I slump down in the sand and accidentally knock my phone aside when I’m reaching for the bottle. The phone flips over, landing with a soft thud in the sand. The screen lights up and I see a couple of missed calls from a number I don’t recognize. Probably a wrong number.
I roll over onto my back and stare up at the twinkling starlight. Each star seems to flicker and wink at me. Nothing in my life feels constant anymore, nothing steady or dependable.
How many times has Daddy declared his innocence over the years? One hundred? One thousand? Were those the lies? Or just this last one? How many times can you lie to someone you love before everything you share becomes the lie?
I grab the bottle of rum, sit up, pull back, and chuck it as hard as I can. I hear a crash of breaking glass on the rocks of the shallow pond. My sudden fury washes away as quickly as it came. My hand feels as empty as I do. What if Daddy didn’t mean it? What if someone made Daddy tell me that he was guilty? What if—
A soft whistle comes from the shadows behind me, and I whirl around to face the darkness. My motions are too fast for my current state, though, and I tip to one side, my head spinning. “Who—who is that? Who are you?” I ask once I find the words I’m looking for.
“Relax, Riley.” A tall, definitely male form steps out into the moonlight, but I can’t quite get my eyes to focus on him. He walks toward me with his hands up. I scoot backward across the ground a bit and he slows down.
Now he’s only a few feet away. My vision sharpens and when I recognize him I still can’t believe he’s real. “Jordan? Wh-what are you doing here?”
“You called and asked me to come. Don’t you remember?” His dark eyebrows lift and the corner of his mouth turns up.
The missed calls on my phone … could that have been him trying to call me back? I groan, embarrassed, and try to fold my arms across myself, but somehow I end up ramming them into each other and have to try twice to get it right. I look down and see a small white paper under the swing; I know before I pick it up that it’s his number. I honestly don’t remember calling him, but I do remember thinking again and again that I wished there was someone I could call.
Apparently, I found someone.
I place one hand on my forehead, not sure how to even begin apologizing for this. “I can’t believe you came. I’m so so s-sorry.”
Jordan sits down beside me in the sand, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “Don’t be sorry. I’m glad that you called.”
I glance over at him, trying to read his face in the moonlight. He stares straight ahead, but he doesn’t look annoyed or bothered at all. I relax a bit, lying back on the sand so I can rest my head, which is starting to swim again.
He gives me a wry smile. “I think you almost hit me with a liquor bottle when I was looking for you.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You have great timing. You’re there to help with my flat tire. And now you show up in time to catch my f-first time drinking.”
Jordan looks a little concerned as I try to prop myself up on my elbows, wobble, and lie back down. “First time, huh? Did you drink the whole thing?”
“No, officer. Just most of it.” I give him a fake salute and he shakes his head.
Drawing a deep breath, I pull myself up to a sitting position next to him.
“And I’m assuming you didn’t just pick today randomly to start drinking.” He sounds hesitant, like he knows he might be prying, but still needs some answers. “You sounded really upset when you called me. What’s going on, Riley? Are you okay?”
I look over at him, wondering how to answer his question. Wondering how quickly he’ll make an excuse to get out of here if I tell him the truth. A soft sob escapes my throat at the thought of being alone in the park again, and Jordan puts one of his arms around my shoulders for a quick, comforting squeeze before dropping it again.
“Whatever it is, it’s going to be okay.” His eyes mean it. And after all this time, I’m so sick of the lies. Daddy was the only one I never lied to, but now I find out he has lied to me at least once … and maybe more.
No matter the cost, I can’t take any more lying. Especially not to the only person who has been a friend to me lately.
“It’s m-my father.” I pull my knees into my chest, wrapping my arms around them.
“I see.” Jordan nods immediately. “Problems with the divorce situation?”
I blink at him before remembering that I had lied about that, too. “Oh … kind of, but I lied to you about that. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry for all of this. I just didn’t…” I’m rambling and my words slur so much that I’m not even sure what I’m trying to say.
Jordan puts a hand on my arm to stop me, with a small frown of confusion. “It doesn’t matter. Just tell me the truth now.”
“My parents aren’t divorced, but Daddy hasn’t lived with us since I was six. He—my f-father is in prison.”