Web of Lies

Valerie bustled around her apartment. This had to be one of her best ideas. Nothing brought people together like a celebration, and what better way to celebrate than a party to commemorate the opening of college football season? She turned on the TV and checked the clock. That’s odd; her friends should have arrived by now. She wasn’t surprised at Keith. Her boyfriend was late for everything. She chuckled. They had been together for two years and he still hadn’t proposed. He’d probably be late to their wedding.

She decided to call her best friend, Megan. Megan was notoriously punctual. She and her fiancé, Drake, should have arrived by now.

“Hi Megan, will you be here soon?”

“The party, right,” Megan stammered. “I’m sorry, Valerie. We aren’t going to be able to come.”

“Why not?”

“Something’s come up and …”

“No it hasn’t. You never do anything impulsive. Come off it, Megan. What’s going on?”

Megan sighed. “Drake and I have been talking. We aren’t comfortable being around you and Keith, especially after last weekend.”

Valerie’s face flushed. “What about it?”

“You showed up at my door at midnight in tears. You cried half the night about how you couldn’t believe Keith reacted so violently when you asked about getting engaged.”

Valerie gulped. “It’s been a tough week, but we’re working through it.”

“I’m surprised you’re still with him. You said he pushed you against the wall and threw dishes at you,” Megan said softly. “If he’d do that to his girlfriend, who knows what he’d do to friends if he got angry. He takes football so seriously. If his team loses I wouldn’t want to be in the same room with him.”

“You’re overreacting. He’s not dangerous!”

“So a week ago when you wanted to spend half the night crying in my apartment he was dangerous, but now that you want to have a party he isn’t? Which is it Valerie?”

Valerie’s mind was spinning. What could she say to make things right again? Sure, she wanted Megan angry at Keith last week, but things were different now. Why couldn’t they get along and do what she wanted them to do? Frustrated, all she could come up with was “We’re working it out.”

“I see,” Megan said bitterly. “Drake ran into Keith yesterday. It sounds like this is a personal issue.”

Valerie collapsed in a chair. “Drake talked to Keith? What did he say?”

“We aren’t getting in the middle of this. Talk to Keith. He’s there, isn’t he?”

“No, but he’s late for everything.”

There was silence on the line.

“Megan, are you there?”

“Call him. Work this out yourself.”

Valerie jumped out of her chair. “What did he tell Drake? He’d say anything to look good …” She trailed off as the line went dead.

What nerve! She tried to call Megan back, but got voicemail. She snapped her phone shut and ran her hand through her hair. What a nightmare! Her stomach twisted as she imagined what Keith might have said to Drake. There was only one way to find out. She dialed Keith’s number. The phone rang once, then twice. Valerie’s stomach knotted tighter. He usually answered on the first ring when he saw her number come up. Finally, he answered on the fourth ring, just before voicemail picked up.

“Hello?” he shouted. She heard noise in the background.

“Hi honey, it’s me. Where are you?”

“I’m at the game. Can you believe it? Dad got tickets for me and my brother!”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Valerie snapped. “We’re having a party, remember?”

“He just got them this morning. Sorry, I forgot about the party.”

“You forgot to tell your girlfriend that you were going to the game when you knew I was having a party?”

“It’s just Drake and Megan,” Keith shouted. The noise was picking up as the pre-game show started. “They’ll understand.”

Valerie sighed. “I could have used more notice. I’ll get this stuff in the refrigerator and be at the stadium as soon as I can. We can come here after the game. Can you meet me outside the West Gate with my ticket?”

“You’re assuming you’re invited.” There was bitterness in Keith's voice. The noise dulled and he sounded like he was in a tunnel. He must have stepped below the stands.

“What are you talking about? Of course you want me there. I’m your girlfriend!”

“Wrong,” Keith snapped.

Valerie’s chest tightened. “What are you talking about? We’re getting engaged soon, remember?”

“I remember you throwing dishes at me last weekend because I hadn’t proposed to you yet.”

“Keith, I apologized for that. I lost my temper and it will never happen again. I’ve just been under a lot of stress between work and being a bridesmaid for Megan and Drake’s wedding next spring. We agreed to work things out!”

“Did you tell Megan that I hit you?”

“What? No!”

Keith sighed. “I ran into Drake downtown yesterday. Megan told him you showed up at her door after our fight last Saturday. She said you told her I pushed you against the wall and threw dishes at you. As I recall, it was the other way around. You did the pushing and throwing.”

“You know Megan. She gets her stories mixed up.”

“I don’t think she’s the one getting stories mixed up. You should have seen the look on Drake’s face when I showed him the cut on my arm from that fight.”

