Love and Its Lies

Thirteen ‐ Tired

Danny leaned at the gate with his arms crossed in front of him as he waited for his “cousin.” He impatiently watched as John and Aly stood in front of the house. It had been 5 minutes since they had said their farewells, and yet their conversations about college seemed to extend.

Finally, he heard her say, “Thank you again for tonight, John.”

“You’re the one I have to thank. You took me back to the glorious college days, and it was a nice escape from all the hassle that the adult life brings. I had a really great time tonight. It feels nice to catch up with a friend,” John said. The word “friend” coming out of his mouth made Aly look so touched, as if she had just been asked to marry him.

She looked like a kid in high school talking to her crush, Danny thought. He wondered if John had really been oblivious to her feelings, or if he just didn’t care for them. The way she acted around the other man was so obvious that it was impossible not to see she had a thing for him. Although, he had to give props to John for graciously accepting all the compliments—and there were a lot, coupled with heaps of giggling—that Aly showered him throughout the night. He seemed to be used to all the fanfare, and based on Aly's stories, John probably left more than a handful of broken hearts throughout the years.

Danny sighed at the pitiful sight in front of him. “Aly,” he called out, not bothering to disguise the impatience in his tone.

“I’m coming!” The way her expression immediately turned sour as she glared at him, then returned to smiling ever so sweetly at John, was worthy of an Oscar.

“I’m going now, before the hot-head starts emitting smoke from his ears,” Aly excused herself as she went down the stairs.

John chuckled and waved at the both of them. “It was nice hanging out with you guys. See you around! Have a good night!”

“You too, man,” Danny waved back before getting off the gate and walking on the street.

“Good night!” he heard Aly say energetically before skipping right next to him.

For a while, they walked in complete silence. Danny dragged his feet, tired from all the forced smiles and lengthy conversations that ensued throughout the dinner. Aly had a huge smile on her face—completely pumped up still—as she dreamily matched his pace.

“What’s with the long face, sourpuss?” Aly poked at his jaw and teased. “You sad that you weren’t able to find anything bad about him?”

Danny had too little energy left to bat her hand away. “I’m just tired. I need a long bath,” he exhaled. “All of that effort was almost for naught.”

“You’re speaking like an old-timey person again,” Aly noted. “Are you now convinced that he’s a perfectly normal person?”

Danny scoffed. “No. Just because he can cook and he’s sociable doesn’t mean he’s innocent. Did you forget that he still lied about why he came to town? Or did you just choose to ignore details that didn’t subscribe to your fantasies?”

“So what if he lied when he filed a leave? Everyone lies all the time. I took a ‘sick leave’ just so I could come here.”

“And the university admin believed that?” Danny asked with a raised eyebrow. “Does your family even know what you’re up to?”

Aly shrugged and smugly answered, “I got away with it, didn’t I?”

Danny sighed in resign. There was no point trying to talk her out of her delusions.

“How about you? What does your family think you’re doing?” Aly asked, surprising him at her sudden inquiry about his life. “Does your girlfriend or boyfriend—or should I say pets or plants? You don’t seem like the type to date… anyway, didn’t you leave anyone back in the city for this? What do they think you’re up to?”

Aly noticed his expression and added, “Humor me. We're two more minutes away from the hotel. This is better than awkward silence.”

Danny wanted to say that he would rather take “awkward silence" but he knew that that would only lead to more teasing. “If you must know,” he said, looking hesitant. “I don’t have a family anymore. No pets or plants as well because I can’t take care of them with my schedule. My workmates also know that I’m here for work.”

Aly's face softened. She was not expecting “that." “What happened to your family?” she asked.

“Dad died when I was a kid, my mom became depressed and dependent on pills, then she overdosed when I was in high school,” he recited as if he was reading from an old script.

As he expected, Aly put her hand on her chest and looked at him with pity—a common reaction that Danny had gotten used to. Before she could say anything, he raised his hand. “No need to feel sorry for the sob story. It’s fine, really. I got enough of that already.”

“I wasn’t pitying you,” Aly lied and made a face at him in an attempt to lighten the mood. Danny jokingly rolled his eyes at her and she smiled.

“Were you close?” she asked, unsure whether she was crossing a line.

Danny playfully kicked at a stray rock in his path. “With whom?”

“Your mom or dad.”

“Well, I barely remember my dad, but from what I’ve been told he was a good man. My mom… I guess we were close on her good days.”

Aly nodded, then was quiet for a while until they reached the hotel. Danny could sense her glancing at him every now and then, gauging his mood. Before they entered through the doors, he turned and said, “We're here, so we don’t need to keep talking about it if you’re trying to make me feel better. I know that the topic makes people uncomfortable and they don’t really know how to react.”

