As always, thank you all so much for reading & reviewing & following. I cannot believe this fic has a hundred followers now! Wow. I am so grateful. You all are the reason I keep writing.

Please leave me your thoughts after reading this chapter. It won't be long before a huge turning point.

Nothing But A Lie

Chapter 21

It had all been a trick.

She should have known. Meg wasn't sure what to say, or even what to do, as she stood before the man she'd thought she would never have to see again, her stomach sinking. She felt very stupid to have believed Sky's skeevy father in the first place. He had even paid her to come, insisting they needed to visit and swearing Sky's absence. She should have guessed that it was more than just a gift from desperate grandparents who wanted to see their granddaughter again. She should have guessed it was all a plot conceived against her.

So many memories raced through her mind, things she'd long repressed, but they all came flooding back at that ever-present smirk on Sky's lips. Her fists clenched. It was surprising how he could even have the guts to be here. He had to know that she had been serious about taking necessary action against him; otherwise he wouldn't have stayed away for so long. Right?

What was even more surprising, however, was seeing who was with him. The girl under his arm couldn't be older than twenty, Meg was positive, and she was extremely pretty. Not only that, but this girl—Christine, she remembered her name was—seemed to have an aura of gentleness, even goodness, surrounding her. Her face was kind and her shy smile was sweet but nervous, her strangely colored—almost purple—eyes wide and friendly. Meg was usually a good judge of character at first glance, and the two of them together just didn't make any sense.

The twins got bored of their little standoff quickly and exited without a word, to which Meg was relieved. An audience for this sort of thing wasn't ideal, and if she had to spend one more minute with the spoiled brats she would probably throw something at them. Hell, they were most likely in on this whole thing as well. That would explain the incessant pleading to go shopping with them.

"You aren't supposed to be here," Meg finally accused, crossing her arms and glaring up at Sky. She glanced at the blonde for a second, wondering how much she knew about the situation. It couldn't be very much considering she allowed Sky to cling to her like she was his most prized possession.

Sky scoffed. "I am allowed to visit my family whenever I please. I just got lucky this time, I guess."

Meg shook her head, scowling. "No, you planned this. Playing the manipulative puppeteer once again, no doubt. It was only a matter of time. I can't believe how stupid I am to have allowed Peyton to come here."

Christine swallowed, uncomfortable with being in the middle of it all. Plus, she knew that if Sky got angry about what was being said to him, she would be the one to suffer for it later. Still, she hung onto every word, listening intently and keeping her expression as neutral as possible.

Sky leaned forward for emphasis, all hint of a smile dropping from his hard face. "Well I am just so sorry that I had to see my daughter, Meg. Is that so awful of me? I can't help that I love that little girl more than anything in the world. And she loves me every bit as much back. It baffles me how could you even keep us away from each other. It's just not right."

Most of his hard exterior fell throughout his little speech, and Meg was surprised at the unexpected vulnerability. It reminded her of a very different time…

The truth is, she used to love Sky. A lot. Too much. Even when things had gotten bad, even when his behavior had become different and scary and concerning…she had still loved him, unable to help herself. He was the father of her child and the first man she had ever really fallen for.

Being near him again reminded her all too well of what that had felt like, and it wasn't pleasant. It was easier to act like she hated him all this time, to channel the anger rather than the pain, but the truth came back to her, unwelcome. She bit her lip, breaking away from the piercing gaze of those dark eyes that never ceased to haunt her, even after all this time.

"I had to," Meg huffed, blinking furiously at threatening tears. "You know I did. It wasn't…we weren't right, Sky. It wasn't a healthy environment for us and especially not for Peyton."

"Do you honestly think I haven't realized that every moment since you two left?" he pleaded. "I never expected you to leave without a word. You didn't even give me a chance to apologize, Meg. You changed your number and your mother refused to speak to me. Do you know how helpless I felt?"

She glanced back at him reluctantly, her lips pressing together in a loss for words.

