Make Believe: A Novella (13 page)

“You know I tried to give you a little more credit
, but the reality is you’re just as stupid as she is. You think I actually want
you?”
she said, laughing. “Quite honestly, Aiden, despite what people may have told you all of your life, you’re not all that great. Mediocre at best, but nothing special. You’re so stupid you actually believe this is about you.”

“Really, then what the hell is it about?”

“Something bigger than you, something that you could never truly understand.” She caught her breath and her eyes began to fill with tears. To say I was confused was an understatement. Forget
Fifty Shades of Grey
, this girl was fifty shades of crazy! One minute she was acting like some crazed stalker, the next she looked like she was on the brink of a mental breakdown.

“You’re crazy,” I breathed.

“I’ve been called worse,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “Oh and by the way, I misplaced my phone last night, so if you or April come across it, be kind and return it to me,” she smiled.

It suddenly hit me that everything was part of one big plan last night. She liked the game of things
. It was a giant puzzle for her. She didn’t find joy in telling April about the pictures or the motel, it was much more enjoyable for her if April found out herself.

“You’re sick,” I whispered.

“Again, I’ve been called a lot worse….”

“Really, because I’ve got a few that you may have never heard of,” the sound of Anthony’s voice c
aused us both to turn our heads in his direction. I had actually forgotten he was listening. 

The room fell completely silent as they both made eye contact. My eyes scanned Leah’s face
, and she looked like she had seen a ghost. Her eyes were locked on Anthony’s, and all the blood had drained from her face. I knew she was a good actress, but I got the feeling for the first time since meeting her that I was finally getting a sample of the real Leah. This was not an act. I saw the look of confusion cross Anthony’s face. He was scanning her every feature trying to figure something out.

Leah
cleared her throat and broke the silence. “I’ve got to go,” she said flustered as she tried to break eye contact with Anthony. “And I quit. I won’t be back!” she managed to blurt out, then made her quick escape out of the door.

“What the hell was that? Do you know her?” I asked Anthony in shock.

“I recognize her. I have seen her before,” he said, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

“Well
, who the hell is she?” I asked impatiently.

“That’s just it, I can’t remember.”

“What do you mean you can’t remember, did you sleep with her? Break her heart? Leave her stranded? Come on Ant, you need to be a little clearer right now!” I said angrily.

“I told you I don’t know,
OK! If I knew, I would tell you, and not every girl I’ve ever met have I slept with!” he spat back in frustration.

“Really, because it sure as hell seems that way!”

“What do you want me to do, go back and erase my past? I told you I didn’t sleep with her OK! I’ve seen her before but I don’t know where!”

“Well, I’m sorry for my lack of patience with your sudden amnesia
, but right now that
chick
you can’t remember is seriously screwing up my life!”

“And that’s not my fault!”

I took a deep breath as I looked at my best friend. He was right, what the hell was I doing?

“Damn! I’m sorry
OK. Everything’s just so messed up. If April finds that phone.” I couldn’t even bring myself to say the words.

I had screwed up
. I knew that. I should have told the truth from the beginning. I should have just explained, but I was scared of losing her and now I might lose her anyway.

“I know
OK. Look, just calm down, we’ll find the phone before she does, but we got to go now,” Anthony said calmly.

“What if we don’t?” I breathed.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but sitting here won’t help us?”

“O
K,” I agreed.

“Good, we’ll take my car
. Let’s go.”

APRIL’S POINT OF VIEW

I had spent the past hour sitting in my office, staring at the object in my hand. I had been trying to go over every scenario or possible excuse in my head that would make this situation better. I couldn’t find one. I had gone from being mad, to frustrated, to sad and back again. It was like I was on the merry-go-round of life, and I was dizzy. I wanted an explanation, but at the same time, I didn’t. An explanation would make it real, and right now, I was happy pretending it was a dream.

I had been scrolling through the pictures of Aiden and Leah over and over again, and it still didn’t make any sense. Nothing made sense.

The phone on my desk began to ring dragging me out of my thoughts. Taking a deep breath, I answered it in my polite “telephone voice.”

“April, it’s Kyle.”

“Kyle? Oh my gosh, it is so good to hear from you,” I said excitedly.

“You too, I’ve missed you guys.”

“Yeah, I miss you too,” I said solemnly.

“Hey, is everything
OK?” he asked suspiciously.

I didn’t want him to worry, especially when this should have been one of the best times of his life.

“Yeah, I’m just tired. Too many late nights, I guess.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.”

“So, how is it out there?”

“Different
, but great. I love my job, and the people I work with are pretty cool, too. I get a vacation in a couple of months so I thought Tammy and I would fly home and see you all?” he asked excitedly.

If there still
is an
us
then, I thought to myself.

“Of course, that’d be great.”

“Good, well I can’t stay long, this call’s going to cost a fortune, but I just wanted to let you know we are doing well.”

“I’m glad you did
, and I’m proud of you,” I said genuinely.

“Thanks April, I’ll call again soon
, OK?”

“O
K, bye, Kyle.”

“Bye, April. Take care of yourself.”

“You too,” I added before hanging up.

