Set Free

Set Free Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

".......had a twin brother." Justice smiled brightly.

"O......kay." I said, totally not getting it.

"You don't get it? Allow me to explain. So, you know how Nick's little sister Anna disappeared?"

I nodded hesitantly, suddenly unsure if I really wanted to understand what she meant.

"Well, the truth is, when she disappeared, it wasn't actually Nick's fault. Nick wasn't even home."

"What?!" I said, shocked.

"Yeah.....that's not even all of it. Nick told you he attempted to commit suicide because of Anna, right?"

Again, I nodded, stil too shocked to question her for every detail.

"Well, hate to tell you this babe, but that was a straight-up lie. Nick's brother, Nathan, was the one to attempt suicide. Except, it wasn't exactly an attempt..."

"Why wasn't it?" I asked solemnly.

"Because he actually succeeded!" Justice cackled.

I looked up into Justice's eyes. They were glowing with evil glee like there was no tomorrow. She was obviously feeding off my pain. I shook my head, slowly. She was such a sadist.

"So then, if that's true, why was Nick even at the park...?" I asked.

"Oh, well, that's where Nathan, Nick's brother, killed himself. If you don't believe me, just ask Nick. You'll find I'm absolutely right." She winked at me. "So, are we done? Good."

And with that, Justice sauntered off, leaving me in a broken haze.

                                                                             ******<3*****

Could Justice really be telling the truth? Could he really have lied...about everything? I didn't think it was possible. But I had to find out.

I dialed Nick's cell phone number at around six p.m. that same day, and I waited as the phone rang, painstakingly waiting for him to pick up.

"Hello?" I heard from the other line.

I jumped at the sound of his deep, melodic voice.

A voice that possibly lied to me, I reminded myself.

"Um, hi. It's Amber." I said cautiously.

"Oh! Hey, how are you?" He said cheerfully. I grimaced.

"We need to talk." I told him, hoping my voice wouldn't crack.

"About?" He asked.

I took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.

"I think it would be better if I told you in person." The reason for this was that I knew I would be able to tell whether he was lying to me by his eyes. He could get away with anything if I told him over the phone what Justice had told me. And I was sure that if he had lied to me before, he would do it again.

                                                                         *****<3*****

A half an hour later, I was sitting in the coffeeshop waiting for Nick to arrive. It was the same exact one he saved me in. As I was sitting there, a thought came to my mind. It was that, this meeting I had set up was pretty much pointless, because if Justice was right, then Nick had already lied to my face in the park. Meaning I probably wouldn't be able to tell if he was lying this time, either. Great. Maybe I would get lucky though, and none of it would be true. I could only hope for that...

Just then I heard the bell above the door ring, and my head jerked up in response. It was indeed Nick standing there, and he was looking over at me happily.'

Why the heck does he look so happy? I wondered. I mean, I gave him the, 'We need to talk' speech.

I decided to dimiss it from my mind for the moment, he was fast approaching my table. He smiled widely as he reached me, and then slid into the seat across from mine. His eyes were gleaming with joy, but it felt like they were burning into my own eyes. I looked away, unsure of how to begin.

"Go on," Nick said simply, as if he knew exactly what I was about to say. He couldn't possibly though, since there was no way in heck he could look this happy if he knew why I called him here.

"Um," I began. "I'm not sure how to put this."

He smiled sweetly in response to my words, and reached across the table to gently clasp my hands in his own. "It's okay. Just say what you're thinking."

A confused look appeared on my face, and I yanked my hand out of his.

Now it was Nick's turn to look confused. Finally, I decided to just spit it out.

"I need to know...." I began

"Yes?" Nick said hopefully, a smile reappearing on his face.

"....if you were telling me the complete truth in the park that day...." I stopped, pressing my lips tightly together and bracing myself for his reaction.

The smile disappeared from Nick's face and he immediately paled. I heard him utter a swear word under his breath.

I sucked in my breath. "So it is true."

His head moved in a motion that could barely be considered nodding, but I knew it was.

"Why?"

"I just....I wanted you to trust me." He said honestly.

"You idiot! How in the world could you think lying to me about something so important would earn you my trust?! I mean, I knew you weren't the smartest person ever, but I didn't think you were that dumb either." I said harshly. But he deserved it.

He was silent for a moment, before he said, "That was harsh."

I shook my head at him, my anger growing rapidly. I needed to get out of here before I caused an even bigger scene. I felt like crap, for believing everything he told me. I was an idiot too.

"I don't care. Goodbye, Nick, congratulations, I really wish I'd never met you."

A single tear traced the planes of my face as I passed though the door of the coffeeshop, a sense of revival in my soul. I knew exactly what I needed to do, and I needed to do it now.