Believe Me, I'm Lying

:Believe Me, I'm Lying: 27

Nearly scalding hot water rained down on my back as I stood under the shower nozzle, trying to relax my muscles. An abrupt knock at the door made me start. Yanking the curtains open, I stuck my head out. “What?”

“Harley?”

“Will?”

“What?”

I smiled, rolling my eyes. “What do you want?”

“Your phone is ringing.”

“Well I’m in the shower—”

“I’m coming in. I’ll pick it up for you.”

“No, Will—”

The sound of the door opening cut me off, and I quickly yanked the shower curtains closed again. “Hello?” I heard Will say. “Yeah, she’s right here. Hold on, let me give her the phone.”

Scowling, I quickly turned the water off so there wouldn’t be any background noise. Opening the shower curtain only the slightest bit, I stuck my hand out for my phone. Will placed it in my hand and I quickly retracted it, closing the curtain. “Hello?” I asked, putting the phone to my ear.

“Hi Harley!”

“Who’s this?”

“Anthony.”

I blinked. “Oh, hi. Um, what’s up?”

“What are you doing right now?”

“Er… dishes,” I lied, goosebumps starting to pop up on my skin. “Why?”

“Well I was hoping you could come in tonight,” Anthony explained, sounding sheepish. “I know you don’t usually work Wednesdays, but two of our workers called in sick, and you’re the only one I can get a hold of right now.”

I stuck my head out of the shower, making sure Will had left the bathroom before I stepped out. “Sure, let me just ask my neighbor if he can watch my little brother.”

“Sure.”

After carefully wrapping a tower around me, I padded out to the kitchen where Will was eating soup with Elliot. “Hey Will. Do you think you can watch Elliot for a little while?”

Will cocked his head to the side. “Why?”

“Work.”

“Ah,” Will responded with a knowing look. “Sure. Don’t stay out too late though. You have school tomorrow.”

I nodded to Will before turning back towards my bedroom. “Yeah, Anthony, I can come in.”

“Thank you so much!” he responded enthusiastically. “You’re a life saver!”

I laughed. “It’s no problem.”

“See you in a little bit then?”

“Yep.”

“Bye, Harley. Thanks again.”

“Anytime.”

I entered my room, tossing away my towel, and going to my closet to pull out work clothes. If I calculated the time in my head correctly, I had half an hour to dress, dry my hair, and quickly eat something for dinner in order to make it to the bar in time. I had to hurry.

With ten minutes to spare, I emerged from my room, dressed and ready. I quickly ran a brush through my hair a few times, getting rid of the left over tangles. Elliot and Will were still in the kitchen at the table, their bowls now empty. Elliot was doodling on a piece of paper while Will was reading the newspaper. He looked up when I entered, going straight to the fridge.