Building on Lies Read online

  I shrugged. What was the point of talking about it?

  “ So, it looks like I’m going to be able to go to the workshop I signed up for, at the artisans guild in the mountains," he said, after a pause.

  “ Cool!” I said, a little too eagerly. I hated it when Channing and I fell into those awkward silences.

  “ Yeah," he said, smiling happily. “ I told my Dad it was for this sports convention up north. He’s been so busy with work he didn’t even ask for details. He just gave me permission to go”.

  “ That’s awesome, Chan. So, how long is the workshop for?" I asked, leaning my head on his shoulders. I took one of his hands, and started fiddling with his long fingers. His hands didn’t match the rest of Chan’s rich, model handsome looks. They were large and rough, and heavily callused underneath. It surprised me Chan’s parents didn’t know about his secret hobby, considering how hardened his hands were. But Chan’s parents were oblivious, and even if they had been more perceptive, Chan was good at keeping secrets.

  I should know.

  “ Just three days. It’s during winter break, in a couple of weeks”. He laced my much softer hands through his.

  “ Three days, huh?" I said, trying to hide my disappointment. Channing and I had gone more than three days without seeing each other, but he always text messaged me, or sneak in a few phone calls. I doubted he would be able to communicate with me if he was in a workshop all the way in the mountains.

  “ Yeah, I’m excited," he said, but then his voice dropped to a whisper. “ But I was wondering… Nah, never mind”.

  “ What?" I asked, curious.

  He took a deep breath and said, “ I was wondering if you wanted to go with me”.

  “ Channing!" I gasped, looking at him as if he’d grown three heads. “ How in the world can I go with you?”

  “ I know, it sounds crazy. But maybe you could think of something? Like you’re going to spend the weekend at your best friend’s house?”

  “ Hello? My best friend lives with me!" I pointed out.

  “ Oh, right. Well, maybe you could tell your Mom you want to go to this workshop, too. Maybe she’ll let you go”.

  “ I doubt my Mom will believe I’ve all of a sudden taken an interest in woodworking," I said, skeptically.

  “ Yeah, but woodworking is not the only workshop they have. They have all kinds of workshops, like clay sculpting and soap making. Your mom might fall for your wanting to go to a soap making class, right?” Channing looked so hopeful I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “ I guess she might," I said, but I wasn’t so sure. I’d never shown an interest in soap making, or in making anything at all, really. But there was always a first time for everything, and I’d learned to become a pretty convincing liar. It was the one thing about my relationship with Channing I wasn’t proud of. I’d become super good at lying just to be with him. I wondered when all the lying was going to stop.

  “ It’ll be so cool," he said excitedly. “ Like I said, it’s in the mountains, and you get to stay in these cabins they rent out for everyone who attends. I’ll be in the workshop for most of the day, but we can hang out together in the evening. Have dinner together, and stuff”.

  “ Our own little cabin sounds nice," I said, softly.

  “ It does," he agreed. “ And there’s a nice town with all kinds of furniture and wood craft stores. I thought maybe we could check those out, too”.

  Channing loved anything to do with wood working. He received trust money from his deceased grandfather, and he’d been using it to buy the tools, and lumber, needed for his woodworking. In fact, he wanted to be a cabinetmaker, which is a person who creates furniture, cabinets, and other things out of wood.

  Unfortunately, he came from a family of financiers, starting with his great grandfather. His father, uncles and cousins were all involved in money lending, investment banking, stock broking, and financial advisement. There wasn’t a carpenter or wood worker in the bunch. Channing and Ty were expected to join the rest of the Sutton men in the wonderful world of finance.

  Channing’s father was particularly controlling. He had Channing’s future all mapped out for him, and he expected Channing to follow his plan, step by step, with no room for any of Channing’s personal dreams or hopes. Channing was expected to go overseas for college, he was expected to marry Samantha St. John after he graduated, and he was expected to go into the family business. His father had even hinted at the amount of grandchildren Channing was supposed to produce, as unbelievable as sounded.

  Most of the pressure to uphold the Sutton family name fell on Channing. His twin, Ty, was considered the rebellious son, while Channing was the more responsible. Channing had fallen into the role of the “good” son, and his parent’s placed a lot of expectations on him.

