Page 65 of Bitter Lies

We were good kids once upon a time, so how did we get here? And is there redemption?

As I lay in bed last night, wide-eyed and brooding, I remembered the week I was out for my surgery.

I didn’t want to take off the necklace Griffin gave me, insisting it was my good-luck charm, to which my mother gave me her standard impatient look, and I gave in.

And after the procedure, as I lay miserably in my bed, sore and jealous of Griffin and Max out and about, I noticed the flowers beside my bed.

I smelled the beautiful blooms with a thrill, reading the card and wondering if maybe Griffin had come around and sent me flowers as he did once before when I had emergency surgery for my appendix.

But this time, the flowers weren’t from Griffin, and heartsore, I turned away from my mother’s handwriting on the card.

That was a miserable week for me, but now that I think back on it, it was one of the few times that Max was kind to me, visiting me and telling me stories to make me laugh, which, although burned my sore throat, were thrilling to my sad heart.

Now I’m left wondering if his unusual act of kindness was just that or something more nefarious, and if so, why?

Did he take my necklace and give it to Bobby’s sister?

Chapter Eighteen

No one listens because they don’t fucking care.

“Walk me through the events, Halsey,” Dr. Marks says in his gentle voice.

Mulishly, I twist my lips and smile. “I’m not ready.”

“Halsey, if you can’t speak about the incident, you can’t move past it,” he says in a patient tone.

“Who’s to say I’ll ever move past it? I mean, how do you move past that?”

“It’ll always be a part of you, yes. But you give it power now. Take that back, Halsey.”

Squirming in my seat, I press my lips together. “I’m not ready.”

He sits back with a sigh, and I bow my head, feeling inexplicably guilty. I know he’s trying to help, but in this, I cannot budge. Maybe…someday.

As it is, I live it in my dreams anyway, and it’s not fucking going away.

“Very well, maybe next week. It’s time to end for today.”

Nodding glumly, I grab my bag and head for the door, unable to shake the dark cloud hanging over my head. The events over break still weigh on me, and I’m desperate to make my mother see, but exactly how remains a mystery to me.

Morosely, I sit down in Psych and stare at the board. It’s days like today that I’d like to crawl into a hole, but I know to do that would be giving in, and I refuse to give up even if I don’t want to put into words what can never be taken back.

Griffin sits beside me without a word, and Hogan slides in just as Dr. Marks enters, saving me from having to make small talk.

“Okay, folks, today we are going to do a little experiment,” he says, glancing around the room, his eyes narrowing a fraction when he crosses over me before he continues, “Okay, count off for me.”

When all is said and done, I’m paired with some burly dude who smiles at me with shiny white teeth and looks me over with a wide grin.

Rolling my eyes, I glance away and meet Griffin’s cool glare across the way, but before I can respond, we’re handed slips of paper.

“Talk out the scenario with your partner. Really dig deep. This is what psychology is, people,” Dr. Marks says.

“Hey, I’m Mike.”

“Halsey.”

“Okay, so uh, we’re supposed to talk about our biggest fear,” he says with a chuckle.

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