All the Little Lies (English Prep 1)

ok a deep breath but paused before I went inside to face Ann, Pete, and Jill. My eyes zeroed in on an all-blacked-out Escalade parked at the end of the road.

Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb. This was a shitty neighborhood. I was half-worried Piper’s car would get messed with the night I snuck out to the party.

I rolled my eyes as I continued to stall. Go on and get it over with.

I squared my shoulders, flipped my dark hair out of my face, and went inside.

“Oh, great. You’re back from school.” Ann stood up from the couch and dusted her skirt off. If only she knew that Jill had sucked Pete off in that exact spot a few days ago. My body shivered at the thought. Gross.

“Hi.” Old cigarette smoke burnt my nostrils as I walked through the threshold. Pete was all but glaring at me, no doubt pissed that Ann had stopped by. His hair was as greasy as the engine oil on his mechanic’s shirt. Jill wasn’t home; she must have been on second shift at the nursing home today.

“I just came to check in with Pete. I had a call from Headmaster Walton this morning.”

Silence erupted throughout the room. Pete was still staring daggers in my direction. Ann was waiting for me to say something, but I kept my mouth shut. I had learned that it was always better to say nothing at all.

“Pete said he had no idea you were getting bullied at English Prep.” She shot him a displeased look, and he brought his eyes to the floor.

Trying to cover my tracks with him, I shrugged. “It was the first time, so I didn’t tell him or Jill. It’s not a big deal. I’ve handled worse.”

Ann walked toward me. “Why don’t you and I go out front to talk?”

She brushed past me, her flowery scent a nice break in the stale-cigarette smell from Pete. I flicked my eyes to his, and he glowered at me. He was definitely mad. Great.

The screen door slammed when I stepped onto the porch. Ann had her arms crossed over her yellow blouse with her phone and keys clenched in her hands. “So, how are things really, Hayley? You obviously don’t want to talk in front of Pete, which has red flags popping up everywhere.”

I could sense Pete staring at me through the screen door without even looking. The cold rawness in his glare seconds ago felt like a snake wrapping around my neck and cutting off my circulation.

“Things are fine, Ann. I’d tell you if they weren’t. Pete and Jill are great foster parents. I didn’t tell them about Madeline because it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

She stared at me, her mouth in a straight line. I looked away before she could see right through me. Hmm. The Escalade is gone. Drug deal?

“Who is this Christian boy the headmaster talked about? Seemed like he had your best interest at heart. Boyfriend?”

I laughed out loud, cutting my attention back to Ann. Not only was it funny that she thought Christian was my boyfriend, but also because she was obviously trying hard to find a common ground with me so I’d trust her. No, Ann. We’re not going to talk boys together like we’re besties.

“We should cut the bullshit, Ann.”

She leveled me with a stare. “I agree. So, tell me, how is it really living here?”

Why was she doing this? Why was she acting like she cared or that she had some magical wand that would change the way my life was?

“Does it matter?” I asked, shifting on my feet. I reached up and untied the bow around my neck, sliding it from my skin. The autumn breeze gave me goosebumps.

Ann’s face softened. Her mouth set into a frown. “Of course it matters, Hayley.”

I laughed sarcastically as I looked out into the near-empty street again, Pete’s beat-up truck sitting close to the curb. “No, it doesn’t, Ann. You heard the judge. If I mess this up, I’m going to a group home. I turn eighteen next month. If I’m in a group home when I age out, there is no going back. They don’t keep you when you turn eighteen. I’ll still get a small chunk of money from the state, but the group home won’t take it as room and board. Jill and Pete are my last hope; they’ll take my stipend money and let me stay until college. Even if things were terrible here”—I gave her a pointed look, raising my voice—“which they aren’t, there is no other option. So, with that said, things are just dandy. The best house I’ve been in yet. School is a breeze. The end.”

The muscles along her heart-shaped face teetered back and forth. She knew I was right. This was my last chance. I had no other options. It was torture knowing things could slip right out of my grasp if the wrong move was made, but it had been like that for the last five years.

I could be sent back to Oakland High with the snap of Christian’s finger. One mess up and the headmaster would likely turn his back on me. One wrong move with Jill and Pete and I could end up homeless before I even graduated high school. I felt like I was constantly teetering back and forth over a cliff.

Ann inched a little closer to me and whispered, knowing very well that Pete was probably listening, “If it gets bad enough, Hayley...tell me. I’ll do everything I can to help you. You know that, right?”

I wanted to believe her. I really, really did. I was desperate to believe her. But I’d been burned one too many times.

“Yes,” I answered. Then I turned around and walked through the front door and waited for her to leave as I stood back and watched through the window.

Part of me wanted to dart up to my room, but instead, I stayed in the living room with Pete, wanting to get it over with. I knew he’d have something to say. There was no point in running.