When I Leave, and Other Broken Promises

The Truth and Other Forms of Dishonesty

Curt hung out at Candice's house most of the day Sunday, being sure to make no mention of his visit to Will's house the previous night. Finally, about ten o'clock, he kissed her goodnight and made his way out to his car. Less than five minutes after his departure, Candice heard someone tapping on her bedroom window.

She moved toward the sound with a certain measure of apprehension. Who or what was outside? In the end, she crept quietly over to the window pane and took hold of the sill, raising it only an inch.

"Hello?" she whispered.

"Hey, it's Will. Can I come in?" he asked before adding, "Please. It's important."

"Will, I told you I was going to make my decision later this week. That's what we agreed on, remember?"

"This isn't about that."

"I got my ass chewed last night because you were supposedly eyeballing me at Prom. I can't keep covering for you."

"Will you just let me in? Please?" he pleaded.

She sighed audibly before opening her window and then the screen. Will climbed in easily.

"What?" she muttered, closing the window behind him, "What is it?"

"Wow, you're room's really clean," he remarked, his eyes roving over the pictures on the wall, the organized vanity, and the complete absence of clutter.

"That's because a human being lives here and not a pack of wolves," she smirked, plopping down on her bed.

"Touché," he laughed.

"I know you didn't come over here to admire the view, so..."

"Your buddy Curt paid me a visit last night. Just thought you should know," her face registered her surprise, "yeah. That's how I looked when he came strolling up my driveway at one o'clock in the morning."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Why would I make up something like that?"

"What happened? What did he say? Was he mad?" she spit the questions out in quick succession.

"Oh, he wasn't happy," Will returned, "he accused me of all kinds of stuff. He said I was eyeballing you at Amy's party and--"

"You WERE eyeballing me at Amy's party," she interrupted.

"You're, like, the fourth person to make that accusation. I'm starting to think it's true."

"Stop playing," she laughed in spite of herself, "what else did he say?"

"Well, the most memorable part of the whole conversation was when he asked me," he paused here for a beat before looking away from her almost shyly, "how I felt about you."

"How you felt about me...?"

"Yeah," he muttered as he ran his fingers over a nearby curtain rod.

The smile slowly faded from Candice's mouth. She'd often wondered how Will really felt about her, but she'd made peace with the fact that she'd probably never know. Still, she couldn't help imagining what it might be like to know the truth. Suppose he really did care for her? Would things be any different between them? And what about her? Would her feelings change or stay the same? She knew such musings were pointless. Hell, things were complicated enough without additional speculations. She was playing both sides and she knew it; she couldn't bear to part with Will, but she also couldn't stomach the prospect of hurting Curt. Did that make her a horrible person? A player? A user? She couldn't imagine herself in such terms. She'd always thought of herself as one of the good girls... but was she?