  They had no clue Channing had little interest in finance. Chan already knew most of the ins and outs of the finance world, because he had been summer interning with his father at the Sutton brokerage firm ever since he was in junior high. Despite being pretty successful in his internships, Chan knew he didn’t want to be a financier. He wanted to be a cabinetmaker.

  He’d never told his parents of his desire to work with wood. It wasn’t something they would understand or even accept. So, he kept his “hobby” a secret. They didn’t know whenever he had the chance, he sneak off to apprentice with a master cabinetmaker in the next town over. They didn’t know about his tools, his purchased lumber, or his creations. He kept all evidence of his hobby hidden away in a storage facility he paid for himself.

  The only people who knew about Channing’s passion for wood were his brother, his good friend Bethany, and me.

  I’d seen some of Chan’s work, and it was amazing. He’d made a drop leaf table, a mirror, and even a huge carved trunk. He was beyond talented. It was Channing’s dream to be up there with famous wood workers from the past. I’d never even known about woodworking, or anyone who wanted to make wood furniture, until I’d met Channing.

  “ Chan, I’d love to go workshop with you. But I just don’t know. It’s going to take some massive story telling on my part”, I said, with a sigh.

  “ I know. And I hate to put you in a spot like that, Nellie," he said. “It’s just I love being with you. And I’d like to have you all to myself for a while, you know?”

  I nodded. But…there was a question had to be asked. I hated to bring it up, but I needed to know.

  “ What about Samantha?" I asked, my voice dropping so low he had to bend down to hear me. “ What have you told her?”

  He was quiet, and still, the way he always was whenever I mentioned Samantha.

  “ I told her I was going to the sports thing too," he said, his voice hard, like it always was whenever he talked about Samantha. “ She’s going to be out of town, too, anyway. So, yeah”.

  So, yeah.

  “ I told Ty to reach me if anything came up. He knows I’m going to this workshop, and I really want to go with you," he continued, squeezing my hand.

  “ Well, I’m going to try my best to convince my mom I just have this need to make soap!" I teased.

  He laughed, and then reached for me. “ I’m going to make it the most romantic weekend you’ve ever had, Nellie Depaola”.

  “ You’d better!" I said, closing my eyes as he kissed me again.

  A few hours later, I was back on the road to my house, hoping Ro had told my mother something good. It was crazy how time flew whenever I was with Channing. Three hours felt more like three minutes. It was as if there wasn’t enough time in the world for us to talk, and kiss, kiss and talk.

  I got home, and sneaked in through the back door. My mother’s favorite TV show on in the living room, but I didn’t dare peek in to say hi to her. I wanted to change into my pajamas to make it seem as if I’d been home for awhile.

  Lucky for me, Ro was in our room, lying on her bed, reading a textbook.

  “ Whatcha doing?" I asked, slipping off my shoes.

  “ Stud
ying for the test we have tomorrow in English. Same thing you should be doing!" Ro said, putting the book down to glare at me.

  I went to my dresser to find my pajamas. “ I already studied at school. And beside, Ms. Little’s tests are always multiple choice, and I rock at multiple choice”.

  “ OK, well here’s a multiple choice question for you. Who should Nellie Depaola choose as a boyfriend? A, the popular guy who refuses to tell anyone he’s dating her. Or B, the nice guy, like Joaquim Medeiros, who called tonight to see if you wanted to go to the Winter Dance with him?”

  I blushed guiltily. Joaquim Medeiros is one of our guy friends who has a crush on me. I’ve been extra nice to him because my mom thinks he’s my actual boyfriend. Our parents were childhood friends, so my mom was thrilled when I hinted to her Joaquim and I were sort of seeing each other. I’ve used the excuse of hanging out with Joaquim whenever I wanted to sneak off and see Channing. Not very nice, I know.

  “ Joaquim called?" I asked, ignoring Ro’s multiple choice scenario. I refused to get into it with her about Channing.

  “ Yeah, he called. And I had to tell the poor guy you were at the mall since Daisy was standing right there. I think he even went to the mall looking for you," Ro said, shaking her head.

