Love and Lies Read Online Free PDF Page A

jeans with a hole in the knee and my fitted T-shirt. I could let go of my high fashion needs. At least let go of my clothes, not so much my shoe obsession. Those had to stay. Satisfied with how I looked, I settled on the couch and turned on the TV to wait for Eric.
    Half an hour later , he and I sat in a very awkward silence. Some days, the worries I had in the beginning haunted me. Other days, our friendship was as easy as if we’d known each other for years. Alec cautioned me about letting him get close so quickly. Said I was setting myself up when I let all my concerns go, simply because he’d called me out about being selfish. While Alec may have had a point, I tried not to put too much focus into the worry. But sitting with Eric like this, him tense and me confused, I began to question whether or not I should have paid closer attention to what Alec said.
    I nudged Eric in the ribs with my elbow, voices from the TV the only noise in the room. “Eric, what's going on?”
    He started with his hands in his lap, then ran them through his hair, and finally rubbed his eyes. “Well, there's something I wanted to talk to you about.” His fingers ran back and forth on the couch, the shade in the faux-suede changing with each pass. I watched him draw little circles over and over again. Eric took a deep breath. “What's the deal with your parents?”
    I sucked in air so quick I started choking. “Why are you asking about my parents?” Family was one topic I avoided with everyone. Logan didn’t know more than the bare minimum. Only Alec knew about my family, and that was because he saw them firsthand. I tried as hard as I could to not talk about them.
    “ The few times I’ve mentioned them, you change the subject,” Eric continued. “I just wondered what the deal was.”
    “ Nothing. I don’t like talking about them. You don’t talk about yours either.”
    “ You're lying to me. As soon as I asked, you tensed up again. And I don’t talk about them because my family doesn’t matter to me. My mom disappeared and my dad should have gone with her.”
    That made me sit up and pay attention. He didn’t want his dad around. Interesting. Later I’d ask more. As in when I was ready to talk about my own messed -up parents, because I knew Eric wouldn’t say a word without me giving something in return.
    I shook my head hard enough I'd have a headache soon. “I'm not talking about them. If you wanna talk to me, then talk, but not about them.”
    “ This is not the way I saw this going,” he mumbled.
    “ Eric, can you please get to the point? I don't like this.” I waved my hand at the silent tension between us. “We're friends, talk to me.”
    “Carissa, will you go on a date with me?”
    “ What does that have to do with my parents?”
    “ I don't know. I just want to respect their wishes, and you never talk about them.” Eric wiped his palms on his jeans. I watched with awe as his biceps tightened underneath the sleeves of his shirt. My heart skipped a beat before he began again. “So will you or won't you?”
    “ Will I what?”
    “ Go on a date, like dinner and a movie, or something.”
    “Yeah.”
    It was either agree to a date or risk arguing about the lack of discussion about our parents. As soon as I said yes , I felt guilty for not giving Logan the same chance. Then again, being around Eric was different than being near Logan. Since the day Eric and I had met, there was a connection, a pull to him. Despite how nervous I became when he was around, I still wanted to be close to the guy. Logan would have to understand.
    “ Yeah?” He looked down at me. “Really? You're not going to laugh?”
    “ Am I really that much of a bitch that you thought I'd laugh at you?” I pushed into Eric's shoulder with mine.
    He jumped, but recovered quickly by tucking his arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer until I laid my head on his chest. “Of course not, but you can be a little…unpredictable.” His