A/N:

Beta is Lindz26. Pre-reader is MichelleMMarie—the Captain Planet to my damaged ecosystem through pollution and deforestation. He's so cool.


CHAPTER SEVEN
*You Bold-Faced Lied to Me*

What was wrong with me?

That question kept pounding inside my head, over and over. I sat on the porch step, still dressed in my pajamas, not able to move. I hadn't eaten or taken a shower like I normally would've by now, all because of last night. An event my brain had fabricated.

Everything I'd done, the arguing, deciding to part ways, was all imagined. At least the wallet I'd sneaked a peek at was real, according to him. So, that begged a question. If I'd made up what happened last night, what else had I made up?

In the distance, I could hear Edward's truck. I let out a sigh and stood, just as the green hunk of metal approached. Sadie and Tucker were in the back, along with some fishing gear. They both barked as soon as they saw me.

After Edward parked, he got out and dropped the tailgate. Tucker was big enough to jump off the bed himself, but Sadie had to be placed on the ground by Edward.

"Did you catch anything?" I asked him.

He reached into the bed and took out the cooler he usually brought with him whenever he'd fish. "Yep," he answered. "And if you don't try to cook eggs again, maybe you can have some of this."

I gave him a sour look. "Very funny," I replied dryly.

As he walked past me to go into the house, he glanced down at my hand that was holding a daisy I'd uprooted from the ground. "Better not find that in the house," he warned, and vanished inside.

I suppressed a groan, tired of him bossing me around, and dropped the daisy to the ground to follow him and the dogs inside.

"What kind did you catch?" I asked him after shutting the door.

He turned on the kitchen sink and pushed his sleeves up. "Salmon," he answered, and removed a fish from the cooler.

I observed as he washed it carefully. "And…you go to the river to do that?" I asked hesitantly, feeling a lump in my throat at the very thought of it.

He set the fish down and opened a drawer, taking out a long, sharp knife. "Where else would I go?"

I sat down at the kitchen table, not able to stomach watching him slice into the salmon. "I tried going to the river once," I admitted, drawing patterns on the surface with my finger.

"And?" he queried distractedly.

I shrugged. "I can't go."

Whatever he was doing to the poor fish, he'd stopped now to look at me. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," I replied. "It was like…I was scared of it."

A crease formed on his brow. "Well, you got tossed around in there pretty bad."

"I know," I sighed, and remembered something. "But there's also this." I stood and went back over to him.

He remained frozen as he watched me lower the waistband of my pajama pants to show my hip. His eyes flickered down to where there was a small, red gash in the flesh right over my hipbone. I'd noticed it the first time I took a shower, but thought it was just another scrape like the other marks on my body. However, while those had already healed and disappeared, this one had scarred.

"Yeah, I saw that when I—" He abruptly stopped talking and cleared his throat. "Not sure what that is."

I raised an eyebrow at him briefly and then sighed thoughtfully as I settled the waistband back in place.

"What's wrong?" he questioned me, almost looking worried. Something I'd never seen from him before.

I shook my head. "I just wish I could remember."

He opened his mouth, looking like he wanted to say something, but then closed it and glanced at the mutilated salmon. "Got some stuff in the back of the truck I need to take out," he murmured quietly, and walked around me.

When the front door shut, I went to the sink and washed my hands, thinking I could help him make dinner when he got back. As I dried my hands with a dish towel, I glanced absentmindedly into the trash and then did a double take. I tossed the towel onto the kitchen counter and took out an empty Swedish Fish candy bag.

Yesterday, I'd brought the barely touched bag into the house after going to Redwood City, but hadn't even looked at it again, since I didn't like the Swedish Fish.

But Edward had eaten it.

The thought made me smile. He had a sweet tooth. No wonder he didn't want the Snickers, which was more of a savory-sweet snack, while gummy was purely sweet. Well, now I knew better.

The front door opened, causing me to hastily throw the bag into the trash. He gave me an odd look as he walked back to the sink, but I didn't think he knew what I'd found out.

"Can I help you cook lunch?" I asked him.

"No," he answered stoically, washing his hands again.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not gonna ruin it."

