Lie to Me (A Touched Trilogy) (17 page)

“I’m serious. Listen.” He grabbed the remote and paused the
show. “There.”

A rustling sound came from the laundry room. Images of flesh
eating zombies filled my mind, until I forced logic to tame them.

“It’s just the washing machine. I had to put Chloe’s dress
in.” A huge thump followed my words.

“That was not the washing machine,” Nathan said, one eyebrow
cocked.

“Lily? Is that you? Chloe?” I called, staring back down the
hallway. No answer came.

More rustling and banging. My heart picked up its pace, and
my entire body was suddenly tense, with a deep shiver running through me. God,
I hated zombies almost as much as I loved them.

“Aww, are you scared?” Nathan asked, all sugary sweet. “Want
me to go look? You
are
just a girl.”

He was deliberately provoking me, but I grabbed onto the
bait anyway. “No, I’ll do it.”

I got off the couch and went to the hallway, flicking on
every light as I went. The noises from the laundry room kept coming, getting
louder the closer I got. No light shone from under the door.

“Lil? Chloe? Are you in there?” I asked when I reached the
closed door.

Everything got real quiet. I leaned in close to the door,
trying to listen. I thought I could hear heavy breathing, but it must have been
my own. I twisted the knob and started to pull it open, only to have it swing
out full force and a body come surging toward me. I screamed, threw up my hands
and did a half run, half stumble back toward Nathan.

It was the laughing that stopped me. Nathan’s and Chloe’s.
Nathan was in the entrance to the rec room and Chloe was just outside the
laundry room. I swatted at Nathan’s arm, making contact with a satisfying
smack.

“Hey!” he said, rubbing the spot I’d hit. “I didn’t do anything.”

“No, but you’re laughing and you’re closer.” On that, I
marched back to Chloe and gave her a whack on her back, succeeding despite her
evasion attempts. “You’re so dead.”

Chloe held up the still stained garment I’d borrowed. “Not
as dead as you.”

Chapter 9

Any hope I had of forgetting my soda shower disappeared
Monday morning. Pretty much everyone at school knew, and a lot of them had no
problem bringing it up either through repetitive questions or lame jokes. Yet
another downfall of living in a small town.

“You’re going to take her down, right?” Tonya asked, as we
headed to bio. I just rolled my eyes in response. “Phoebs, you can take her. I
know you can.”

“Sure, and I’d end up spending the next year and a half
living in my room grounded.” I gave a massive yawn and again wondered why I
hadn’t tried to avoid scheduling a class first thing in the morning. Next year,
I really had to figure out how to get a spare for first period.

“You’re no fun.” She pouted a moment and then it was back to
how she and Trevor had spent the rest of the weekend. She droned on for a few
minutes, then stopped mid-sentence to look at me. “Oh, when you come over
tonight, I slept over at your place on Saturday and then spent Sunday with
you.”

“Okay,” I drew the word out as the thought floated around my
head. I didn’t like the idea of the lie, especially considering it was so she
could spend the night with Trevor. “I take it you haven’t told your gran about
Trevor yet?”

“Ugh, you know what she’s like. I want to make sure she
won’t scare him off.” She flipped her braids back over her shoulder and gave a
secret smile. “Besides things are getting good.”

“Good? Things?”

Her eyebrows wiggled up and down. “Yeah, you know...
things
.”

“Oh my God! I don’t need to know anymore!” I nudged her with
my shoulder. Even as I said it though, I wanted to know more. It was that juicy
kind of gossip that I just couldn’t turn away from.

“Please,” Tonya said, rolling her eyes. “You know you want
to hear all the nasty details.”

“Nasty details?” Nathan came up on the other side of me as
we reached the lab. Tonya and I burst into giggles. “You know, if you guys keep
doing this every time I come up, I’m going to think you’re talking about me.”

“It’s not about you,” I chuckled.

“Yet.” Tonya gave me a huge smile, and then strutted into
class.

“I think I’m better off not knowing.” Nathan shook his head
and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Want to pair up for lab today?”

“Sure. I don’t think I can handle anymore of Tonya’s details
right now.”

