Lies I Never Told You

CHAPTER TWELVE: HUNTER

Blair’s house was a few streets away from the convenience store where we bought our snacks and drinks for the movie. It took us fifteen minutes to walk there. It was the most fun fifteen minutes I had since Kiera and I broke up. I didn’t know why. I was just listening to them talk about the different stuff they found and watched on Youtube, but I enjoy it. Blaire is extra talkative at this moment. It’s just so refreshing to see her talk with that twinkle in her eyes. It felt like somehow, a door to her life was opening up before my eyes.

Tyrone, Shannon, and Blair were talking about a video they watched on Youtube when suddenly, Blair stopped in her tracks and stared straight ahead. As if on cue, the twinkle in her eyes disappeared and was replaced with fury. I followed her line of vision and saw a woman standing in front of one of the houses in the subdivision. She was wearing a blue polo blouse and black square pants. Her hair was tied in a tight bun.

I heard Blair sigh before she approached the woman. “Excuse me?” she said when she was a couple of steps closer to the woman. “Are you looking for someone?” she asked.

The woman faced Blair and smiled. “I was waiting for you,” she said.

“Why?” I can hear the impatience in Blair’s voice. “What do you want from me?”

“I want you to stop seeing Brian,” she answered monotonously. “I heard you’ve been to his café near the university,” she added. The intimidation in her voice doesn’t seem to affect Blair.

“That’s just one time. It’s not like I went there to see him,” Blair answered.

The woman smirked. “Why do I find it hard to believe you?” she asked, feigning curiosity. “Oh, it’s because you’re a liar, aren’t you?”

Even that woman knew Blair’s reputation in the university. I leaned closer to Shannon and whispered, “Who is she?”

Shannon hesitated for a moment. “She’s Brian’s mom. Their family doesn’t want Brian to be involved with Blair anymore,” she explained. “That witch. She’s still bothering Blair when it’s Brian who’s always following Blair.” I can sense the exasperation in her voice.

“I don’t think I should be the one hearing that. Tell that to your son,” Blair said matter-of-factly. “I don’t want to have anything to do with Brian either. He’s all yours.” She turned and opened the gate of the house where the woman had been waiting. She motioned for us to follow. “Let’s go.”

She waited for us to enter through the gate and handed the door keys to Shannon. “Please tell your son to never talk to me again.” I heard her say before she locked the gate and jogged towards the house.

◘◘◘

Tyrone was setting up his laptop and connecting it to Blair’s TV when I gathered up my courage to ask Blair. “Uhm, Blair?”

She turned to me, the chips she just fished out of the bowl still in between her lips. “What?” she asked.

I heaved a breath before I asked, “What happened with the lady outside? Why is she telling you not to see Brian?”

“Let’s see what we’ll watch,” she said and left me on the couch to browse through the laptop for movies. I glanced at Tyrone, who’s sitting beside Blair and he just shrugged. I tried getting a response from Shannon who was returning from the kitchen holding a tray with a pitcher of juice and four glasses with ice cubes. She just tilted her head sideways and wrinkled her nose as she put the tray on the center table where Blair was.

“Sorry, but it’s not our story to tell,” Shannon whispered to me when she sat beside me on the couch. “Give her time and reason to trust you, maybe then she’ll tell you more.”

I wondered how long I should wait for Blair to trust me and what I should do to gain it. Her walls are too high that even in the presence of her best friends; she still doesn’t let her guards down. I spent the next few hours thinking about Blair and the many things she doesn’t want to tell me.

After three-hour-long movies, Shannon and Tyrone noticed that we have run out of chips and decided to go and buy more from the convenience store. “Hey.” Blair tapped me on the elbow. “Is this not your thing?” she asked, pertaining to the movie marathon. “Or is something bothering you?”

“You,” I answered bluntly. “You’re bothering me.”

Her eyes widened. “Me?” she asked, her right hand pressed against her chest. “Why? Did I do something wrong? Did I say something that hurt you?”

I shrugged. “You’re not telling me something,” I said. “I don’t know much about you. I don’t even know why they are calling you a liar when you’re the frankest person I know on campus,” I added.

She scoffed. “Now you’re curious about me, huh?” she said. “Do you find me interesting now? I’m sorry, but you’re not my type, so don’t fall in love with me.” Her overconfidence baffled me. I just shook my head and stared at nothing in front of me.

“Okay. I’m sorry I didn’t answer your question earlier.” She nudged my elbow with hers. I looked at her and saw a serious expression on her face. “Of all the things I said and will tell you, this is one of those you should believe. But promise me one thing.” She raised her right hand and nodded to my right hand that was resting over a throw pillow. I raised it and waited for her to continue. “I’ll tell you the reason why they call me a liar but there should not be any more follow-up questions. Do you promise?” She looked straight into my eyes.

I nodded. “I promise I’ll wait for the right time when you’ll be willing to answer any more follow-up questions,” I said. I didn’t want to promise something that I’m sure I can’t keep. The more time I spend with Blair and her friends, the more curious about her I become. “And besides, if we’re to convince other people that we’re dating, then I should know how to defend you when they used your reputation against us, right?” I added.

She seemed shocked upon hearing my statement but decided not to argue. She then accepted my promise. “Fair enough, so, here’s what happened…”