Secrets ✔

9•The Liars Truth/ P 2

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I'm not sure why I called Alex. I just did.

We aren't friends.

God, we barely know each other.

And yet here I was asking him to go and accuse one of his best friends, that they had something to do with Alice's death. I don't even know why he agreed. I don't even know why I asked.

Now here we are, sitting awkwardly in Austin's living room, while he gets us some drinks.

"This wasn't a good idea." I say closing my eyes to relieve a headache that is starting to form.

Alex's eyes widen. "You're telling me this now." He whispers.

I don't get to reply.

"Hey Alex- You're Elizabeth right?" Austin says as he sits down on a sofa in front of us. He hands me a bottle of water and Alex a beer.

I notice Alex lift the bottle to his lips, but he doesn't swallow. He's staying sober.

"Yeah." I reply with a fake smile.

I can't fathom why Alice would have ever had interest in Austin. He's so, so fake.

His blond hair is too meticulous, every strand plucked perfectly into place. His smile is too big and cheerful for a guy who's just lost his best friend. His teeth are too white, his skin is too tan for a person living in a city were the sun rarely shines. His eyes are a blue so light they look almost dead. Alice was so full of life while Austin is just so- dull.

"Alex, how's the murder case going?" Austin says. His voice doesn't falter, doesn't crack, just stays as cheery as ever.

Alex's cheeks pale. "It's not going. The piece of glass is covered in so many finger prints. It's expected. I mean anybody could have handled that beer bottle before it ended up downstairs. And his skin too, covered in finger prints which is no surprise either. Can you imagine how many people must have touched him while he danced?"

My skin flushes in shame. I've been so absorbed by Alice's suicide, I hadn't even asked how Alex was feeling. Or how Mason's murder case was going. In fact, I was ashamed- that I didn't even care that Mason was killed.

"The detective handling the case thinks Mason got into a drunken fight with one of his friends that escalated. It seems the most logical. Plus they can't get a witness who was sober enough to tell who he was with at the time."

Austin nods his head and takes another swing of his drink.

"What about your friend Alice?" He says thickly. "Find her suicide note yet?"

His tone of voice made my insides crawl. He sounded so indifferent, as if girl who killed herself was nothing, was nobody.

I clear my throat. "Actually thats what we- I- came to talk to you about."

"Oh?" He says raising an eyebrow. He leans back into the sofa making himself more comfortable. "Go ahead."

I didn't prepare what I was going to say, which was stupid. Now here I was on the midst of accusing Austin of having something to do with Alice's death, and I was speechless.

I clear my throat. "I know you were with Alice at party, and I know you guys were talking the days leading up to it, do you know if maybe- she was acting strange, or if-"

"-Hey listen, honestly I would love to help you, but we didn't really talk. We messaged a bit about the party, and I said hello to her when she arrived. We only hung out for a bit and than she was gone. She went to hang out with some else." He drained the last bit of beer from his bottle.

But that couldn't be, she didn't hang out with me at that party. And I was the only other person she knew there besides Austin.

"Okay- um- what about, did you uh, say something to her that could have led to her suicide?"  I ramble.

I watch as his face contorts into something rather ugly. He grips his beer tightly, until I can see his fingertips turn white. And than his face relaxes slightly.

"I hope your not accusing me off something, in my own house?" He says between gritted teeth.

I shake my head. "No of course not-"

"Look- take a look." He throws his phone towards me, and I catch it. It's opened to his messages. His messages with Alice. He was telling the truth.

Austin stands up and stretches his shoulder. "Now if you're finished accusing me of shit- the doors over there."

I sit there frozen, his phone still in my hand, when Alex grabs my shoulder harshly.

"Come on Elizabeth, we have to go." He whispers urgently into my ear.

I nod still frozen and Alex unclamps Austin's phone from my hand. He steers me towards the front door, and when I exit, the cool wind of fresh air, unfreezes my senses, and thats when the tears come.