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He’s bottled up tight, though.
“Gosh, I don’t know.” I sigh and reach for my wine glass, taking a tiny sip as I think about my options. “The lie is you broke your ankle when you were six,” I ultimately go with.
Justin chuckles and nods. “It was when I was five.”
My mouth gapes open. I figured the break in general was the fib. “How did you break your ankle at five?”
“Jumped from the monkey bars.”
“Jungle gym?”
“Yeah, you know.” He holds his hands above his head and mimics going across the bars, one hand swinging at a time. “It was over summer when I was with my dad, so mom was super thrilled when I came home a month later. Your turn.”
“Umm. Well…” I take another sip of my wine before crossing my arms over the table. I’m half-tempted to go super honest with him right now.
It’s probably the wine talking but…
In this moment, I guess I couldn’t care less.
“My mother hates me. I had the biggest crush on you when I was here in high school. And…” I realize the third point I have isn’t a lie either but…
Maybe I can fake it.
“I don’t plan on going back to Australia, if I can help it.”
The way Justin watches me makes me feel as if he sees straight through me.
Like he can hear my thoughts as well I do.
I take my wine glass and gulp down the last of the liquid, brushing the back of my hand over my mouth as a way to keep busy.
“Why do you think your mom hates you?” he asks instead.
I lift my brows. “Do you think that’s the lie then?” Feeling exposed, I can’t maintain eye contact. Rather, I watch my fingers as I play with the stem of the wine glass.
Justin surprises me by reaching across the table and gently removing the empty glass from my reach.
“I don’t think any of them were lies,” he confesses.
“The game is two truths and a lie,” I remind him, lifting my eyes once more.
“And you fidget with every lie.” Why is he so observant? “Not once did you move this round. Everything was truthful.”
“But you’re going to focus on my mom?” There was a far better truth in that mix he could focus on.
“For right now? Yeah.”
I shake my head and push to stand. “Not everyone has mothers like you do, Justin.” Unable to deal with the sudden flood of emotions, I do what I do best.
I retreat.
When things got to peak badness at home, I begged to be allowed to sign up for the foreign exchange student program.
And when I came home and things weren’t any better, I planned for university in another state. The only time I returned to Melbourne was to celebrate one of Layne’s accomplishments.
Then, the moment I learned I conditionally scored the job in Colorado, I applied for my visa and made immediate plans.
All that to say, I am well-versed in the art of retreating.
