Lie to Me (A Touched Trilogy) (6 page)

“Watch your back,” Tonya called after me, with Bianca and
Karin laughing along with her. “I’m pretty sure I saw Viv around here earlier.”

“Whatever,” I yelled back.

Three hours later, Tonya and I waved bye to Karin and Bianca
and dragged ourselves back to the car. I’d managed to find something for the
party, so the sore feet had been worth it. We put our bags in the trunk and got
in the car. I’d already started it when a piece of paper under the driver’s
side wiper caught my eye.

I rolled down my window and, reaching through, I grabbed for
it three times before managing to snag it. Thinking it was an ad, I tossed it
on Tonya’s lap and started pulling out of the parking space.

“You were right,” Tonya said.

“About what?”

“I don’t know. That’s what the paper says.” She held the
paper up, looking to see if she’d missed anything else. I slammed on the brakes
and snatched the paper from her.

It was definitely Nathan’s handwriting. I wanted to do a
happy dance, but Tonya was already giving me a strange look, and I wasn’t ready
for a lecture on going boy crazy from her, especially since I was usually the
one giving them to her.

I was right. The stupid grin stretched across my face lasted
the entire way home and maybe a bit longer.

Chapter 4

Normally, New Year’s Eve wasn’t that big of a deal for me. I
didn’t see any point in it other than a good excuse for a party. This time
though, I was still riding the high from Nathan’s note and I had at least the
hope of seeing him without Vivian.

“Fee-Fee, why you dwessed pwetty?” Ella asked from where she
lay on my bed. Emma sat next to her and both of them watched wide-eyed as I got
ready. Why they didn’t hover around Chloe or Lily was unexplainable considering
how mean I could be to them. Then again, they were holy terrors in training, so
maybe they felt more comfortable with one of their own.

“I’m going out to a party.” I swept the mascara across my
lashes, determined not to smudge them this time.

“On a date?” Emma asked.

“No, just with a friend.” Eyes blinking, I took in my
reflection satisfied with my latest attempt.

“Cwoe and Wiwy haf dates.” Ella looked at me with the pity
only a three year old could give.

“Gee, thanks for pointing that out,” I said, then dove on
the bed to tickle them. I might have taken offense if they actually knew what a
date was.

My cell beeped and I abandoned the girls to check it. I
flipped it open and saw Tonya’s name as sender.

Itz 10. Where r u? U left yet?

I spent a couple moments struggling to reply. Finally
getting the word now to fill the screen, I quickly pressed send.

“Do you hafta go?” Emma tipped her head to the side, her
blonde Shirley Temple curls falling across her face.

“Yes, and isn’t it past your bed time?” I lifted first one
then the other girl to the floor and guided them out of my room.

“No, we stayin’ up ‘till minnite,” Ella said, a sneaky grin
on her face.

“It’s midnight you little stinker and I bet Nanna’s already
looking for you.”

The girls stalled on the steps until I started tickling them
again, then they shrieked as they ran the rest of the way up to where Nanna
stood at the door to the basement.

“I should have guessed they’d be down there with you,” she
said, grasping their hands before they could take off on her. “You look nice,
dear. Have a good night.”

I watched her walk down the hall with the girls until she
turned the corner. Things had been more strained than usual between us since
our argument and, as much as I loved her, it was nice to have a break from her
constant nagging.

Earlier that morning, Owen had begged a ride for tonight
since he had yet to get his license. He lived halfway between my house and
Nadine’s, so it hadn’t been a big deal, although Karin probably would have
spazzed. Bianca had already spilled that Karin had called him about ten times
the past few days to offer a ride and he kept turning her down.

He was sitting on the front steps, his house dark behind
him, when I pulled into his driveway. Despite being friends for three years,
I’d never been inside his place or met his parents. When he came to my
sixteenth birthday party, Nanna had met him and afterwards told me to let go of
any questions I had about his family, that it wasn’t worth the loss of
friendship.

Her words had driven me crazy for weeks. I wanted to know
what she’d seen and why I shouldn’t ask him. Then I just kind of lost interest.
Or more accurately Nathan arrived and I got a bit distracted. Besides, Owen
didn’t look like a sexy, mysterious, stranger that would be hiding juicy
secrets. He was more of a spaced, tree hugger.