"Look," he continued firmly, his speech having been prepared for weeks. "I am not going to stand here and defend the way I acted back then, and I am not blaming you one bit. This is me owning up to my mistakes. The way I treated you was not good, and I didn't need some shrink to tell me that after you guys left when I already knew. I was insecure and paranoid and that made me crazy. But I've learned and grown a lot since then. Honest. All I want is my daughter back in my life. That's it. I swear I'm not trying to trick you into taking me back, Meg. I respect you too much to do that. I just need my daughter back."

Meg sighed heavily, rubbing at her temple with two fingers like she had a headache. "I just…don't know, Sky. How could I ever trust you again?"

"I never harmed Peyton in any way," he reminded her. "And I never will. You know that, Meg."

"No, I don't know that, Sky," Meg argued. "The way you treated me is not how a man should ever treat a women, and you were supposed to be an example to her. You're her father."

Sky's teeth clenched, and he had to remind himself to stay calm. He took a breath before replying. "I know. You're right. And like I said before, I own up to that. But I really have changed."

"How could I know that?"

"Look…would it help if you talked to Christine alone?" he gestured to quiet Christine, who felt more like a stage prop than a human being at the moment. She nodded helpfully, knowing her role.

Before Meg could protest, Sky went on, "You can tell her anything, everything, if you want to. And I know she'll believe every word, and still give you her honest opinion."

Meg deliberated, staring hard at Christine. "How much has he told you?" she eventually demanded, suspicious.

"Not much at all," Christine answered truthfully, carefully choosing her next words. "Um…he wanted to give you the chance to fill me in. To keep my opinion…unbiased, I guess."

Meg's eyes narrowed. "How long have you been seeing each other?"

"Three months," Sky lied before Christine could think up an answer. She just nodded along.

"So you want to help your new boyfriend get his kid back even if he doesn't deserve it?" Meg countered.

Christine swallowed, trying to remember what she was supposed to say now, hoping her voice didn't tremble with her fear of messing up. "Actually, if he doesn't deserve it, then…I won't be afraid to admit that to you, or even him. But I don't even know the full story, so I really can't say if it's right or not. That's what you're here for, right?" She bit her lip, hopeful that Meg would take the bait. Sky's nails were already digging into her skin; she could only imagine the horror that would wait for her if she failed him.

Meg seemed to be satisfied with Christine's response, and she eventually nodded. "Fine," she clipped, eyes flashing to Sky. "I'll tell her everything. And then she can decide whether she thinks it's a good idea to let you near Peyton. Or even herself."

Sky had the courtesy to look nervous, and he nodded once. "Fair enough."

"You must be hungry," Christine offered, "why don't you eat lunch first, and then we can talk in private?"

Still slightly suspicious, Meg glanced back and forth at the two of them, before finally nodding and making her way to the kitchen.

As soon as she turned the corner, Sky was crushing Christine to him in a tight hug, his lips pressing firmly to the top of her head.

"You are so amazing," he whispered. "You're doing great. Keep it up."

"Okay," she tried to say, but it came out garbled from her face being smashed up against his chest.

He chuckled.

They hung out in the backyard as they waited for Meg to finish eating; lounging on the pool chairs under shady umbrellas and watching the kids play in the sparkling water. Sky talked to his mother about what had just happened, Christine presumed, but was too much inside of her own head to pay any attention. She stared off into space, her hands clasped tightly together as she tried to plan out how this next conversation with Meg would go.

Sky hadn't disclosed much—well, not anything really—on what he had done in that relationship to make Meg leave, and Christine honestly wished she didn't have to find out. It had to be very bad, of course; it was no secret to her that Sky was capable of all things awful. But to know that someone else had to suffer because of him, let alone the mother of sweet Peyton, was going to be extremely hard to swallow. And it would be even harder to remain calm hearing it.

But she had to. If she were going to survive this nightmare, she would have to play along to keep herself safe. The day was barely half over and she'd already been through too much. Christine accepted that she couldn't win just yet, but she fiercely believed—she had to—that an opportunity would arise in the future where she would escape.

That day obviously wasn't today. So she had to do whatever it took to make things easier for her for the time being.

