The Last Lie We Told - Chapter #2 - Free To Read

I don’t know why I listen to the phone.

Maybe because a part of me already knows something is wrong. Maybe because I need to see it for myself.

Or maybe because deep down, I don’t want to be the stupid, clueless girlfriend anymore.

The air is cold as I step out of my house, my jacket pulled tight around me. The streetlights cast long shadows on the pavement, stretching toward Savannah’s house like dark fingers. I move quickly, quietly, my heart hammering in my chest with every step.

The phone had sent me an address earlier. I didn’t need it. I already knew exactly where Jason was.

Savannah’s house.

I stop a few feet away, pressing myself into the shadows near her driveway. The house is quiet, most of the lights turned off. But then, the porch light flickers on.

And there they are.

Jason and Savannah.

Standing too close. His hands on her waist. Her fingers playing with the collar of his jacket.

They’re laughing about something. Jason leans in. She tilts her head.

And then—

He kisses her.

I feel everything at once.

Shock. Pain. Rage. Disbelief.

My breath catches in my throat, my stomach twisting violently. I tell myself I’m seeing things. That maybe it’s not him, not her. That this isn’t real.

But it is.

Jason is kissing my stepsister. Holding her the way he used to hold me.

And Savannah? She’s not pushing him away. She’s kissing him back like this is something they’ve done before. Like this is normal.

A sharp beep from the phone in my pocket makes me flinch. My hands are shaking as I pull it out.

“Now do you see? What will you do?”

Tears blur my vision.

Jason steps back, grinning as he tucks a strand of hair behind Savannah’s ear.

Savannah smiles up at him, completely unbothered. Completely comfortable. Like this isn’t betrayal. Like I don’t exist.

I can’t watch anymore.

I turn and run.

I barely sleep that night. My mind replays the image of them over and over again. Every time I close my eyes, I see Jason’s hands on Savannah’s waist. I hear their laughter.

I don’t cry. I can’t.

I just feel empty.

But by morning, the emptiness is gone. It’s replaced by something else. Something dark and burning inside me.

I’m done being the girl people walk all over.

I’m done being weak.

***

So when I walk into school the next day, I don’t avoid Savannah. I go straight to her locker and wait.

She shows up a few minutes later, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder, her phone in her manicured hand. She sees me and smirks like she’s been expecting this.

“Layla.” Her voice is sickeningly sweet. “Wow, you look awful. Did you not sleep?”

I see red.

“Cut the crap, Savannah.” My voice is steady, but inside I feel like I might explode. “I saw you. Last night. With Jason.”

Her smirk grows. “Oh.” She tilts her head. “So you finally figured it out?”

I clench my fists. “How long?”

Savannah shrugs. “A few months.”

A few months.

A few months of lying. A few months of sneaking around behind my back. A few months of Jason kissing her while he was still mine.

“You’re my sister,” I say, my voice breaking. “How could you do this to me?”

She lets out a soft laugh. “Please, Layla. Don’t act like we were ever real sisters.”

I stare at her, my heart cracking into a million pieces.

“You were never enough for him,” she continues, her eyes glinting with amusement. “That’s why he came to me.”

Her words slice through me like a blade.

I want to slap that smug look off her face. I want to scream, to cry, to make her feel even a fraction of the pain she’s caused me.

But I won’t give her the satisfaction.

Instead, I step closer, my voice low and sharp. “One day, someone is going to do to you what you did to me.”

Savannah just smiles. “Doubt it.”

I turn on my heel and walk away before I do something I’ll regret.

But the moment I step into the hallway, I run straight into Jason.

Great.

His dark eyes scan my face, and for the first time in months, he actually looks concerned. “Layla, what’s wrong?”

I let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “You really have the audacity to ask me that?”

Jason blinks. “What—”

“I saw you,” I hiss, my voice trembling. “I saw you with her.”

His jaw tightens. “Layla, you’re overreacting—”

“Overreacting?” My voice rises. “You were kissing my stepsister!”

Jason sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Okay, yeah, it happened. But it’s not a big deal.”

I gape at him. “Not a big deal? Are you serious?”

He actually looks annoyed. “Look, Layla, things between us weren’t working anymore. You knew that.”

“So instead of breaking up with me, you decided to cheat on me?”

Jason rolls his eyes. “You’re being dramatic.”

I stare at him, trying to understand how I ever loved this person. How I ever thought he loved me.

I open my mouth, but no words come out.

I feel stupid. Humiliated.

I turn and walk away.

By the time lunch rolls around, I’m still shaking with anger.

I don’t want to sit with my so-called friends. I don’t want to pretend I’m okay.

I want revenge.

And I know exactly how to get it.

I spot him near the vending machines—Noah Kingston. Jason’s best friend.

He’s leaning against the wall, looking bored, scrolling through his phone. He’s always been a little too cocky, a little too smooth. The kind of guy girls fall for even when they know they shouldn’t.

But right now, I don’t care.