"How about we play two truths and a lie?" Naborhi suggested and a few groans of disagreement filled the air. "Oh come on, live a little!" She sneered at the groaning party which included myself.
I poured myself another glass of wine and took a few gulps. I couldn't bring myself to stay sober after Benjamin had told me that Ruby was in town. She was here with her father to supposedly apologize for all she had done but I didn't buy it one bit. Nothing good could have come out from her presence here and I was worried about what she had planned. Against my better judgment, I downed two canned beers and was now on my second glass of red wine. I was starting to feel numb which was my goal for the night. I just needed to not think about Ruby for one night.
"She's right. It's my party and Tosin says you all have to play two truths and a lie." Tosin ordered and I rolled my eyes. She had made up her own version of the Simon says game and literally forced everyone into playing her games after the guests had left. She had even hidden our car keys and cellphones just so we couldn't leave.
Tosin, Alex, Naborhi, Benjamin, Derrek and I had sat around the coffee table in the living room, playing a couple of games, ranging from card games to charades to drinking games.
"It's not like we have a choice." I mumbled and Tosin glared at me.
"Your car keys and cellphones are right on the dining table. I'm not holding you hostage." She continued to glare and I laughed a little harder than I should have, putting my hands up in surrender.
"Alright!" Naborhi rubbed her palms together in excitement. "Rules: if your lie gets caught out by the majority, you take a shot. Simple and short."
"I'm not drinking. I have to drive home." Benjamin declined and Naborhi excused him without any questions. It was so unlike her.
Turning to my brother, I had only just realized he hadn't drank a sip of alcohol all night. Thank God he was responsible cause I certainly hadn't been thinking of driving when I had my first glass.
"Birthday woman, spin the bottle to select our first player." Naborhi passed an empty wine bottle to Tosin who took it with a smile. She was already buzzed. I could see it in her eyes.
I looked up to where Derrek was seated across from me and stared a little longer than I knew I should have. My mind had been burning with questions all night but I couldn't bring myself to ask him any of them. He glared at me everytime our eyes met and I couldn't understand why.
I took another gulp from my glass and set it back down on the table. I needed to get Derrek out of my head but he just didn't want to leave.
"Ouu! Benjamin, looks like you're up!" Tosin wiggled her eyebrows at my brother who let out an awkward laugh. This was the first time he had consciously hung out with my friends even though he had known them for years and I had to admit that it was a little weird having him here.
"Okay, let's see." Benjamin hummed, glancing upwards as he thought of something to say. "I am Tiara's older brother, Pink is my favorite color and I have never drank a drop of alcohol in my life."
"That's easy! The lie is the second one." Tosin spoke up first.
"I think the third's the lie." Alex said and when Tosin gave him a weird look, he explained. "Boys are allowed to like pink and there's no way party Ben is an alcohol virgin." He had heard all my stories of Benjamin's party days when I had recalled them with Tosin.
"I agree." Tosin changed her mind and agreed with Alex.
Everyone casted their votes and we all ended up picking the third as the lie. We turned to Benjamin waiting for him to reveal the answer.
"The lie is the second." Benjamin announced and I gasped, loudly.
"No way!" I couldn't believe for a second that my brother had never drank alcohol. He was a party boy in the university, there's no way he hadn't drank even once.
"It's true. I'm an alcohol virgin." He confessed. "Alcohol is bad for the body and soul and I love myself way too much to cause myself any harm."
"How did you party through the university without drinking?" I was still shocked. From the stories I had heard about him, he was a wild guy in the university. He was much more calm now though. A changed person as he always liked to say.
"You don't need alcohol to party. That's facts."
"You did do drugs though, didn't you?" Naborhi arched an eyebrow at him and he chuckled before making a zipping motion on his lips.
"Drugs are just as bad, you hypocrite!" I smacked his arm, disgusted by his hypocrisy. There were so many things I didn't know about Benjamin but I was glad I was finding out more about him. Maybe by the end of the night I would have gotten to understand him a little better.
Tosin spun the bottle once again and it stopped at me, causing me to groan in protest. I grabbed my glass of wine and downed the remaining of its content to avoid my turn.
"Hey! You can't avoid your turn by drinking. You must play!" Naborhi wagged her index finger at me and I pouted in disappointed. "Hurry up! We don't have all night!"
I took a deep breath and thought of what to say. There weren't many things that Naborhi and Tosin didn't know about me, so, it was hard to think of something with alcohol buzzing through my system. All I could think about was the man sitting in front of me.
