Believe Me, I'm Lying [New & Improved]

Chapter Two

"Hello Harley, this is Sarah Goyle from Super Saver calling about your job application."

My ears perked up and I turned the volume on my cellphone up a few notches. Hopefully this was a good message.

"We're sorry, but I'm afraid we're looking for someone a little older and more experienced for—"

Scowling, I slammed my finger down on the delete button, not bothering to hear the rest. That was the fourth store to call and say they were looking for someone older and more experienced. How experienced did you have to be to hit a few stupid buttons on a cash register? I'd seen teenagers younger than me working at the grocery store every time I went!

"Pig?"

I twisted around in my chair, glaring at my brother. "I told you not to..."

"What's wrong, El?"

"I had a dream about Mom and Dad," he relayed to me, sniffling again. "Pig, I want to see them."

"Oh, Elliot," I sighed, gathering him in my arms. "I've told you, you can't see them anymore."

"Because they've gone somewhere better?"

I nodded, rubbing his back soothingly. "Yes, but don't forget they are always watching over you."

"I miss them," he told me, sounding like he was about to cry again.

For the most part when Elliot started crying I ended up crying too and it was just one big mess. However, so far I'd gone two months straight without crying over my parents' death. Elliot still cried once in a while, but that was to be expected. My mom had been right; he was too young for this. He didn't understand that they couldn't come back to see him.

Elliot nodded his head against me, breaking me out of my reverie. I pulled away from him and poked his forehead. He frowned, batting my hand away. "I heard you were on fire," he commented after a moment.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What? I'm not on fire..."

"Will was talking on the phone and said you got on fire."

Now I was even more confused. "No... I never got nor caught on fire. I don't know what he's talking about. What else did Will say?"

"Your job?" Elliot asked, more than stated.

"Oh!" I said with realization. "He told someone I was fired while he was on the phone?"

Elliot nodded, his eyes widening fearfully. "So you were on fire? Pig! You're not a marshmallow!"

I shook my head quickly, trying not to laugh at his random association of fire and marshmallows. "No, no, being fired is different than being on fire." I didn't even bother mentioning the marshmallow part. Sometimes I worried about him.

He gave me a baffled look and I sighed, not having patience to explain everything to him. So I decided to change the subject. "Forget about it. Are you hungry? You slept in pretty late today," I commented, leading him to the kitchen.

"I want eggs," he told me, climbing onto a chair at the table.

I nodded. "Sure. Want to crack them?" I added, seeing the solemn look still on his face.

He immediately smiled brightly, nodding his head eagerly. "Yeah!"

Together, we whipped on some scrambled eggs with a dash of eggshell, and sat at the kitchen table to eat.

"Pig, you make the best eggs!" Elliot said, digging his spoon into his breakfast.

"Don't call me Pig," I said in an exasperated tone. "My name is Harley. Har-ley."