Sky had made it very clear that he would be listening to every single word of their conversation, and that he would be close enough to take immediate action if he had to. She wouldn't be able to take another beating, or worse. And besides, Christine definitely believed that if she was successful, that Sky hadn't been lying when he promised things would get better. There was really no choice for her then.

"Daddy, watch this!" Peyton's excited scream brought Christine out of her thoughts, and she looked just in time to see Peyton proudly throw water above her head and giggle as it showered back down on her. Sky clapped and cheered for her, and Christine couldn't hold back a small smile of her own, which fell with her next thought.

If she did somehow get Peyton back into Sky's life, what fate would befall the precious little girl at Christine's hands?

The kids were wrapped in towels, the adults chattering and drinking by the time Sky led Meg and Christine to the dimly lit den, the curtains drawn over the windows. He left them alone—or so it seemed, but Christine knew he would hear every word—and they sat on one of the stylish grey sofas, torsos facing one another.

Meg didn't look very comfortable, and Christine was sure she didn't either. Her stomach twisted and turned, and she had to keep reminding herself that this conversation would determine everything. She forced herself to remain calm, breathing deep and slow and keeping a small smile fixed on her face, trying to remember her part as best as she could.

"I know it'll probably be difficult to talk about unpleasant memories," Christine began, thankful that her voice remained even, "but I think it's important for me to know everything, even if it's hard to hear. I don't know what you must think of me at this point, but please just know I only want what's best for Peyton, as well as myself. Please don't think that I'm loyal to Sky just because we're together. It's still early, and I haven't made up my mind. He knows that."

Meg twisted her hands together in her lap, hiding her surprise. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she really did like this Christine already. Her maturity and kindness despite her obvious youth was hard not to be drawn to. It was a mystery why she was wasting her time with Sky. "I hope you mean that," Meg sighed. "I guess I should start from the beginning…"

Christine nodded, patiently waiting for Meg to begin, knowing it wasn't easy. She hated that she had to be the one to make this woman relive whatever it was she went through with Sky.

"I met him when I was fresh out of college," Meg eventually began, her eyes distant. "At a bar, actually. I was out with a few girls, celebrating graduation, and he was there with friends as well. I felt invincible after getting through school, so for once when a man flirted with me at a bar, I flirted back." She smiled bashfully. "I'd never been the relationship type. Every boyfriend I'd ever had never lasted longer than a couple of months, so at some point I'd given up on relationships. I saw Sky as just another short fling…"

"But?" Christine offered when Meg paused.

"But…he was persistent. After we hooked up that first night, he refused to leave me alone. And for some reason, I wasn't annoyed by it," she shook her head, marveling. "He was just so sweet and funny, and he seemed to really like me. So I finally said yes to a real date, and that was that. We were attached at the hip from then on. I was crazy about him, and him me. For a few months, everything seemed beyond perfect."

Christine swallowed. "And then?"

Meg shifted uncomfortably, her mouth twisting like she tasted something bad. "It started small. He would start getting annoyed whenever I wanted to go out with my girlfriends, or if I spoke to other men. Even if it were just a waiter at a restaurant, Sky would make a comment about how he didn't like how 'flirty' I was." She rolled her eyes. "Eventually, it went from annoyance to sadness, from sadness to anger, and I would always have to apologize profusely for nothing. I knew it wasn't right, but I would excuse his behavior because I was so in love with him. And when things were good, they were really, really good. So I just dealt with it." She shrugged.

Christine nodded, trying to understand. Having never been in love herself, it was a strange concept to grasp. If someone made you feel bad for no reason, shouldn't you leave them?

Meg went on. "He never got physically abusive with me. But there were times when I was seriously afraid of him. When he lost his temper…" she paused, gulping, and Christine's face paled in understanding. "He scared me. Sometimes he wouldn't let me leave his sight during a fight. He would hold me down and force me to listen to his threats; screaming I'd better cut off contact with everyone but him, or else he'd leave me and I'd be alone forever. But it always ended the same way…he would see how upset he'd made me and cry and beg my forgiveness and swear it would never happen again."

