Beautiful Lies by Sharlay

is all too much for him now. I can’t blame him.”
    “It is a difficult situation.”
    “I know,” I breathe.
    “So what happens now?”
    “Well, he is staying with his brother until he gets his own place, it seems. He came round just before I got here to collect some things.”
    “What happened?” She asks eagerly. I duck my head in shame and feel my cheeks heat up. “Paige, you slept with him didn’t you?”
    “Yes, but it doesn’t matter, it meant nothing.”
    “That’s a lie.”
    “Ok, then it meant nothing to him ,” I add.
    “I don’t believe that either. Even if he acted like it didn’t, trust me, it did. I’ve seen the way he is with you, Paige. He loves you.”
    “Yeah, well, clearly not enough.”
    “He probably just needs time and space. This will give you the perfect opportunity to try and sort everything out. Maybe you can find a way to stop these dreams and then you two can try again.”
    “Maybe,” I mutter.
    “Everything will work out. I promise.”
    “Thanks, Liv,” I smile at her.
    We are both sat quietly, lost in our thoughts when Brenda and Timothy start bringing in different dishes. After a few minutes the table is full. There’s a full roast chicken, stuffing, mash, vegetables and gravy. It smells amazing.
    “This looks great,” I tell Brenda. She smiles at me lovingly.
    “Thank you, Paige. Timothy, can you say grace?” She asks as we all duck our heads.
    “For what we are about to receive may the Lord make us truly thankful and bless those who are less fortunate, in Jesus’ name.”
    “Amen,” we all say.
    “Let’s tuck in,” Timothy grins, rubbing his hands together eagerly. We all laugh.
     
    * * *
     
    Dinner goes well. We spend the time sharing stories. Everything goes smoothly until I see that I have a missed call and voicemail from Rick. I ignore the message but it bothers me the entire time that I am there.
    As it gets late, Liv and I say our goodbyes and promise to do this again, soon.
    “That was nice,” Liv says as we walk toward our cars.
    “Yeah, it was.”
    “The message, is it from Rick?” She asks.
    “How did you know?”
    “Sister’s know everything,” she winks at me and I laugh.
    “Yeah.”
    “Are you going to listen to it?”
    “Yeah, when I get home, I will.”
    “Well you know where I am if you need to talk, cry or eat a whole tub of Ben and Jerry’s.”
    I start laughing. “Yeah, I’ve got you on speed dial,” I tease. “And I’m here if you need me, too,” I add.
    “We sound like a pair of old women in depression,” she chuckles.
    “Yeah, we do don’t we?”
    “Yup. Right, I solemnly declare that after today I will no longer mope, cry or display any form of depressive behavior,” she says loudly.
    I shake my head at her. “Ok...I solemnly swear that I will not mope, cry or display any form of depressive behavior whatsoever after today. And I swear to eat tubs and tubs of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream with you!” We are laughing like crazy people now.
    “Perfect. I say, we have a girl’s night at mine tomorrow. I’ll get the ice cream; you bring the rom-coms. Sound good?”
    “Sounds perfect, thanks, Liv.”
    “It’s a sister’s job. We pick each other up when we are down even if we are both down at the same time.”
    “Yeah,” I agree.
    “Good, and don’t forget to text me so that I know you’re in safe.”
    “Yeah, you do the same and give Nate a call, make sure he’s ok.”
    “I will. Love you, sis,” she calls as we go our separate ways.
    “Love you more,” I smile as I head to my car.
    “Impossible!”
    When I get in my car, I sit back and smile to myself. A girl’s night in sounds good. A quiet one...unlike last night’s antics.
     
    * * *
     
    When I finally get home, it feels strange. The house seems empty and eerily quiet. No Rick. No Nate...just me. I’m not used to it but I will be, one day. I pull on a pair of sweats and a tank top before sitting in front of the TV ready to soak my