Easier to Lie

Chapter 2

When we pulled into the parking garage we were greeted by the smell of sand and ocean air. I had never felt more at home. My dream school was the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. It was right on the beach and the dorms looked out onto the water. I desperately wanted to attend college there but Mom absolutely forbade it because of the murders.

My dad tried talking to her about it since there had been no murders in North Carolina but she refused to listen. She wanted me close to home and while I was mad about it, I understood.

"We'll get the bags tomorrow," Leah said as she set the car alarm, "let's have a drink and go to bed," she linked her arms with mine and we rode the elevator to the sixth floor.

She unlocked the liquor cabinet and poured two shots of whiskey while I sent Mom a text. Of course, she responded two seconds later. Then I turned off my phone. Leah, on the other hand, had to snap a picture of us holding the shot glasses. No doubt she posted it to Facebook and sent it to Adam.

"Here's to an amazing summer with my best friend," we raised our glasses, "may the next two months be full of good times, laughter, and love."

"I'll drink to that," then we swallowed the whiskey.

I'm not going to lie, it burned my throat. The taste of honey lingered, making me want another shot. The burn felt good. It set my heart on fire and opened my eyes.

When Leah saw me reach for the bottle she had this look of awe in her eyes. "I knew you'd like whiskey. Pour me another," she bumped her hip against mine and continued taking pictures. She was the queen of duck lips.

The condo had three bedrooms, two of them had queen size beds and the other had two twin beds. When her brother was old enough to stay home by himself, he quit joining us through the summer. I was thankful for that because it meant I could sleep in an actual bed instead of on the pull-out couch.

"What should we do tomorrow?" She asked.

"Relax by the beach, have those yummy, greasy burgers and cheese fries for lunch," no hesitation, I knew how I wanted to spend the day.

"Oh, Mac's, I completely forgot about that place," suddenly she was excited, "We're so not telling my mom about eating there."

"I have a feeling we're not going to telling your mom a lot of things this summer."

"Girl, you know that's right. I'll see ya in the morning. Love ya."

"Love ya, too."

I heard her squeal when she jumped into the big bed. This would be a summer to remember, I was going to make sure of that.

I smiled to myself as I climbed into the other queen bed. The clock on the night stand read 2:30, hours past the time I was usually asleep. I knew I'd regret it later but I was too excited to sleep. I was finally going to experience life without my parents. I would be celebrating my eighteenth birthday without my parents. Needless to say, I was an anxious and excited mess.

Leah's curls were bouncing as she danced in the living room. She wasn't a morning person so I wondered if she slept at all.

"Breakfast," she pointed to a box of strawberry Poptarts on the kitchen counter. "We need to go grocery shopping at some point, but not today. I brought all our bags in."

"How long have you been awake?"

"I slept for like, two hours, maybe. It wasn't long at all."

I noticed the empty Rock Star energy drinks in the trash can. "And how many Rock Stars have you had?"