Easier to Lie

Chapter 11

Leah was spending the day with Adam. He had put together a scavenger hunt for her birthday. While they were out, I decided to bake Leah a birthday cake. Pineapple with vanilla frosting was her favorite.

The condo was an absolute mess. I began cleaning the disaster while the cake was in the oven and I finally understood why my mom compared my room to a tornado zone. Empty soda cans, beer bottles, take-out boxes. We ordered pizza three nights ago and the left overs were growing mold. How did we let it get so out of control?

I turned on the radio and turned the cleaning into a dance party. While Miley Cyrus was singing about doing lines in the bathroom, I danced myself into an even bigger mess by knocking over the trash can. I was disgusted by all the garbage and rotten food, and there were no gloves anywhere. I had to pick everything up with my bare hands and I can't tell you how many times I had to force the bile back down my throat.

Buried under the awful smelling, burnt peppers from Adam's attempt at cooking stuffed peppers, was a crumbled piece of paper. Carefully, I unfolded it wiped off the residue. In Leah's beautiful cursive handwriting was a list of book ideas. I skimmed the list and stopped on Number 5: My Time with the Pink Tie Killer. Underneath that she written Frankie Joe Hoffman and my dad's name, Greg Ollison.

I felt...I felt nothing. Seeing my dad's name being linked to a killer made me feel absolutely nothing. What was wrong with me? A movie on the television could infuriate me or make me cry like a baby, but Leah writing my dad's name so close to ideas about a killer didn't fuel any emotions. I sat there on the floor with this blank look of nothingness in my eyes. I was so numb I couldn't feel or hear my own heartbeat.

Today was her birthday and it was supposed to be a fun day. I pulled the cake from the oven to let it cool and I tried finding a safe place for the paper. I knew I had to talk to her about my dad's name being there but not today. Leah needed a great day after all she had been through.

Eric's dad made bail and was set to be released from jail the next day. When we heard the news, Leah began shaking and hadn't stopped. Adam stayed at the condo with us all night because she needed both of us with her. Yesterday, Eric called her, and they were on the phone for over an hour. He wasn't sure if he would make it to her birthday party; he didn't want to leave his mom.

I didn't want to believe that he was turning his back on Leah. They had been friends since they were little kids. I could understand the conflict he must have been struggling with, but Leah needed him. This was her birthday, she needed her closest friends with her. I decided to do something about it. In case she asked about him, I wanted to have answers.

He picked up on the third ring. He sounded exhausted, like he had been at the gym. "Hello?" His breathing was heavy.

"Eric, hey, its's Reggie. I was just wondering if you were coming over tonight?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"It's Leah's birthday."

"Oh, right. Yeah, I don't know. It depends on my mom. She's pretty messed up since finding out that my dad is free tomorrow. I don't want to leave her."

"I understand. It's just that this her big eighteenth birthday. She really wants you to be there."

There was a long pause that made things awkward. I couldn't handle it, so I began talking again. "How is your mom doing? Health wise, I mean."

He sounded annoyed, "How do you think she's doing? She's a mess. Wouldn't you be?"

"I don't know. Probably. Can you tell her that we're thinking about her? Leah misses her like crazy. She misses you, too. She feels like she's lost you."