“Hey,” he said, climbing in. His curly black hair was pulled
back in a short ponytail that always made me think he should be playing soccer
for some European team. “Thanks again for the ride. My dad had to work and
couldn’t drop me off. I thought I was going to be stranded at home.”

“You could have always asked Karin.” I grinned as I reversed
back onto the road.

“That’s not funny.”

“Oh, come on. You need to loosen up a bit.” I nudged him
with my elbow. He was so weird sometimes. He went from spacey to dead serious
to hilarious all in the space of minutes sometimes.

“I just don’t feel comfortable with it being a joke. Karin’s
my friend. That’s all.”

 “Have you told her that? Because she spends a lot of time
crushing on you.”

“I told her, which is why it’s not funny anymore.” He shot
me a look. “That means no more encouraging her. Please.”

“You know, the best way to deter her would be to get
yourself a girlfriend.” I ignored his groan of disgust. “We know there’s a girl
you like. Who is she? Obviously it’s not Karin.” I started running through
mental pictures of every girl I knew at school. “Is it that blonde who sits
behind you in History? I saw you talking to her the other day.”

“No! No. Can you please just drive and leave my...life to
me?” His normally olive complexion was just a hint darker and he was definitely
squirming in his seat.

Nanna’s words about not questioning him came back and I
gritted my teeth to hold in the next barrage of questions. I figured I could
live without knowing everything about Owen, even if it was juicy gossip Tonya
would kill for.

“Fine. Spoil sport. What did you do for Christmas?”

“Nothing much.” He gave a one-shoulder shrug, and when he
smiled, I knew I’d managed to stop before putting my foot in my mouth. “Worked
a bit at the hotel and hung out at the library.”

“Sounds exciting. Read anything interesting?” The library
was the last place I was interested in going.

“Just the entire collection of The Walking Dead.” His smile
grew to a full-blown grin.

“Oh, my God! You’re joking, right?” My entire body jerked
upright. “I’ve been saving my money to buy it online. How did I not know they
had that?”

“Maybe if you’d ever actually been to the library you’d have
seen it.”

“Can I borrow it?”

“It’s at the library, Phoebe. I would hope you understand
the basic workings of the place even if you’ve never been inside.”

“Shut up,” I said, rolling my eyes and turning the radio up
to drown out any more possible digs.

By the time we got to Nadine’s place, cars already lined the
street. I pulled around to the next block and parked under a street light. The
first few houses were dark so I figured I’d gotten lucky and the owners had
gone out.

Owen’s cell rang as we climbed out of the car and he glanced
at the caller id. “It’s my dad. I better take it.”

“Want me to wait?” I shifted from one foot to the other,
hoping he’d say no. I wanted to see Nathan, even though I wasn’t sure what I
planned to say, or more importantly, what I wanted him to say to me. That he
was dying of love for me and had made the biggest mistake of his life dating
Vivian would be a nice start.

“Nah, go ahead.” Owen waved me on and answered his call.

Walking down the street, I glanced nervously behind me. It
was silly really, being afraid of the dark. Owen was somewhere back there in
the darkness. Besides, we lived in a small suburb of San Diego, not downtown
LA. Of course, that hadn’t stopped my dad from doing the best possible job of
instilling a fear of dark streets into my heart with tales of murder, rape, and
robbery.

Seeing no one else around, I wrapped my arms around myself
and walked faster, wishing I hadn’t been too vain to bring a coat. Despite the
warm days we’d been having, the evenings still cooled down considerably and
goose bumps covered my exposed arms. I rounded the corner and the thumping
sound of music and people reached me. Even before reaching the door, I could
see the windows vibrating in sync with the boom of the bass. I entered the
house and a wave of human heat bombarded me.

Winding my way through the crowd, I searched for someone I’d
actually want to talk to. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the other kids at
school, but I just figured why waste time talking to them, because we obviously
had nothing in common, otherwise we’d be friends. I guessed they didn’t take
offense, because most of them never tried to talk to me either. My little group
of friends was enough. Anymore than the three of them, four if I counted Karin,
and I’d be too distracted. Nathan, of course, would be a complete and totally
necessary exception to that, mainly because he already was a distraction.