He resumed gutting the fish, ignoring me. I let out a huff and decided to go try to keep myself busy.

X-X-X-X

"DAMNIT!"

My eyes widened at the sound of Edward's harsh voice from the bedroom. I was currently on the sofa, reading after a filling lunch. He'd gone into the bedroom for some reason, and now he was yelling.

He suddenly stomped out into the living room, holding his field jacket in one hand and a handful of daisy petals in the other.

I tried to hold back a laugh, but was failing miserably. "Guess you found my gift," I revealed.

He glowered at me intensely and balled his hand into a fist, crushing the petals. Oh, he was mad. I'd only done it to get back at him for always bossing me around. At the time, I'd realized it was quite vindictive, but I didn't much care.

He dropped the jacket to the floorboards and took steps toward me. "You and your goddamn petals. You're gonna get it this time," he threatened, his voice low and gravely.

What was he going to do? Not thinking twice about it, I shot off the couch, making a run for the door. But before I could open it, his arm came around my waist, and he backed me into the door. I gasped, feeling his hard body against mine.

Suddenly, there was laughter. From him. I blinked rapidly, unsure if I was hearing right. His mouth was contorted into the most beautiful smile I'd ever witnessed, showing how white and straight his teeth were. The corners of his bright eyes had tiny, defined wrinkles that I'd never seen before.

I realized his abrupt mood change had caused me to smile. There was a flutter in my chest, making my breathing falter. It was like I was looking at him in a whole new light.

Our eyes remained locked as his laughter died down, and soon, we were just staring at one another, unable to move or say anything. He glanced around my face and then back to my eyes, sending a thrill throughout my body. This was different. We were different; no longer strangers. It scared me and excited me all at the same time.

His brow began to furrow slowly. Whatever moment we'd just had was dying. And then…it was just a memory.

He reached his hand up and sprinkled the flower petals over my head. As they rained down my face, the hard expression he usually dawned returned in full force.

"Keep them out of the house, or it'll be you I keep out," he warned menacingly, and pulled open the door, sending me stumbling forward. He shut it loudly behind him. I was confused, shaken up, and with my hair full of petals.

Later that day, I was starting to get worried, because he hadn't come back after his bewildering exit earlier. I'd cleaned up the petals and read a bit to keep myself occupied until he returned, but now it was dark out. Sadie and Tucker were getting worried, too, because they'd both decided to camp out near the front door.

With a sigh, I went to the pantry to see if I could make myself some dinner, even though he hated me going through his things. Well, tough luck. He wasn't here.

I'd just taken out a can of potato soup, when Edward came through the front door, looking tired and worn out. Tucker was super excited to see him, acting as if it'd been years since they last saw each other. Edward squatted down to scratch the top of his head then patted him on the back affectionately.

"Where have you been?" I asked cuttingly.

He looked at me briefly before standing up straight. "Just took a ride," he answered, and eyed the can in my hand. "Are you hungry?"

I sighed, frustrated. "I was looking for something to eat."

"Come on, we'll go get something," he offered.

My eyebrows shot up. "Are you sure?" I asked hesitantly. This wasn't like him. He liked eating in.

He took his truck keys out of his pocket. "Yeah, let's go."

I remained gawking at him for a moment and then walked to him. "Where are we going?"

"Tavern," he replied, and held open the door for me.

I went to the passenger side of the truck, a little on edge with how calm Edward seemed to be. Normally, he was either yelling at me or giving me a dirty look. Maybe he was taking the night off.

The tavern was fairly busy as we parked out the front. I realized I was actually happy to see Alice more than anything. She'd become a friend to me in the short amount of time I'd known her. It felt nice to talk to someone.

I was out of the truck before Edward, and I entered the tavern first. Alice was nowhere to be found, which probably meant she was in the back. The same kind of guys were here—large, most of them middle aged, some of them smoking, all of them drinking.

I sat down on a stool, next to a husky, bearded man who reeked of beer. He stared at me brazenly, making me uncomfortable, but said nothing. The empty stool on the other side of me suddenly became occupied by Edward. I looked at him in surprise. We never sat together.

