Throw a Double for Spite

by Cherie Mitchell

  “Too late now. What else have you lied to me about? Why did you let me go on a date with Steve when you knew he was your brother Matt? You allowed me to go out with a predator.”

  “Matt isn’t a predator,” Briar scoffed. “He thought you were hot when I showed him your photo, which is why I encouraged you to sign onto the dating app. I warned him that you were uptight but he didn’t listen. He had to find out for himself.”

  Riley stared helplessly at the other woman, but Briar stubbornly refused to meet her eye. “Why did you do it? Why did you tell me so many untruths? I don’t know who you are anymore. I don’t know if I ever really knew.”

  Briar snapped her head around, her eyes flashing. “You have no idea of what my life has been like. You have no idea of the traumas I’ve lived through. You wouldn’t understand and you’ve never tried to understand.”

  “That’s unfair. I lost my father too, although the circumstances weren’t nearly as tragic as yours were. I know what it’s like to lose someone whom I loved dearly.”

  “You don’t have any idea!” Briar spat. “You never lost your father as I did! Bill moved temporarily out of your life but he was never dead to you. Creating a distance between you was your choice, not his.”

  “He hurt me deeply.”

  “But he was alive. He’s still alive.”

  “He’s ill.”

  “He’s alive,” Briar said obstinately. “And there’s every indication that he’ll pull through. I found my father dead on the floor and there was never any doubt in my mind that I was looking at a dead man. I was just eight years’ old, Riley. Eight years old.”

  “I’m sorry that happened to you, but that doesn’t change the fact that you lied to me. I’ll ask you once more, how many more lies have you told me?”

  Briar’s eyes slid away again. She clamped her mouth firmly shut and scuffed at the dirt with the toe of steel-capped boot.

  “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

  “Don’t try and make more out of this than there is. I was trying to protect my brother. You would do the same for anyone that you cared for.” A cruel smile teased at the corner of her mouth. “Or would you? You dropped your father from your life without barely a murmur.”

  Riley clung grimly to her anger. “Matt lived with you at the apartment. The spare bedroom used to be his. He told me.”

  For the first time, Briar seemed uncertain. “How much did he tell you?”

  “Not much more than that. Our conversation was brief. He’s not exactly my favorite person.”

  An increased burst of noise came from the jackhammer behind them before it shut off, followed by a shout from one of the men. “Hey, Kennedy! Do you want us to pour this cement now or do you want to check the ground first?”

  Briar looked over her shoulder to shout her reply. “I’ll be there in a minute, Mike. Hold off for now.”

  Riley pulled her keys from her skirt pocket and palmed them. “I have to go back to work. I have a lot of thinking to do. In the meantime, I think we should call a halt on our friendship. I have a lot going on in my life right now and I don’t need any more unnecessary dramas.”

  “You’re not the only one. It’s not just about you, Riley. It never was.”

  Riley nodded and turned away. She felt drained, wrung out, and for now there was nothing more to say. Friendships had ended for far lesser reasons than this. She reached her car and sat there for a while, watching the bustle of activity on the construction site. Briar didn’t once look over to check whether or not she was still there, clearly unconcerned about the pain her lies had caused. If Riley needed any more proof that the friendship was over, surely this was it? She was learning the hard way that it didn’t pay to give out free chances only for them to come hurtling back at her.

  She closed her eyes and pooched out her bottom lip, blowing a stream of air up over her hot cheeks. The brutal way that Briar had thrown the things she’d told her about her relationship with her father back in her face had cut deep, inflaming her sense of unfairness. Over the past few months, she and Briar had grown close but it appeared that her so-called friend was prepared to walk away without a backward glance and scarcely any explanation for her spiteful actions. Riley opened her eyes and grabbed for her phone, suddenly needing to hear a warm, familiar voice. “Hi Megan, it’s me.”

  “Riley. Can you give me a minute?” Her voice grew muffled, as if she’d placed her hand over the speaker or held the phone against her chest. A minute passed, then two. “I’m back. Are you still there?”

  “I’m still here. I’ve had an awful day. Briar let me down terribly and I didn’t see it coming. I’m absolutely blindsided. I should have listened to you.”

  Megan sighed. “Where are you?”

  “Sitting in the car outside Briar’s construction site. I’ve just told her that I need some space. I’m not sure if I can get over what she’s done.”

  “Hang on.” Megan muffled the phone again before returning, although she now appeared to have forgotten what they had been talking about. “Are we going out for dinner tomorrow night? I’m craving a double deluxe from Burger Town.”

  “I don’t think I can make it this week.” Riley distractedly thrust her hand through her hair. Making plans for a light-hearted meal at a fast food restaurant was the last thing on her mind. “About Briar...”

  Megan sent another long, drawn out sigh into the phone. “I can’t talk now. Now isn’t a good time.” She sounded vague, distracted, in a hurry to get off the call.

  “Ok. Phone me when you have more time to chat.”

  Riley threw one final glance over at the flurry of activity on the site. Briar still hadn’t turned to look at her, or to check to see if she’d gone. She glanced into the rear vision mirror and steered the car back out into the traffic, feeling more alone than she’d done for a very long time.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Could her day possibly get any worse? Could anything else happen to make her question everything that she thought she knew?

