Page 9 of One Little Lie
There goes that funny little flutter again. A few months ago, I started spouting off words I’d learned in English class, trying to come up with a nickname for her. She’s called me Hatty for as long as I can remember, but nothing ever sticks for her, and I’m definitely not calling her Ryguy like Colton. That’s stupid.
I grin when I notice the way the sun makes pieces of her brown hair sparkle. Hickory, my mom had called the color once, but hickory is wood. Dull. There’s nothing dull about Rylan.
“Sunbeam.”
Giggles echo across the narrow path as I inch my way closer. “There is no way you’re calling me sunbeam, Hatty.” She turns, and I frown.
“Why are you sad?”
Ever since the day I found her at school, Rylan and I have had a secret friendship. She’s technically Colton’s best friend, but I feel like she’s also mine.
“Is Colty still playing video games?”
I feel the frown form on my face, but I’m not giving up that easily.
“Rylan. Seriously, why are you sad?”
She huffs out a breath, and her bangs fly high above her head.
“Madelyn Tanner told me not to try out for cheer team because I’m too fat.” Her face scrunches up, and my body tenses like when I’m ready to fight Easton for picking on me.
“Madelyn Tanner is a jerk face, Rylan. You’re not fat.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m … pudgy.” Before I can argue, she’s jumping up from where she was lying in the grass. “Sunbeam, huh?” She grabs the camera at her side and spins in a circle.
This is our game. I give her a word, and I really am trying to find a nickname for her, but she turns them all down, then captures the word with her camera.
I sit down on her towel and watch her spin in place, taking in all the flowers, plants, and bushes around us. I know the second she finds it. A single ray of light landing on a big, pink flower I could never tell you the name of.
Click. Click. Click. She snaps photos of it from every angle, then runs over and flops down beside me. With our heads together under the sun, we view her visions of sunbeams.
Lifting her gaze to mine with a smile that outshines the sun, she grabs my notebook. “Your turn, Hatty. Draw me a sunbeam.”
* * *
Iwake with a start. The morning rays blind me instantly.Sunbeams. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I inspect my room. This is my room, right?Shit.
“What the hell happened?”
“Well, Fibby. You were hiding for starters.”
“GG? What the hell are you doing in here?”
Last night comes back in a montage of fuzzy clips.
“What happened between making the cookies and waking up here?”
A cackle that could wake the dead sounds off the walls of my head. I didn’t have a hangover before, but I sure as fuck do now.
“Nothin’ bad, Fibby. Your brothers and that sweet girl next door took care of ya.”
That doesn’t sound good.
“I don’t remember drinking any …”
GG cackles again, and I turn to find her sitting in the corner at the small table. She’s set up there with her coffee, flipping and crossing cards that are absurdly large.
“What did you give me, anyway? Did you drug me or something? And what exactly are you doing in my room? It’s fucking weird, GG.”