"What are you having?" he asked, taking his wallet out of his back pocket.

"Uh," I fumbled, still shocked. "I don't know. What are you having?"

"Steak and fries."

"Okay, I guess I'll have that, too."

Carmen appeared behind the counter, her eyes on no one else but Edward. "Hey, Masen," she greeted, as if she'd known him for ages.

"The usual," he ordered impersonally. "And two plates of steak and fries." He took out some money from his wallet and placed it in front of her.

She leaned over the counter slightly, her cleavage accentuated in her low cut top and pushup bra. "How about we head over to my place after my shift," she offered.

Was I invisible, here?

I glanced at him, needing to see his reaction, and suddenly felt relief wash over me. He looked annoyed. More annoyed than he ever looked with me.

"As always, no," he shot back, and pushed the money closer to her.

She chuckled and picked up the money. "You know, one day, you're gonna get sick of telling me that." She finally noticed I was here, her eyes assessing me. "And who's this?"

"Oh, don't you remember?" I asked sickeningly sweet. "You practically wrestled me over a wallet." Yeah, I was exaggerating, but it might've gotten to that stage if she hadn't been called away by Alice. There was no way I would've let her have it, either.

She cleared her throat and looked at Edward, who was ignoring us, or pretending to. She actually seemed embarrassed. "Well, I'll just get these orders in," she said, and walked away.

Alice suddenly came out from the back. She spotted me instantly, her eyes lighting up. "Well, ain't this a surprise," she spoke to me. "Wasn't expectin' ya back 'til next week. What'cha doin' here?"

I smiled. "We're eating," I replied.

She looked at the strange man sitting next to me, who was still staring at me, and then snapped her fingers in front of his face. The man tore his eyes away from me and looked at Alice with a blank, drunken stare.

"Horace, go home to ya wife, will ya?" she requested.

He obeyed without a word, standing and leaving.

"He's harmless; I swear," she whispered with a smile, and then regarded Edward next to me with the same expression of shock I wore earlier. "Why, hello there, Masen."

He merely nodded in acknowledgement. I guess I couldn't expect his sudden benevolence with me to extend to others.

"Did Carmen get your orders?" she asked me, unfazed by Edward.

"Yeah," I answered.

"We've got Sam in the back doin' the cookin' tonight," she informed. "Did you order somethin' to drink, too?"

I shook my head. "No, but I'm okay."

She chuckled. "I don't wanna hear it, Petal. I'll make ya up somethin' and be back in a jiffy," she said, and left.

Edward groaned.

"What?" I asked him.

"You've got her calling you that?"

I smiled knowingly. "That's my name," I replied, half-joking, half-serious.

He didn't look very amused.

Carmen finally came back, but only with a mug of beer. She set it down and walked off.

"Hey," Edward called out to her, and she came back, looking reluctant. "There's too much head in here." He picked up the mug and practically shoved it at her.

She rolled her eyes and stalked off.

"Goddamn bar girl," he muttered, disgruntled.

I chuckled, so glad that rumor about him and Carmen seemed to just be speculation. I didn't know what would've happened if there had been truth to it. But that still didn't explain the wedding band.

"What?" he questioned curiously.

"What does it matter if there's a lot of foam?" I asked, trying not to smile too much.

"It matters," he responded flatly.

I shook my head in amusement.

Carmen returned, set the mug in front of Edward roughly, causing the beer to splash over the side a bit, and then disappeared.

Edward paid no mind to Carmen's hissy fit as he took a sip of his beer. I watched him, enjoying the companionship. It was nice to actually feel like, for once, I was getting along with the guy I lived with.

"Alright, here ya go," Alice said, snapping me out of my gaze. She'd come back with some sort of yellow, feminine looking drink. "I usually make these for myself after we close up here."

"Is this a Piña Colada?" I questioned.

"Yep," she answered proudly. "Everythin's fresh, too. Go 'head 'n take a sip."

I frowned. "Oh, I can't have this. I'm allergic to pineapple."

She cocked her head to the side, looking at me strangely. I glanced at Edward, who was also giving me a look of confusion. And then I realized what I'd said. Where on earth had that come from?