“Nate!” Both of us turned to see Andy flying down the hall
and come to a stop a couple feet away. “Hey man, I wanted to catch you before
the shit hits it.”

“Hits what?” Nathan asked.

“Viv and a few of her friends are spreading it that you guys
are back on, and that if she sees Phoebe with you again she’s not going to hold
back.”

“Great, just what I need.” I slipped from under Nathan’s arm
and stomped into class.

“Man, think I can sign up for bio today? I can’t wait to see
this ho down.”

“I heard that, Andy,” I called back to him.

Nathan mumbled something and hung back at the door talking
some more. I found an empty lab table and dumped my stuff on the floor.

“Hey, I thought we were lab partners?” Tonya said from the
table behind.

“I’m going with Nathan. I can’t focus on anything with you
getting all raunchy on me.” I ignored the surprised snort from a guy across the
aisle from us. “Besides, according to Andy, Vivian is going to beat me up if
she sees me with Nathan again.”

“So what? You’re provoking her?”

“You really think she’s going to do anything? Need I remind
you that she was the one that ran from the theater?” I couldn’t even believe
Vivian thought simply telling everyone Nathan was dating her would make him do
it. Was she truly that stupid?

“Tell me you’re going to beat her scrawny ass.” Tonya
practically bounced with glee at the idea.

“No, I’m just going to do what my gift apparently calls on
me to do. Call her out as the liar she is.”

“Boring,” Tonya sighed.

 “Yeah, well I like my freedom, and any hint of violence
will bring the wrath of Dad down on me.”

Nathan walked over and put his stuff under the table with
mine, although he took the time to fix the chaos that had erupted from my
binder.

“You sure you still want to be my partner?” he asked,
pulling on his lab coat.

“Yes. And how come you have a lab coat instead of an apron?”
I slipped the white apron over my head and then tied it behind me.

“Uh, cause it was on the supply list.”

“There was a supply list?” I glanced over at where Chloe
stood near the front of the class. Lab coat. “How did I miss that?”

“Maybe because you were late the first day of class.” Right.
Another way Vivian had screwed me over.

Mr. Arnold hadn’t arrived yet, so I still had a chance to
pull something off to shut Vivian up for good. An idea started to form, and I
turned to Tonya, who was putting on her matching apron. “Get your cell out.
We’re going to show everyone that Vivian is a liar and that she’s too chicken
shit to follow through.”

“Interesting. I think this might be as good as kicking her
ass.” Tonya rubbed her hands together gleefully, then pulled out her cell.

“Do I even want to know?” Nathan asked.

“Probably not. Just go with me on it, okay?”

Vivian strolled in, that smug look coating her face. Her
little posse floated behind her, their eyes pinned on me.

“Oh, Vivian!” I called, motioning her over.

It seemed to give her pause, but she came like a lamb to
slaughter. When she stopped in front of me, it felt as though everyone was
watching us. I may not have been anybody important around school, just one of
the Matlin freaks, but Vivian was one of those disgusting girls, who was only
popular because of some inexplicable reason.

“I think there’s been a bit of a communication problem,” I
said, giving her a sympathetic look. Nathan stood silently beside me, and over
Vivian’s head, I could see Tonya holding her cell, capturing every second. “It
seems that you’re under the impression that Nathan is still dating you and that
you’re going to kick my ass. Well, just so you know, you’re wrong.”

I smiled and flipped her the middle finger, then turned to
Nathan and gave him a lingering kiss on his startled lips. It was all so junior
high, something straight out of some teenybopper movie, but it gave me a rush
of adrenaline, knowing that I’d finally got Vivian. After a year of torment,
watching her date Nathan, having her constantly shove it in my face, I was
finally vindicated. When I glanced back at Vivian, she looked furious enough to
hit me, but she didn’t. Maybe she realized that this time there’d be no way of
escaping after the first attack, not with her posse blocking her only escape
route.

“What?” I asked, posturing up just a bit. “Aren’t you going
to hit me? Beat me up?”

She glared at me, and I swore I could see her vibrating with
anger and humiliation. She had no problem with a sneak attack that would give
her an advantage, but this was one she was likely to lose. I smiled as she spun
on her heel, pushed through her friends, and marched for the door.

