Book 1: Beyond Me and You

Tired of the Lies

"Alright don't panic Lark!" Vivian yells as she paces back and forth in my room. She goes the door and slowly closes it. "So this is the plan." Her eyes have a mischievous glare to them and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. "We're going to steal his phone."

"I am not doing that." I say shutting down the plan right away. It's been two weeks since I told Vivian about my suspicions. Nathan and I have casually spoken here and there but neither of us have brought up what happened that day. Nathan has gone back to being his usual self and I can't help but remain concerned.

"Okay. Then we're going to visit his sister when he's not around and get her to tell us whether she's seen anything"

"Vivi she's five years old. Please sit down and stop with these plans." My head is pounding and my vision becomes blurry. I feel my body losing strength and quickly grab onto my desk chair. 

"Lark!" she yells as she runs to my side. As soon as she reaches me my body gives out. I remain conscious but I can't seem to stand anymore.  My visions blurs even more and I close my eyes shut. "What's wrong?!" The panic is evident in her voice. 

I can see Dean bursts through the door only too see Vivian holding me on the ground as my eyes flutter open but they close once again. And just like my vision goes black.

My eyes feel heavy, as if there are weights keeping them closed. My body feels sore and completely tired. My mind quickly flashes to the last thing I saw. I remember Dean bursting through my room door worried and scared. After a few minutes I manage to openly eyes a little, at first it's a little flutter and then they open completely. The bright lights in the room, blind my vision for a few seconds. It takes a while to get my eyes use to the bright light but I soon gain my vision back. 

My heart hurts when I turn to see Nathan sleeping on the chair next to my bed. He looks uncomfortable but it seems like he's been there for a while. 

"He hasn't left your side since he got here." I look towards the door to see Dean leaning against the wall. My eyes go back to Nathan. "I hate to admit it, but I was wrong about him."

"I'm glad you've finally realized it"

"I'd wake him up. You've been sleeping for a day and he hasn't moved from there. He hasn't eaten and you know how Kayla is. She's worried sick but I'm afraid the only one who could get him out of that chair is you."

Nathan shifts in his chair and I see him slowly open his eyes. Once he notices I'm awake he sits up straight. 

"You're awake" he says with a husky voice. I stare at his tired state. His hair is disheveled as if he's run his hands through his hair one too many times and the bags under his eyes are more noticeable than before. The more I look at him the more I want to cry. I've made him worry to the point he hasn't slept as much as he should. "Lark. I'm so sorry. I know we haven't spoken about it but I think we need to. The reason I seem secretive is because-"

The door is slammed open once again only to reveal an overworked Kayla. 

"Larkin you're awake!" Kayla yells loud enough for the whole block to hear. She runs over to me and pulls me into a hug. "Don't you ever scare me like that you hear me?! And if you ever stop eating like you did I swear-"

"Mom!" Dean yells from the doorway. Kayla stops before she can finish her sentence and stands up straight. She fixes her hair and gains her composure back. "I don't think this is the time for that."

Kayla finishes fixing her hair. "You're right." She turns to look at me with worried eyes. "I'm sorry Larkin. I was just so scared when Dean called me and told me what had happened. We were just lucky Mrs. Blake was nearby."

I look down at my folded hands on my lap. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry anyone"

"Then why didn't you eat?" Kayla asks not even giving a second to breathe. 

"I've just been stressed.." My voice begins to shake and I end the sentence there. I notice Nathan get up from his seat and he walks out of my room closing the door behind him. Dean has a confused look on his face when he looks at the door and then at me. An awkward silence fills the room and the person that feels the most awkward is Kayla. 

"Well..I'll see myself out." Without saying another word she exits my room leaving Dean and I alone. 

He avoids eye contact as he scans the whole room. 

"What really happened?" Dean asks with his arms crossed across his chest. He remains leaning against the wall and never breaks eye contact. 

"I-" my voice breaks and I feel the tears threatening to spill. "Am I not good enough?"

Dean pushes himself off the wall and sits on the edge of the bed next to me. "What are you talking about?" 

"I don't want you to leave!" We suddenly hear Ailee's voice from downstairs. "NO!" she yells and continues to cry. 

I look at Dean and he shakes his head no but I find myself throwing the blankets off of me and running downstairs. I stop at the last step of the stairwell. My body goes weak and I grab onto the railing to give me stability. Raising my eyes, I look up to see Nathan standing in front of a crying Ailee. She has hiccups now and continues to quietly sob. 

"Nathan..." I begin to say but as soon as he sees me he freezes in place. 

He turns towards Kayla. "Can I please leave her here for a little bit. It's really urgent." He seems agitated. 

"Sure." Kayla responds calmly. 

"NO!" Ailee continues to yells and she slams her feet on the ground. 

"Nathan." My voice catches his attention and he looks at me. "Where are you going?" 

"I can't right now Larkin"

"Nathan! I'm tired of the lies!...I'm tired of the secrets. Please." Tears are streaming down my face. I've tried to hide how much everything has affected em but I'm done hiding it. I can be strong but not forever. At some point everyone reaches a breaking point. And I've reached mine. 

I stand there holding on the railing with tears endlessly streaming down my face as I watch Nathan walk out the front door without looking back.