He was about to push the doors open when Aly placed a hand on his forearm to stop him. With all earnestness, she looked him in the eye and said, “I really am sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” he quietly replied.

She let go of Danny, who gave her a small smile before holding the door open for the both of them. They found Marion and Fred sitting by the couch, talking. The couple looked surprised at the sight of Danny and Aly together.

“We ran into each other outside,” Aly immediately said before they could even put a word in.

Fred seemed skeptical, but didn’t say anything. Marion stood up and motioned towards the kitchen.

“Have you two had dinner yet? There’s some left. I also made pie for dessert.”

Aly, who had seconds during dinner, felt a smile form in her face at the sound of dessert. “Yes to the pie for me!”

“Great! I’ll make tea. How about you, Danny?” Marion asked.

Danny crinkled his nose at the thought of ingesting more food. “Maybe later. Thanks, Marion. I’ll head up now,” he said. He politely bid good night at the other three and made his way up the stairs. As soon as he entered his room, he undressed and went straight to the shower.

Socializing had always tired him out, but he was usually alright with it if it was for work. Tonight, however, he spent more than an hour pretending to genuinely listen and respond about sports—something he cared about, yes, but was the least of his priorities. Not to mention, he also had to witness the pathetic display of Aly making googly eyes and trying to grab the enemy's attention at every chance she could get.

Danny had gone with the intention of learning more about John’s line of work, or at least to find something incriminating in his house—but, of course, a smart man would not leave anything out in the open. Instead, he only saw a perfectly normal house and a seemingly flawless man that was well-dressed, knows how to cook, and has a “stable" job.

He had to admit that he could see why John was appealing to others. If Danny didn’t know he was crooked, he too would have been fooled into thinking that he was a stand-up guy.

But, that was beside the point. Danny knew it was impossible for John not to have brought anything work-related to town. He also overheard that John was supposed to meet someone at the edge of town the next night. Someone who would bring over “some files”—whatever that entailed. It was not a solid piece of intel, but it may lead somewhere. No one would go all the way to that small town just to deliver unimportant papers when email existed.

Danny closed his eyes and let the water fall onto his hair and down his face, recreating the layout of the house in his head. After John retrieves the files, he would probably store them somewhere on the second floor—most likely in a cabinet, or a laptop in his bedroom. Danny would have to sneak in at some point. There was a long road ahead, and he knew it.

The ringing of his phone snapped Danny away from his thoughts. He turned off the shower and quickly wrapped a large blue bath towel over his waist. He didn’t even bother to dry off before rushing out to answer his phone. There was only one person who would call him at that hour.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Danny-boy, how's the article going?” the other man at the end of the line asked, the sound of papers rustling in the background. It was the editor-in-chief, Arnold Mercer. He was probably still in his office, working overtime as usual.

Danny brushed the wet strands of hair away from his face. “Great, sir,” he lied, even though he knew that Mercer would see right through it.

“You got anything concrete yet?”

Danny chose his words carefully. One word from Mercer and he might have to leave town the next day. “I am about to. He's meeting with someone tomorrow night to get some files. I’m sure they’re worth something big.”

“Mm hm,” Mercer hummed with disinterest.

“I have a plan, sir. I've also gotten his background. The people here like to talk. I just need… at least before the week ends or next week, and I’ll get my hands on those papers. How are things in the city?”

“You better. The story's about to die down, and they’re about to close the investigation on Larry. Police are saying it was an accident.”

Danny could feel his throat dry up at the mention of his dead informant's name: Larry Burton. He sat on the edge of the bed, feeling his knees go weak.

“I’ll do my best, sir.”

“Alright, keep me updated,” Mercer said before hanging up.

Danny put his head in his hands, feeling self-doubt begin to engulf him. What if there really was no evidence? What if John was really as innocent as Aly claimed? What if Larry died of an accident, and his ramblings were just that—ramblings of an employee with conspiracy theories? All of this—leaving the city, enduring a heck of a long drive, staying in this run-down hotel—what if all of it was for naught?

A knock on the door made Danny lift his head up.

No, I can’t afford to doubt myself now, he thought, pushing himself up from the bed. With a shake of the head and a sigh, he tried to clear his mind and opened the door without thinking.

Aly stood there, holding a tray with a slice of pie on a plate and a cup of tea. As soon as she laid her eyes on him, her jaw hung open. Danny was confused by her reaction for a second, until he followed where her eyes were staring. He had completely forgotten he was only being covered by a bath towel.