It was good to hear from Kyle
, but my mind was still distracted by my newfound information. I wanted to forget it, but I couldn’t. Leah seemed so nice, and I thought she was genuine. I even welcomed her into my home when clearly she had an ulterior motive that had nothing to do with me.

Feeling frustrated
, I stepped out of my office to find Marie.

“Hey, Marie, can I have a word?” I asked, gesturing toward my office.

“Yes, is everything OK?” she asked wearily.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I lied. “I just wondered if you
would mind staying a little later again and locking up. I know this is last minute, but I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t import….”

“It’s fine
. I don’t mind,” she interrupted as she smiled at me. “Whatever you need to sort out, you do that. I have everything under control here, and I’m here tomorrow anyway so I can get things ready for in the morning.”

“Marie
, thank you so much. I’m really grateful.”

“Don’t be.” She smiled at me before heading
back to Joanna, our new trainee. The idea was for me not to be as hands-on in the center anymore. Jess, Crystal, and I are planning on opening another location and are trying to hire more staff so we will be freed up to work on the new project. Not that I feel much like doing that anymore.

“Right, I’m leaving now. Are you sure you’ll be
OK?” I asked Marie after locking my office and walking out.

“I promise.”

“Any problems, just call me.”

“There won’t be. Enjoy your evening,” she smiled.

“I’ll try,” I mumbled and headed to my car.

* * *

I w
alked through the front door and saw Anthony and Aiden looking very suspicious. I wasn’t surprised. I could tell they had been searching the house for something, “incriminating.” They both looked like guilty kids, caught stealing from the cookie jar.

“This is probably w
hat you are looking for,” I said, placing the phone down on the table in the entryway. “You should have called me, I would have saved you the wasted time.” I took off my coat and shoes and placed them in the front closet, then headed for the living room. I heard footsteps behind me.

“April?”

“Yes, Aiden. Is there something bothering you?” I asked calmly, with a hint of sarcasm.

He took a deep breath before answering. “It’s not how it looks.”

“It never is,” I laughed humorlessly, passing by him and walking into the living room. I avoided making eye contact with him or Anthony as I sat on the couch and switched on the TV with the remote.

“I’m going to go
. I’ll catch you later,” I heard Anthony whisper in the background.

For someone as mad as I was
, I was behaving remarkably calm. I knew if I didn’t, I would explode.

“We need to talk,” Aiden said, standing in front of the TV.

“About?”

“You know what about. I need to explain
.”

“Explain away,” I replied
, uninterestedly.

“I know what those photographs imply. I know what it looks like
, but I swear to you, I did not cheat on you, April. I would never. I believed she was in trouble. She said her ex-boyfriend had been hitting her, and I thought I could help, but then she started to cry and asked me to stay. The next thing I know, I feel asleep, and when I woke up she had all of these photos and was blackmailing me, but I nev….”

“Just stop, please. Just stop talking. I know you didn’t cheat on me,” I said, staring into his eyes.

I watched a shocked expression fill his face and a slight sigh of relief escape his lips.

“You do?”
he asked in disbelief.

“Yes, you may be many things
‚— like an idiot — but you’re not a cheater.”

“Thank God, because I know how it looked
, and I didn’t want to lie to you bu….”

“I haven’t finished. I know you didn’t cheat on me
, but you lied, Aiden, even after everything we’ve been through. We’re supposed to be best friends; we tell each other everything.”

“We still are,” he said, bending down in front of me, pleading with his eyes.

“No, because if that were true, you wouldn’t have lied. You would have known you could trust me not to jump to the first conclusion. You would have trusted me with that information.”

“I wanted to.”

“Not enough, Aiden. If we don’t even have trust then what are we doing? How can we even contemplate marriage, if this is how we are going to start out?”

“It was a mistake
. It won’t happen again, I promise. I will never lie to you again.” I felt my heart breaking as I looked into his eyes, but I had to stand my ground. I had to be strong.

“It should have never happened,” I said, rising to my feet.

“Where are you going?” he asked, following me into our bedroom.

“To pack
. I’m going to spend a few days with Mom and Bob. I just need some space,” I said, holding back my tears.

“April, don’t do this,” he begged. I saw a tear roll down his cheek
, but I had to ignore it. If I was going to do this, then I couldn’t look at him.

“I need some space to clear my head.”

“For how long?” he asked sadly.

“I don’t know
— days, weeks, maybe months. I just need time to think.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” he said
, pulling me into him. I could feel him inhale deeply as though he were taking in my scent for the last time. He was holding me so tight, I wasn’t sure I could breathe. I wanted to cry so badly, but I wasn’t going to let myself. Instead, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to focus on anything but this moment.

Keeping my composure
, I tried to pull away from him. “Aiden, I need you to let me go.”

“I can’t,” he said in a shaky voice.

“You have to.” It was useless now, the tears were there. I couldn’t push them away.

He slowly
released me, giving us some much needed space.

“I love you,” he said before turning his back and slowly walking away.

“I know, I know,” I whispered before finally sinking to floor and doing the one thing I needed to more than anything...cry.

Chapter 15: Monday, October 7
th
at 7:01pm

APRIL’S POINT OF VIEW