A man

lies?

He turns to my friend and asks, What are you saying? We both heard it.

As soon as my friend hears this, she gets visibly tense. She starts thinking to herself, How can I twist this situation so they trust me?

My friend replies, I don’t know what you heard, but what I just heard is really strange. Did you know your dad just called? He said, If he and she find out about this, I’ll kill them both. I’m shocked... Ever since I heard this, I can’t stop thinking about it. How could he even think of doing something like that?

I jump in, That’s impossible! We just got back from there. I brought him back safely. If Dad wanted to do something like that, he would have done it already.

My friend hesitates and says, I don’t know, but he said, I’ll treat them with love for now. Once they start trusting me, I’ll take action. And, you two, I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have told your dad about your relationship. At first, I thought he wasn’t a good guy, which is why I did it. But now I realize he’s perfect for you. I get that now.

Just as she finishes speaking, her phone rings. She steps out to take the call, leaving me and him confused.

We sit together, trying to make sense of everything. He says, What can we do now? Whatever happens, we’ll face it together. Just promise me you won’t leave my side. We’ll figure this out.

I nod and reply, I know. Let’s just stop talking about this for now. The whole day has been so stressful. Let’s go for a drive to clear our heads.

He agrees, and we head out to the car. As we drive, the cool breeze and the quiet of the evening help us relax a little. We don’t talk much, but his presence is comforting. After a while, we decide to head back home, feeling a bit better.

Just as we were about to step into the car, we spotted my friend’s friend. While talking to her, we learned something shocking: my friend is a lesbian.

This news leaves us even more confused. If she’s a lesbian, why does she have his photos saved? I turn to him, I don’t understand anything anymore. You need to do something.

The two of us get into the car, and as he drives, he places a comforting hand on my thigh, trying to calm me down.

I say, I feel so weird. I don’t understand what’s going on. I then ask him to stop the car and switch to his lap, taking control of the wheel. I tell him to drive slowly, adding, When I’m close to you, all my tension disappears.

The biggest question remains: If my friend is a lesbian, why does she have his photos? Or is her friend lying? This mystery will be unraveled in the next chapter.