Her hands trembled at the memory, and she tried to still them.

"That's awful," Christine whispered. "Why didn't you break up with him?"

Meg's eyes flashed to Christine's pitying face. "Again, he was the first mad I had ever fallen that deeply in love with. And I thought he just loved me too much and didn't know how to deal with it. But that's not how you treat someone you love. I know that now."

Christine nodded slowly, encouraging her onward and chewing the inside of her cheek nervously.

"When I found out I was pregnant, I was terrified. I wondered if it would make him angry or even more controlling, even more emotional. And I had another person to think of now, not just me. So I silently vowed to leave him if he continued on the way he had been. But…" she paused, a small, melancholy smile adorning her lips. "When I told him, he was absolutely euphoric. I'd never seen him that happy before, and it made me happy too. Things went back to normal throughout my entire pregnancy- better than normal actually. When he proposed to me a month before Peyton was born, I gladly accepted."

"You were engaged?" Christine gasped, mouth hanging open in shock.

Meg nodded, eyes wide. "He didn't tell you? We were engaged for over two years."

"Oh my gosh," Christine shook her head. "I had no idea."

"Yeah. Well…it started getting bad again when Peyton turned one. Sky noticed when I wasn't enthusiastically planning our wedding. To be honest, I wasn't positive about marrying him. When he asked me, I was hugely pregnant and overly emotional, so of course I had said yes. But after Peyton was born, I started having second thoughts, worrying what would happen if we got married and things got bad again. When Sky would press me to plan, I would put it off, saying I wanted to wait. I would tell him it would be better to wait until Peyton was old enough to remember our wedding to start, but I think he could tell what the truth actually was, and it made him frustrated, and insecure…"

Meg swallowed hard, and Christine mentally braced herself, knowing the worst of it was coming.

"He started obsessively tracking my location, no matter where I went. If I ever went somewhere—even to the grocery store to get diapers—he insisted I call him every ten minutes. If there was ever even a minute unaccounted for, he would freak out, accuse me of cheating, and the threats would start again. Though this time instead of threatening to leave me, he would threaten to keep me from leaving. And sometimes, he followed through. It got to the point where I was terrified to leave but terrified to stay, and I'd never felt so hopeless."

Christine shook her head, her throat tightening. "That's…terrible."

Meg nodded in agreement. "No matter how many times Sky would break down crying and begging for my forgiveness, or how many times he swore he would never freak out on me again, it would happen over and over. It was like the man I had first fallen in love with was just gone. My only hope would be seeing how he was with Peyton. He was always so sweet and gentle with her and I'd hoped, somehow, he would be that way with me again. But he never was, unless he was manipulating me to sleep with him, which is a whole other story I don't even want to get into detail about."

She shuddered in disgust, and Christine's stomach turned. No, she did not want to hear it, either.

Meg went on. "Eventually, it all made me angry, and I would fight back or do things intentionally just to spite him, which only made it worse…and I finally realized that we just…had to leave. There really was no other option. Sky wouldn't change and I couldn't fight back anymore. My mother wanted to get the courts involved, but I refused. I still loved him, despite everything, and I didn't want to ruin his life; I just wanted out. She eventually agreed to stay out of it as long as I collected evidence against him if he were to fight back. Which I did, and then we finally left."

She let out a long breath, relieved to be done, and studied Christine's face. The girl looked a mixture of things: shocked, remorseful, frightened, conflicted… Meg had no guess on what her next words would be.

"I am so sorry you went through that," Christine finally murmured. "For what it's worth…I think you're very brave for telling me. I doubt I'd be able to, if I were you."

Meg smiled gratefully, chocolate eyes sad. "Thanks. That means a lot, actually." She chewed on her lip for a moment before adding slowly, "Look, Christine, I didn't think I would, but I like you. I can tell that you're a sweet young woman, and—I'm sorry, but—I just don't think you should be wasting your time with someone like Sky."

