Truthful Lies by Heather Borger (best summer reads of all time .txt) 📕

***

Scott slid a sweaty palm down the leg of his jeans. His heart was racing. Pausing in the hallway, he grinned and mentally reviewed what he was prepared to do tonight. He felt so lucky. After meeting Meghan and, then, persuading her to go out with him, the next few years were easy; he worked on a film crew and she faithfully followed him wherever he went. Tonight they had a special evening planned. Meghan had left a few hours ago to spend a little time with some friends she made while he was filming in Alaska. He told her he’d pick her up outside the hotel, but she wasn’t waiting outside yet, so he decided to go inside and get her. He didn’t want to wait all night to take the diamond out of his right pocket and place it on her left hand. He heard voices inside the room and didn’t want to interrupt, so he paused before knocking on the half-open door.

“So you’re really going to travel all the way across the country with him again?”

Although the first voice he heard was foreign, the sweet, familiar voice that answered made his swiftly beating heart stop.

“Well, of course. I’ve traveled everywhere he’s wanted me to go for the past four and a half years. Why stop now?”

“Because you have him eating out of the palm of your hand. If you told him you wanted to stay behind this time, you know he’d let you do whatever you want.”

Meghan sighed loudly, “What good would it do me to stay here?”

Scott inched closer to the door. His mind raced as he tried to determine if Meghan really wanted him to go on to the next filming location without her. He listened, afraid to breath - as if they might hear him from inside.

The initial voice spoke up again, a much more exasperated tone this time, “For one, you’d finally be able to get around a little without having to sneak out of his place all the time. And, besides, unless you want to be with him forever, you have to break away sooner or later.”

Scott strained to hear Meghan’s response over the sound of the blood rushing through his head. What did she mean, ‘get around a little’? And, when did Meghan ever need to sneak out of his place? He was beginning to feel dizzy when he heard Meghan’s voice again.

She spoke confidently, “Are you kidding me? Break away? No way will I ever ‘break away.’ He’s an amazing cinematographer with a permanent spot on a major film crew. Not to mention how good he looks! And, in a few years he’ll be making six digits and I’ll be living in an LA mansion, flirting with celebrities, and sleeping my way through Hollywood.”

A chorus of giggles erupted from the room. Scott leaned against the wall for support and tried to digest what he had just heard. Could she really be staying with him only because she wanted to be rich and famous someday? He thought she loved him. Realizing he’d be caught if he stayed there, Scott turned to leave. He needed a place to think for a few minutes. Once he was back downstairs, he turned and walked all the way to the end of the hallway where he stopped to knock on a familiar door.

Ty’s friendly smile greeted him, “Hey, man, what’s up?” He patted Scott’s shoulder and was about to ask him if he was ready for his big night when he saw the pale expression on his friend’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Scott stepped past Ty and sat down on a chair just inside the door. Wringing his hands in his lap, he looked up and began to speak quietly, “I just, um, I just overheard Meghan telling a couple of the girls that she’s staying with me because in a few years I’ll be making a lot more money and she’ll have a mansion in LA.” He paused, looked toward the window, and continued, “She also assumes that when I’m gone she’ll be able to … now how did she say it? She’ll be able to ‘sleep her way through Hollywood’.”

“No. I’m sure she didn’t mean anything like that! Are you sure?”

Scott got up and walked to the window. Being on the first floor, there wasn’t much of a view, but at least it was better than looking into Ty’s concerned expression and coming to terms with the fact that Meghan wasn’t who he thought she was.

He spoke confidently, “I’m sure. There was no hesitation in her voice. She was speaking from her heart and telling it exactly like she sees it. She is using me. That’s it. There was no remorse in her voice. It was also completely void of love. Why didn’t I see this myself? How did she fool me for so long?”


“I don’t know. Maybe there’s more to it. Talk to her. Don’t assume she’s been lying to you all along.”


Scott looked carefully at Ty. “Have you ever been in love? I mean REALLY in love?”

“No,” Ty shook his head. He didn’t know how to help. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, don’t let it keep you up. I guess we’ll talk -”

A knock at the door stopped him mid-sentence.

Ty got up to answer it, “Hi, Meghan. What’s up?” He avoided making eye contact, and turned to walk back inside quickly.

