WHITE LIAR

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

 

For the first few minutes after Cory got in the car, they drove in complete silence.  Justin felt the palpable tension between the two of them growing intensely.  He wasn’t sure exactly where he was going or what was going to be said.  When they stopped at a red light, he gripped the steering wheel tighter and let out a slow breath before purposely clearing his throat in order to get Cory's attention.  “Where should I go from here?”

Cory pointed up at the next light.  “Go up there to Liberty Street and take a left.  About three blocks down there is a park and we can stop there and talk.”

Justin still wasn’t sure what to expect but the clawing feeling in his gut told him that he was not going to like whatever it was that he was about to hear.  The light turned green and he pressed his foot on the gas, following the directions that Cory had just given him.  Five minutes later they pulled up in front of a deserted park and he cut the ignition.  “Do you want to talk here,” he asked Cory, indicating the car, "or do you want to get out?"

Cory raked his hand through hair.  The incident had been a little over a year ago but he could still remember it as if it was yesterday.  He hadn’t dared to speak to a single person about it and for some strange reason, he felt some sense of relief that he was going to talk about it now.  He gestured towards the picnic tables under the trees.  “Why don’t we go over there and then we can talk.”

Justin nodded and pulled his keys out of the ignition.  “Why do I get the feeling that I’m not going to like what you are about to tell me?”

Cory pushed open his door and turned back to Justin.  “Because if you are any kind of a decent man then you won’t like what I have to say.” 

Without saying anything else, Cory did an about face and stepped out of the car, leaving a bewildered Justin to stare after him.  He didn’t miss the haunted look in the man’s eyes before he turned away from him and now he had a bone deep need to know just what in the hell happened to Chloe Miller that made her the girl that she was today.

He slipped out of the car and followed Cory who had already crossed over the gravel parking lot and was headed towards the picnic tables.  He shoved his hands in his pockets and couldn’t help but to frown at the dismal tone and the cryptic message that John’s cousin had conveyed. 

He had already tried to work through several possible scenarios in his head of what may have happened to Chloe; from a bad rejection to maybe just a bad break up with an old boyfriend that left her reputation in tatters but if that’s all it was, why all the secrecy?  Why come all the way out here to discuss it?  Something didn’t quite add up and he was more anxious now than ever to hear what this guy had to say.

Justin settled himself on top of one of the weather worn wooden tables, bracing his elbows on his knees while clasping his fingers out in front of him. 

Cory didn’t bother to sit down.  He started to nervously pace in front of Justin, squeezing the sides of his temples with his fingers.  “I’m not even sure where I should start man...” He suddenly stopped in front of Justin and admitted.  “The situation was so screwed up and it should’ve never even happened.   I thought,” Cory turned away from Justin and peered off into the distance, flattening his mouth in a thin line.  “I thought that Chloe was different.  I thought Craig actually cared this time.”

That knot of tension coiled even tighter in Justin’s gut. He didn’t like where this was going.  He didn’t like it at all.  “Why don’t you try starting from the beginning,” he urged him.  He had to know the truth before he could pass final judgment.