All the Little Lies (English Prep 1)

Madeline’s face wavered for a moment as I stepped closer to her. “Madeline, I’m not that dense; I know that you and Christian used to fool around and have sex.” Although, the thought made me recoil inside, the past was the past. “But for you to stand here and act like he just fucked you this morning and I got your sloppy seconds is a bit desperate. Don’t you think?”

She growled, “You took everything from me.” Madeline paused for a moment before darting her glistening eyes away from me. Was she crying? A small part of me felt bad almost instantly. She didn’t deserve it. But I did feel a little bad. Something had to have made her this way: cold, detached, craving everyone’s attention at all times.

“Madeline, you did this to yourself. Take a step back and evaluate your actions. Your motives. No one wants to be friends with someone who’s conniving and mean.” I walked over and stood beside her until she finally moved out of the way. The late bell rang above our heads. “I think you should know that better than anyone.”

She held her chin up high. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Her voice dripped of unshed tears.

I shrugged, placing my hand on the door. “Someone made you feel inferior once; that’s why you are the way that you are.”

Her face twisted and grew red. “You know nothing about me. Y

ou’re the one that feels inferior.”

I laughed sarcastically. “You’re damn right. I’ve been put down more times than I can count.” I turned around and pushed through the door, but not before I said over my shoulder, “But at least I can admit it.”

Then, I left her to think about what I'd said. Madeline was mean and callous—conniving, at best—but I knew people weren’t born that way. Something or someone caused her to do the things she did. I knew better than anyone that there was more than met the eye when it came to one’s actions.

“I can’t believe they crushed them that badly.” Piper laughed as she pulled onto the highway.

My fingers fiddled with the holes in my jeans as we drove out to Eric’s cabin for the after-game party. “I know. I’ve only been to a few football games—ever.” I laughed. “But that was, by far, the worst beating I’ve ever seen.”

Piper glanced over and smiled. “Christian probably played so well because he knew you were watching.”

“Oh, whatever.” I laughed. Then I cocked an eyebrow. “I wonder why Ollie played so well…”

Piper grunted.

“Is something going on with you two?”

“What? No!” Her voice squeaked at the end of her sentence, and I couldn’t decide if she was hiding the truth or if it was a coincidence. “We’re just thrown together a lot because of you and Christian.” Piper quickly tried to change the subject. “By the way…how are things with you two? People still haven’t gotten over seeing Christian act so…happy.”

I smiled as my body grew warm. “It’s weird, you know? But in a good way.” I shrugged, tucking a braid behind my shoulder. “I don’t know how to explain it. There’s just this comfort with him, but excitement, too. One curl of his lip gives me butterflies and makes me feel wild, but his hugs calm me almost instantly.” I shook my head a little. “It’s hard not being so independent with him, though. I’m used to being alone and relying on myself, and now he’s there, wanting to fix all my problems. Even Madeline.”

Piper didn’t say anything, so I paused my thoughts of Christian and glanced at her. Piper’s eyes were bouncing back and forth between the windshield and her rearview mirror. My back flew into the passenger seat as she pressed down on the gas. “Piper, what’s wrong? Why are you speeding like that?”

She didn’t look at me. “Speaking of… You don’t think Madeline would ride my ass on the way to Eric’s, would you?”

“What?” I quickly turned around and saw headlights glaring into the back of Piper’s BMW. My heart instantly started to race. “How long has that car been following us?”

“A while. But it just now started to ride my ass. I’m going twenty over the speed limit.”

My eyes darted down to the speedometer, its lights illuminating the interior. “Jesus, you’re going almost eighty miles per hour.”

Piper gulped. “I know.” Her voice was on the edge of hysteria, and I was feeling it, too. “Hayley, what do I do? You don’t think…”

My hands fumbled to grab her phone out of the center console. “Try to slow down, and see if they pass.”

As soon as Piper let off the gas, the car jolted forward, and she screamed. My throat began to squeeze as I frantically scrolled the contacts on Piper’s phone. I found Christian’s number and dialed quickly.

Piper’s voice rang out as I pulled the phone to my ear. “Hayley! What do we do?”

Run. My body’s natural response to fight or flight in this situation was to flight—and to flight fast.

“Drive faster.”

Christian picked up on the first ring.

“Hello?”