Liar Liar

The Chase (Chapter 26)

It wasn't difficult to leave Lucas at the altar.

In fact, he was the last person on my mind at the moment. The second Drake turned to run out the front doors of the hotel, my feet chased after him. My body had a mind of its own, and I dodged hotel guests and employees as I dashed past the entrance of ballroom C. I ran as fast as I could, past the wooden doors and front desk, skidding through the lobby in my unstable heels and poofy wedding gown. I burst out of the glass doors at the hotel entrance and looked out into the street, turning my head left and right. Where was Drake?

 My brain could barely process what had just happened.

Drake had shown up to my fake wedding and broken up with me over the man he thought was my actual fiance. He didn't even want to look at me, much less touch me. He'd been so angry. I had never seen him enraged like that before; I'd never seen him hurt like that before.

People were now blatantly staring at me as they walked down the sidewalk. I stuck out like a sore thumb among the crowd. Everyone was dressed casually in jeans and T-shirts, and I was standing there in my massive marshmallow of a dress, taking up half the length of the sidewalk with my gigantic ballroom skirt. A group of elderly ladies shot me some dirty looks, as though they knew I had left my fiance behind at the altar.

Suddenly, I saw Drake's figure slide into a cab out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't see his face, but I knew his build. I would've recognized those slim shoulders anywhere. I knew those slim hips, those muscular thighs, and those long legs.

"Cabbie!" I screamed, running out towards the street. Several people glared at me as I dashed in front of them, but I didn't care. They could walk around me while I chased the love of my life. 

A bright yellow taxi-cab pulled up next to the sidewalk, and I swung open the back door as soon as it parked. It took a few seconds for me to grab the skirt of my dress, but I managed to bunch it into two large fists while sliding into the car. As soon as I'd tugged my massive skirt inside, I slammed the door shut. "Follow that taxi," I panted, pointing to the cab in front of us. The driver jerked forward immediately, and I had to catch myself  on the headrest of the passenger seat, so I wouldn't go flying out the window. 

Usually, I would have told the man to slow down, but today, I couldn't have been more thankful for his mad-dash. "Zeez man eez your fiance?" He asked in a thick accent. I couldn't place where he was from.

My frantic eyes met his brown ones in the rear view mirror. I tried to think about how to tell him the truth. What was the appropriate way to answer that question? I couldn't exactly explain that I had faked an engagement with my best friend and secretly hid it from my boyfriend. It was too long of a story to tell and was definitely too complicated to explain to a stranger. So of course, I ended up lying.

"Yes, he's my fiance." I had to force my voice not to crack as I re-played what Drake had screamed.

"He left you at ze altar?" The cabbie's brows scrunched together as he narrowed his eyes at the car in front of us.

With each lie, my heart splintered all over the floor. "Yes." This time, I couldn't stop the tears from shining through my voice. I felt a single teardrop slide down my cheek, and I forced myself to swallow as I tried to remain calm. My mouth felt as dry as the desert, and my stomach was doing back flips.

"Zen letz catch zat zon-of-a-beetch."

God, I was an awful person.

My cabbie, the man whose name I later discovered was Pelus, sped down the streets of Chicago like a madman. Along the way, he narrated the story of how he had lost the love of his life twenty years ago. She had always been the-one-that-got-away for him, and he didn't want his story to become mine. While we trailed Drake's car, I looked for my phone to try and call him. That was when I realized I didn't have my cell phone or any money.

"Shit," I swore, trying to run my hands through my hair. Of course, I didn't have hair for my hands to run through. The hairstylist had locked every flyway into place with her super-strength hair spray. I growled in frustration, pulling on the skirt of my dress until I heard a satisfying riiiiip.

The cabbie jumped up at the sharp sound, and I continued ripping at the skirt in fury. "Fuck this wedding," rip, "fuck Lucas" rip, "and fuck everything" I hissed, tearing at the netting under my skirt.

"Relax meez, everyzing eez going to be okay," Pelus tried to reassure me. I could see his wide, panicked eyes flicking back to glance at me in the rearview mirror.

"NO PELUS. Everything is not  going to be okay." I slumped back in my seat, exhausted from all the emotions running havoc throughout my body. I closed my eyes, basking in the sea of torn white fabric around me. Tears began spilling freely down my cheeks, and I stopped trying to contain my agony.

"I lost him Pelus. I lost him."

~~~~

So this is a short chapter, but I wanted to write it anyways. This chapter is basically helping me transition to the end portion of the novel :) I just wanted to thank you for supporting me, and uploading this was my way of showing you all that I have never given up on this story. I am going to finish this novel. You all inspire me to keep writing, and I'm so glad that I am able to write for all of you. Thanks for your unconditional support; it means the world to me.

Sincerely, 

luvitgirl