The Runaway Nerd | ✓

Chapter 39

After standing there frozen for several minutes, I managed to calm myself down enough to find out who discovered my secret. I slowly turned around and my eyes widened in horror when I saw who it was.

It was not Adam like I had expected it to be, but Bryan. There was a devilish grin on his face. The angelic dimples I used to be so fond of now looked evil.

What was he doing here? I closed my eyes and tried to remember if I've ever seen his name on the guest list.

Nope. Can't remember it. Honestly I can't even remember what I had for dinner last night! I have such a terrible memory along with my terrible lying skills.

A few minutes later, after an internal debate on what to do, I decided to just play it cool and pretend that I had no idea what he was talking about. Who was this "Sadie" character? I felt a small smile tug on my lips.

I cleared my throat and plastered a fake smile on my face. "Excuse me? I think you got the wrong person," I lied. I prayed that this would be the end of this conversation. That this would make him back down.

But it didn't.

"Oh, I'm 99.99% sure you know what the heck I'm talking about Sadie," he said, lingering on the last word. My name. Or what was my name.

I stared at him speechlessly, unable to think of a comeback. An excuse.

"Well if you really don't.. then I guess I'll just have to tell everyone here and maybe one of them will remind you," Bryan threatened. "Maybe Adam perhaps?" His lips twitched into smile.

There was no way I was going to let him spill the truth I had worked so painfully to hide. Especially not to Adam. I couldn't help but look for Adam. I finally spotted him on the stage, smiling at his soon to be bride. My eyes lingered on his smile, missing the times when he would look at me the same way.

I must have been distracted for quite awhile for when I looked back at Bryan, he was already beginning to open his mouth. As a natural response, I lunged toward him and stopped him before he could utter a single word. Then I proceeded by grabbing onto his arm and pulling him toward the staff's locker room.

The locker room was empty which was not a surprise. Everyone was probably working at the party that coming to life on the other side of the door, unlike me. I hope that Ms. Queen will be too busy greeting her guests to notice my disappearance.

I only released my hold of his arm when I was absolutely sure that we were safely and completely isolated from the party outside.

"How did you find out about me? That I wasn't dead?" I demanded.

"I found out ages ago. It's just that I finally decided to confront you about."

"Wait so does this mean Amanda that also knows?"

"Nawww, she has no idea that you're alive. The moment she heard you were dead, she took the first plane out of here. Went abroad to France. I heard she's planning to find her other half at the city of love," Bryan revealed, rolling his eyes in the process.

"She left????" I exclaimed in surprise. "Then what about Adam? Does she not know that he's getting married?"

This created another eye roll.

"Oh I'm sure she knows, but she couldn't care less if he's getting married. In fact, I think she would be happy for him."

"W-what?" I stuttered in disbelief. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Amanda? Being happy for his marriage? No wayy... Were we talking about the same Amanda I knew and hated?

"Don't you see Sadie? Amanda just didn't want you with him. It wouldn't bother her at all if it was someone else."

"Why?"

"She couldn't accept the fact that a nerd managed to steal the hottest guy's heart whereas she couldn't even manage to get his attention to last on her for more than a minute," he explained.

My mouth made an 'O' shape in response.

We stood there in silence as I took in the newly retained information. A few minutes later, when I finally accepted the truth, I opened my mouth and asked him another question.

"Hold on, what are you doing here then? I mean, you're not even working with Amanda anymore," I asked in confusion. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't think of a reason to explain why he was here. He wasn't here to bring me to Amanda so why would he here?

The evilness I saw in him earlier was... gone. He looked like the Bryan I knew before. Kind and a comedian.

He looked at me blankly, as if he had no idea what I was talking about. His eyebrows knitted together in bewilderment. He stared at me expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

"You know... the fact that you helped Amanda kidnap me and put me in the car? To kill me?" I reminded him.

I expected him to laugh and say that he was just joking and that he actually did remember, but he continued to look confused. "Wh-what are you talking about Sadie? Adam invited me to this party and when I saw you I knew it was the perfect time to confront you. I had nothing to do with what happened at the railroad. Who on earth told you that???"

"Why did you threaten to expose my secret out there then?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"I was just playing around with you Sadie, I would never do anything to harm you. Never." He truly sounded genuine, but who knows, he could be a really good liar. A liar who was lying to my face.

I studied him carefully, considering the chances of him lying when he repeated his question again.

"I said. Who. Told. You?"

"Sam told me," I confessed. "He was the one who saved me."

"What! He was the one who told me that you died!!!" His eyes flared up in anger and his fists were clenched tightly.

I gasped. Sam did what now? "B-but but he said..." My voice had disappeared into a low whisper.

"We'll get to the bottom of this," he promised as he rubbed his hand on my back soothingly.

"B-but but.." I repeated again as I choked back a sob.

Just who am I supposed to trust??? Sam? Or Bryan?

**************************************

Everything that happened afterwards passed by as a blur. Bryan left after I calmed down and I had to go back to work. I kept spilling and dropping things because my hands just couldn't stop shaking. I was so relieved when the party was ended.

As soon as I got inside my apartment, the tears came pouring down my face. I felt many emotions that night: confusion, sadness, anger...

Before I drifted asleep, I told myself one thing:

I was going to find some answers. And I was going to find them using any possible means necessary.