It All Started with a Lie

Chapter 25

How I am supposed to go take her to see my sister, to tell my sister that we are together, to break my sister's heart.

I should have expected this. If she can lie to her best friend in the entire world, why wouldn't she lie to me.

What does that make me? I've been lying to the one person who means the most to me for months.

I cradle my head in my hands, leaning against the shearing wheel for support as I try to take a deep breath. One after another but they do nothing to soothe me until so much time has passed that my alarm to meet Alexandria is now going off. I shut it off, toss my phone to the passenger seat, ignore the message from both my sister and Alexandria, and drive.

I beat her to the parking lot, which is no surprise because she is late to everything. But it gives me time to get out of the car, try to calm myself with fresh air.

I cannot bring her to my sister and tell my sister I am in love with her. I cannot ruin my family for this. How could she tell them? How could she sit with them while they laughed?

She's tried to break up with me twice in the last few days. I practically gave her no choice but to date me. Maybe this is why she is so reluctance about being with me.

I wish I had just stopped the video, before I saw everything. I could have lived my whole kk of her, and never known, and that would be enough. But I do know, and I can't look at her the same when she enters the parking lot with a big grin at the sight of me. Is that a lie too?

She runs to my like she will throw her arms around me but she catches the look on my face first and stops dead in her tracks. "Klaus."

It doesn't sound the same when she says my name. I refuse to meet her beautiful eyes.

"What's wrong?" She tries to reach up to cup my face but I pull away.

She retracts her hand, stunned. "Okay," she takes a breath, stepping back. "Do I need to give you the 'Richard won't hate us' talk this time? Because you said it yourself, she will forgive us."

My sister. She shouldn't forgive us. I betrayed her for someone who doesn't find me manly enough. "We're not seeing my sister." My voice is cold.

She has not seen this side of me and doesn't know what to do. "But you said you didn't want to lie anymore?"

It is clear that everything between us will only ever be lies. "Maybe you're right, maybe we should just end things now before it all blows up in our faces."

She shakes her head furiously. "No! I didn't mean that. I only said that because I was scared about losing Richard."

"You were right, it's not worth it."

Her voice quivers. "Klaus."

I don't answer her, staring at the pavement.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Her voice breaks and I can hear the tears she's fighting back.

The sound makes my heart clench. "Yeah," I whisper so quietly I am surprised she's heard me.

She starts her sentence twice, fighting gasps of breath, before she is able to get most of it out. "You said she would forgive us." She chokes on her tears and continues, "You said—" she wipes the snot from her nose. "Please don't. We can talk about this. We can wait to tell her till you're ready."

"I won't be ready. I don't want to do this, us, anymore." I don't know how I am able to get the word out.

She says my name again and demands for me to look at her, that if I am leaving I better not be a coward and look at her. So I do, and nothing has hurt more than seeing her mascara stained cheeks, red, puffy eyes, and knowing I am the reason. "You said I wasn't going to lose you," she screams. "You said you loved me!"