Even if Luke realized that it could be true he still didn’t believe it, until his girlfriend’s dad, of all people, told him that she lied. He still decides, though, to give her a chance to explain when she gets back. That’s why Luke doesn’t leave and stays in the sitting room, as the two blondes continue to drink like a pair of sailors, and swear even more than one. He never thought he would get to see two of the school’s best athletes getting totally wasted, and in the middle of the day, no less.
Finally Priya is back from her trip to the shopping mall. She is smiling from ear to ear and walks up to him, kissing him on the cheek. Like lets her do that before backing away. Priya looks at him in confusion. “So, your two best friends got drunk and said something that’s very interesting to him. They said you lied to me about having leukemia so I’d go out with you.” He pauses to watch her reaction and sees that she is rapidly sweating. “Could you tell them to not make such twisted jokes again? It is so inappropriate, especially because they are your close friends.”
Priya sighs, looking defeated. “It isn’t a joke, baby. I’m sorry, but they’re right. It was all a lie,” she says. “I was afraid you would never give me a chance, so I lied that I have leukemia. I knew you’re so kind you’d put aside your anger to make a dying girl’s final months happy ones.” She then wraps her arms around his body and buries her face in Luke’s chest. “Baby, could you please give me a second chance? I could have drugged and raped you, but I respect you enough not to do that. All I did was just a little bit of manipulation.”
“A little bit? You made me think that you were dying! The worst part is I fell for you and thought I was going to see the only girl I ever loved die,” he says. If he said he love her earlier, before this clusterfuck happened, then she would be totally overjoyed. But the way he is looking at her with the sorrow in his eyes makes her realize that she messed up big time with her lie. She will have to figure a way to sort this shit out and really quick, before she loses Luke. “I really need time to think about this,” he says to her, preparing to leave.
She grabs his wrist and stops him from going. “I’m truly sorry I caused you so much distress, baby. I really am sorry. I know what I did was wrong but I will do it again if I have to. I’m willing to do anything to have you as my boyfriend. I love you and that’s all that matters.” He looks at her and has a weary expression on his face. Priya then leans in to kiss his lips. It’s a good sign that he lets her do this, but he still doesn’t show her his forgiveness. “I will do anything I have to. Do you hear me? Anything.”
“Just give me some time. I still love you but I need to figure it all out,” he says. “Right now I feel so deceived by what you did and am in no shape to pursue a healthy conversation with you. I will be back. I just need to think about it all.” Luke then turns around and walks out of the house, feeling deeply conflicted about it all. He has no idea how to handle everything that he just found out today and realizes he might need to figure out just how much he loves and is willing to forgive her.
Priya goes into her bedroom and sits down, thinking about what to do next. She can’t lose him. He is the love of her life and she won’t let them go. The girl decides tomorrow she will go to him and talk to him until he agrees to be with her again.
…..
Luke is now sitting at home in his own bedroom and thinking about all of the stuff that has happened in the previous month. How the hell could I have been so dense, he asks himself. There was no sign at all that Priya was terminally ill with leukemia. She is literally still one of the best athletes in their school. Just last week when Priya won another trophy. No way could a girl suffering from leukemia win a tournament and in such grand style. It should have been so obvious to him, but then he allowed himself to be blinded by pity, and once her plan started working, love.
He knows he should still be pissed off at her after all her lies, but it is so hard to be. For one, Luke is overjoyed that she isn’t going to die. Yes, she did lie and tell him she was going to, but it was only because she loves him. Still, he can’t deny that her lying about such a thing was quite messed up. Is Priya really mature enough for a relationship or not? Can he trust her to be honest to him from now on out? That is the big question, and the boy doesn’t know the answer to it. He just doesn’t know.
When he is with his parents at dinner that night, his mother could see that he is going through something right now. It is painfully obvious from the deeply conflicted look on his baby face. “Are you okay today? Still worried thinking about your girlfriend having leukemia? People have survived that. She might be able to pull through,” she says to him. He hasn’t told her the truth yet and realizes he has to do so now. Or else she would just keep on worrying about him for no good reason, and he doesn’t want that to happen. Not at all.
“Priya doesn’t actually have leukemia, mom. She lied to me about it,” he says to her, making her and his dad’s eyes go wide in shock. “The thing is, she used to bully me. When she confessed to me, I told her I need time to think. She then said she has leukemia and that her final months would be happier if she has me with her. That’s how we started our relationship.” With that said, he spears a broccoli and pops it in his mouth, before taking a sip of cold water from his glass, as if what he just said was perfectly normal.
“Shit!” his father yells, to the shock of Luke. His dad has always been the meek one out of his parents and speaks in a very pleasant tone in normal times. Usually it’s his mother who swears. “I can’t believe someone would really do something so terrible. This must be real hard on you right now, isn’t it?” Luke simply nods. “Let me know if there is anything me and your mom can do for you.” He can’t believe his son just went through something this shocking and is now hating this Priya very much.
“Thanks, dad. I guess that it’s just kind of hard for me to accept, after all the time me and her spent together,” Luke says. “I don’t know how to handle this. I know it might sound crazy but I still love Priya and want to stay with her. But if I forgive her right away, I might be encouraging this sort of behaviour, and I don’t want to do that. So I think that I might make her wait a couple of days before going taking her back and warning her not to do something like this again. What do you think, guys?”
“It’s all up to you, sweetie,” his mother says with a kind look on her face. “There is no right or wrong answer here. Yes, she did a bad thing. But you can decide if you’re willing to overlook it and get back together with her. This is your life. Make the decision that you feel would be best for you.” She then goes into the kitchen to get herself a cookie, as her son sits there and thinks about what she just said to him. It is all so surreal and he still isn’t sure that he didn’t dream the entire thing up.