The Truth in Lies chapters 14 & 15
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Chapter 14
When I told Jared about what had transpired between me and Drew, and about my plans to move, he became all too eager to help me find a place. I had seen Jared angry before, but after telling him about my nearmiss with Drew, he was livid.
I'm still waiting for Jared to turn into the full-blown angry incel.
So far, he's barely been in the story. But there's still time.
“Olivia and I will join you.”
“No, we won’t. There’s no way I’m spending my Saturday apartment hunting with them,” Olivia protested.
I kind of understand why Olivia is upset that her friend is moving out.
But at the end of the day, this isn't about Olivia; this is about McKenzie not being so co-dependent on others and learning how to move past everything that's happened to her.
Not only is Olivia being a shit friend for throwing a tantrum about the entire thing, but she's an even shittier friend for throwing a secondary tantrum for Drew wanting to help McKenzie find a new place.
Olivia begged me to join her at all of the parties she was invited too. It wasn’t until one night she came home so drunk, I thought I’d have to take her to the ER for alcohol poisoning that I decided to join her as the designated driver.
After that, I went to every party she did. Olivia was notorious for screwing the first guy she met, but me; I didn’t enjoy the random pickup. I usually sipped on a beer and mingled.
Why do I get the feeling that this girl never matured past her drunken partying, random hook-up phase? She's literally still doing it, despite being in her 30's.
Those aren't “goals”, she sounds like a drunk with a sex addiction and commitment issues.
Drew and I followed behind Jared and Marcie. No words spoken, just smiles given, and a feeling of knowing that I had made the right decision.
Chapter 14 summary: A few days later, McKenzie and Jared are still looking at the real estate listings. Olivia is proving herself to be the friend of the year and is going kicking and screaming into McKenzie's journey to find an apartment.
Drew shows up, but then he gets upset when he finds out that McKenzie and Jared are going to be leaving to look at apartments. He was of the opinion that he was going to help her, and tries to prove this by pointing out how bad some of the neighborhoods on their list are. However, Olivia had invited Drew over so that he could spend time with her. But Drew is insistent that they should spend the time helping McKenzie. Olivia turns into a bratty toddler over the entire thing, and I just cannot.
Drew, Jared, and McKenzie go and look at one apartment, but it's way out of her price range. She gives him a ballpark number, and he narrows down the list a little bit. The rest of the apartments are glossed over at this point, with Drew and McKenzie butting heads over a lot of the places.
As they leave one place, Drew finally asks what's the deal between her and Jared. That Olivia had said that they were dating. Jared is disgusted by this, and calls Olivia out on her constant, self-centered bullshit. He pointedly tells Drew that Olivia can never love anybody that isn't herself.
The narration then tells us that while Olivia and McKenzie were in college, Olivia liked to drink and party to the point where McKenzie almost took her to the ER to have her stomach pumped. After that, McKenzie forced herself to go to parties with Olivia to make sure that the dumbass didn't kill herself. But it's all fun and games until some frat boy literally roofies you, but thankfully, Olivia rescued her in time. So I can see why McKenzie would defend Olivia. But one good action doesn't somehow make up for all of the shit Olivia continues to do.
Drew takes them to one last place. McKenzie decides that it's perfect. And Drew kind of stands behind her and does the “It's beautiful” while looking at her instead of the view out the window. Jared just seems uncomfortable over the entire thing.
Chapter 15
Once I was settled in, Olivia offered to host a housewarming/birthday party for me, and I instantly declined. If it hadn’t been for the Harry Potter calendar, hanging on my refrigerator, reminding me that it was March eleventh; I would’ve gladly forgotten that it was my thirty-second birthday.
While I love my friends and family, I found myself enjoying the solace on my birthday. It wasn’t like this was a special birthday anyway. I had already passed the ‘thirty’ milestone. The next big one wasn’t until I turned fifty. God, I dreaded that one.
Olivia was furious when I told her I didn’t want a birthday party this year. She fought me tooth and nail over my decision, and just when I thought I’d have to concede, I played the ace up my sleeve. I suggested that we waited until after Drew was done with his case, so she didn’t have to attend a party she hosted alone. That won my isolation for the day.
Olivia is seriously starting to piss me the fuck off.
I think that we all know that the party has nothing to do with McKenzie, and it's 100% a reason for Olivia to drink and party. She couldn't care less about the reason, let alone her friend.
The fact that she's constantly disrespecting McKenzie's boundaries is such a huge red flag.
McKenzie has already cut one toxic relationship off. She should work on her others.
My shoulders sank forward in shock and frustration. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I grumbled, banging my head on the door with a thud.
Chapter 15 summary: After that, McKenzie got all of the paperwork sorted out quickly and moved in. Olivia became even more like a petulant child and started to try and guilt-trip McKenzie. Things were made even worse because Drew got caught up in a high-profile celebrity lawsuit and was burning the midnight oil.
One day, McKenzie is enjoying some time to herself in her new apartment when Drew shows up unannounced. He asks for a tour, so she gives him one. He makes painfully awkward comments about her drapes, and then sexually heavy comments about her bed. It is really painful to read.
But the spell is broken when McKenzie runs into the dresser and hurts herself. They go to the living room and play video games. But when McKenzie beats him, he kind of pushes her into the sofa and they share an almost kiss.
Which is interrupted by somebody else knocking on the door. They sit there for a moment before McKenzie gets up to open the door, only to find her parents have stopped by for a surprise visit to see her new place.