Valerie almost threw up. The cut – she forgot all about that. He bled on the floor and didn’t even stay to help her clean it up. He just stormed out the door. She gulped down bile and cleared her throat. “I thought we agreed not to talk about it any more.”

“I did too, but apparently you broke that agreement. He asked me about it point blank. He and Megan were worried about you. I don’t think they are any more.”

“Honey, forget about them. They have no right nosing in our personal business. Do they talk to us about what goes on behind closed doors?”

“No, and neither should you. It made me realize you were right about one thing last weekend. Something has been holding me back from buying that diamond for you. After I talked to Drake, I knew what it was. You’re a compulsive liar. You tell people what they want to hear so you can get what you want out of them.”

“That’s silly. I’m always honest with you. We got our wires crossed. Come over here. Our relationship is worth more than a football game. We’ll work it out.”

“There’s nothing to work out. I see it so clearly now. The mixed up stories; the bad memory. There’s nothing wrong with your mind. You lie as naturally as you breathe. You can’t keep your stories straight, and now you’re caught in a web of lies. I can’t defend you any more.”

“What are you talking about? Have Drake and Megan turned you against me?”

“You did that yourself.”

“Keith, please! I haven’t hurt anybody.”

“You hurt me!” he shouted. “You have problems I can’t live with anymore. We’re through!”

Valerie sobbed. “You’re ending a two year relationship over one mixed up story?”

“It’s a story that has the potential to ruin my life!” Keith snapped. “You accused me of being an abuser. Do you know how serious the consequences are for that? You could get me thrown in jail! ”

“I’d never do that!”

“How do I know that? You were willing to destroy my life for a shoulder to cry on. How can I trust you again? Our relationship really ended with that fight last week, but I was too scared to tell you until now. It’s clear to me that we don’t have a future together. We both have to face reality. It’s over.”

“I’m sorry. I love you!”

“Not as much as you love yourself. Goodbye Valerie. Don’t call me again.” The line went dead.

Valerie ran to the bedroom and collapsed on her bed, sobbing. Why was everybody being so mean? She didn’t understand. She was always there for others when they were down, but let her need them just once and the knife goes in her back. The fight was Keith's fault. All she did was ask why he wasn’t comfortable getting engaged after two years when Megan and Drake were engaged after one year. He was the one that started shouting about not being ready to make that commitment.

She should have suspected that Megan would turn on her. Megan nearly slammed the door in her face the previous weekend. “Every couple fights,” Megan said, standing in her doorway in flowered pajamas. “Go home and get some sleep.” Valerie was desperate for sympathy, so she told the story of the fight. She just changed a few details so she could get the attention she needed. She never thought Megan would turn on her by telling Drake, or that Drake would be bold enough to talk to Keith. She thought Drake and Keith only talked when the four of them were together.

A loud stereo interrupted Valerie’s pity party. She looked out the bedroom window and saw Hal, her next door neighbor, at the grill next to the pool. They weren’t allowed to have grills at the building, but management allowed them to grill beside the pool area. Hal’s car was in the parking lot with the windows down and the football game blasting from his stereo speakers. A crowd gathered around him, many with beer in their hands. Kids splashed in the pool.

Valerie was irritated at the noise until she realized she’d be having a party of her own if her friends hadn’t turned on her. Perhaps this was an opportunity. She got up, washed her face, gathered some beer together and headed for the pool. Hal glared at her as she approached.

“Hi neighbor, could you use more refreshments for the party?”

“Oh no,” Hal said. “You can’t call the cops. It’s the middle of the day. We can be out here until 11:00 tonight if we want and you can’t stop us.”

Valerie cocked her head and gave him her sweetest look. “What do you mean?”

“You called in a noise complaint again this week.”

Valerie nearly dropped the beer. “Hal, we’ve been through this. It wasn’t me! It was Caitlyn on the other side of the building. She’s a nice girl, but she’s so sensitive to noise. I’ve told her an apartment probably isn’t the best place for her to live.”

“Perhaps that explains why she moved out last weekend. She and her husband bought a house.”

Valerie paled. “She moved?”

Hal nodded. “I helped them load their stuff in the moving van a week ago.”

“I saw the van. I didn’t know she was the one moving. I wonder why she didn’t tell me. We’ve been friends since I moved in three years ago.”

“She said you’re no friend of hers,” Hal said, flipping hamburger patties. “I asked her about all of the noise complaints and she said it wasn’t her. My cousin works at the police station and took the call. She said it was a woman. Since Caitlyn moved out last Saturday and the complaint came on Wednesday, that means you’re the only woman in our building now. It had to be you.”

Valerie shook her head. “There’s a mistake. You’re cousin must have mixed it up with another call. How many calls do those dispatchers take in a night?”

