Dear Diary

Chapter 87

It took a while, but eventually I managed to tell Richard the whole story of how Cole and I got together. I was currently lying down on the bed while Richard sat next to me, staring at nothing in particular. He was quiet though; too quiet.

"Please, say something," I said softly and Richard sighed before looking at me.

"What do you want me to say? That I can't believe my best friend's been lying to me for months on end?"

The look he gave me made me fill with guilt and I shifted uncomfortably. "Well, technically Cole and I have only been dating two weeks," I muttered.

"You know what I mean, Lizzy," Richard warned.

I sighed and raked a hand through my hair. "We just thought it would be best to keep it a secret. Not even Anne knows," I added just to ensure he really didn't feel as though he was the only one left in the dark.

Richard ran a hand down his face. "Your mom's going to flip when she finds out."

My eyes grew wide and I quickly sat up to be on face-level with him. Big mistake. Although I had the injection, the pain was still there and I winced as I wrapped my left arm around my ribs. Richard quickly glanced to my ribs, but I shook my head as I tried to ignore the pain.

"No, they can't find out about this."

Richard frowned. "I don't know how they won't."

"I have an idea," I supplied and he raised an eyebrow at me. I took a deep breath to begin explaining, "We tell them you were taking me home and I needed the bathroom. So we stopped at a fuel station. You waited in the car and when I came out, a guy attacked me thinking I had money. He ran off when he realised I didn't and security came. You then rushed me to the hospital."

I didn't know whether to feel proud of myself for coming up with such a story, or embarrassed because I was getting better at conjuring lies.

Richard's brows furrowed and he crossed his arms. "No."

"What?" I asked as I began to panic.

"Lizzy, you're asking me to lie to your parents. This isn't me telling them you didn't eat the cookie; you've been seriously hurt. What about when the police come? You want me to lie to them too?"

"No! No, we tell them the truth. We're both eighteen so my parents don't need to sit in when they ask questions. But please, you know my mom; she'll never let me near Cole again if she finds out."

"Lizzy, I don't know ..."

I bit my lip before looking back at him. "Richard, remember at the beginning of the year, you asked me to be your fake girlfriend?"

"Yes," he replied slowly, eyeing me.

"Well, you said you owe me one for helping you. I'm calling in that favour now. Please, Richard, I ... want to be with Cole."

Richard shook his head. "But you didn't even want to see him."

I sighed as I looked away. "I didn't want him seeing me like this. He would probably kill Clayton if he saw exactly what he did."

Richard stared at me for a long moment, his brown eyes calculating. "How do you know he feels the same way about you?" he asked in a low voice.

I blinked. "What do you mean? I've just told you everything that's happened between us."

Richard nodded. "Yes, but why did it take him so long to come find you? Are you positive that he isn't in this for ... something else?"

I shook my head. "No, Richard. I don't know why he took so long, but I know that he is not that kind of guy. He really cares about me ... and I love him."