Bad Liar

Chapter Nine

------------------

Dedication: Xophiaortega for always commenting! Thank you!

Recap:

I let out a soft laugh and she rolled her eyes, knowing that Finn obviously did it.

We spent the rest of the session talking about school and the events coming up. She told me about the carnival, but I already knew it was on. I used to be on the Social Chair Committee, which organises it, but after dad passed away, I dropped out of it.

When I exited her office, I chew my lip, thinking back to what she said.

With a sigh, I make a decision.

I'm going to find Miles.

------------------

I begin aimlessly wandering through the hallway, scanning the small crowd of students as I try to find Miles, before Finn catches me.

After almost losing hope, I finally find him down by the football oval. He is halfway down, sitting on the grass, leaning back onto the fence. Sucking in an encouraging breath, I walk over to him.

The closer I get, the stronger I can smell the stench of cigarette smoke. I scrunch up my face as I walk to him. It now makes sense why he is all the way down here.

He has his head hung low, his forehead pressed against his knees. His arms are slung over his knees, the cigarette loosely dangling between his fingers.

"Miles."

He lifts his head and my stomach clenches when I see tear stains.

He tilts his back, squinting in the morning sunlight.

"What do you want?" he asks, his voice dry. "Here to torment me some more? Throw your father's death in my face again?"

I grimace, sliding down the fence and sitting beside him.

"It was easy to blame you," I murmur softly. "Even if it's not right, it was the easiest thing to do."

"Yeah," he bit out, placing the cigarette against his lips and taking a draw.

I open my mouth a few times, trying to find words to somehow comfort him, but I came up blank. Instead, I let out an exhale, closing my eyes.

We sat there for a while, in total silence. The only sound was him letting out a puff of smoke every now and then. Eventually, he tosses the cigarette away. I am annoyed at that, but I don't say anything.

"What did Byrnes say to you?" he asks, sometime later.

"Not a lot."

"Must have been something for you to come after me."

"I've been thinking and I'm sorry for how I acted." I apologise, my eyes still closed. "We shouldn't have cut you out like that, but it's so hard to forgive you. If I do, it's almost saying I don't care about what happened."

I stretch my legs out in front of me, trying to capture some of the sun's heat. Even though it is a sunny day, the air is still cold.

"I'm a fuck up," he mutters. "Always have been."

"Not always."

I feel him move beside me. I lazily open my eyes, to see he has half-turned. The sunlight brushes his face, casting a yellowish tint on his skin. I stare into his clear, blue eyes, taking in the dark look they now have. I notice the dark circles under his eyes and the careless stubble that has grown on his face. He has angry, frown lines around his mouth.