Christine blinked, surprised to have been put on the spot so abruptly. "B-but…I think he really has changed, like he said. He's been nothing but…great to me." Lies, of course. Nothing but lies. God, she hoped that they were convincing.

"I know," Meg said. "But once his insecurity sets in, it's all downhill from there. That kind of thing doesn't just go away, no matter what he says."

Christine released a heavy breath, her rehearsed verdict pouring out with it, "I appreciate your honesty. And thank you for telling me everything, Meg… Though I definitely think that Sky was an awful boyfriend and person to you and you deserved so much better… I do think he should be allowed to see Peyton, at least every once in a while. From what I've heard from you and observed today, they do love each other very much, and it'll only hurt them both to keep them apart. And, like you said, he was always a good father to her, despite everything else."

Meg expected about as much, and her nod was reluctant. "Fair enough," she muttered. "He is a good father when he isn't being psycho, as much as I hate to admit it. But…what about you, Christine? What are you going to do?"

Christine swallowed hard, praying the tears that wanted to come wouldn't. "I don't know, Meg," she answered honestly, for once. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"I guess… I understand. Sometimes you just have to figure things out for yourself. I just hope it'll be different for you. I wouldn't wish what I went through on anyone." Meg shuddered again.

Christine knew if she said anything else she would burst, so she just smiled sadly, nodding at Meg.

"Here," Meg offered, holding out her hand. "Give me your phone and I'll put my number in. You can text or call me if you ever need anything."

"Oh…" Christine whispered, fearing her voice would break if it were any louder. "Thank you, but I don't have it on me."

"Hmm," Meg looked around, finding a pad and pen on one of the end tables by the couch. "Oh, here we go." She snapped open the pen, scrawling her number down and tearing off the paper. "Problem solved."

Meg held the paper out to Christine, and she took it slowly, her fingers shaking as she stared blankly at the numbers.

There was a pen and paper right within her reach.

How long would it take to write a message to Meg? Would Sky notice the silence and come in without warning? Was this her only chance at freedom?

"Th-thank you," Christine stammered, slowly taking the pen and paper from Meg.

"You're welcome…hey, are you alright?" Meg asked, concerned at her sudden, strange behavior. "You're shaking."

"Oh, I'm f-fine," Christine lied, her heart pounding violently as she opened the pen and set it to the paper, willing the words to be written. "Just…cold. Heh. This number thing is a g-good idea. Thank you."

Before she could get a single word written, the door opened and she jumped, freezing, afraid to glance behind her and see his expression. She stared at Meg's face instead, which went from confused concern toward her behavior to annoyed at his intrusion.

"Hope I'm not interrupting," he said lightly, placing his hand on Christine's shoulder. She had to fight with everything in her not to flinch away. She felt the burn of his eyes on the blank paper in her lap, pen poised to write.

"We were just finishing," Meg said, standing up and crossing her arms. "And I'll think about allowing visits with you and Peyton."

"Seriously?" he cheered, bringing Christine to her feet and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "That is amazing, Meg. Thank you so much. It's all I want."

"I said I'd think about it," Meg snapped. "Let me sleep on it." She glanced at the both of them, Sky looking sheepish now, and Christine looking…weird, and uncomfortable in Sky's arms. Of course, she just learned that her boyfriend was manipulative and abusive and psychotic. The poor girl was probably planning their break up now.

Meg thought that was a good thing, of course, but she still felt guilty for causing Christine pain. She really did like her, and could even see them becoming good friends in the future.

"Peyton was asking for you a minute ago," Sky informed Meg. "I want to talk to Christine alone, if that's alright with you." As if he needed her permission, he thought, internally scoffing.

"Sure," Meg said tightly, turning to leave with one last gentle smile for Christine.

Christine tried to return in, but couldn't move a single muscle in her body.

As soon as the door closed behind Meg, Sky shoved Christine aside, tearing the paper and pen from her hand and forcing a frightened gasp through her lips.

"Now I really hope you have a good explanation for this," he hissed through clenched teeth, holding the items up. "I would just love to hear it, baby."