Chapter 17: Lies and Half Truths
“Mom! Dad!”
I said excitedly while blocking the door so they didn’t get a glimpse of who was inside. If this wasn't enough of a hint for him to kindly get his ass of the chair and hide, with or without the plate, then I don’t know what was.
But I am surprised that they came back so soon. Weren’t they supposed to come back tomorrow?
“Oh, that!” Mom exclaimed when I voiced my thoughts, her voice still a bit hoarse from her cold. “Your grandma tricked us into going there since we haven’t visited in so long. We came back because she’d been expecting the two of you to visit as well.”
“Oh. Come on in. Where’s your luggage? And don’t you guys have a key?” I went in first, expecting to find the kitchen clear, but when has God or more precisely, Ethan, ever done me such a favor?
“It wouldn’t have been a surprise if we’d just walked in, now would it? And don’t worry, Raymond will bring them in… Akira dear, you didn’t tell me we have a guest.” Of course my dad would use that sort of tone on me. He wasn’t very far from the truth in his thoughts. And Ethan still sat at the dining table with a fork full of bacon in his hand while he swallowed his previous bite, he gave me an evil smirk as I glared at him.
Oh, hell no! If he for one second thought that he could pull another “dirty little secret” on me, before my parents, like he did with Dylan, then he did not know the real Akira Sanders yet!
“I’m really sorry dad,” I said before the idiot opened his trap. “I didn’t know you guys were coming today or I would have postponed my tutoring to a further date.” Ethan nearly choked on thin air.
Hah! Take that Mr. Dirty Little Secret! It was my turn to smirk at a very unpleasant Ethan, who forced himself to smile and get out of his seat as my parents approached him.
“My Akira! Why do you need tutoring all of a sudden? Have your grades dropped? Have you been skipping on your studies?” Mom asked her usual too many questions at once while giving me a stern look.
“No!” I said a bit too loud in my nervousness, making my dad turn towards me with a raised eyebrow. “I mean, no, of course not,” I lowered my tone, “It’s chemistry, you see. And I was never quite good at it. I got a B+ in a test last week so I was trying to get it up to at least an A so I can get into a good university and Mr. Whitmore volunteered to help since he was free.”
I should get an award for the way I was acting. Do they give Oscars for lying? They should, because I felt like a pro already. Well… not exactly a lie because I did get a B+ in last week’s test, but that was because I had a deadline in two days!
“Oh, dear! So nice for you to plan ahead. See honey, I told you we don’t need to worry about her,” mom told dad as he put his arm around her waist and pulled her close.
I loved seeing them together and so much in love even after twenty-seven years of marriage. For me, they were the epitome of a happy-ever-after. I couldn’t say they were the inspiration for my stories... because that would be kind of creepy. But they were the reason why my main characters remained faithful and had happy endings. Surprisingly though, my parents didn't marry each other for love. They had an arranged marriage, but they fell in love.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Oh, shit! The devil just started to talk! Someone please kill me before this gets out of hand. “I haven’t introduced myself yet, I’m Ethan Whitmore, trainee teacher at Imphal High School. I'm helping her get extra credits for college. I arrived earlier than usual today to check on her recent project and she offered me breakfast, since she was about to have hers. But I’ll be leaving now. Sorry for intruding. I’ll set our class at a later date.”
Ethan gave me a look and then pointed to the door. The message was clear, “Meet me outside.”
“Thank you, son. It was nice meeting you.” My father shook his hand and then he gave my mom a royal courtesy and headed towards the door.
“I’ll see him out,” I told my parents and dashed towards the door before they could say anything.
“Ethan!” I called out as soon as the front door shut behind me and raced to catch up to him.
“I was thinking about climbing back inside your room,” he said. “We need to have a little chat about your lying skills.”
“Everything’s fine. I handled it,” I shot back. Now I needed advice on lying from Mr. Dirty Little Secret?
“That was uncalled for I know, but I was just teasing you. How would I know you’d take it so seriously?” Great! There I go speaking my thoughts out loud again.
“Really? And what would you have told my parents today if I hadn’t interrupted?” I asked him the question that has been revolving in my mind for quite some time now.
“That I was your boyfriend, of course!”
My jaw dropped. How dare he say that? And in that arrogant tone none the less!
“Oh? So Dylan gets a ‘She’s just another nerdy student of mine, pestering me for info’, while my parents get a fake ‘boyfriend’?” I deadpanned.
“It was necessary! You don’t know Dylan like I do—”
“Oh, not again! I really don’t want to know what went down between you and Dylan, but I’m pretty sure it has something to do with a girl.”
Ethan didn’t answer. And it broke my heart.
Seriously, what did I expect?
“So it did involve a girl. And by the looks of it, you’re not yet over her or you would—”
“Akira it’s not like that,” he cut me off, placing his hands on my shoulders. “If there was, I wouldn’t have spent the night. I have no idea what rumors you’ve heard about me but I wouldn’t hurt you or anyone else like that.” I heard the sincerity in every word.
“Then who were you hugging near the school parking yesterday?” I asked looking into his eyes.
“You’ll meet her soon. I’ll—” he started to say, but his phone rang at that instant. Looking at the caller ID, he cussed. “Look, I’ll explain everything soon, okay? But right now I need to get home.”
I simply nodded my head, feeling a bit restless. I was sure it was her, the girl Ethan wouldn’t tell me about. The one I saw at school yesterday.
“I see you at school on Monday.” He cupped my cheeks and gave me a quick kiss before turning and walking out the gate in haste.
Maybe I am overreacting a bit, but not knowing where I stood with him was driving me crazy. Then there was the age gap between us, which didn’t seem to bother him, but it did bother me when I saw older women eyeing him up. Why was he with a girl six years his junior?
“Great! First I’m the green-eyed monster and now I’m questioning Ethan’s reasons for being with me.” I mutter to myself as I walk back inside, more questions than answers in my mind.