Life As I Knew It (Book 3)

Confess

              I stared at Landon in disbelief, unable to form a response. Was he spying on me? Anger rose to the surface but I managed to keep it under control. He had no right to be eavesdropping on my conversation. I was about to speak but it was like my voice was frozen. Now was not the time or place for me to be talking about Kyle. I didn't even want to say his name. I didn't want to lie to my new friend but what choice did he give me? I finally built up the courage to speak.

            "What do you mean?" I asked, pretending that nothing was going on.

             "Really? You're going to play stupid with me? You know exactly what I'm talking about." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

             He didn't seem mad but more annoyed. He knew I was lying. Was it really that obvious? I frowned, unsure of how to go about this conversation. I shouldn't be forced to talk about Kyle if I didn't want too. Of all people, I would think that he would understand that. How did I want to go about this?

            "Were you spying on me? How did you know I knew him?" I asked, turning the conversation back onto him.

           "It was pretty obvious when you rushed off to call your aunt. Right now you look like you're going to cry." He stated, uncrossing his arms, his face softened in pity.

           "I'll tell you later but right now I don't want to talk about it." I said, hoping he would drop the topic.

           "Fine. But are you okay?" He asked, staring intently at me to see if I would lie to him.

             "Yes, I'm fine." I said and then added, "Let's get back to the group before they think something is up."

            He nodded and I followed him back to our friends. Simone gave me a weird look as I sat down. What was her problem? She started to grin making me even more nervous. Did she know about Kyle? Wait, why would she be smiling then?

            "What's up?" I asked, deciding to confront her.

            "You like him don't you?" She asked, referring to Landon.

            "What? I just met him?" I said, looking at her like it was crazy.

             I mean the thought of dating Landon wasn't a total absurd thought. I mean he was super nice and pretty attractive but what Simone didn't know was that it had only been about three months since I had been rescued from Kyle. And almost four months since I watched Ethan get murdered. Simone had no way of knowing that so for her to suggest Landon and I dating wasn't bizarre.

           "I see the way he looks at you and to be honest, you don't hide it very well either. The whole 'call my aunt' thing had to be a lie so you two could have some alone time together. Admit it." She grinned even bigger.

           I could already feel my face turning red. I was thankful everyone else was having their own side conversations and couldn't head what we were saying. I mean I liked Landon as a friend but just a friend, right? I wasn't sure at this point. Maybe I did have a crush on him. It felt too soon to be thinking about another relationship. It felt like a betrayal to Ethan. How could I just move on that quickly? Then again, what was the recovery time for watching your boyfriend and first love getting murdered? Florida was supposed to be a fresh start. I knew I could never forget Ethan but I couldn't linger over his death forever. I had no idea what I was supposed to be feeling.

            "I did call my aunt. I'm not sure why he wanted to check on me. Nothing happened." I ensured her.

              Okay, I did lie about the first part but not the second. Landon figured I was hiding something which I was but I wasn't sure if that was his primary reason for checking on me. I felt guilty lying to Simone but it was needed at the moment. I was concerned that I was lying so much, especially to my new friends but when I eventually told them, they would understand. Right?