  Lucy had called Riley into the reception soon after her return from the construction site, telling that a visitor was waiting to see her. Riley had never seen the attractive blonde in jeans and a hooded sweatshirt before now, but some of her words were chillingly familiar. “You don’t know me, but my name is Leonie. You’re a friend of Briar’s, aren’t you? She told me that you worked here. I thought it was my duty to tell you that she’s not what she seems. You can’t trust anything that she says.”

  Lucy’s eyes were nearly bugging out of her head from the other side of the reception desk as she openly eavesdropped on the conversation. Riley shoved open the entrance door and indicated that Leonie should step outside. She followed her out, only to see Colin watching them from his regular smoking alcove beside the dumpsters. “This way.” She marched on ahead, leading Leonie out to the square of sidewalk where the corner of the building met the street. She crossed her arms across her chest and leaned one shoulder against the brick wall. “You’d better tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out.”

  “Briar, or Kennedy as she sometimes calls herself, is a complicated person.”

  “I’m beginning to understand that. Why does she use two names?”

  “She actually uses three. One was a childhood nickname. She had an... interesting upbringing.”

  “I’ve only recently heard about what happened with her father. Despite of everything else that I’ve discovered about her, I can sympathize with her in that regard. No child should have to go through what she went through.”

  “Obviously, that had a lasting impact on her psyche.” Leonie looked past Riley as Colin opened the door to walk back into the office. She returned her eyes to Riley’s face as the door banged shut behind him. “She tells a lot of lies. She’s adept at weaving a fantasy world around her life and the lives of her friends, and sometimes I think she starts to believe those fantasies herself. I think it’s important that the people close to her are aware
of that side of her personality. It’s irritating but if you want her in your life, you have to accept it. Her good points far outweigh her bad.”

  “But did her father’s suicide really happen? She said she was the one who found him after he shot himself.”

  “That bit is true, unfortunately.”

  “How do you know her?”

  “We were lovers.” Leonie grinned at Riley’s shocked expression. “Didn’t she tell you that she’s bisexual?”

  “No, she’s never mentioned it. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but she’s only ever talked to me about dating men.” Another puzzle piece clicked into place. Perhaps she hadn’t imagined Briar’s seductive glances and lingering touches after all. “Our friendship has grown closer over the past few months and we were spending more time together. Her moods can be hard to decipher. Do you think withholding her true sexuality from me was part of one of her fantasies?”

  “Who knows with Briar? I’ve heard that she’s currently seeing someone. By all accounts, it’s fairly serious.” Leonie laughed mirthlessly. “And this time her lover is definitely a man.”

  “How do you know? Have you met him? Have you seen them together?” For some unknown reason, Michael flashed across Riley’s mind. On top of everything else that had happened today, she wouldn’t be at all surprised if Leonie now announced that Briar had taken up with her ex.

  “No, I haven’t met him and I don’t even know his name. However, I’ve yet to hear of an unassisted pregnancy occurring as the result of a lesbian relationship.”

  Riley felt her mouth fall open. “Briar’s pregnant?”

  “Yes, if she’s telling the truth.” An ambulance with its lights flashing rushed past on the street beside them and both women turned to watch it before Leonie spoke again. “I did try to contact you a week or so ago. I left a message for you to call me back.”

  “You did? I never received it.”

  “The receptionist sounded busy when I called. I didn’t think that she’d taken note of everything I said.”

  “Lucy, yes. She gets flustered sometimes.”

  “They’re an odd family. It might pay to distance yourself from them if you can. Take it from me – when it comes to the Franklins, it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie.”

  Ah, so Leonie was her mystery caller, not that it mattered now. However, there was something else that Riley needed to know before she ended this unlikely conversation. “Are the two of you still friends? Did your relationship end amicably?”

  A sour note entered Leonie’s voice. “No, she dumped me. It was two months ago now, maybe a little more. It was for the best, but I didn’t think so at the time.”

  Riley nodded slowly. Leonie’s admission threw a slightly different light on their conversation. Should she take Leonie’s word on everything when it was unlikely that she was completely unbiased? As ridiculous as it was to admit it, she still badly wanted to think that Briar had genuinely cared about their friendship. “Did you ever meet her brother Matt?”

  “Of course. They’re very close these days.”

  “I can’t find one likeable trait in his entire character.” I’ve noticed that you don’t seem to like men much. I warned him that you were uptight. Was her negative reaction to her brother Matt (posing as Steve) the reason why made Briar make those spiteful accusations?

  “Well, you do have to remember that he is dealing with issues of his own. Numerous studies have shown that the early separation of twins can have detrimental effects on their mental health.” Leonie sighed. “Maybe that’s another incentive for me to give Briar a break, but I just wanted you to know who you’re dealing with.”

  “What?” A cold breeze whipped around the corner and caressed Riley’s bare legs with icy fingers. She shivered and wrapped her arms more tightly around herself. “What did you say? About twins?”

