Page 2 of Falling for A Lie
“Thank you, and yes, I’m Radley. I’m sorry if this gets you in trouble, Soren.” I say as shame reddens my cheeks. I try to avoid her bright blue eyes that could bring a lesser man down to his knees, but she has me locked in a trance.
“Don't worry about it, I'll be okay. Just try to stay clear of the jocks and cheerleaders that try to make their boyfriend of the week jealous, and this shouldn't happen again.” Soren replies with a sweet smile gracing her lips, and her voice is soft and breathless from the fight as she warns me.
She softly touches my shoulders before moving to Drake, hesitantly cradling his face in her hands as if hesitant to show him the same affection she did with me. Jealousy grips me, sending a feeling of nausea through my body. The softness of her voice compels me to shut my eyes and savor every moment.
“Are you okay? Above your eye is bleeding, Drake.” She says, her voice laced with concern.
“I'm fine, Ren. It's just a slight cut,” Drake mumbles, placing his hand on his busted lip and the gash across his eyebrow. He frowns at her for coddling him.
A soft smack on his shoulder follows as she lets out a laugh that has me shifting in my seat, trying to hide the bulge in my pants.
“Come on, now. Let's get you and Rambo to the nurse to get checked out.” She reaches for him, snatching his hand into hers without waiting for his permission. She drags him to where I sit, slumped slightly over to keep the pressure off my side. She holds her opposite hand out, waiting for me to take it into mine again, and I do without a second thought.
What a beautiful spitfire this black-haired bombshell has turned out to be.
I chuckle at the nickname, instantly regretting my decision and wishing I could crawl into myself to die, as the pain makes me want to throw up the lunch I ate an hour ago.
We slowly make our way out of the classroom, and like a guiding light, she leads us to the nurse's office for evaluation. Once we’re inside, and she partially explains what happened, she heads toward the exit.
“Get better soon, guys.” She says, offering a small wave as she walks out the door. Drake and I sheepishly wave goodbye, committing to a silent promise we know we can't keep: staying out of trouble. The look on my brother's face reveals that I'm not the only one affected by the beauty hiding among monsters in prep school uniforms.
What a weird turn of events today has turned out to be. I pray this will not be the only time I enjoy the presence of Soren. When I’m near her, she soothes a piece of my soul that she just took with her when she left.
Chapter two
Creed Santiago
Sophomore Year of High School
My mom looks at me, worry etched across her beautiful face. “Mi Hijo, are you sure you’re okay with this?” Her Spanish accent peeks through the broken English she has worked constantly to learn. I step up to her short frame, wrap my arms around her, and pull her into a hug.
“Ma, I have to do this. I wasn’t getting anywhere with my last school. The academic leadership was failing us all when it came to teaching. My future counts on me graduating and getting into a good college, so that I can take care of you and help with dad’s medical bills.”
My voice comes out more exhausted than I would like for her to hear, but we have been at this constantly. I wasn’t Spanish enough for the Hispanics, and I’m not white enough for the Caucasians. She feared I would get picked on for being different because I have a Mexican mother and a white father. I was in a group barely being accepted by anyone but the rejects, which didn’t bother me.
I didn’t care about being popular or liked, I just needed to graduate so I could help pay for my father’s medical bills from his cancer treatments. He made me promise I would not let Ma go into debt, and I’ll be damned to deny my dying father’s wishes.
Over the last few years, I’ve witnessed him go through countless tests and many rounds of chemotherapy. But no matter how much I’ve prayed to whoever would listen, he hasn’t gotten better. His doctor told us he only has four to five months left with us, and the only thing I can do to help is make sure he is comfortable.
“I’ve gotta go, ma, te amo mucho,” I say, leaning down, pecking her head softly as I step away, leaving the house to catch the city bus to school.
Once on the bus, I looked around for an empty seat and noticed a beautiful girl around my age sitting by herself. Mentally hyping myself up, I make my way to where she is, praying I don’t make a fool out of myself.
“Is this seat taken?” I ask softly. My hand, clutching the strap on my shoulder, grows sweaty as I anxiously await a response. Slowly, she reached up and pulled one of her headphones out of her ear.
“What? Is this your seat or something?” She says as her lip turns up into a vicious snarl. Causing a group of small girls to giggle behind her. Their blonde bob haircuts bounce around their shoulders as they shake their heads and lean up to whisper to the girl in front of me. Her face turns a deep red with shame.
“Oh shit, yeah, you can sit here.” She says, motioning to the empty seat next to her with her free head.
“I’m sorry if I came off rude. The guy before you tried to force me to the back because of something between my legs. Stupid sexist pig.” She grumbles the last part with such venom it could kill a cow.
“No, you can sit anywhere. I’m sorry that you had to deal with that already this morning. If I’m assuming correctly, you’re headed to the high school, right?” She nods softly at my assessment, and I mentally clap myself on the back for being right about her being near my age, maybe older. She could be a senior.
“Well, I’m Credenza Santiago. But my family and friends call me Creed or Reed.” I smile politely back at her, extending my hand in her direction to shake. She looks from my hand to my face and takes it in hers.
“I’m Soren Flint. But I go by Sor or Ren.” She smiles, and it’s so blinding with how truly beautiful she is when she does.
“So, Ren, do you go to North Hazelton?” She looks at me, taken slightly back from the question, like she’s not wearing the uniform with the Crest above her breast.