“Oh, and don’t worry Vivian, by lunch everyone in school
will know you’re too chicken shit to do anything,” Tonya called, holding up her
cell when Vivian looked back over her shoulder.

Vivian pushed the door open and shoved past Mr. Arnold, who
was attempting to come through. He watched her leave, and then turned back to
the class. He scanned the room and his gaze settled on Nathan and me.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

“No, sir,” Nathan and I said, glancing at each other. The
rest of the class flew by with no Vivian. When the bell rang, Tonya took great
pleasure in telling me she’d already sent out her directorial debut.

“I think I want to be a director,” Tonya said. “I could
seriously get used to this power.”

“Power?”

“Yeah. I mean, did you see Tonya’s face when she knew I’d
recorded everything. Can’t you just see some snobby actress being pissed with
the shot I took? I could bring Hollywood down.”

“That sounds more like an Owen plan,” I said, shaking my
head.

“Ouch. Okay, so maybe I just want to make a shit load of
money without starving myself to be some stick actress.” She tossed her hair,
and strutted down the hall.

Tonya’s little video didn’t quite make it to everyone in the
school, but it only took one person showing it to Vivian to break her. It was
actually a bit sad watching her sob dramatically into her friend’s shoulder in
the cafeteria. She must have really believed Nathan would drop me just because
she said so. Oh, the stupidity. And that was where my sympathy ended.

 She milked it for a few days, then seemed to finally accept
reality. I could only hope it stuck, because there was something nice about not
having to watch my back constantly, even if it did mean I had to listen to
Tonya go on and on about missing the drama of it all.

I still didn’t trust Trevor, not that I said anything else
to Tonya about it. Nathan, on the other hand, patiently listened to me vent my
frustrations about not having any evidence to back up my theories.

In the three weeks after the movie date, the four of us had
hung out a few times, although nothing even remotely resembling a double date,
and each time Trevor had been perfect. Tonya wasn’t hiding anything from me,
and Trevor never stepped wrong. It was like the guy I’d met on New Year’s was a
completely different person, an evil twin or something.

“Maybe she was telling the truth,” Nathan said, interrupting
my most recent rant after school one day.

“She wasn’t. I know it.” I glanced at him. He sat on the
couch, while I paced the rec room. Tonya and Trevor had just left, and despite
my repeated attempts to catch him on anything, Trevor had been completely
honest and it drove me nuts. And knowing that Nathan didn’t totally believe me
only made things worse. “I didn’t imagine those bruises, Nathan.”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” He sighed and got to his feet,
grabbing his jacket from the back of the couch.

“You’re leaving? I thought you were going to stay for
dinner?”

“Yeah, well, I don’t feel like listening to you talk about
another guy for the next hour.” He bounded up the stairs, and I debated whether
to follow him. My shoulders slumped. He was right. I was always harping on
about Trevor, but I couldn’t shake the feelings I had. The guy was a
certifiable creep and he was dating my best friend. But this was Nathan, and he
was walking away from me.

“Nathan, wait!” I called, propelling myself up the stairs
after him. I managed to catch him just as he opened the door.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t go. I promise not to say another
word about you-know-who.” I reached for his hand and pulled him away from the
door. “Stay. Please?”

“You promise?” he asked, arching a brow.

“Promise.” I tugged him back to the basement. “Besides, my
dad isn’t gonna be home for another thirty minutes.”

Suddenly, I wasn’t pulling him. He was nudging me along. It
was nice knowing that with a few words I could get him to do anything I wanted.
I’d thought about us going further, but according to Chloe, I had a bit of a
wait before sex was in the picture, though she wouldn’t give me the specifics.
I wanted to resent her knowing before me, but I kind of liked not having the
pressure of should I or shouldn’t I.

He followed me into my room and shut the door behind him. I
flopped onto the bed, waiting for him to join me. When he didn’t, I flipped
onto my back to look at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Your room. It’s...”

“Clean?”

“Yeah. What happened? Are you sick or something?” He sat
next to me and reached a hand for my forehead.