Truth or Lies? by A. Gomez (book club recommendations txt) 📗

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

He held me, laying his head on my chest. “Did you know your Texas twang comes out more prominently when you’re around your family?”

I giggled and buried my face in his soft, blond locks. We sat still for an immeasurable moment. “Josh, I want to go to the hospital. I’d like to see Jill and I also want to get a few files from my office,” I said.

He was still holding me with his head on my chest. “Of course. I was just about to ask you if you wanted to see Jill.”

“Perfect! Then I’d like to go to the shooting range to get some practice in.”

He let go of me, sat back on his knees and stared at me in dismay. “Shooting range?” He was practically yelling.

“Yes, I need the practice. I haven’t fired a gun since deer season last year in Texas.”

“Isabel, I know you’re from Texas and getting a gun for your birthday is commonplace down there, but I just don’t know how comfortable I am with you handling a firearm. I mean there really is no need for you to do this. I’m here with you and I won’t leave your side. I would take a bullet for you!” He furrowed his brow and was on his feet.

I pursed my lips. “Josh,” I began, “I love the thought of you taking care of me, and Heaven forbid, taking a bullet for me, but must we play these tug-of-war games every time before I get my way?” It was a rhetorical question. “I’m an avid supporter of our second amendment rights so I’m going to the shooting range with or without you,” I exclaimed. “I’ve been hunting with my father and brothers since I was in elementary school. Those were some of the best times of my life. Being outdoors in nature, the smell of the trees, dirt and at times jasmine growing wild, depending on where we went hunting. We bonded as a family and we were taught to respect guns. Furthermore, we eat every animal we hunt.”

He eyed me with arms crossed on his chest. “Isabel Grace, you are positively a handful. All right, fine,” he exclaimed. “I don’t know what I’m thinking. It’s only fair you should practice. This is who you are and this is how you were raised. It would be wrong of me to try and stop that or even change it. I would never want to do that to you.”

“Whew! I was afraid we were going to have a problem there for a minute. Especially because I wasn’t asking your permission.” I smiled and batted my eyes at him. He smiled a crooked smile, taking me by the shoulders and standing me up.

“Does everyone in Texas carry a gun and ride horses?” he asked.

“No, we carry huntin’ rifles and ride tractors,” I said sarcastically.

“Really?”

“No,” I giggled, shaking my head.

As Josh headed to the shower, I decided to take my laptop to my bed to look through some more documents and wait for him there. I stacked four pillows and reclined with my laptop on my lap. Josh’s phone was on one of the pillows, so I place it on my nightstand. I was trying to read but Josh’s phone kept buzzing. I tried to ignore it and return to my reading. The phone buzzed again and again and again and again. My goodness! It went off more than a teenage girl’s phone. Ugh! I decided to silence it. I picked it up and saw that he had about a dozen texts and some sort of social media notifications app and all from two girls. One named Janis and the other named Jennifer. Surprisingly, he didn’t have it locked and I was able to open his phone. I read the texts from Janis. She was begging him to come see her and they could have so much fun together. There were also a few pictures on the same app of her blowing kisses, to Josh, I would presume. Jennifer’s texts were similar but I didn’t bother scrolling through the app again to look at her antics. My heart sank to my stomach. Isabel Grace Langley, you’re such a stupid fool, I told myself. Josh was just another David Summers with only one goal in mind. How could I have been so blind? I squeezed my eyes shut and put his phone back down. My head was throbbing and my body felt like it weighed a ton. I got up and headed for the door. I moved at a glacial speed. Everything around me didn’t seem palpable. How could I have been so stupid? I put on my boots and winter jacket; grabbed my purse and got in my car.

I was headed to the hospital but decided to drive around a bit to try and clear my head. This was agony. I couldn’t move past the feeling of foolishness, stupidity or even fear. Fear of getting hurt again, fear of staying a virgin for the rest of my life, fear of committing to someone only to discover it was purely sexual for the other person. This couldn’t possibly be happening to me again. I looked up at the sky and a cottony layer of clouds cloaked the sky. It looked like snow was coming. I loved snow and being out in it with my dog. I wanted to share that experience with Josh…

I tried not to focus on Josh, but rather on the case and the Triads versus the Hongmen. My mind wouldn’t cooperate. It was swimming with all the texts and photos. I decided to go through a drive-through and get a drink. I got to the window to pay and the male attendant that took my money wouldn’t stop smiling at me and staring at me.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Isabel.” I tried to be polite