  “Matt. Matthew. Bartholomew – whatever he’s calling himself nowadays. He and Briar are twins. Didn’t you know?”

  “She told me he died when they were two,” Riley whispered. She sagged back against the wall. “Why would she tell me something like that?”

  “I warned you that she was an expert at manipulating the truth.” Leonie watched thoughtfully as a dead leaf scudded across the asphalt and came to rest beside the dumpsters. “Although, in some way her twin did die when they were toddlers. Their parents separated when the twins were very small, and each parent took a different child with them when they split. The twins weren’t reunited again for several years and shortly after that, their father killed himself. I can understand how it might have played havoc with their mental state.”

  “They don’t look alike.” Riley was struggling to put two and two together in her head in an effort to make sense of this impossible equation.

  “Fraternal twins don’t need to look alike. Physically they’re no different from any other siblings, except for the fact they share a womb.” Leonie laughed lightly. “Hey, listen to me. I sound like an expert.”

  “What about the other siblings? Briar said she was the only girl in a large family of boys.”

  Leonie shook her head. “No, there were only the twins, just the two of them. Matt is her only brother.” She touched Riley’s arm, her eyes bright with sympathy. “Are you ok? I guess it’s been a shock for you to hear all of this. Do you understand now what I meant when I said she spins fantasy lives for herself?”

  “I don’t know what to believe anymore. I don’t know who to believe.”

  Leonie looked faintly offended. “Suit yourself, but I have nothing to gain by spreading more lies. You can check with Briar and Matt’s mother, if you like. She’ll corroborate everything that I’ve just told you. Gina. She works in the office at Matt’s car yard but she’s a bit...” Leonie made a circular motion with her finger beside her temple. “We never got on.”

  “I think I saw her.” Riley shook her head, although the sudden movement made her feel dizzy. “No, I don’t think I need to talk to her. I think I need to take your advice and let sleeping dogs lie.”

  “That’s my plan. If I never have to look another Franklin in the eye again, I’ll be a happy woman. Hey, it was nice to meet you at last.” A flicker of sadness crossed Leonie’s face as she flipped up the hood of her coat to protect herself against the building strength of the wind. “Briar always spoke highly of you. I know for a fact that she valued your friendship.”

  Riley said nothing. What else was there to say?

  “The two of us did once have something good together, something really good. I do still care about her. A genuine, loving person exists beneath that screwed-up exterior but I believe it will take years of therapy to drag that person out. The world hasn’t been kind to Briar and it’s easier for her to keep her real self safely hidden away.” Leonie waggled her fingers and then she was gone, walking quickly out onto the street and out of sight.

  Another scurry of leaves and gritty dust blew across the parking lot and scratched against Riley’s legs but she didn’t move away from where she stood. The conversation with Leonie had punched her in the gut and left her reeling. How was it possible to believe you had a close friendship with a person yet know so little about who they really were?

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Riley dialed Megan’s number again after Leonie left, desperate to discuss the outrageous events of the day with someone who would understand, but the call went straight to voicemail. She mooched around the office, unable to concentrate on anything, and in the end she lied to Paul about having a dental appointment so she could leave early. Lies, more lies. Her entire life was crumbling into a barren, delusional landscape of lies.

  She tried Megan’s number in the car before she drove away but again there was no answer. She considered driving across to her apartment anyway, just in case she was at home and ignoring her calls for reasons best known to her, but her phone rang before she could make that decision.

  “Hi Bill.”

  “I’m sorry to ring you at work l
ike this.” He sounded deathly tired, as if it was taking every ounce of his strength to form the words.

  “No, I’ve just left. Where are you? You don’t sound so good.”

  “I’ve just finished my latest treatment and I’m at the coffee shop next to the clinic. That one hit me hard, much harder than I’d expected it to. I’m just taking a moment to catch my breath before calling an Uber and going home.”

  “Stay right where you are. I’ll come and get you.”

  It took nearly half an hour to get across town in the traffic, by which time Riley was frantic with worry as Bill hadn’t answered her last two calls. Briar and her multitude of deceptions no longer held quite as much importance in her mind. Bill was sick, possibly fatally ill, and she’d wasted so much time by holding onto old hurts. Regardless of his undoubted faults, Bill was her father and unlike Briar and her father, she was lucky that she still had him in her life. Why had it taken the wake-up call of his ill health to make her understand that?

  She saw Bill hunched over a table in the corner when she rushed into the coffee shop, an untouched, cold cup of coffee and an unread newspaper in front of him. She reached his side and stooped to kiss his chilled, pale cheek. “I’ve been calling you. I was worried when you didn’t pick up.”

  “Ah, here she is. The light of my life and the apple of my eye.” Bill gave her a wobbly smile and patted her hand where it rested on his shoulder. “I think I nodded off.”

  “Come on, I’m taking you home.”

  “No, there’s no rush. Sit down and have a drink with me before we go. I’ve had a nap and I’m feeling better.” Bill lifted his hand to signal to the waitress. “A few more minutes of rest will do me the world of good and you look as though you need a coffee.”

  “They shouldn’t have let you leave the clinic in such a state,” Riley said tersely. “What were they thinking?”