  “ Well, I’ll see him in school tomorrow," I murmured, putting on my pajama bottoms.

  “ And what are you going to tell him? You can’t go to the Winter Dance with him because you’re going with Channing?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

  “ Quit being a bitch, Ro," I snapped, angrily. She knew darn well there was no way I was going to the Winter Dance with Channing.

  “ Oh, that’s right," Ro continued. “ You can’t go with Channing because he’s going to go with his actual girlfriend. Multiple choice question time again. Exactly who is Channing Sutton’s girlfriend? Is it A, rich girl from Ardsley Park girl Samantha St. John? Or B, regular girl from Egg Cove Nellie Depaola whose also willing to make a fool of herself by sneaking around with a guy that already has a GIRL!” Ro ended her speech by practically shouting at me.

  “ Will you just shut up, Ro?" I hissed at her. “ Or do you want my mom to hear you?”

  “ God forbid your mom should hear how her daughter is sneaking around with a guy who already has a girlfriend," Ro muttered.

  “ Ro, get off my back," I warned her. The last time we’d gotten into a fight over my situation with Channing we hadn’t spoken for two weeks. It was the worst two weeks of my life because I love Ro to death.

  And I know she loves me, which is why she’s not happy with my seeing Channing.

  Because it’s true. As much as I love to call Channing my boyfriend, he’s really not. We’re technically just hooking up, as kids in school like to call it. He already has a steady girlfriend, whose name is Samantha St. John.

  I’ve tried to explain to Ro a million times how it doesn’t feel like what Channing and I are doing is wrong. How he feels like he’s really my boyfriend, and no one else’s. How it doesn’t seem like he can fake all the nice things he says to me, or how sincere he seems when he’s holding me.

  I’ve never told Ro the real reason why Channing hasn’t dumped Samantha to be with me. He made me promise not to tell anyone his reasons, and I’ve kept my promise. I’m not sure Romina would care even if I did tell her. My best friend pretty much believes if Channing truly liked me, Samantha St. John would have been his ex long time ago. I can’t fault her. I mean, that’s what best friends do. They look out for you.

  “ I’ll get off your back when you stop dragging me into your lies, Nellie. OK? I’m done!" she said, turning away from me. “ If you want to be some rich guy’s little twinkie on the side, then that’s your business. But I’m through lying to Daisy just to cover your butt”.

  “ Ro, you know it’s not like that. Channing isn’t like that. You know him. He’s a good guy and you know it," I insisted.

  Ro looked at me, her face troubled. She knew I was right. Channing wasn’t your typical two timing creep. “ I just don’t get it, Nellie!" she said, in exasperation. “ There’s no denying he’s crazy about you. I mean, he calls and texts you all the time. But honestly, I don’t know him. I’ve just seen him around school and in Sociology class. And yeah, he seems nice enough. So, why can’t he just be honest about it? Why not let Samantha St. John go, and be your guy? That’s what’s so frustrating!”

  “ He just can’t," I said, helplessly.

  “ He can’t? Or he won‘t? I’m sorry, but you’re ten times prettier than Samantha, probably ten times nicer, probably ten times smarter. OK, so maybe you’re not one of the Ardsley Park country club girls, but if he really liked you, it shouldn’t matter. I’m just tired of seeing my best friend being treated like she’s less than worthy. Because it’s just not true”.

  I was silent. Ro was right, of course. But if I was okay with sneaking around with Channing, then why couldn’t she be okay with it too? I was a big girl, I could handle myself. And beside, I needed Ro on my side. There was no way I could see Channing unless Ro helped me.

  “ So, are you really going to go to the Winter Dance with Joaquim?" she asked, changing the subject. She didn’t like to fight with me anymore than I liked to fight with her.

  “ Yeah, I guess so," I replied, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted to go to the dance with Channing, but there was no way it was ever going to happen. He was going to go with Samantha.

  “ Joaquim sounds really excited about it. I think his Dad is going to lend him his truck night, so we can all ride together," Ro went on.

