The Lie

“They said I can keep my job.”

She nearly jumps out of her chair, clapping her hands together. “Are you serious? Brigs this is amazing! Oh my god, I can’t believe it.”

“Well, we have to pretend we don’t know each other when we’re at school,” I tell her. “Which means no more office dates like this. But I think we can make up for it when you move in with me.”

“What?”

“Come live with me,” I implore her. “Today. Tonight. Let’s get your stuff and get you the hell out of there.”

“Are you sure?” she asks though her eyes are already dancing with the thought.

“Natasha, you’re pregnant with my child,” I remind her, automatically smiling at the thought. It will never stop getting old, never stop feeling amazing. “And we’re free to be with each other outside of the school. There’s no one to fear. Unless Winter has any objections, you’re moving in with me.”

“Okay,” she says quietly, blinking at me in amazement. “Tonight?”

“Right fucking now,” I tell her, getting up. “Come on, let’s go. You’re pretty much packed aren’t you?”

She nods. “And Melissa?”

My smile is probably wolfish. “I can’t wait to see the look on her face.”

We leave the school together, both of us anxious, excited, delirious. It’s all moving so fast and yet it doesn’t seem fast enough. I want her in my flat, I want to wake up to her every morning, I want to live with her shining beside me. The fact that we’ve just (narrowly) been granted freedom almost feels like we’ve been pardoned from jail and the way we rush through the streets together, touching, kissing, laughing just cements this.

But we aren’t out of the woods yet. When we get back to my flat – our flat – I have to fight against the urge to take her the moment we step inside. We still have something important to deal with and our nerves won’t rest until it’s put to bed.

Because the Aston Martin probably won’t make it across town and wouldn’t fit any of her stuff regardless, we have to hire a van. Luckily I’ve seen Max make plenty of deliveries to and from The Volunteer with his van, so we head across the street and see if he’ll do us this favor.

“For you,” Max says, tossing me the keys with a big smile, “anything. I’ll just add it to your tab.”

“Thanks, mate,” I tell him and soon I’m in the driver’s seat of an aging van from the 80’s, heading to Wembley with Natasha at my side.

It’s one hell of a nerve-wracking car ride.

Natasha is ringing her hands, biting her lip so hard I fear she’ll draw blood.

“Relax,” I tell her, placing my hand on her leg. “I’m here. With you all the way. You don’t even have to face her if you don’t want her, just stay in the van and I’ll take care of it.”

She shakes her head, exhaling noisily. “I won’t hide from her. Not anymore.”

We pull up to her building and her face falls when she sees the light on in her flat but to her credit, she gets out and we trudge up the stairs to her floor until we’re standing right outside her door.

“Are you ready?” I ask her.

“Nope,” she says, trying to smile. She sticks in her key, hopefully for the last time, and the door opens.

We step inside. The sound of the telly blaring comes from the living area.

“Natasha?” Melissa calls out from the room.

The two of us wait in the hallway, staying silent.

Finally Melissa walks out of the room and stops dead when she sees us.

She blinks at us in surprise for a few beats before her face hardens into hatred.

I wiggle my fingers at her. “Hello. Bet you didn’t expect to see me tonight.”

“What the fuck are you doing with him?” Melissa asks Natasha, though I’m noticing she’s not coming any closer to us. I think she’s scared of us, that we should be so bold. “Why is he here?”

Natasha and I exchange a glance of who should go first.

Natasha looks back to Melissa and shrugs. “He’s helping me move out.”

“Move out? You found another place already?”

If I’m not mistaken there’s a tiny bit of hurt in Melissa’s voice. It makes her human for once.

Natasha swallows thickly but straightens up, head held high. “I did. So Brigs is helping me move.”

Melissa is back to glaring, that sliver of vulnerability gone. “Bullshit. You’re together again aren’t you?”

“Actually,” I tell her, walking a few steps toward her. Melissa shrinks back against the wall. “We are together again. Natasha is actually moving into my flat. Tonight. We’re going to live together. And see each other, as you can imagine.”