Your Lies

Chapter Five

~Delia~

"Where is she?" Peyton paced back and forth, occasionally glancing at the group of students who'd gathered in the small gymnasium—the space the university had so "graciously" provided for us for the rally—as she gnawed on her thumbnail.

We stood at the front of the room, just to the side of the podium that had been set up, waiting for Addie to arrive. And she was late. I'd left her in our room earlier since I'd been nominated to do the coffee run. We were supposed to meet here before everything started. I'd fully expected her to beat me here, but it was time to start and still no Addie.

I was trying to reach her—calling, texting—and nothing. A cold sweat covered my body. There was no way this was a good thing. Addie wouldn't bail, and she wouldn't be late. No way.

"Okay," I said, shoving my phone in my jeans pocket. "I'll go look for her. But we need get started. Everyone else is here." More people had pulled out, last minute, just like Clara, but a handful of students were here, ready to speak and support the cause.

Peyton let out a squeak and grabbed my arm—rather painfully—before I could move. "But Addie was supposed to be first! Get everything started."

"I know," I soothed, prying her fingers from my biceps. "We'll just jump to David, okay? You just need to go up there, welcome everyone and intro—"

"No, no, no." She shook her head violently. "Delia, there's a reason I'm behind the scenes. I can't talk in front of people like this. I can't. Oh God, I'll puke, or faint, or... Oh God."

Her blue eyes widened, and I took in the sudden paleness of her skin, the trembling of her body.

"Okay, okay, you don't have to talk. No worries." I wiped my damp palms on my denim-clad thighs then moved to where my bag rested on a nearby table. After I dug out my keys, I turned and handed them to my friend. "Check our room first, yeah? And maybe take Brent with?"

After she nodded and whispered "thanks", she moved to the tall man standing a few feet away—another "behind the scenes" person. I may be paranoid, but I felt better knowing someone was with Peyton. One, to make sure the poor girl didn't keel over somewhere on campus, and, two, if Addie were in trouble... Fuck, maybe we should just cancel the whole thing.

Even as the thought crossed my mind, I was shoving it aside. The last thing Addie would want was to stop what we were doing. Even after our talk last night, when she'd wondered if this was all worth it, I knew beyond a doubt, Addie would want us to do what was right. And this was right.

"Hey, David, you're up first. Addie's...delayed," I said, smiling at the handsome blond boy who leaned against the wall.

"Sure thing," he said quietly.

Not for the first time, I wondered why he'd volunteered so quickly to speak. He was a quiet, shy guy. Nice as hell, and everyone adored him, but I wouldn't have pegged him as a public speaker. Then again, I figured if you felt strongly enough about something, you could overcome a myriad of personal issues.

"Do I just..." He pushed away from the wall and gestured at the podium.

"Nope," I said with false cheer as my stomach threatened to rebel. "First, a welcome then you'll be introduced."

"Addie was supposed to— Well, you know that, obviously. Who's going to do that, now?"

"That would be me," I murmured, straightening my spine.

Walking to the podium and checking to make sure the mic was on, I reminded myself that this didn't need to be anything elaborate or lengthy. I didn't have to give a speech like Addie was going to. All that was needed was a quick hello, a thank you for coming, and introduce David. Easy peasy.