Hal waved his tongs toward the building. “Why don’t you take your stories elsewhere? This is an invitation only party, and you aren’t invited.”

“Fine!” Valerie hissed, and stormed off. She couldn’t believe this. What was wrong with people? She slammed the door to her apartment, shut the television off, and threw the party food in the refrigerator. What was she going to do? She tried to call Megan and Keith again, but got voicemail. She sat in a chair and tried to think, but the noise from the party at the pool make it difficult. She needed to get away from this place! She flipped open her phone and called her mother.

“Hi Mom, how are you?”

“Fine dear, how are you? Are you alright? You sound like you’ve been crying.”

“I had a fight with Keith. He wants to break up. What am I going to do?”

“What happened?”

Valerie gave her mother a recap of the day. When she finished her story, Mom sighed. “What a mess.”

“What am I going to do?” Valerie sobbed. She started crying again while telling her story.

“I thought I taught you better. You made a critical error.”

“What’s that?”

“Never accuse people of anything illegal unless you can prove it.”

Valerie paused. “You’re right. Immoral is interpretation. Illegal requires proof.”

“That’s the fastest way to get caught unless you really know what you’re doing and can plant evidence perfectly. It seems you aren’t that good yet.”

“Is it possible to wiggle my way out of this?”

“Do you have any cuts, scratches, or bruises that look about a week old?”

Valerie looked herself over. “No.”

Mom paused. “It’s possible, but it will take some strategy. People are slow to forgive or forget when they’ve caught you in a lie this big. You have to work this just right.”

“It’s chaos around here. I can’t even think. How am I going to smooth this over? I have to get Keith back. He’s my best shot at ever getting married and getting out of this place. His family is loaded and they promised him three acres of land to build a home on as a wedding gift!”

Mom sighed. “He needs some time to cool off. Megan does too.”

“Megan stabbed me in the back.”

“Don’t count her out too quickly. She helped you get your job, remember?”

Valerie jerked. Mom was right. Valerie worked as a receptionist for a firm that did a lot of work with the company where Megan worked. Megan worked in management and had a lot of contacts, which helped Valerie beat out a lot of competition for the job. In fact, Valerie had recently applied for a promotion and Megan was one of her references. If Megan stayed angry, Valerie could kiss any chance of advancement goodbye. She certainly didn’t want to sit a front desk for the rest of her life. “You’re right. What should I do?”

“Pack up and come here for a few days. Don’t tell anybody you’re coming. We’ll work this out together.”

“What about work? They’re starting interviews for that promotion I applied for next week.”

Mom thought a moment. “Leave a message saying I’m sick and I don’t have any other family nearby since your father left. Tell them you need Monday and Tuesday off to make sure I’m going to be alright. Nobody will question a sick mother, and we should have something figured out by then.”

Valerie looked at the clock. It was almost two o’clock. Her mother lived in the mountains, about three and a half hours away. She could be up there for dinner. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll pack and be on the road in thirty minutes.”

“One more thing. Call Keith. If he doesn’t answer, leave him a message telling him you’re very sorry and that you’ve been under a lot of stress lately. Say he’s the best thing in your life and you want him by your side while you sort things out. Don’t beg or ramble, just be contrite.”

“Why?”

“Showing humility will cause him to question himself. Leave him the message. Right now he’s thinking about how angry he is. A sincere apology will make him doubt his decision to break up. After he’s had a day or two to cool off, he’ll call you.”

“Thanks Mom. Should I call Megan too? And what about Caitlyn and Hal?”

“Let Megan hang for a few days. Talk to her once you have things smoothed over with Keith. Forget about Caitlyn. She never did anything but make you coffee every now and then. She’s disposable. You have to live with Hal. Go over there next weekend with a six pack of his favorite beer and tell him you want a truce. It will work. Now pack up and get on the road as soon as you can. I’ll have the guest room ready for you. We’ll go to The Mill Restaurant for supper. I know that’s your favorite.”

“Thanks Mom, you’re the best.”

“Drive safely, dear.”

Valerie snapped her phone shut and packed as quickly as she could. She parked behind the building, so nobody at the pool party saw her leave. She was on the road thirty minutes later. Her nerves were so worked up by that point that she was shaking. She pulled a bottle of Xanax out of her purse, but decided against taking it until she was at her mother’s house. The last thing she needed was to get drowsy behind the wheel.

Valerie put a classical music CD on the stereo and tried to set her mind at rest. A few days away would do her some good, and Mom would help her figure things out.

Playing people was a game she didn’t lose. She’d win them back and her future would be set. All she needed was a new strategy.

It had to work. Everything depended on it.

Word Count: 2,922

What will Valerie do? Her tale concludes in "Unraveled"