Lie To Me

Lie To Me-Chapter 142

By the time I got back to the house, the delivery man was just pulling in the driveway. Scooping Max into my arms, I greeted him, asking him to follow me in.

As we entered the kitchen, two things became apparent. First, Bree was seated at the table, with a wide smile planted firmly on her face. And second, Harry was nowhere to be found...

Gesturing to have the delivery man set the food on the counter, I placed Max back in his pen, giving him a quick kiss on the head in the process, and went to grab some money out of my purse. The delivery man thanked me for the generous tip I gave him, and with a smile headed back out to his car.

"Where did the other one run off to?" I questioned my best friend as I reentered the kitchen.

"He's hiding in his room. But, guess what?!? I convinced him to let me stay!"

'Yeah, I just bet she did...'

Shaking off the pissy comments of my subconscious, I gave her a flat smile. "That's great, Bree."

Her eyebrows raised. "Yeah... Then why do I feel like I'm the only one happy about it? You both act like I'm asking you to undergo a root canal..."

Feeling guilty, I gave her an apologetic look before starting on dinner. "I'm sorry... It really is great that you'll be able to stay. I just..."

"Harry?"

"Yeah... I mean, how has he been to you? Does it feel like something is...up with him?" I probed for information, wondering if she'd been coming to the same conclusions I'd been.

"You mean aside from the way he can't seem to keep his hands off you for more than two minutes? Or the lost puppy look he gets when you're not around?"

I paused in the middle of opening one of the take-out containers, thinking of Harry and that adorable look he'd get, and scoffed. "No way... He doesn't do that..."

She laughed at me, "You wanna bet! That boy has got it bad for you, girl!"

Although the thoughts of Harry filling my mind were pulling at my heart strings, they were confusing me at the same time... If he really was head over heels, if he really "had it bad" for me, then why was he spending so much time and energy worrying about Bree?

I pressed for more. "Yeah, but after that whole bra thing... You haven't noticed a change in him? Something that just seems...off?"

Her breath hitched for a minute. "Wait... He... He told you about that?"

"Of course he did." I turned around to face Bree, pointing the spoon I was holding in her direction. "He also told me about you ogling him in the hallway tonight..."

Her eyes went wide for a second before she busted out laughing. "Well, who wouldn't?!? You know you'd be doing the same thing too..."

"That's exactly what I told him!" I joined in, laughing at how well she got me.

Honestly, this was what I missed most about her... The bond that we'd shared, the deep friendship that spanned so many years. No matter what happened, we would always have that...

As our giggles finally dissipated, I gave her a genuine smile. "I really am glad you're here, Bree. I've missed you so much."

"Right back atcha, babe!" She blew me a kiss before I turned away to get back to dinner.

"And don't worry about Harry. I think he'll be fine. He just needs to learn how to calm down."

"Yeah, I guess..."

She giggled a bit, "It is kinda funny though, how he freaks out about every little thing that happens between us. I mean, he was sooo worried about you getting upset about that whole bra thing... But, come on! It wasn't like we'd planned it! I'd honestly gone looking for you!"

"And then the kiss..." She scoffed, "Well, that was just a little thank you. It really meant nothing. I kept telling him you wouldn't care, but he was convinced that you wouldn't be able to handle it."

Everything stopped as I turned to face her again, a bad feeling creeping up my spine. Did she just say what I thought she said?

"Kiss? What kiss?!?"

Her eyes widened for a moment, before her gaze fell from my face. "Oh. I guess he didn't...?"

"No. Apparently, he didn't tell me. But, you're sure as hell going to. Right now."

In the blink of an eye, I was suddenly seeing red, and I didn't know which one of them I wanted to kill first. But, since Bree was currently the one in front of me...

"Calm down, Riley. It's not what you think. I mean, you KNOW me. You can trust me. I'm not going after Harry... I was simply thanking him for his help. That's all it was!"

Regardless of what she was saying, how she was playing it all off to mean nothing, I was livid. They'd shared a fucking kiss! A kiss that Harry oh-so-conveniently left out when telling me about that stupid incident in the first place!

He'd lied to me. They'd both lied to me.

"Calm down?!? I can't even believe you right now! Sitting there, acting like this is no big deal?!? You kissed my fucking boyfriend, Bree!!! What kind of person does that?!? And after you'd gone all ape shit over that young girl wanting a little kiss on the cheek for a photo op?!?"

She stood up, "Wait... Riley, I don't think you understand... I didn't... We didn't..."

"I don't want to hear it. I don't care about the fucking details... God, I'm so stupid! THIS is why he can't stop thinking about you, isn't it?!? This is why he can't stop worrying about you, swearing up and down that you're going to do something! Because you already have..."

Betrayal sliced through me. Sharp, burning pain that tasted like bile in my throat. It all made so much sense... That was why Harry had become so paranoid, so obsessed with Bree's every move. That was why he didn't want her to stay. He'd apparently had a taste, and probably wanted more...

My stomach turned over. I had to get out of there.

"Riley, stop!" Bree ran around the table, coming toward me as I dropped the spoon in my hand and turned to leave the kitchen, ignoring the glare of warning I shot her way.

"What, Bree?!? Are you gonna gloat now? Are you going to rub it in my face that you hooked him? That you won? That you were able to take away the most important thing in my life?!?"

A look of pain crossed her face. "Jesus, is that what you think of me? Riley, All I did was kiss him on the cheek! The same way I would kiss my damn brother! It was completely innocent, I swear! I honestly didn't think it would be such a big deal to you!"

Wait a minute...

"You kissed him on the cheek?"

A fraction of my wrath dissipated. The image that had been playing in my mind of their lips locked together changed to that of an innocent, soft peck on Harry's cheek, no more or less than what I'd seen a million times before with his fans.

She grabbed ahold of my hand, ignoring the way it still shook against her palm. "You are my best friend in the whole world, Riley. And no matter what you may think, I would never do that to you. I wouldn't go after your man like that. I wouldn't hurt you like that. I couldn't... I mean, I can't speak for Harry, but you mean too much to me."

"I know... I know you wouldn't. And, I'm sorry. But, I've seen you go after 'taken' men before, and I... When you said..."

"I'm sorry, Riley. I didn't mean to make you think... It's just, when you said Harry told you all about it, I thought you knew. I didn't know..." She squeezed my hand.

"...that he'd lied to me?" I finished for her. "Well, apparently he did..."