16 Lies

Chapter 11: What Are We?

Sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realize how much they need to fall back together - Colleen Hoover

The entire ride back to Jake's house was intense. The more I think about the murders, the more I worry my secrets will be exposed. When we got back, Jake's parents weren't here. I was about to go upstairs when Jake stopped me.

"South, stop."

"What?"

"What aren't you telling me? Why won't you tell me anything about you? More specifically, the secrets you're hiding. The person who is doing this is exposing everyone's secrets, we could be next."

"Don't act like you don't have a secret."

"Of course I have a secret! Which is why I'm willing to tell you about it."

"Why? It's not my business. You can keep your secrets, and don't have to tell me. Everyone has the right to keep their secrets."

"Unless you want to die, you're gonna tell me your secret."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes! Damn it, South! Stop being stubborn and tell me! I need to keep you safe."

"You're not my boyfriend."

"Then what are we?"

What are we? I never thought about that. Are we friends? Are we a couple? Or are we just friends with benefits? Either way, I should be able to tell my secrets because I want to.

"I don't know what we are, but I do know that you, of all people, don't get to tell me what to do. My life is my business. Mine! And I should be able to live a life without men telling me what to do. I get that from my father, I don't need it from you."

"Well then, fuck you!"

I packed my things and went back to my house. I could feel Jake's eyes on me. As I closed the door, I realized that I was crying. I started to slide down the door and let the tears roll down. I managed to go through my bag and pull out my notebook. With tears in my eyes, I managed to write the last words for my song.

And after the past, you still cared

After everything

I still had ask

What changed?

A single tear dropped and landed on the paper. That was a question I wanted to ask Jake. After all the years I've known him, he suddenly cared about my safety? What changed?

Jake's POV

Even though I was angry, I still made sure she got home safely. As soon as I closed the door, tears started to roll down my face. I didn't notice until now that I was holding back the tears that were forming in my eyes. Why doesn't she trust me? And why do I miss her already?

The next day

I woke up feeling like shit. I didn't want to go to school for various reasons. 1) Jake would be at school, 2) so will Scott, 3) I don't feel like being asked a bunch of questions about 3 people who didn't give a rat's ass about me, and 4) I'm too lazy. I looked over at the clock on my desk, 11:30am. I think I stayed in bed long enough. I got up and went downstairs to make breakfast. It's been a couple of days since I've done food shopping, and all we have is chunky soup and moldy bread. So unless I want food poisoning, I better stock up the fridge. I got dressed and went to the grocery store. It's insanely busy for a Wednesday evening. As I started to pack the food, I saw Scott. At first I didn't care why he wasn't at school, but then I saw him start looking a bit...shady. Like, he had something to hide. I quickly paid for the food and started to follow him. He started to head towards a dark alley. I made sure to be as quiet as possible. When I reached the end, that was all it was. A dead end. I was about to leave and go home when I felt arms grab me as soon as I turned around. I was pushed against the hard brick wall and felt the wall scrap my arm. I looked up and saw Scott staring down at me.