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…teach them not to lie again.
FIFTY-SEVEN
THURSDAY, JUNE 29TH 6:00 PM
All I see are three liars in front of me.
In a world full of lies, I will be the truth.
“The three of you don’t deserve me in your life. I didn’t ask for this…to be surrounded by deceit that has left me unable to trust the people I should love, so yes, I tied you up to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid before or during the court trial today. You know, if you had just allowed me to keep the distance between us, we wouldn’t be here like this right now.”
“This doesn’t make any sense, Haley,” Mom says, tugging her wrists from the bedposts.
“Yeah, it does. Rather than teaching me how to manage my feelings and emotions or send me to therapy, you smothered me, spoiled me, showed me love and affection, but at the same time kept me at a distance from the rest of the world. You told me you could keep me safe and protect me from the cruel world. That’s why you confined me to our home when I wasn’t in school. Except, you didn’t plan for what would happen when you weren’t home, and someone came to the door to inform me my life was a lie.” I try my best to push the memory out of my head so I can get through this, explaining again how they ended up here like this. “My parents weren’t who they said they were. As I digested thistidbit, kids from my class stood around like an audience outside, laughing at me during the worst moment of my life. I had never felt more embarrassed, angry, upset, and tortured than I did at that moment. Not only did I find out you had been lying to me my entire life, but Billy, my stupid teenage crush, is the one who shattered my world, also breaking my heart in the very same moment. God, I was laughingstock of all those kids with thanks to his darling sister, Larissa, who got joy out of dragging our family’s name through the mud. I didn’t know what else to do but retaliate.”
Willa clenches her fists by her side. Her complexion becomes pale and dewy as her lips part. She’s debating what to say, but I already know what will come out of her mouth.
“You’re the one who started the fire in your old home?” Willa asks, her voice trembling.
Mom and Dad both shake their heads at her, their eyes bulging with fear. Because they know the truth about lies and the lies about truths, what can happen when one is exposed after the other.
I shrug. “Yes,” I answer.
She covers her mouth, her hands shaking as tears fill her eyes. “You didn’t tell me,” she mutters to Dad.
“You didn’t ask. But now that you have, you know the truth,” I say, waving the pistol around in the air.
Mom lets out a faint cry. “We thought we were doing right by you,” she says.
“We knew you were different than other children after—” Dad continues.
“Gary,” Mom hisses.
“After what?” Willa whispers.
Dad stares up at his restrained hands and shakes his head. “You stabbed your kindergarten teacher with a pair of scissors. You almost killed her.”
“I tripped,” I tell them. “I was running with a pair of scissors, and I tripped.” The gruesome scene floods my mind. She was sitting in the large circle with the other kids and the blades went right into her left eye. I shiver from the chills trickling up my spine.
“You hated that woman, Haley. A day didn’t go by where you didn’t tell us so. Even on the day of the scissor incident. You reminded us several times that she deserved what happened.”
“You told everyone we knew it was an accident and that I was traumatized from it. You did the same thing with the fire, right? Accidents happen, but the fire, that accident, at least it put a stop to the past coming back to haunt us. Not that you deserved my help after lying to me about who you were.” I pinch my firefly necklace that I’ve had hanging around my neck since I was a kid. “Although I assume that’s why you rewarded me with this necklace after the fire.”
“You know who we are. We’re your parents. We’ve always been your parents,” Mom wails. “And nothing was an accident. We didn’t give you that necklace. You said you found it outside of the children’s rehabilitation center we had taken you to.”
“I never said that,” I argue.
“We went through so much to make sure you weren’t taken away from us, especially after the incident with your kindergarten teacher. So, yes, we did cover for you so you didn’t end up with a criminal record at thirteen for committing arson. It wasn’t your father and I who you saw in that article, Haley. However, that articlewasthe reason for your anger the night of the fire. We’ve been honest with you all along, but you chose not to believe us.”
“How could I?” I still don’t believe them now. I likely never will. “You didn’t think I would benefit from some therapy with the hope of having a better future? No, you didn’t. You don’t believe in therapists because one would likely sniff out yourtruth and reveal who you two really are. When I realized this about you, I knew I had to do something to make sure I didn’t end up like you.”
“Haley… These questions are absurd. You’re not like us. We prayed you’d become like us, but it hasn’t happened,” Dad says.
“You’re right,” I retaliate. “Unlike you, I tell the truth, only the truth. I told you exactly what I did after the fire, and just as you always had before, you lied about it to everyone. You claimed never to know how the fire began even though I was honest. Even when the Hoyts accused us of having something to do with the fire, you told them it was an unfortunate circumstance that took the life of their daughter—the wrong daughter.” I thought Lara was home that night, not Libby, the nice sister. “That’s why you didn’t fight the lawsuit. You knew if you fought, the truth could come out, so instead you gave them everything they didn’t deserve. They were the ones who tried to ruin our lives in the first place. They got what they deserved.”
“Anyone can try to ruin your life, Haley, but only you can allow someone to do so. You were a victim to their cruel behavior, and they were wrong to do what they did, but what you did—” Dad grumbles.
“Can I please leave,” Willa whimpers. “I’m sure you have a lot to talk out, but please—I’m sorry, Haley. I was trying to help…”