“Hi, Ty. Nothing new.” She looked at Scott by the window and skipped over to him, “I’m just looking for this guy. He’s supposed to be taking me out tonight.” She smiled, but it faded quickly as she noticed no one else was smiling at her. “What’s wrong?”

Ty spoke up quickly, “I was just having a bad day, that’s all. Scott stopped in to talk a while before your date. Sorry if I kept him too long.”

Meghan’s smile returned, “Oh, no problem! I got carried away with the girls, too.” She looped her fingers inside Scott’s and pulled herself up to kiss him on the cheek before turning to leave. “I’ll let you boys finish up and I’ll meet you outside.” She pointed a flirtatious finger at Scott as she turned the corner out the door.

Scott waited until Meghan was out of the room and threw his hands in the air, “It’s as if nothing is going on. She acted totally normal just now.” He looked at Ty, “Didn’t she?” He didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. His voice became louder as his breathing increased with his despair, “Is it just me? Has this been going on so long that she can say the types of things I just overheard, then turn around and act as if nothing is wrong between us?”

Ty motioned toward the door Meghan just skipped through and shook his head. “I don’t know, but, you’re right, she was completely normal - her typical happy, smiling, electric self.”

“What do I do now?” Scott looked to Ty for advice.

Ty’s mind raced. He would never have guessed Meghan was unfaithful, yet from the small amount of information he just received, was it even possible that there was another possibility? Should he try to convince Scott that he could have misunderstood her comments, or try to help prepare him for the terrible realization that Meghan was not who they all thought she was? Unable to decide and offer any satisfactory suggestions, Ty ran his hands through his black hair and questioned Scott, “What do you want to do?”

Scott looked incapable of answering and Ty continued, “I mean, you can’t go back in time; so do you want to confront her, or walk away, or try to ignore what you heard?”

“I want to forget what I heard. I want to pretend she didn’t say those things. But I can’t.”


Scott reached into his pocket. With a shaking hand, he held out a small square box toward Ty. “Will you keep this down here tonight?”

Ty nodded as he took the box, but raised a questioning eyebrow at Scott.

Scott responded quietly to the unspoken question, “I love her more than anything and I want to give her a chance to explain herself. On the other hand, I don’t want to get carried away tonight and make any mistakes. If I don’t have this, I can’t do something I’ll regret in the morning.”


“Okay, no problem.” Ty took the ring and decided he was happy he’d never been in love. It seemed like one big uncertainty that he wasn’t willing to experience yet. “Just don’t forget to come back and pick it up again.”

Scott grinned, “If I forget to pick it up, I give you permission to sell it.”

He walked past Ty and out the door. Meghan was waiting patiently on a bench in the lobby. She jumped up to greet him. He cringed at her embrace.

“What’s wrong? You seem tense.” Without waiting for his reply, she continued - a seductive gleam brightening her eyes, “I can help you relax if you’d rather not go for dinner.”

Taking a deep breath, Scott smiled and gently slid her arm off his neck. “No. I’m hungry. I’ll relax later.”

Stunned at his indifference to her advance, Meghan smiled gently and relaxed back on her feet again before speaking. “If talking to Ty upsets you so much, why do you always make yourself available whenever he needs to talk?”

Angered by her lack of concern, and wondering if it had always been there, unnoticed by himself, Scott answered dryly, “Ty is a great guy who has been through a lot this past year. When he needs to talk, I’m going to be there to listen.” Feeling sick to his stomach, Scott continued, “And, it’s not talking to Ty that upset me. I had a rough afternoon, myself.”

“Oh, okay. Well, if you need to talk, I’m here.” She looked closely at Scott trying to make eye contact, but he avoided her stare.

Scott stifled a laugh and continued walking toward Meghan’s car. “Are you going to drive tonight or should I?”

She eyed him suspiciously, “You can drive.” Pausing outside the car, she looked across at him as she tossed him the keys, “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about whatever is bothering you? You seem really worked up.”

Scott answered with a mild hint of sarcasm in his voice, “We’ll talk later. Can we just enjoy a nice dinner first?”

Meghan nodded and sat down inside the car. She buckled and smiled at Scott when she caught him staring at her. It was obvious he was completely in love with her. He was blind to her