They Lied (Liar Duology #1)

Chapter 14 / Olivia

DAY THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY EIGHT

"People always let you down, don't they?" a voice said to me.

I looked up, and regretted it immediately. I wish I hadn't hoped he was Atlas. After all this time... I was stupid. Stupid for loving him. Stupid for letting myself hope that he was alive.

Stupid for being the reason he's dead.

It's not your fault, Sabrina's voice assured in my head, sounding as sure of it as anything, you didn't know water didn't stop the, 'Invincible Destroyer.'

It's totally your fault, by extension, mum, Atticus's voice echoed, Although you weren't the one who pulled the trigger, you loved him. And loving someone is the surest way to hurt them, and yourself.

So young, but so wise, said Hera's voice.

"What do you want? And, who are you?" I asked, shaking my head to expel all the negative energy and wiping my eyes before drawing a deep breath to steady myself.

I looked at the man properly for the first time. His brown hair had blonde roots, and the overall appearance of his dreadlocks were pretty unsettling. His stormy grey eyes shifted from grey to green to blue, and his hooked nose and frowny face didn't push me away like it must have for most people. In fact, I was intrigued. He wore dress pants and a tuxedo, as if he had to go out somewhere.

"Who are you?" I repeated, raising my voice, and going into what Atlas had called the, 'dangerous mode,' "And what do you want?"

"How about we discuss this over dinner?" he said, glancing at his watch and making a face which clearly showed he was running late.

"Okay," I said, standing up. I knew what it was like to not want to be late for something. My life was a constant chasing of appointments. But, still, there was something about this man that made me feel... Done. I felt like I was done sulking. I was done being a bad mother to my kids. I was going to move on with my life.

Little did I know that the man in front of me would make that very, very easy.

When I turned around to ask him something, he had disappeared. And, the mysteriousness of the situation only made me want to find out more about said man.

I decided I was done with being a spectator in my life. I was going to take action, like I used to. There was just something about the man that pushed me to be better. To be the best, in fact. There was a fire in me that had been missing for a long time.

The door clicked as it slid into the frame and locked. A navy blue skirt and hot-pink top were the first articles of clothing I saw, and I took them out of the cupboard and threw them on the bed. I then proceeded to peel the layers of my nightclothes away from my body.

***

"Oh, my gosh! Mom! You look beautiful!" 

"Sabrina, honey, you are talking as if you thought I was ugly," I replied, laughing as I admired myself in the mirror, my darling daughter standing behind me and looking proud of what she had done to my hair.

It was in a artfully messy braid down my left side, which highlighted my triangular face and made my jaws look much stronger.

"Mom, you gotta admit that you never put too much into your appearance," she replied, staring at me through the mirror with her grey eyes and hair as dark as ebony.

"True, my Bree-baby. I love you so much. You know that, right?" I said, turning around, and embracing the sweater-clad woman.

"Of course I do, mom. You're just not very good at showing it," she said, returning the embrace, "Do you wish I was a normal child?"

"Never," I said with conviction, "If you were a normal child, I would have to wait at least sixteen years for you to grow as much as you did. That would have been a different level of hell." I shuddered.

"What's this I hear about hell?" a voice came from the doorway.

"Oh, Att, we were just talking about where you would go if I were the judge," said Sabrina, smirking.

"Over my dead body," retorted Att.

"Exactly."

"Att, Bree, you shouldn't say stuff like that," I chastised, but they didn't take it too seriously because I grinned from ear to ear.

"Wow, mom, you look amazing. Did you do your hair?"

"No, I did," boasted Sabrina, throwing her chest out and raising the volume of her voice.

"Oh, sorry, then. I take it back. No offense, mom, but you look horrible," Atticus said, winking at me and dragging Sabrina out of the room by her wrist, "Catch ya later, mommy dearest!"

"See you, kids," I said, smiling. There was nothing better than watching Atticus and Sabrina getting along at even the minutest levels. If you've raised twins, you would know how much they fight, and even godly twins are no relief.

I hadn't told anyone about the mysterious stranger, and I decided I would tell the kids only if there was something to tell. It was fun to keep a secret for once. In a place where everyone knew my story, it was nice to have a chapter only I had read.

"Mom!" Sabrina's extra-whiny voice came from the hall, which meant that Atticus was doing something really cheeky.

"Att! Bree!" I called, sighing, "Can't you spend five minutes without fighting with each other?!"

"Um... F - Y - I, mommy, we spent six and a half minutes without fighting!" screamed Atticus.

"As if that makes a difference," I muttered, rubbing my temples to ready myself for the fight that would no doubt ensue between Sabrina and I, because we were always having conflicting views.