Spoken Lies And Broken Ties

Reb's P.O.V.

He must have been taken aback after seeing this kind of murderous look on my face because I was never the one to show my anger or hurt to others; I always had this big goofy smile on my face no matter what was going on with me.

"Rebecca" he called out again. It was obvious he wanted to snap at me but couldn't afford to do that right now. So, he must have thought it was best if he was more careful this time with his words and his tone. He decided to choose it wisely or he fears I would explode completely.

"I know many things have changed since we last met but we shouldn't let those changes imperil what we have, our friendship. It is the best thing that can happen to a person. We shouldn't let these changes and differences take away our treasured friendship." When he was done explaining, he looked at me with hopeful eyes thinking this might make a difference. He was confident this would definitely work; emotional blackmail always worked on me back then but not anymore.

He thinks he can come and lecture me about friendship and I would give in so easily. How weak he thinks I am?

Mr. Kercher, you are right there is a change and that change is me. This change is so enormous that you have no idea how bad it is going to be for you. And look who's talking about friendship. Do you even know what friendship means? True that it is the best thing that can happen to a person but this was treasured only to me. It was always a one-sided thing, it never meant anything to you. I know the real you. So, don't try to trick me. The dialogue sounds nothing more than a joke now coming from your mouth.

He waited for one minute, then two and then three and then so on but nothing happened. I didn't even blink during that whole time pretending I didn't hear and as if he wasn't even there. Once again, he was disappointed. His ears met with silence and eyes with ignorance. God, this was like the hundredth time today that I had ignored him. I am seriously having fun crushing his intentions. The message was pretty clear that neither I want him to do be on his own and listen to those songs nor I want him to talk to me. I want him to regret that he came with me. I know I said I didn't want him to accompany me but now when I think about it, it feels right because I witnessed his adversity. Think all you want but you'll never know what the hell is going on in my head. It is too difficult to predict me now unlike my old self.

By now he must have started to think that he likes my old self more because I wasn't this stubborn and short-tempered with him then. But this is a lie. You always thought I was ugly, you never even considered me a friend. Although I wasn't that beautiful then but at least I was easy to talk to. But you blew me away and now you are the who is going to suffer. You have no idea what you have got yourself into? It's going to get as good as dead here for you. But I know you are not going to back down without trying. After all, you have a bet to win.

"Reb" I glared at him "ecca" he completed it almost immediately. "How come you never told me you could drive. Who taught you to drive?" he inquired. It must have suddenly hit him that I didn't know how to drive earlier. Even though he knew he would not get a reply this time too but he was still secretly hoping that I would answer. He really was desperate to start a conversation.

"One of my ex-boyfriends," I said suddenly while still not looking at him. I answered him when he least expected it and he immediately turned his head towards me, he couldn't believe his ears that I actually answered him. I honestly wanted to ignore him again but then an idea came to my mind. I made him believe for a moment that his emotional blackmail did work out pretty well by answering him. This was the first time when my tone held no hate when I answered. He was filled with glee but then it came down to him when his attention shifted towards my words and his mood turned completely sour.

"Oh" he replied but it came out strained. He turned his head back towards the window and strained his eyes peering into the gloom. I made him think I was actually happy to answer him and then when he would realize that I might be thinking about that guy when I answered him. He will know that's why there was no hint of hate in my voice this time. And he would be lost thinking that he was a fool to believe that I actually replied to him sincerely. He would have thought we would at least be on speaking terms with each other after this ride but this answer has exploded his head with tons of questions. I know the thought of me being involved with a guy romantically will not sit well with him. He would wonder if there is a possibility that I could be lying.

I know for sure he would think I am lying, which I am. Aunt Debbie taught me how to drive but he doesn't need to know that. I barely had any friends in Miami, forget about boyfriends. He thinks he would catch me lying because I have always been a bad liar. But he is yet to know how good I am now in deceiving others. This is one thing my loneliness and keen observation has taught me in all these years. I had to stay away from my family because of you, Mark. I had to stay away to make me strong and smart enough to give all the pain and hurt back to you.

I know mark could catch me lying because he had been too close to me, he knows me very well then so I had to be a little careful. But I have practiced it many times and I am too good at it now. It no more takes an effort for me to deceive someone as cunning as Mark. I didn't stutter and seemed confident which made him doubt if that means I actually had a boyfriend back in Miami. He definitely believes it could be possible because of my looks now. I have worked so hard on my appearance and look for three long and lonely years. It wasn't a piece of cake for me. And it looks like my hard work is paying off. Mark is after me because of my looks and has the fear of losing the bet as he doubts if he will ever have a chance with me now. Poor boy didn't even realize till now that I said one of my ex-boyfriends. When he did, he seemed horrified thinking how many did I have?

His head must be hurting with all these questions, he desperately wanted to ask me but I know he couldn't. He has had so many girlfriends himself; it is no biggie to him but still, the idea of me having boyfriends would be killing him? He just couldn't believe his ears that I can have someone more important than him in my life. He would suddenly be cautious if I have a boyfriend at present? He would have never bothered to ask me this before because it might have never hit him that I could have a boyfriend. I know he'll think I didn't believe in all this. How can I have a boyfriend then? All these questions would be eating him out. He wouldn't stop thinking about this and the more he will think about it the more he will fear for his bet.

"How many did you have?" it came out of his mouth in a manner that made it obvious and confirmed that he was angry hearing about my ex-boyfriend. He looked so desperate in front of me at that moment. Who does that? Who asks someone how many boyfriends they have had but he is Mark he can definitely do that. This was so embarrassing for him but like always I ignored him. He turned his head back towards the window out of utter embarrassment and I couldn't help but smirk and laugh inwardly at his misery.

The ride eventually turned back to silent; it's not like it was a chatty one anytime. But this meant that he quit trying to make a conversation. The car finally came to a stop after what felt like years of silence. Just when I was thinking I could go out and have some time alone he pulled his hand to unfasten his seat belt. Just as he was about to remove it, I placed my hand in front of him. I just placed my hand in such a manner that it was restricting his movement but at the same time it wasn't even touching him one bit just close enough to stop him from moving.

"You are not coming with me" I demanded while still looking out of the window. This should give him an idea I don't care about what he thinks anymore. He would probably be wondering by now if he is such an ugly face to look at, but I didn't mind that one bit. All that mattered now was that I was totally commanding him but he didn't seem to worry about that. He was totally lost in his thoughts and it felt like he really was angry.

He most probably chose to ignore me and undid his seat belt when I suddenly snarled and his movement paused, "What part of you are not coming with me did you not understand?" and without waiting for his reply I banged the car door loudly and locked him inside as if he was some puppy whose master just left without him. I was too angry at him for thinking he could do whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

But internally I was celebrating. The look on his face was worth the torturous ride.

Could this day get any better? I was actually smiling at my good luck and his misery.