The Lies We Share ✔

Chapter 21

It was as if the genes in this family were cursed to be attractive, and Todd's sister was no exception. She had olive-toned skin, soft hazel eyes with a hint of blue. Her hair brown hair straight and silky almost too perfectly placed around her gorgeous, petite face. A smile was placed there from seeing her brother, who stood up to give her a hug.

Laura eyed the boy next to her, presumably her boyfriend Brad, who appeared standoffish in the most unbecoming way. He was handsome if not for the look of distaste he wore. He had long curly blonde hair with stony grey eyes, deep-set as he greeted Todd in a cool manner, his smile barely appeared. He didn't even bother to look at Laura, as his girlfriend greeted Laura kindly.

"Hi, Todd—is this Laura? Oh my gosh you, I've heard a lot about you! I'm Amy, by the way."

"Hi, nice to meet you Amy," Amy's eyes wander to her boyfriend, Brad, "this is my boyfriend Brad," she introduced him. He raised his eyebrows and gave Laura a tight smile.

They both sit down at the table. The silence felt awkward, it would've been nice to meet in a quieter setting Laura thought as she looked around the room at the many tables now nearly filled with jovial and content diners. Todd's parents arrived shortly after. Before they could even get to know each other, they heard a voice call through the loudspeaker.

"Testing, testing, can everybody hear me?" a man introduced himself as he greeted all of the party-goers. He stated his duty within the company, Sales Management, and continued to talk, boasting of the proud nature of the merger. Loud applause followed his speech as a presentation was run through.

The presentation Todd whispered would only be about ten minutes, so Laura suffered through it waiting for dinner to begin. As soon the presentation was through, they bid their farewells, and a waiter took their orders.

The choice was clear to her as she saw the steak option and she went with it. She loved eating steak as she could hardly ever order it at dinner, but Todd had explained to her it was on the house, she could order anything.

"So, Laura I assume you go to Todd's school, how do you like it there? Ever since Todd transferred, I've heard nothing but glowing reviews," Amy asked Laura.

"Well, I wouldn't say it's very special, but I like my teachers and classes pretty well, I am mostly taking pretty easy classes though so that must be it."

"I see, I attend Lincoln Academy in St. Paul, it has a great art department, I am going to major in Graphic Design next year at Columbia!" her excitement is palpable.

"Oh, are you and Todd twins?" Laura asked, as she realized she was the same age as Todd, her makeup and confidence made her appear older.

"Yes, he hasn't mentioned me?" Laura thought back she was sure he hadn't mentioned a sister, but then again, she could have missed it, he did tend to be quite sociable around her and mentioned quite a bit of his past.

"I am sure he has, but I can't recall," Laura said candidly. Todd looked at his parents who were frowning at their daughter, who appeared to acknowledge their frustration.

"Well, my parents anyway think I should major in the sciences or business, I am starting an online graphics store though. I also show art at the public library, but I guess those are just hobbies for now," she shook her head, clearly submitting to her parent's judgment.

She looked meekly at her parents, who responded by telling her nothing was set in stone yet. She could change her major as many times as she needed but majoring in the sciences, they told her was the quickest way to earn money.

"What is your major Laura?" she asked smiling up at Laura.

"Biology," Laura said without hesitation, she knew this would appear as if she was showing up Amy, but it was her chosen major, after all, Laura noticed Todd's parents smile with pride for what Laura had said.

"What a great major!" Todd's dad quipped, "you know I have a company that is always hiring scientists, of course with a master's degree, but that's what the undergrad is for!"

"Oh, that's wonderful, Laura, a scientist what a great career for a young woman!" Todd's mother spouted.

The comments are happy, but Laura couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable, as she saw the hurt expression on Amy's face. She talked with her boyfriend mostly for the rest of dinner, as Laura and Todd kept up the act of pretending to be in a relationship.

As dinner continued on, Laura ate clam chowder and bread until the main course was finally in her possession. She sniffed the large steak, drooling over its pink insides as she slit it open. It was served with a sizeable baked potato and garden salad. The portions overfilled her plate and she savored the red meat while drinking her mocktail. It was a combination of sprite and cranberry juice with a special red-colored drizzle over the top of it.

"So, Laura do you know where you are going to college?" Todd's mom asked, her fingers laced together.

"Uh, no, I applied a while ago I haven't heard from any schools yet," Laura replied her face growing slightly red, she hadn't applied to any schools yet. To be fair she was sure she was just going to a state school to study at the cheapest possible price, it wasn't very competitive to get in so she had no qualms about wanting to wait it out and see which school would work for her. She'd toured a couple campuses, but none of them felt to be the right "fit" and perhaps, she thought, that was because she wasn't familiar enough with them to be comfortable there just yet.

"Oh, well Todd doesn't know where he is going just yet, he's majoring in Mechanical Engineering, right Todd?" Todd's mom mentioned, Todd looked up from his plate of walleye caught off guard by the statement.

"Uh, yeah, I am going to apply soon though, they don't keep STEM slots open long," he answered, quite miserably. Todd didn't seem to care much about science in school. It was just the other day he was complaining about physics, but Laura chalked it up to his demanding parents.

The night began to close as people filtered out of the building. Soon Todd's parents left the table as well to go mingle in the lobby. Brad and Amy talked at the table for a long time, his demeanor throughout the whole evening was neutral and polite if strained, Laura didn't like the way he looked at either Todd or herself. He eyed them suspiciously.

"Well, this was a fun dinner," Todd said sarcastically. His sister smiled at him before Todd added in Laura's direction, "Want to steal some appetizers and bounce?"

"That sounds fun, can I come with?" Amy asked, Todd just shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm actually going to hang back and talk with some of my buddies, okay, sweetie?" Brad said to Amy.

"Okay, meet you in the lobby, okay?" Amy said, he nodded before heading into the dining space toward a table of gentlemen at the back, Laura wondered who his friends were?

"Yes, let's do it," Laura said pulling her dress away from the chair as she sat up, her seat was stuck to her bottom they were there for so long. This commitment was not so much after all. They all went for seconds in the ballroom and picked out the remnants of the food. They ate the sandwiches greedily.

"So, I just wanted to thank you, Laura, it may not look like it, but you are doing Todd a huge favor by pretending to be his 'date,' our parents are kind of strict about making sure we have the right look, and that includes bringing a date, so thank you," Amy said sweetly, Todd just smiled.

"Just so you know Laura, Amy knows I'm gay," Todd said a look of pride crossed his face, "she knows just how particular my parents are and will keep my secret."

"I found out the in the same way most kids did at my high school, the rumor of Mark and my brother spread like wildfire," she said sadly, "I wish I could've been more supportive, Todd," her eyes looked glassy with tears threatening to pour out of them.

"I know, just be glad I have gotten out of there," Todd reassured her. Her face is smiling, but she's clearly distraught by the memories of that period in Todd's life. Todd's life had completely flipped upside down.

They made their way back to the vehicle after separating from Amy who met up with Brad shortly after, greeting him with an all too eager kiss. As they walked to the vehicle it was pitch black, the lights in the parking lot were dim. Laura heard a quick noise from her left side where Todd was, her eyes search. She heard a familiar voice.

"What the fuck are you doing with my girlfriend?"