The Lie of a Friend Full Version

I needed to get some peace of mind, maybe some soul and possibly a ticket out of this place. But now that I think about it, I deserve punishment. This party just keeps getting worse by every slow passing minute, every breath and clinks of glasses in toast to celebration, as the pit of my stomach just gets filled with more and more of the dark guilt that has now changed me. And I am now changed forever. I can see it with every glance at the mirror, the deep blue of my eyes is streaked with a deathly black colour, my face is a pale sort of white which no blush can colour, while I don’t even bother about the mess of hair on my head. Yet I keep thinking, “What can be more important that the dirt mound beside Drafalga road?”
“Ebony! Ebony Macullaghan!” My head whipped round from the old wine stain in the fraying mustard yellow carpet I’d been staring blankly at, to respond to the husky voice that called my name. My Boyfriend had joined the party, his mass of dark, curly hair dripping from the downpour of rain outside the house.
“Ethan Soraric.” I sighed, our tradition marred by my pained expression. His cheery smile disappeared as he walked up to my chair and surveyed my troubled expression. I hastily slapped a fake, soppy smile on my face but I couldn’t even convince myself that I looked happy. But before he could convey his concern into audible words, my frenemy, Paige, called out from the messy table swamped with liquor bottles and half-empty glasses.
“Cute! Quick, Sarah, couples pic!” She screeched, her olive-toned skin flushed with a soft pink. Paige’s strawberry blonde hair whipped Sarah in the face as she snatched Sarah’s camera from around her neck and snapped a picture of Ethan leaning towards me, his concerned expression on his handsome face gone for a moment and me trying to look at least remotely happy.
“Aw, how sweet!” Paige purred, batting her eyelashes at Ethan’s now bemused expression. I shot her a half-hearted glare.
“If only Tahlia was here, she’d…” Sarah started, her small features crinkling into a smile.
“Shut up! Just shut up!”I snapped, leaping up from the rickety dining chair.
“Hey, now!” Sarah’s Boyfriend, Samuel warned. My breath was coming out in short, panicked huffs, the dining room silent in surprise. Sarah burst into stunned tears while Ethan tried to unclutch my fingers from the angry fist I had made, with it raised in the air, levelled with my shaking shoulders.
“Ebony, what?” Ethan demanded as I snapped around and connected my fist to his face. The loud smack seemed to echo about the quiet party. Only Sarah's sobs and my gasping were the present sounds in the air. Paige, Sarah, Samuel and Ethan were all staring at me, their eyes intruding into my pained expression. Ethan’s check was swelling and growing to a red colour, I slowly lowered my fist, remembering all the lies I had to act out at school to the irritating questions such as ‘Where’s Tahlia?’
“What the hell Ebony!” Paige yelled, gesturing to Ethan on the floor. “Have you gone psycho or something?”
I just looked into Ethan’s mahogany brown eyes, hoping he will forgive and raced to the bathroom up on the second floor.
I rounded the corner and slammed the beige, bathroom door shut. I could still hear Ethan’s concerned, muffled voice.
“Eb? You okay?”
I stared at my reflection in the mirror, my face was still blurry eyed and hair was just an absolute mess but I realized that I had some dirt in my hair line and some dirt marks partially faded on my clothes. I could hear the party resuming down stairs thanks to the bass thump through the wooden floors. Seems everyone has forgotten about my little outburst,
“Eb? Come out please?”
Except Ethan. I slowly opened the bathroom door, revealing Ethan standing in my way. I looked into his eyes and an image of Tahlia’s face appeared. She was staring straight at me, the death in her eyes and the image of her wrangled, broken body pale from the lack of her heart not pumping blood though her veins. Pronouncing her dead. I screamed and collapsed to the floor, holding my head in my hands, my whole body shaking in fear.
“I…I….” I swallowed my throat sore from crying. “Tahlia…. Is…”
“Hey Ebony! Tahlia is here!” Paige exclaimed from the end of the hallway.
“What!?” I yelled, staring straight at my frenemy, in plain shock. Ethan turned his attention to Paige.
“Paige, can you please leave us for a second please?” Ethan politely asked but I interrupted.
“No, wait. Paige what did you say?” I moved towards Paige, I realized I was standing up and nearly at the staircase when Paige spoke again. Paige started heading down the stairs with me in her tow.
“I saaaiiiidddd…. Tahlia is here! She just showed up now!”
I was just a zombie, taking in the new information. We reached the bottom of the stairs and right in the middle of the Dining room was my best friend, covered head to toe in dirt, eyes completely focused, talking to our friends, drinking and acting like new again and it’s being a whole week.
Next thing I knew I was back to Drafalga road with Tahlia, the road was empty like always at night and we had to cross the street to get to Paige’s annual party bash that she hosts every month.
“Come on, Tahila!” I exclaimed to my best friend, I spun around as I started to walk across the road. Tahlia was a few steps behind me be stupid as we usually are.
“I’m coming! Don’t get your panties in a twist! I don’t think Ethan likes trying to untie the things from your bottom!” She giggled as her shoes finally made contact with the asphalt. I was half way across and laughing with my friend, having the time of my life. We both didn’t see it till the collision. I made it across the road and spun to laugh at my friend acting like a chicken.
“Oi! Come on! Be a chicken at the party! We still have a lon…….” I was cut off by a loud, bellowed horn. It was too late, there was no cars around and it’s a dead straight road for kilometres. I didn’t see any headlights till that horn blasted in my eardrums, then I find Tahlia on the ground near the side of the road, crushed by an eighteen wheeler with her mangled body staring into the darkness that is death. The truck driver didn’t stop, he did the opposite, he sped up to get away and that is what I did. I covered most of her body and ran as fast as I could, I didn’t stop, didn’t go to Paige’s party, just straight home and under the covers.
“Oh, Hi Ebony!”
I blinked back to the party, Tahlia was right in front of me but there was something off about her. Her face was more in sync with everything like she has a motive.
“Can I talk to you outside please, Ebony?” she insisted and turned, walked around me and out the front door. I couldn’t help but follow her, even though my whole body was saying not to. We walked down the little porch steps and around to the front bushes of the house yard. Tahlia spun and faced me, her face in pain.
“You…. Left me…” Tahlia said, her eyes tearing up from the memory. I was stunned to hear her say those exact words I expected her to say if she was found by someone else and lived.
“I….I’m sor…”I started but Tahlia held up a dirty, un-manicured hand to halt my words in my mouth. She looked up at me with anger filled eyes.
“No, it won’t help now. All I can say is I’ll wait for you in hell. Bye Eb.” Her voice calmed by the time she said goodbye. Her arm started to turn to ash and blow away with the wind, followed closely by the rest of her body.
“Bye… and see you soon.” Said the last half of her body before she totally turned to ash and disappeared, forever.
“Eb? Where’s Tahlia?” Ethan’s husky, beautiful voice said from behind me, concerned. I turned to meet his handsome, loving face. I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks and my breathing becoming shorter.
“Tahlia is dead, Ethan. And she is waiting for me in Hell.”

The End?