Dirty Little Secret

Chapter Seventeen - Liars & Cheaters

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"Nina, stop that."

Thump "Stop what?" Thump

"Tapping your foot."

Thump "Oh."

My mother looked at me suspiciously as I urged my foot to keep still. "What's up with you? You've been fidgety all morning." She asked.

I could feel myself turning red in the face and sputtered "What? No I haven't. Why would you say that?"

Had I really been fidgety? Oh god, I had. Was she on to me? Did she know?

My mother sighed. The kind of sigh that told you that she was exhausted and didn't have the time or patience to deal with you. She did that a lot. "Don't act dumb with me Nina, something's going on with you and you know it." She sounded conclusive, the type of tone she had used to scold me as a little child. I could almost hear her say 'Mother is always right.'

"Nope, I'm fine." I lied "As a matter of fact, I'm more than fine. I'm good." I stretched the o's before shutting myself up at the look on my mother's face.

Hold it together, Nina.

She sighed that same sigh again. "You're a terrible liar."

I averted my eyes from her and frantically moved them around the parking lot as Capitola High came into view. Just a few feet away from safety.

So close. "Nina?" She stopped the car.

"Oh hey look, we're here!" I said as if it wasn't already obvious "I'd better get going, class is about to start. I love you, bye!" I snatched my bag from between my feet and jumped out of the car, shutting the door behind me before she could bring out another word.

I didn't dare look back at her as I ran across the parking lot and into the school. My mother was right, I was a terrible liar, and I was the worst at keeping secrets. That didn't matter though, because right now I no longer had a choice. It was like Sophie Kinsella had said in Twenties Girl "The thing about lying to your parents is, you have to do it to protect them.

It's for their own good."

This was for my mother's own good, and probably for my own too. I guess it made me a coward, telling a lie with the purpose of escaping punishment and responsibility, but it was mostly for her. For her happiness, for her sanity and for her ability to love me. Because who could love a disappointment?

"Nina, hey!" I froze in my footsteps and whirled around to face the direction the voice had come from. There stood Poppy, leaning against her locker surrounded by her group of friends, her eyes focused on me.

Oh crap.

In the midst of getting fired and deceiving my mother I'd completely forgotten about that part of yesterday's events; Caden had asked me out to homecoming.

"Hi Poppy." I smiled nervously as I took a few steps in her direction. Caden couldn't have broken up with her already, right? I hadn't even given him my answer yet, which of course, was going to be no. She gave me a quick hug as I approached her and asked "What's up?"

I assessed her with my eyes. Her eyes didn't look red or puffy, her nose wasn't showing traces of being rubbed one too many times with a tissue, and she definitely didn't look like her boyfriend had just broken up with her.

Still, I remained wary as I replied "Nothing much." You know, besides your asshole – excuse my French - of a boyfriend asking me as his date to homecoming and mentioning something about dumping you.