Chapter 18: Lie To Me.

Chapter 18: Lie to me.

"Why did you do that in there?" I ask Zachary, whose eyes are bloodshot.

He doesn't respond.

"Are you high?" I ask him, touching his shoulder.

"No." He says before he snaps his head up.

"I've had enough of Ashton's shit." Zachary yells.

"Calm down. What happened?" I ask him, a stern look on my face.

"Did you go out with Ashton the night I told you about Steph?" He asks me, and my heart sinks at the name he calls her.

"I did." I admit.

"What the fuck, Val? Why would you do that?" He asks, giving me a serious look.

"Because he's my friend and we were just hanging out." I tell him.

"Because he's your friend doesn't mean he has the right to touch you." He yells across the halls.

"I...he didn't-" I try to speak but I'm totally speechless.

"How did you know about that?" I ask him.

"Does that even matter, the problem here is that he touched you." Zachary spits.

"He grabbed my thigh, it's not like he harassed me or something." I say, getting frustrated.

"You wanted it, didn't you?" Zachary says and I stare daggers at him.

"It's not that big of a deal, move on. And I'm not yours to begin with." I point out.

"But you're mine." Zachary yells, his voice carrying down the hall.

Jesus.

"I'm not yours. Well, I was yours but you lost me. You chose drugs over me and now you're choosing Stephanie over me." I tell him in anger.

"Stephanie was a mistake." He blurts out.

"Oh really." I hear a voice say behind me.

I turn around and I see Stephanie standing by the lockers, with a basket of cookies in her hands.

What is she doing here?

"I figured you'd be hungry, so I baked you some gingerbread cookies, but I guess that was also a mistake...like me." Stephanie says, turning back around.

"Wait Steph, don't go." Zachary says, running his hand through his hair. Stephanie just keeps on walking.

"I'll be inside, don't want to distract you from chasing your prize." I tell Zachary before I walk back into my chemistry class.

***

"Adam Hendrix, I am going to kill you!!!" I yell as I chase Adam down his wooden steps.

"You'll never catch me." Adam gloats three feet away from me.

"You're dead." I tell him as I jump on his back.

He twirls around and I almost fall off.

"Give it back." I tell him, grabbing his brown hair.

"Never!!!" He says before he throws me on the ground.

I fall on my bottom and I groan in pain.

Adam is a dead man walking.

Adam walks out moments later, completely composed, like we were not just clamoring for my Nintendo Wii a minute ago.

"I'm sorry about your butt." He says smiling.

I walk up to him and I slap him.

"I'm sorry about your face too." I say with a big grin on my face.

"Well deserved." Adam says, nodding his head.

"What do you even want my Wii for?" I ask him.

"I'm having a girl over and I don't want her to feel like the only reason I invited her was to hook up." He says running his hand through his hair.

"But it is." I point out.

"That is besides the point. The point is I need to keep my guest entertained." He says, smirking.

"You can wipe that stupid smirk off your face because I know where you hid it." I say, smiling.

"You have no idea." He says, folding his arms.

"Your sister's room, under her cupboard." I blurt out.

Regina's room is where Adam hides everything.

Adam gasps dramatically.

"Sorceress." He says, staring at me, appalled.

"I know you like the back of my palm, kiddo." I tell him, ruffling his hair.

I walk to Regina's room and I put my hand under the cupboard. I drag my Nintendo Wii out and I place it on the dresser

Scanning Regina's room, I laugh at the huge SpongeBob cut-out by her bed.

You can never go wrong with Spongy.

I walk out of the room and I head straight for the door.

"Adam, I'm going home." I yell into the empty house.

My voice echoes down the solemn halls.

"Bye, Spaghetti Stacy." Adam says, wrapping his arms around me.

"See you soon." I tell him, as I walk out of the house.

***

I have my biology final today and I didn't open one book.

I am going to fail.

This isn't a prediction, it's a spoiler.

I've been thinking of Zachary all weekend and today I get to see him again.

The sight of him alone makes my heart jump.

But I'll never let him know that because he's an inconsiderate asshole.

My mother has been on my neck to invite Ashton to the benefit ball this weekend.

Well, that's not happening.

I'm just gonna tell her that I have the flu and can't go.

"Miss Stone." Mr. Dalton calls out for me, as I walk down the school halls.

"Good morning, Mr. D." I say with a grin on my face.

"Valarie, I have a proposition for you." He says, stacking papers together.

