Two Truths & A Lie

Chapter 7

"Are you okay?" Liam asked.

I shook my head. "I just ended a two-year close-to-perfect relationship. How do you think I feel?"

Liam pulled me out of the center of the circle that formed around us. "You did the right thing, Em," he told me, lowering his voice.

"It doesn't feel like it," I mumbled.

"Why did you say to tell Harry Styles what happened?" Liam asked me a little louder, following close on my heels as I stormed to the front door of the house. The music was back on and bumping and people were back to drinking. The only difference between when I walked in the house and when I was walking out was that people were raising their cups to me when I was on my way out. Toasting me. Respecting my strength. Emalia Hastings was back on track. The idiot bubble had vanished. I was not a fucking idiot.

"Shouldn't you be assisting your girlfriend? I'm pretty sure I just knocked her unconscious," I said to Liam, smiling half-heartedly at a group of girls who reached out for a high-five. They were supporting me and my decision to throw beer on Louis tonight - I was a symbol of hope for all girls being cheated on, so powerful, so strong - but I was sure they'd be chasing the newly-single, ever-handsome Mr. Tomlinson tomorrow. Who cared? He wasn't my problem anymore. The thought made my heart wilt for a moment.

"She's not exactly my girlfriend right now..."

"You broke up?" I asked, not turning around to look at him.

"Well, no. But we're not an official thing right now..." Liam muttered. I was to focused on my own self at the moment to push the issue.

"Shit," I muttered as we exited the house.

"What's wrong?" Liam asked, stepping around me to stand in front of me. He was always like this. I loved it, just didn't get it. His half-girlfriend was literally bleeding on the floor in the kitchen of a random house and he was outside with me. There was no doubt in my mind that she had some drunk guy helping her, thinking he would "get it in" after helping bandage her up, but still.

"Everything is wrong, Li. Including the fact that Niall drove me here tonight. I don't have a sober ride." I really needed to just start driving myself to these things. I hadn't even seen Niall or Miranda for a good 30 minutes.

Liam pulled his keys from his pocket and dangled them in front of my face, grinning. Normally, I wouldn't bother him for a ride, but tonight, since he was so gladly offering it and I had no other choice, I nodded appreciatively and took his arm as he walked me to his car.

"So are you going to tell me why the Harry kid was the first person to come to your mind after a mess like that?" Liam asked once he was behind the wheel.

My fingers massaged the skin on my forehead as I tried to relax. My muscles were still tense and my skin was hot. "He just was pressuring me to break up with Louis for some reason earlier today. He barely even knows me. He has no room to tell me what to do with my relationships. He called me a 'fucking idiot' and I guess I just thought he should know that I'm not the idiot he thinks I am."

Liam hesitated. "Well... aren't you kind of allowing him to think he can tell you what to do by doing what he told you to? To break up with Louis?"

I groaned. "Please don't make me feel worse about what I just did, Li."

Liam chewed on his fingernail and stared at the road ahead as he thought. "Sorry..." He mumbled. The silver sticker on the brim of his black snapback became of sudden interest to me as the street lights reflected off of it. "Why won't you just tell him yourself? You know the truth gets twisted a thousand different ways around here. It's like an awful game of Telephone," Liam pointed out.