Masquerade of Lies Read Free Page A

mouth when I saw Claire give Josh a kiss on the lips and he put his arms around her tiny waist. I groaned.
    Brooke looked up from her Samsung. “What’s wrong?”
    “I’m so sick of seeing Claire and Josh together! I think I’m gonna die.”
    Brooke turned her head to look at them.
    “Forget about Josh. Isn’t there anybody else at this school you might like?”
    “No,” I said in a low voice.
    Brooke went back to looking at her phone. I felt a rush of emotions, but I couldn’t let them get the better of me. Not again. Not after all the progress I’d made.
    I stood up to go to class when I noticed a tall guy with a medium build staring at me. He had wavy dirty blond hair and beautiful emerald green eyes. He was a pretty boy. As our eyes met his pink lips formed a smile. He was wearing the same football jersey as Josh, only his had number 17 on it. I gave him one last glance and whirled around to walk away.
    “Wait, what about your French fries?” Brooke asked.
    “You can have them.”
    ***
    After school, I went outside to meet my mother, and Brooke was there. She was sitting on the steps, doodling in a sketch book. I walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder.
    “Hey, Hanna.”
    “Hey.”
    “Are you okay? You just took off at lunch.”
    “Oh yeah, I’m sorry about that. I’m just a little bummed about Josh. I really like him.”
    “Forget about Josh. Claire has him on a tight leash, and I don’t think she’s letting him go anytime soon. They always break up and get back together, so don’t waste your time. Besides, you can do a lot better than Josh Banks.”
    “You’re kidding me, right? He’s gorgeous!”
    “Trust me. You’re better off without him.”
    I didn’t know if I should trust her judgement; she probably dated guys who resembled Marilyn Manson.
    “So, what about you?” I asked her.
    “What about me?"
    “Are you into anybody at this school?” 
    “I wouldn’t be caught dead with anybody at this school. Besides, I don’t date high school boys anymore .”
    She lowered her head, and I noticed a yellow gold necklace dangling from her neck. It was a thin chain, and attached to it was half of a heart pendant.
    “Nice necklace,” I said.
    “Thanks. My dad gave it to me when I was three. I wear it all the time.” She ran her hands through her long black hair. “Hey, you wanna hang out tonight?”
    “Sure.”
    She smiled. “Cool. I’ll come over to your house.”
    “Sounds good,” I replied as my mother’s Corolla pulled up.
    My mother honked her horn. I shot her a look and lifted one finger to gesture one more minute as Brooke and I finished our discussion.
    “Text me your address,” Brooke said.
    “Okay, I will.”
    “See ya later.”
    “Bye,” I said, waving my hand. I stood by my mother’s car and stared incredulously as Brooke got into the driver’s side of her hearse.
    A short time later, my mother and I pulled into our narrow driveway. We lived in a brown Craftsman style bungalow with a single car garage. It was a lot smaller than where we used to live, and it wasn’t as luxurious as the other houses I’d seen, but it was ours .
    ***
    While my mother and I were eating dinner my phone chimed.
    “Who’s that?” my mother asked as she put a fork full of mashed potatoes in her mouth.
    “My friend Brooke; she’s coming over soon.”
    “Oh,” my mother said surprised. “Well, I’m glad you’re making friends.”
    After dinner, I dragged my full-bellied self to my room and shut the door behind me. I’d planned to study for a chemistry test, but I was looking forward to hanging out with Brooke. I noticed the number of boxes still sitting in my room. I really had to finish unpacking, but unfortunately I had more important things to do. I opened my laptop, logged on to Facebook, and began reading status updates when I came across Marisa’s. She was on her way with the gang to Finnigan’s, the coffee shop we used to hang out at. It was in the plaza next to