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

All he could think about was returning to his RV and getting back to re-planning the perfect proposal.

Turning the corner into the RV lot, Scott’s attention was caught by movement down one of the rows. He backed up and stopped immediately. The blood rushed from his head and he felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. Bent over at the waist, gasping for air that would never cure his ailment; he would have screamed but there was no air in his lungs to produce a sound. Before being seen, he pulled himself across the path between RVs and paused. His eyes must be playing tricks on him. There was no way Meghan was kissing anyone else. Not after the night they just had. Not after all he had just convinced himself of. There was no way he just saw the woman he was planning to marry tangled in another man’s embrace. And yet, he knew it was her.

He suddenly became aware that she’d return to his RV sweaty and out of breath in just minutes; feeling wonderfully rejuvenated after her brisk morning run. The run she never wanted him to join her on. The run she convinced him would tire him too much before the intensity of the day he’d have ahead of him. The run he’d stopped asking to go along on.

He managed to drag himself back to his RV and sat, stoically waiting for Meghan to return. As he expected, she burst through the door within five minutes, a large smile on her face. A smile that faded, replaced with great concern.

“Scotty, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

He looked up at her but didn’t rise from his seat. “Please don’t call me Scotty.”

She paused. He knew something. How much did he know? What did he know? Regaining her composure, she proceeded with confidence, “Please tell me what’s going on.”

“Sit down and tell me where you go when you say you’re going for a run.”

“It depends on where we are. Since we got to Alaska, I run up to the park and try to stay on the track up there. You know, the one we walked to the first night we were here.” Her voice cracked and she wondered how convincing she was.

“Do your runs always end with passionate kisses from other men?”

She tried to look stunned but couldn’t pull it off. Collapsing on the table, Meghan began sobbing into her folded arms. She looked up, her eyes full of tears, “I’m so sorry, Scotty. I never meant to hurt you. You know I love you.”

“I asked you not to call me Scotty. And, no, I'm not so sure anymore that you love me.” His hands were shaking and he felt as though he was about to pass out.

Meghan got up and approached Scott, she looked down at him and moved his arms from the table, making room to sit on his lap. He pushed her away, too hurt to return her gaze.

Standing up, he considered his options. Looking into her eyes for the first time, he spoke softly, “I was planning to propose to you today. I can’t believe you almost had me believing you really loved me. Have you ever been faithful?”

Meghan looked down at the floor. She nodded.

“For what? A day? A month?” His voice grew louder as anger replaced his hurt and betrayal, “Tell me, Meghan, how long were you faithful to me?”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”

“No. I’m sure you only wanted to mislead me enough to have your way with me while keeping me completely in the dark all along. I’m quite sure you never meant to be discovered and hurt me!” He got up from the table and walked a few short steps to the bedroom. Closing the door quietly, he sat on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, and his head dropping into his hands.

Meghan knocked quietly, but didn’t wait for an answer. It almost hurt to see him so upset. More than that, however, she couldn’t believe he was considering marriage. She never knew he was so in love with her. She sat next to him on the bed. He pulled away but she held on to his arm and gently forced him to turn back and face her.

“Please talk to me. Forgive me.” She paused to stare more deeply into his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

He wanted so badly to believe she was sorry. “Can you be faithful?”

They both knew the answer. He hoped she could lie well enough that it at least felt truthful to him.

She couldn’t get the words out. Instead, she pushed herself into Scott and began kissing him. His strong arms wrapping around her back and neck convinced Meghan that he wanted to believe her.

Meghan was careful for a few days. She even took Scott on one of her runs. By the end of the next week, Scott had all but forgotten the pain of seeing her in another man’s embrace.

***

Before leaving the set Friday night, Scott caught up with Ty to stop him and ask for advice. “Ty. Hey, Ty! Do you have a minute?”

Ty turned when he heard Scott’s voice. “Hi. Yeah, of course. What’s up?”

“I need your honest opinion.”

Ty smiled. He knew what was coming next. “Do you really think I can help you make such an important decision?”