I spotted Nathan leaning against the banister talking to his
best friend Andrew. Our eyes met as I passed by and winked at him, just to see
the color flood his cheeks. He was almost too easy to embarrass. Andrew gave
him a knowing nudge and Nathan broke eye contact. The temptation to stop and
talk was there, but I resisted. Leaving him behind, a smile stretched across my
face.

 Tonya sidled up to me. She wore a short black skirt and
sparkly blue tank top, making me feel a bit underdressed in my skinny jeans and
retro tee shirt, but I was probably a lot more comfortable.

“What are you so happy about?” she asked me.

“Nothing.”

“Weren’t you driving Owen?” She glanced behind me in search
for him.

“Yeah. He got a call when we arrived, so I left him back at
the car.” I grabbed a pretzel stick from a bowl on a nearby table and started
to suck all the salt off of it.

“I almost wish Karin was here to see you come with him. She
would totally flip, then she’d be all over him.”

“Well, don’t tease him about it. I tried that earlier, and
he wasn’t impressed.”

“You mean he was actually awake to hear what you said? That
boy is so freakin’ strange.”

“Sometimes I think he just chooses what he’s aware of,” I
said, trying to defend him, even if it was a feeble attempt.

“My point exactly. Freakin’ strange. He’s just lucky that
he’s pretty to look at or I’d kick him out of our little circle.”

“We have a circle? And Owen’s pretty to look at?” I tried to
hold back my laugh, and instead it came out as a strangled snort.

“I just made our little circle,” she said, flipping her hair
over her shoulder before she joined me in laughing. “And yes, Owen’s hot. If
you weren’t completely obsessed with Nathan you might actually notice these
things.”

Owen was hot? I looked back into the living room, trying to
spot him, finally finding him still near the entrance. He was taller than most
of the people, and yeah, I could see how someone would be attracted. He had
that lean body type that maybe hid some muscles underneath. Hot, but not my
type. Now Nathan, I could see his muscles. I’d been fantasizing all day about
touching those muscles. Waves of shivers ran through me and I forced him from
my mind.

“Sooo? Where’s this Trevor?” I asked, tired of talking about
Owen. He wasn’t really an interesting topic.

“Getting us drinks,” she said, motioning to the kitchen.
“God, Phoebs, I really think I’m in love.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “He’s that wonderful,
huh?”

“You have no clue. He’s amazing! There he is,” she gushed,
pointing out a tall guy with a deep brown complexion and short dreads. I could
definitely see why she’d fallen for him. Three letters were all that was needed
to describe him. H-O-T.

“He’s definitely cute,” I said when she looked at me with
her eyebrows raised.

Grabbing my arm, she tugged me through the room toward him,
and once we reached him, she dropped my arm in order to twine her fingers
through his. When he turned his attention to her, she practically glowed. She
was way more into him than any of the other guys she’d dated.

 “Trevor, this is my best friend Phoebe.”

“Hi,” I said, and gave a weird hand wave.

“Hey,” he said, bobbing his head while he curved an arm
around Tonya’s shoulders.

There was an awkward lull as we took each other in, maybe in
some kind of attempt to see what Tonya saw in the other.

“So, you live in San Diego?” I asked when I couldn’t stand
it anymore.

“Yeah.” Head bobbed again.

Great, a real conversationalist. Tonya stared up at him with
adoration and I had to suppress a chuckle. She obviously didn’t care about his
ability to carry on a conversation. Not that I blamed her. He was gorgeous.
Dark creamy skin, piercing brown eyes, broad shoulders. Hell, I could
appreciate a gorgeous guy even if there wasn’t a brain attached.

“Trevor’s going to UCSD next fall,” Tonya said like a proud
mama.

“Really? What’s your major gonna be?” I asked.

“Law.”

My stomach cramped and I waited for the whisper, but nothing
came, or at least nothing I could hear over the music. Maybe it was just my
period.

“You okay, Phoebs?” Tonya ducked out from under Trevor’s arm
and stepped closer to me.