"I'm terrified of heights, I hate stripes and..." I trailed off, thinking of what else to say. My eyes fell on Derrek once again and this time, our eyes had met. "I'm in love with someone here." I blurted out without even realizing. My eyes widened and I quickly looked away from Derrek, embarrassed. I couldn't believe I had actually said that. That was why I hated drinking. I was unpredictable when I was drunk and my mouth was a loose cannon. The table was silent with awkwardness and I felt even worse.
"The third's a lie." Derrek spoke and my eyes snapped up at him. He had a frown on his face.
"Yes, I agree!" Naborhi jumped in and Tosin did right after her. The latter spun the bottle afterwards before anyone else could speak and I stared at Derrek who glared right back at me. What was his problem for real? It was really starting to get on my nerves.
"If you have something to say, then, say it." I said. I was tired of asking myself questions I had no answers to. It was time Derrek gave them to me.
"Oh, look! Ana, it's your turn!" Tosin said in a loud voice, trying to change the topic of conversation but I wasn't letting it go, not until I heard what Derrek had to say.
Derrek took a gulp from his third glass of wine in an hour. I wasn't counting or anything.
"You have been hostile towards me the entire evening and I want to know why." I insisted and Derrek scoffed in response. "Say it!"
"You want to do this here, in front of your friends?" His voice had a warning tone that had me worried for a moment. I thought for a second that he would have told everyone about our contract but he had just as much to loose as I did, there was no way he would have ousted himself like that. The look in his eyes though made me unsure of what he was willing to reveal.
"Just forget about it. You're not worth it." I decided to let it go. I wasn't going to risk Derrek spilling the tea.
"You sure went through a lot of effort to reel in someone who wasn't worth it." Derrek muttered maliciously and I stared at him confused.
"Derrek, don't!" Alex shook his head at his friend but Derrek didn't seem to listen, instead, he leaned forward and rested his elbow on the table. He stared at me with angry eyes and I shifted uncomfortably. I didn't like the way he looked at me.
"Do your friends know who you really are or are they still blinded by that fake innocent girl persona you have going on?"
"You're just as guilty as I am, Derrek!" I yelled in annoyance. Was he really going to make me look like the bad guy? It was his suggestion to deceive our friends and family. I had only went along with it. I wasn't the mastermind.
"The only thing I'm guilty of is trusting you."
"Don't you dare play the victim here! You are not the victim!"
"And you are? You're the one who manipulated and deceived me. You are not the victim either." He scoffed once again.
Manipulative? How had I ever manipulated him? He had been the one who had lured a drunk girl into signing a fake engagement contract with him. Deceptive? He had been the one who had lied to me about having a fiancée.
"If anyone is manipulative and deceptive, it's you!" I yelled, getting up to my feet. I really wanted to smack his head. He made me so angry. "You're the one who lied about having a fiancée! You were with her the entire time and you said nothing!"
"Don't act like you didn't know! I told you about her but you didn't care!" Derrek yelled back, also getting up to his feet. I gasped. Had he just yelled at me?
"I think you guys should calm down." Benjamin said, getting up to his feet as well. He placed a hand on my shoulder and pleaded for me to say nothing further.
"If that's how you remember it, your accident did more damage to your brain than I thought!" I said in anger and I immediately regretted my words but I was too angry to apologize.
"Maybe we should call it a night." Alex got up next and tried to pull Derrek away from the leaving room.
Derrek was fuming with anger and I was certain my face matched his perfectly in the moment. He was a despicable human being and I was glad he had showed me his true colors before I fell any deeper in love with him. How could he lie to my face? How could he lie to everyone here? They must have all thought I was a man stealing bitch for being with an already engaged man. They didn't know we were never really together.
"That's a good idea." Benjamin agreed and hurried towards the dinning area.
"I bet you were excited when you heard about the accident." Derrek scoffed once more. "You got really lucky when I lost my memory. You must have thought you could work your way back into my life! I know the truth now, Tiara, and I won't let you have your way!"
"You're drunk, Derrek. You should stop now." Alex dragged him towards the stairs and I stared at his retreating form in shock and disbelief. I had no idea what Derrek was accusing me of anymore. It made no sense to me.
"What the hell are you saying, you big bag of lies?" I called after him. "Where are you going?" I started to go after him but Naborhi stopped me.
"Happy birthday to me." Tosin gave a heavy sigh.
******************************
Ouu! That was a nasty fight.