A few stumbled steps back and I crashed into the lockers before sliding to the floor in a daze. Squeezing my eyes shut tightly I forced some air back to my gasping lungs and pushed my aching, fiery muscles back to a standing position before quickly grabbing my bag and leaving the building.

The walk home was quiet and cold leaving me incredibly thankful to walk into the warm but busy pub.
"Al love can you go change and come down and help please?" Mum shouted as I wandered behind the bar. "Yeah give me twenty." She nodded and refrained from kissing me due to the grimy sweat that was clinging to my skin.
I made my way back down to the pub and began clearing glasses from tables, I stood in the kitchen by the dishwasher waiting for the machine to finish humming so I could remove the load currently in there and put another stack through.

"Eleanor phoned for you today while you were out." I turned round to see dad putting empty plates down on the metal counter top by the other dishwasher, he turned and leaned up against next to me the fatigue clear on his face. However, I knew it wasn't just the fact the pub was busy night making him tired.
"What was she wanting?" I asked beginning to unload the hot glasses.
"Wondering if you'll go up to the stables tomorrow, it's been months she said since you were last there." His eyebrows raised and I felt my skin start to burn with an ice like heat, time to lie.
"Me and your mum thought that's where you had been going lately?" Quick, Alice think.
"I just don't want them to see me like this." I blurted, watching in anticipation for dads face to crack when he realised I was lying. It didn't, it stayed still and faultless.
"What do you mean?" Was he asking because he genuinely didn't understand or was asking to try and catch me in my lie?
"I'm ill and I don't want them too see me like that, I'm the captain of the trail teams, I'm one of the eldest there and one of the most well respected at the stables and I don't want them to see me like this. Jade has been looking after Di for me. I just needed time." Again I watched his face expecting it to contort then crack under the weight of my lie. I closed my eyes momentarily and I felt a warmth snake around my shoulders, as I peens my eyes I could see that dad had his arm protectively and lovingly around my shoulder as he pulled me into his side.
"Baby you should have said, instead of pretending to be there. Your mum and I would have understood, you know how much they all love you and you know deep down you being ill won't change the way they see you and if it does than they clearly aren't the right people for you. If that's the case, which I highly doubt it is, we'll take Di and stable him somewhere else." I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. He believed me.
"But how can we even afford it?"
"Horses have made you happy ever since you were little and the bond you and Di have is unbreakable and unbelievable, money will never stop you seeing him." I smiled up and his big warm, chocolate eyes that were pooling with love. Unconditional and unbreakable.
"Thank you daddy." I murmured.
"Right well I'll take you up there tomorrow, get to bed Eleanor wants you in early." He smirked as he began walking away.
"How early is early?" I asked with a whine.
"Nine o'clock, so we'll be leaving here at eight." I let out a groan at the thought of the early morning on a Saturday. Once dad had left the kitchen I let out a smile, a sense of pride spread through my chest, not only had I come up with a convincing lie it meant I had an excuse now to go and see Chris. After all that's where I had been all along.
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