  “ That’s cool," I said, not really enthusiastic. I had honestly considered skipping the Winter Dance altogether…it was going to be too hard to see Channing dancing the night away with Samantha.

  “ Oh, sorry Joaquim doesn’t drive a super cool Mercedes!" Ro snapped, misunderstanding my lack of interest.

  “ Ro, you know it’s not that, “ I said, quickly. “ Sorry, I’m just distracted. I think it’s awesome Joaquim’s dad is lending him the truck. It’ll be much better than showing up in my broken down Honda.”

  “ You should see the tux Tommy is renting! It’s so elegant, and it has this wine colored trim which is going to match my dress perfectly," Ro said, satisfied with my semi-apology.

  Tommy Garza was Ro’s boyfriend. They’d been dating for over a year. Tommy was also Joaquim’s best friend, and I knew it would make Ro the happiest girl in the world if Joaquim and I really started dating. She had dreams of all of us double dating, and hanging out together, like old times.

  “ We need to go to the mall tomorrow to pick out your dress if you’re really going to go with Joaquim," Ro said. “And I need to make my final payment on my dress. It’s still on layaway. I know you’re all caught up with Channing, but you do have other friends and important stuff going on in your life beside him, right?”

  I nodded, then crawled into my bed. My phone went off just then, and I dove for it. It was a text from Channing. He wanted to know if I’d gotten home safe.

  I giggled, and wrote back I was safe and sound at home. Ro groaned, and went back to studying her text.

  “ Sweet dreams, Nellie," was the last thing he wrote. I switched my phone off because I knew I wasn’t going to hear from him again.

  My mother poked her head in the room just then.

  “ Nellie, how was the mall? Any job prospects?" she asked.

  I shook my head. “ Nope. But I’m going to try again tomorrow”.

  My mother cocked her head to the side quizzically. “ I’m surprised no one has hired you yet. With Christmas coming, I know a lot of the stores need seasonal workers.”

  I shrugged. “ Well, the Heather and Fern store said they’d get back to me”.

  “ Heather and Fern? That’s the place that sells candles and soap, right?" my mom asked.

  “ Yup! I just love all the soaps in that shop. They smell so good. I’d really love to learn how to make my own scented soaps actually," I
said, the lie rolling easily off of my tongue.

  “ Did you see Joaquim there? He called for you. Ro told him you were at the mall. I think he told Ro he was going to try and find you there," my mother said, but I couldn’t tell if she’d processed the soap making thing.

  “ Yeah, I saw him. We’re going to the Winter Dance together”.

  My mother smiled happily. “ Oh, good! I really like Joaquim. He’s such a nice boy. Well, good night you two. I’m going to be gone before you wake up. I’ve got a huge project over in Ardsley Park again, and I won’t be back until late tomorrow night”.

  “ Night Mom!" I chirped.

  “ Boa noite, Daisy!" Ro said, in our native Portuguese.

  When my Mom left the room, Ro turned to me, with an eyebrow raised.

  “ Soap making?" she asked.

  “ Never mind," I said. I’d have to explain later.

  Chapter 3

  Ever since I started dating…OK, sneaking around with Channing…I’d been getting up an hour earlier than I’m supposed to get ready for school. Why? Because I’ve figured out it takes me an exactly one hour to look as good as Samantha St. John, that’s why.

  And it’s not because I’m this atrociously unattractive girl who only looks good after an hour of carefully applied make-up. Actually, I’m really very pretty, even though it’s taken me awhile to accept it. I’d spent most of my childhood as a super short, super thin little girl with brown eyes too big for my face, and bushy brown tangled hair.

  My looks didn’t change until I hit my teens, and I grew to a decent five foot three, developed some curves, and put enough weight to go from skinny to slender. Now, at sixteen, I'm petite, with a nice shape most of my friends admired. My eyes, which always had a deer in headlight look when I was a kid, grew into my face. I learned to enhance them even more by arching my brows and applying liner and mascara. My hair underwent the best transformation of all, going from a wild mess to soft brown waves that rarely ever tangled or frizzed.

  Ro says I look just like Rachel Bilson, the television actress, and I have to admit there is a huge resemblance between us. I’ve been pretty lucky looks-wise.