“No. I realize you can’t help me make the decision. But, I guess what I want to know is - if I go through with this tonight and it ends badly - either today or in ten years, do you promise not to say ‘I told you so’?”

Ty chuckled, “I promise.”

Ty’s response was followed by an awkward silence that Scott understood. Ty would never say ‘I told you so’ but he would also never agree that what Scott was planing to do tonight was a good idea.

“Look, Scott, I know I’ve never been in love before, so giving advice this important is way out of my comfort zone.” He paused and took a deep breath, “However, I hate to see you like this. You know I’ll be there for you - no matter what happens tonight or ten years form now. I just wish you hadn’t been put in this situation.”

“Yeah. Thanks. Well, wish me luck.”

“Good luck.”

Scott smiled and turned to head back to his RV. He knew he’d go through with it tonight. He needed to prove to Meghan how much he loved her and that he was willing to forgive her mistakes.

When he walked inside, Meghan was standing at the stove making supper. He walked up behind her and reached around her waist, kissing her neck.

“Hey, Megs. How was your day?”

Meghan turned to face him, smiling ear to ear. The fact that he was back to calling her Megs meant he had really forgiven her. “I had a wonderful day, thanks for asking.” She reached her arms up around his neck and began kissing him.

Scott reached around her to turn to stove off before pulling her around the counter to the table. She smiled at him questioningly.

Still smiling, Meghan quietly asked, “What’s up?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you a bit before supper.”

Scott pulled out a chair for Meghan and sat down in the seat across from her. He reached out for her hands and held them tenderly as he looked into her eyes. “You know how much I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Meghan.” He dropped down on one knee in front of her and pulled out the ring, “Will you marry me?”

Meghan gasped as she realized what was happening. She didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t planning to marry him. Not yet. She thought there was time to explain that to him. “Oh Scott! I … I can’t marry you … not now.”

He fell to floor in shock. “What do you mean ‘not now’?”

“Scott, I’m so sorry. I can’t.”

She got up and left quickly. Scott watched her, unable to open his mouth and call her back, as she turned and ran out the door.

He spent the next few hours sitting there - a crumpled, defeated soul with no desire to get up. As evening loomed, he picked up his phone to call Meghan. She still had not returned and he was getting worried.

To his short-lived relief, she answered after a few rings.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Meghan. Where are you, I was getting worried.”

“I’m with a friend. I’ll be back in the morning.”

He was about to beg her to come home to him so they could talk when he heard another voice in the background. It was muffled, but he was certain that it was a man telling her to hang up.

“Who are you with? Meghan, where are you?”

“Don’t worry about where I am, okay? I’m a big girl and I’m just fine. I’ll be back in the morning.”

She hung up the phone and Scott didn’t have the energy to call her back.

Just as she promised, Meghan was walking in the door by seven the next morning. She was shocked to see Scott sitting on the couch; his exhausted, blood-shot eyes staring back at her coldly.

“Where were you last night?”

“I told you, I was with a friend.”

He reached out for her, trying to stop her from walking past him. Grabbing for her arm, he noticed faint marks and bruises above her elbow. Trying to stay focussed, he pressed for more information, “Was he the same friend I saw you with the other morning?”

She stared at him, shocked that he would be so bold as to accuse her of going back to him, and, yet, impressed that he knew so much.

“Maybe.”

“Why?”

“Why not?” Meghan didn’t want him to answer her question, so she continued quickly, “You shouldn’t keep asking questions that you know you don’t really want the answers to.”

Scott realized something in that moment; Meghan didn’t feel remorse at hurting him. She didn’t care that he was dying inside. She didn’t, nor would she ever, love him. He looked into her blank, rested eyes and said the only thing he could. “I want you to leave now.”

She laughed, “Are you serious? And go where?”

“Wherever you want. Just leave now.” He pulled the ring out of his pocket and turned it over in his hand. “Take this with you. I don’t need it any more.”

“I don’t want your ring.”