"My mistake," Alice spoke slowly. "I'll just keep this for myself and get you a Rum and Coke." She left, taking the drink with her.

"You're allergic to pineapple?" Edward asked.

"I guess so," I said, bewildered at myself. "It was as if I knew that subconsciously. Maybe I finally remember something." There was hope for me yet. I suddenly felt very proud that I was allergic to pineapple. It was a part of who I was. Pineapple had the potential to hospitalize me, and I was happy about it.

"Do you remember anything else?" he queried.

I shook my head sadly. If only.

"It'll come," he said so quietly, I barely heard him.

Alice returned with my drink as well as the food we'd ordered. Edward and I ate and drank in comfortable silence. I hadn't realized until it was too late that Alice had kept filling my drink up, so by the time we were ready to leave, my head felt light, and I just wanted to crawl into bed.

On the drive over, I battled my eyes to stay open, while Edward listened to the local radio. As soon as we returned from our night out, I went into the bedroom to change and get ready to sleep. Instead of collapsing in bed like I wanted to, I decided to do something I'd never done.

I pulled open the bedroom door. He was standing by the newly made fire. "Goodnight, Edward," I said, and smiled warmly.

He looked at me for a moment and then back to the fire. "'Night," he murmured quietly.

I guessed that meant we were going to go back to barely talking and pretending as if the other didn't exist. For what it was worth, I'd had a good time tonight. I wanted to tell him that, but I didn't think it'd matter, so I shut the door.

X-X-X-X

When I woke up next, the sun was beaming so brightly into the room, it gave me a splitting headache. Had I overslept?

I felt disgusting, like I needed to brush my teeth and take a shower. My joints ached as I got out of bed and stretched. Goodness, drinking didn't agree with me in the least.

After a shower and slipping on a dress, I left the bedroom. Edward sat at the table, eating what appeared to be some leftover salmon from yesterday.

"Finally awake," he observed, not even looking up from his plate. "You slept like the dead."

I sat down across from him, rubbing my eyes. "I guess I was tired," I croaked, my voice sounding unused.

"I went in there a couple times, and you didn't even stir," he admitted.

Oh, great. I hoped I didn't snore or do anything embarrassing. "Did I talk in my sleep?" I asked curiously.

"No," he said simply, and stood, taking his dish to the sink and washing it. "Last time you slept that deeply was when I brought you in from the rain."

I sat ramrod straight, completely alert over what he'd just said. "Come again?" I questioned. "When you brought me in from the rain?"

He shut off the faucet and stood there, not moving a muscle or chancing a glance in my direction.

Oh my God. Just by his stance, I could put two and two together. He'd lied to me. That night I'd left had really happen.

I slowly stood, my eyes boring into the back of his head. "We did have a fight, and I did leave," I whispered, more to myself. "You went and got me, didn't you?"

He turned around and simply stared at me, his blank expression giving him away.

"Why would you do that?" I asked, my tone raising. I was becoming angry. "Why would you lie to me?"

No response.

"Answer me," I demanded through gritted teeth.

"Because...," he started to say, but a heavy silence replaced his voice.

"Because what?" I prodded, though I knew he wouldn't answer. I shook my head in disbelief. "How could you? I thought I'd gone insane. You stood there, and you bold-faced lied to me…why?"

He finally blinked, and his lips parted, but he still wouldn't respond.

Tears sprung to my eyes, and I tried desperately to keep them back. "I can barely remember anything, and you took advantage of that," I said in finality, and walked back to the bedroom.

"Where are you going?" he asked hoarsely to my retreating back.

"I can't look at you right now," I admitted, and closed the door behind me, shutting him out. Shutting me in.

The tears flowed and choked sobs racked my body. I covered my mouth with my hand, trying not to make a sound, and sat on the edge of the bed. Anger and hurt raced through me, causing the tears to fall harder. I felt betrayed. I felt deceived. But more than anything, I felt helpless.


A/N:

I'm pretty sure almost everyone suspected that he was lying. The question is, why did he?

The supertacular Le Crepuscule was sweet enough to make me a blinkie. It's amazing, guys, and represents the story so well. Feel free to check it out on my profile.