Lie To Me

Lie To Me-Chapter 144

(Harry's POV)

I wanted to go home.

I loved LA. Loved being out here in the sun and fresh air, loved being able to do things without being mobbed at every corner, loved it all... But, right now? All I wanted to do was go home.

Dinner was horrible; awkward, and quiet. I sat across from Riley the whole time, willing her to talk to me, to yell at me, to even just look at me. At this point, I'd take anything! But, to see her there, just staring down at her plate, looking so lost and defeated... It killed me...

In return, I was also irritated and pissed off. I was pissed at myself for not being honest with Riley about the fact that Bree had kissed my cheek the night before. I was pissed at Riley for taking Bree's side and not believing me when I said that she was up to something. Though, I couldn't really fault her for standing up for her best friend; That's just who Riley was... She tried to see the best in people, even the ones that hurt her the most. Especially me...

Every time I screwed up, every time I acted like an idiot, every time I made a mistake, Riley was always there to forgive me. Yeah, she'd get mad, as I'd expect her to, but she'd always find a way to forgive me for it. I prayed she would this time, too...

My eyes moved to Bree, and I had to fight to keep from glaring. She was the one I was the most pissed at. There she sat, happy as a clam, as if she had no worries in the world, while Riley and I were both miserable. But, I had to hand it to her, she was good... Whatever plan she'd been cooking up, it seemed to be working like a charm.

"So, I was thinking we could do dinner out again tomorrow, and then maybe hit up a few clubs afterwards. I've always wanted to sample the nightlife out here."

"Okay," Riley nodded in agreement while scooping her rice together, only to flatten it back out, and repeat the process all over again.

"...And then on Saturday, I was thinking we could do a girl's shopping trip, and hit all the hottest boutiques. Sorry, Harry. You're not invited. Girls only, you know..." Bree gave me a snarky smile, and my subconscious raised a brow at her, mumbling under his breath.

'Manipulative bitch..'

Repeating herself, Riley simply nodded again, "Okay."

It was silent for a moment before Bree slammed her fork down on the table, addressing us both. "Oh, for the love of God, would you two stop it?!? Here I am trying to plan out a fun weekend, considering this IS pretty much my vacation, and I have the walking dead sitting next to me, and the look of death coming at me from across the table! If I'd known it was going to be like this, I would have just stayed at the damn hotel!"

I opened my mouth to speak, a quite rude, and very unlike me comment danced on my tongue, but surprisingly, Riley beat me to it...

"Then why didn't you?"

"Excuse me?" Bree turned to stare at Riley head on, her eyes wide, mouth open. I held my breath.

"Well, in all honesty, Harry and I didn't invite you to stay here, Bree. You chose to. You got a free meal from an extremely expensive restaurant. You started a fight with one of Harry's fans, that eventually got the attention of those paparazzi that filmed us. You became twitter 'famous' because of it. You kissed my boyfriend on the cheek, after being nearly felt-up by him in an attempt to help you out of your bra. You got to ogle a bare naked 'celebrity' in the hallway of HIS house, that he was gracious enough to let you stay in. And, last but not least, you're getting to stay longer than originally planned." She shook her head. "The way I see it, you've been having the time of your life. So, instead of complaining about us being 'less than enthusiastic' right now, especially given that you know why, how about you show a little gratitude, okay?"

The room went silent. Even Max didn't dare make a sound from where he'd been watching from his pen. Lord knows my jaw was firmly planted on the floor... But, from the look on her face, no one was more shocked by Riley's response than Bree. She looked like she'd just been cold-cocked out of nowhere, and I nearly broke into applause.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need some air." Scooting her chair back, Riley avoided looking at either of us as she stood and walked out of the room.

Instinct told me to follow, to check and see if she was okay, but I was stopped by an aggravated "humph" coming from across the table.

"Good job, Harry... Now, she's pissed at ME again..."

I laughed at her attempt to pass the blame yet again, "Bullshit. You might be able to twist stories and make it seem like I'm at fault with some things that have happened this week, but not this. This, is all your doing. And I don't just mean tonight..."

An evil smirk tilted her lips. "You know what? I'm gonna be completely honest with you, Harry. You're absolutely right."

My mouth dropped open as the air spilled from my lungs. She was actually admitting it?!?

I looked around the room, praying that Riley had heard that, hoping beyond hope that she'd come back in. Bree laughed at me, "You really think I'm stupid, don't you... You think I'd really say that with Riley in the room? That I'd jeopardize our friendship that way?"

"But, you admit it. I heard you! You've been playing us both this week, setting us up for this!" I felt validated for the first time in days. I knew she'd been up to something this whole time, knew she'd been plotting... And she'd just admitted to it.

Bree gave me a look before shaking her head and rolling her eyes at me. "Harry, you're an idiot. I haven't admitted to anything. All I've done is let Riley see the light." Pushing back her chair, she stood, placing her hands on the table in front of me.

"You're not good for her, Harry. This whole thing between you two is never going to work out. You know it, and I know it. But, for whatever reason, Riley loves you. She thinks the damn sun shines out of your ass. So, if she needs a little help to see who you REALLY are, I'm going to do everything in my power to make that happen." Leaning in closer, she smirked at me, "And I've only just begun..."

I shook my head at her, unable to believe that someone could be so two-faced, so conniving, so...horrible. "What the hell did I ever do to you, Bree? Why do you hate me so much?"

Taking a deep breath, she stood, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't hate you, Harry. That's not what this is about. This is about what's best for Riley... And you and your stupid friends are not it."

Bree picked up her plate, walking it over to the sink as I stared in shock. In my line of work I'd met a lot of manipulative, selfish, downright evil people, but this woman really took the cake...

"You're wrong, Bree. I love Riley. My family, the boys, we ALL love her. And she loves us, too. We make her happy...at least most of the time. As her best friend, whether you think we are 'good for her' or not, why would you try to take all of that away from her? Why?"

Before walking out of the room, she turned back to face me again. "See, that's where you have it all wrong. It was just the two of us before you all came along, and Riley was just fine. So, I'm not actually taking anything away from her by doing this. When it's all said and done, when you're off with some skinny model or some other stupid celebrity, what's Riley gonna do then, huh? You've taken her away from everything she knows, everyone she loves. So, when you break her heart, where is she gonna go? Who is she going to turn to?" She gave me a look as if I'd already done all the things she was accusing me of. "You took my best friend away from me, Harry. You took her away from everyone. All I'm doing now is getting her back, where she belongs. Whatever the cost..."