Chapter 181 Lewis walker

Chapter 181 Lewis walker
Lewis' POV

I knew Lily had followed Andrew.

I didn't need to see them leave together.

I just knew.

I had been standing in my room, arranging the snacks and trying to decide which movie would be good enough for our second movie night when I heard footsteps outside.

At first, I didn't pay attention. I thought it was someone walking down the hallway. Then I heard Lily's voice.

I froze. My hand was still holding the remote.

"Where are you going?"

Andrew.

I didn't move.

A few seconds passed, then Lily answered.

"Lewis's room."

I smiled.

I don't know why I smiled so quickly.

Maybe because I had been waiting for her. Maybe because hearing her say she was coming to my room made the whole thing feel real.

I turned toward the door, expecting her to walk in. Instead, I heard Andrew say something I couldn't make out.

Then Lily asked where he was going.

I moved closer to the door.

I shouldn't have listened, but I couldn't help it.

Then I heard him ask her to come with him.

I waited for her answer.

For one second, I was certain she'd refuse.

Lily was stubborn. She didn't like being ordered around. And Andrew had been irritating her for days. So I expected her to tell him no. I expected her to say she had plans.

Instead, there was silence.

Then Lily said, "Fine."

My smile disappeared.

Fine?

She had agreed?

Just like that?

I stepped away.

I suddenly didn't want to hear anything else. But I heard them walking away.

I looked down at the snacks on the table.

Everything was ready.

The drinks, the popcorn, even the movie.

I had even picked something that wasn't a horror movie because she had complained about the last one.

I had imagined her laughing at me. I had imagined us arguing over which movie to watch. I had imagined her stealing my snacks.

Instead, I was standing alone in my room listening to the silence.

I sat on the edge of the bed.

For a while, I simply stared at the television.

Then an uncomfortable thought entered my mind.

She chose Andrew.

I immediately pushed it away.

No, that wasn't fair.

She hadn't chosen him.

Andrew had simply asked her to come with him.

Maybe it was important. Maybe he needed something. Maybe she would be back soon.

I told myself all of that. But deep down, I wasn't convinced because I had seen the way Lily looked at Andrew.

I had seen it before… at camp.

I remembered that night more clearly than I wanted to admit. I remembered seeing them together. I remembered the moment when I realized that something was different between them.

And I remembered the kiss.

The memory came back so clearly that I had to look away.

The kiss they shared had been brief, but it had been enough.

And Andrew's expression afterward… That was what stayed with me.

He hadn't looked confused. He hadn't looked indifferent. He had looked at her like she mattered. Like she was something he was trying very hard not to want.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.

Maybe I should leave them alone. Maybe I should stop pretending.

That thought hurt more than I expected because I had agreed to become Lily's fake boyfriend to help her. But somewhere along the way, I had started enjoying being around her.

I liked making her laugh. I liked when she called me just to complain about something. I liked holding her hand.

And tonight, I had wanted more of that. But she had followed Andrew.

I stood up and walked toward the table. I picked up a piece of popcorn.

I didn't eat it.

I couldn't eat it.

I put it back.

I was acting like someone had stolen something from me, but nobody had.

Lily wasn't mine.

That was the problem.

She had never been mine. And maybe she never would be.

I walked over to the window.

I wondered where they had gone. I wondered what they were talking about. I wondered whether Lily was laughing. Then I became angry with myself.

Why did I care?

I was supposed to be her fake boyfriend.

Fake.

The word sounded different in my head now.

I turned away from the window.

Maybe I had made a mistake. Maybe agreeing to this relationship had only made things worse.

If Lily already had feelings for Andrew, then what exactly was I doing?

Trying to convince her to like me? Trying to compete with my own brother?

Was that even fair?

I didn't know.

I sat down again.

My phone was beside me.

I picked it up.

I considered texting Lily.

Where are you?

I deleted it.

Then I typed: Are you coming?

I deleted that too.

What was I supposed to say? Did you choose him over me?

That sounded pathetic.

I dropped the phone beside me.

I hated that I was thinking like this. I had always considered myself reasonable. I didn't chase things that weren't mine. I didn't force people to choose me.

And yet, Lily had somehow made me question all of that.

I thought about Andrew.

The person who had spent so much time telling me that I needed to be careful. The same person who had told me not to let Lily distract me. The same person who seemed to become strangely angry whenever Lily and I acted like a couple.

Maybe he really didn't care about her. Maybe I had been imagining things.

But then I remembered his face at camp. I remembered the way he had looked at her.

And suddenly, I wasn't so sure.

Maybe Andrew was fighting something too. Maybe he was trying to stay away because he knew he shouldn't get involved. Maybe he was doing the right thing.

And if that was true...

What was I doing?

Trying to prove that I was better for Lily?

I laughed bitterly.

That was exactly what I'd been doing.

Every date… every public appearance… every joke… every time I held her hand, I had told myself it was for the plan. But perhaps part of me wanted her to look at me the way she looked at him.

I wanted her to notice me. I wanted her to choose me. And that was dangerous because if she never did, what would happen to me?

I looked at the untouched snacks again.

The movie was still paused on the screen.

I pressed play and the room instantly filled with voices. But I wasn't watching.

I kept thinking about one question.

Should I leave them alone?

Maybe that was the mature thing to do. Maybe I should stop competing with Andrew and let Lily figure out what she wanted.

But another voice inside me argued back.

What if she doesn't know what she wants? What if she was confused? What if I gave up too quickly?

I shook my head.

I didn't know.

For the first time, I genuinely didn't know what the right thing was.

I could walk away.

Or I could stay.

I could be the supportive friend I had promised to be.

Or I could try to show Lily that there was another person who cared about her.