Lies
1208 Words
I was going to make Jennifer Rossi suffer. So much that she'd wish for death.
I stalked Jennifer a bit more that night, falling asleep with my phone in hand and her face on it. The next day, we went for my checkup and I had 20/20 vision in both eyes. Before we left the hospital, Diego convinced me to take him to eat ice cream and we snuck away when neither Matteo nor Sofia were looking.
We got to the mall and I indulged him and got him the biggest size they had cause his parents were "no-sugar activists" and he wouldn't get another chance like this. I got myself a small sized one and we sat and ate, chatting and laughing over random things. He smeared a little on his face and I leaned forward to wipe it but froze immediately.
Downstairs, Finn and Rita had just walked in hand in hand, and they were heading in our direction. A wave of panic shot through me and I immediately put on my cap and sunglasses. Diego seemed to notice it immediately.
"Do you know them?" he asked, his eyes fixated on me as he wiped his nose.
I nodded slowly, my throat so heavy that I struggled to push my words out. "My sister... and my boyfriend, Finn."
"Rita?" he asked, his gaze following her as she walked across the aisle, "she's really pretty." He turned to stare at me with widened eyes. "Can I marry her?"
"Just a while ago you wanted to marry me yet here you are, ditching me for someone younger, aren't you such a man?" I teased, chuckling as I watched his face flush with embarrassment.
"No, Rhea," he defended innocently, "I really wanna marry you but Mom and Dad says I can't cause one, you're my sister now, two, you're way older and three, you probably already have a boyfriend."
"Well, they are right." I said, reaching out my hand and gently scratching his head. "Maybe Rita will wanna marry you. But that's her decision to make not mine."
"True."
"Can you do me a favor?" I asked, cooking up a lie in my head that wouldn't sound stupid to him. I needed his help but I couldn't risk his childish innocence by telling him the truth. "If Finn sees me, he'll be so glad that he'll try to convince me to leave you and come to him."
"I don't want you to leave." He sounded sad and I felt bad for taking advantage of his feelings. But there was no way of knowing whether Finn would try to finish the job once he knew I survived.
"I don't want to leave you either. But boyfriends have a way of making one change their minds." Finn looked up at that moment and I looked away, adjusting my glasses so he couldn't see my side profile. "So, could you go distract him for a while for me? Maybe take him to the restroom and keep him with you for fifteen or twenty minutes. I wanna talk to Rita and tell her I'm alright now. Can you do that?"
"Sure. I'll be back in twenty minutes," he said, taking his cup and heading to the escalator. I watched as he approached Finn with a sulky expression and began to talk to him. A few seconds later, Finn squatted, whispering something to Rita and pointed to an empty table at the cafe area. He waited until she had sat down then he walked away with Diego.
I looked around to make sure no one else was watching before standing and heading to Rita. She looked different, a little thinner and the excitement that had always glowed in her eyes was gone. She had a new tablet and her clothes were branded and I could see that Finn was making sure she didn't lack. Maybe he was trying to make it up to her for murdering her only family.
"Hey, Peter Show," I took off my baseball hat, calling out with a name only both of us understood and she immediately looked up from her tab at me. It was a mispronunciation of pistachio she had made when she was four and I refused to let go of it, making it her nickname. Her face was a mixture of surprise, happiness, and sadness as she rose up and hugged me. I wrapped her arms around her and she burst into tears and I forced myself to hold mine back.
"Where have you been?" She cried into my chest, her voice hoarse. "We thought you had died. They said you burned to ash in an accident and we held a funeral for you. How could you have been alive and not show up? Wait," she paused, pulling away from me, "are you actually alive?"
"Yes, Baby," I replied, stretching my lips in a sad smile and taking her hands in mine, "but you can't tell anyone about it. Not even Finn, okay?"
Her eyes widened, tears flooding them and streaming down. "Why not? Aren't you going to come back to us?"
I let go of her hand, wiping her face with my hand. "I will. Just not at the moment. The truth is some bad people tried to kill me but I escaped right before my car exploded. If Finn finds out, he'll try to save me and they'll try to kill him too." I had become way too good at lying to her because she didn't seem to disbelieve me this time. At least, Finn will still be a hero in her eyes, and she'll be safe at his side until I am strong enough to protect her myself.
"You need him to save you," she muttered, her shoulders shaking slightly whenever she sniffed.
I placed a kiss on her forehead to comfort and reassure her. "No, I don't. I'm your big sister, remember? I can save myself. Trust me, okay."
She sighed disappointedly. Thanks to Finn's impeccable act of devotion to me, he had earned himself a soft shot in her heart. "But Finn is really worried about you. He calls your name every night and he is always afraid to fall asleep because he sees you in his dreams. He still has faith that you're alive and has a private investigator to find you. I checked his phone."
I panicked. I couldn't risk her finding out about Jennifer or his involvement in my disappearance. "You checked his phone?"
"Just a text on the interface."
"Never do that again," I scolded gently, slightly relieved. "And until I show myself to him, you can't tell him you saw me. Promise?"
"I promise," She linked her pinky in mine, pressing her thumb against mine and gently kissing mine. "Sealed with a kiss."
"Good girl. I got to go now. But before I leave, can you unblock my line. I just wanted to hear your voice but you mistook me for a pervert."
She chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oopsie! I'm sorry about that."
"It's fine, sweetie."
"You can call me now," she said, having removed the restrictions.
I wrapped her in a hug. "I'll miss you, Peter Show."
"I'll miss you too, Pinocchio."
- Writer
