Lies I Never Told You

CHAPTER SIX: BLAIR

"What? As in Brian Villasanta? The Brian Gonzales Villasanta?" Tyrone's eyes were wide with surprise. "Seriously?"

I cringed at every mention of his name - so much more if you include his middle name. "Yes, Ty. No need to say his name over and over. You make my head hurt."

Shannon sat beside me on my bed. "What did he say to you? Did you tell Hunter about him?" She asked while she pulled the blanket over her legs. "Hunter might get the wrong idea about you and Brian."

"He didn't say anything. Thank goodness! I bet he knew I'd storm out of the cafe if he mentioned anything about us in front of Hunter and the other customers," I said. "I guess he didn't want to give me a reason to hate him even more. But he didn't let us pay for our orders."

"Well, that's seems nice. Why do you seem annoyed by it?" Shannon asked.

"I feel like he did that to soften me up. You know, to forgive him at least one bit. But it wouldn't work. Even if he gives me full ownership of that cafe, I won't forgive him. Also, it's annoying that Hunter seems interested in what happened in the past after seeing how I treated Brian and how he treated me."

"Speaking of Hunter," Tyrone finally turned to face us. He's been busy browsing Youtube for beauty and skin care vlogs. "You still haven't told us the real score between you two."

"I haven't forgotten that. I just needed to tell you about Brian first, so I can let out some steam."

Shannon scooted closer to me and looked straight to my eyes. "So, what is it?"

Tyrone then jumped onto the bed, rested his face on his hands, intently looking at me, waiting for me to start."Hunter doesn't need to know more about Brian and I than the fact that Brian's someone from my past that I didn't want to get back to." I started.

"My relationship with Hunter is purely pretense. He needed me to pretend to be dating him to make his ex-girlfriend jealous. So, there's no need for him to be involved with my personal life," I explained.

Shan nodded as if it all makes sense to her. But Ty's reaction is different. His brows were creased and he looked at me like I said the most nonsense thing in the world. "Eww, that's so cliche. I can't believe someone like Hunter Pereira will resort to that. What a loser."

"I know, right," I agreed. "I already told him that but he didn't care as long as that stays between us. He's really gone crazy for that Kiera girl."

Tyrone crawled to my right and pulled the blanket over his legs. Good thing my bed's wide enough to accommodate the three of us. "So, have you seen this Kiera girl? What is she like? Is she pretty? Popular? Queen bee material?"

"Unfortunately, she was at Brian's cafe earlier. She's pretty, all right, with all that make up and such. But without all that, Shan's prettier if you'd ask me. She seems popular. I can see with the way she approaches people," I explained.

Shannon reached for her vanity kit on the bedside table. "So, what was her reaction when she saw you and Hunter together?"

She gave me a pack of a facial mask sheet, then gave one to Tyrone. "Did she get jealous?" Tyrone asked while tearing the packaging of his face mask.

"I don't think so. She approached me twice. First, she asked who I am and why was I with Hunter and what's special about me that I ordered from the breakfast menu in the afternoon. She told Hunter she's not the least bit jealous if he shows up to her with another girl. Second was when I turned down Brian's offer to give me a lift home. She asked what's special about me that Brian turned her invitation down while he invited me," I explained.

Ty patted his face with the remaining serum from the mask. "She's so obviously eyeing Brian as her next target," he said.

"I also said that to her. She just stood there. Maybe she was surprised that I saw through her and I outright pointed it out in front of Hunter and her friends." I put the mask sheet on my face and applied the excess serum to my neck and arms.

Shannon is already resting her head on the head board. "I wonder how Hunter feels seeing his ex-girl being interested in another guy."

I laughed. "I wonder that too. He didn't react one bit when I confronted Kiera and he didn't even mention anything about Kiera when we left the place. He just told me that that date didn't count because we didn't talk and he didn't pay. So, I guess we would have another date some other time."

We do this often - sleepover at each other's house. When we were kids, we spend a whole weekend together at least once a month. Shan's and Ty's parents were my mom's best friends since childhood. That's why the three of us basically grew up together. Even after having their own families, mom, Ty's mom, Tita Linda, and Shan's dad, Tito Chris, made it a point to regularly see each other - so as to not miss too much of each other's lives, even though they're houses are just a few blocks away from each other. So, once every month, we stayed at one of their houses.

After mom died a five years ago, Tita Linda and Tito Chris stopped that. Maybe because it would be awkward for them to do that anymore because of their history. Or maybe because mom's gone and they just didn't want to do it anymore. Tita Linda said mom's the one holding the three of them together. She and Tito Chris stayed close friends, even after they broke up, because of mom. And she's thankful for that. Not every broken up couple stayed the same way as before their relationship. Mom helped them be best friends again after being a couple.

Since mom died, the three of us continued their pact. But instead of spending weekends at each other's place, it was always at mine. Tita Linda wanted to take me in their home but I refused. I wanted to stay where I can always feel mom. This house is full of memories with my mom, not all are happy memories but all of them, good or bad, are my treasure.

---

"So, when are we going to visit Bright Blithe?" Ty asked while we were having breakfast. We just bought pandesal in the nearby bakery and cooked some instant stir-fried noodles. Shan and Ty were sitting on the table across from me.

"Do you want to go there?" I asked. If I were to decide, I wouldn't want to visit Brian's cafe with them.

Shannon sipped from her cup of coffee before speaking, "Why not? I heard the place is nice."

"Yeah, it was nice. But the owner? I don't think so."

Ty quietly set his fork on his plate. "Blair, we know Brian too. We were friends too. At least before he left. Brian's a nice guy. We know it and you know it. He just made a bad decision."

I couldn't disagree with him. "Sure, he was a nice guy. But that doesn't mean I could forgive him. He broke me. And he broke mom even more. What made it worse is that he didn't even show up when mom died."

"I get where you're coming from, Blair. But isn't it time that you forgive him? It's been seven years." Shannon touched my hand and looked sadly into my eyes.

I looked away. "I can't. I don't think I can ever forgive him. I hate him so much for making that decision. He broke my heart. Mom's was worse."

"Can't you just think about how you two were before you hated him? You were inseparable. You loved him so much. You cared for him. Will you throw all of that away? He's still your -"

"Don't even go there, Ty." I warned him. "Whatever relationship we've had in the past will remain in the past." I tried to control my breathing but it only became heavier every time. "He was the first one to throw away all that love, care and affection.

He lost all of that when he didn't choose me - when he chose to turn his back on me and left." My eyes are becoming blurry with tears. "He chose to leave me. He turned his back on Mom. I will never forgive him." I yelled. Then I hugged my knees and cried.

Shan and Ty stood up and wrapped me in their embrace. I didn't mean to breakdown, but I did. After all these years, the pain Brian caused me still feels like yesterday. "I'm sorry..." I repeatedly told my friends in between sobs.