"What is it?" I ask him, adjusting my backpack.

"I want you to oversee the bake sale." He tells me.

"What bake sale?" I ask him because I'm totally lost.

"The school's annual bake sale. All the proceeds go to charity. Well, this year you're one of the lucky seniors that will be hosting it." He tells me.

"That seems cool." I say as I turn to go.

"Oh," Mr. Dalton says as he holds my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. "You'll be hosting with Stephanie Granite." He tells me before he heads off.

Stephanie Granite?

Who is that?

I see Adam walking up to me with a frown on his face.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"I'm just tired, that's all." Adam tells me, scratching the stubble on his chin.

"Someone's going through puberty." I comment and he nudges me in the gut.

"Ow." I wince in pain.

***

It turns out 'Stephanie Granite' was Zachary's baby mama.

I'm at Zachary's house today because Stephanie and I have to bake cookies for the bake sale that's in three hours.

"Can you start with the batter?" Stephanie asks me.

"Sure." I reply. I pour sugar, butter, and flour into a bowl and I mix it.

Zachary walks into the kitchen and kisses me on the cheek.

"Hey." He whispers in my ear.

He nibbles on the tip of my ear and I turn red in embarrassment.

"Stop." I tell him.

He taps my bum lightly before giving me a sexy wink. He grabs a glass of water and leaves the kitchen.

"We used to be like that, you know." Stephanie tells me and I feel uncomfortable immediately.

"Really?" I say with a strained voice.

"Yeah. He'd come by my house with flowers every day. He'd always tell me how beautiful I was, and when we got intimate-" I push a glass cup down on purpose, just so she can stop talking.

I do not need to know about that.

The crash echoes throughout the kitchen and Zachary rushes in.

"Steph, are you okay?" He asks her.

She looks flustered.

"I'm fine." She tells him.

"Val, are you good?" He asks me.

"Never been better." I reply with a smile on my face.

"Stephanie, I'm done with the batter. Let's get to work." I tell her.

"Please be careful." Zachary tells us.

"We will." I reply before he leaves the kitchen.

I sweep up the mess I made and I watch Stephanie cut the cookies into various shapes and sizes.

"My cousin will be here any minute now, she's helping us with the cookies." She tells me and I just nod.

Minutes later, Hannah walks through the kitchen door.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I ask her, with a smile on my face.

Hannah looks like she has just seen a ghost.

"Y-you're here." She says, faking a smile.

"Valarie, this is my cousin, Hannah." Stephanie tells me.

"We've met, we're best friends." I tell Stephanie.

Wait, this explains everything.

Stephanie GRANITE.

Hannah GRANITE.

I'm so dumb.

It's pretty obvious that they are related.

But then again, if Stephanie is Hannah's cousin, this means that she knew Zachary had gotten some girl pregnant. And when I asked her about it, she acted like she didn't know what I was talking about. This is probably why she was so persistent about me dropping the issue.

"You knew didn't you?" I ask Hannah and she just stares at me.

"What's going on?" Stephanie asks me, but I don't respond.

"I wanted to protect her." Hannah says and I scoff.

"I told you everything, you just looked me in the face and lied." I say, a sharp pain coursing through my chest.

"What is going on?" Stephanie yells.

"Hannah knew that Zachary got you pregnant and when I asked her about this mystery girl, she acted like she didn't know." I say, folding my arms.

"I made her swear to keep my pregnancy a secret. Zachary's family didn't want the news getting out and he didn't either." Stephanie says, touching her forehead.

"I can't forgive you." I tell Hannah before I storm out of the kitchen.

I walk into the living room in search of my purse. I see it laying on the edge of the sofa. I grab it and I am about to head out when Zachary stands in front of me, blocking my way.

"Don't go." He says with a shaky breath.

"Move." I tell him.

"I can explain, Vee." He says, running his fingers through his hair.

"You lied to me. You made Hannah lie to me." I yell, hitting his chest.

"I didn't make Hannah do anything. Everything she did, she did on her own." Zachary tells me, grabbing my hands to stop my assault.

"How am I supposed to believe you? Every time you lie to me and I have to defend you in my head. I have to tell myself that I am completely delusional for thinking that you would ever hurt me." I tell him.

"Why?" He shrugs.

"Because I love you." I yell as I look him in the eyes.

"Then stop." He yells back.

Those two words send me into oblivion.

Reality hits me like a train and I comport myself and walk out of the house with the dignity I have left.