The Love of Lies

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Cori’s POV

I was feeling defeated earlier, but after I applied for a position as a hotline nurse, I felt better.

I haven't heard back from anyone personally, but an email for a follow up interview was sent to me, so I know that they are at least interested.

Nurse hotlines are really popular right now, specifically because they can keep the ER free of unnecessary visits, but in pediatrics, it's demanding because worried parents tend to call a lot.

I don't mind that at all, and since I volunteered for the worst hours on weekends, I'm fairly sure I'll get the job, although the pay isn't great.

Sadly, I still feel a little restless, and I need to do something to ease my mind further, so I get dressed and attempt to explore the neighborhood alone, but there are three vans parked out front, pausing me in my tracks.

“Hello, are you Miss Cori?” There's a man standing outside, and because I'm alone in such a secluded area, I'm scared.

“No.” My automatic instinct is to lie because this isn’t my house, and I don’t want to be responsible for anything.

“Mrs. Lewis sent us your picture…”

“Then… what do you want?” At this point, I’ve mostly closed the door, ready to shut it if necessary, but then my phone rings, and I answer, still suspicious of the man.

“Cori dear, I forgot to tell you that Mr. Ernesto is coming. I sent you his picture.” I check my phone, and sure enough, the man outside is the same person in the photo.

“He’s already here. What do I have to do?”

“Nothing specific, but if you have any requests, you can tell him or his wife. She usually comes with him. I’ve got to go now dear, but when I come back, I want to hear everything about the baby.” Guilt, sadness, shame, regret, all those emotions converge on me because I’m not planning to be here when she returns.

“Sorry Mr. Ernesto. No one told me that you were coming.”

“Not even Junior?”

“Junior?”

“Sorry, I mean Ashton.”

“Up until when was he called Junior?” I question, curious because I’ve never heard anyone call him that, not even his brother.

“He was about fourteen when he made the big announcement.” I smile, remembering a super sweet boy in my third-grade class who everyone called Baby Ant.

When we were twelve, he suddenly changed, and got into many fights with people who would use the nickname to antagonize him. The school took immediate action, not just for him, but for other children who had weird names, like Grape, and Nurpal.

That was how I got my legal Alias. It was free of charge, and all I had to do was have a parent sign the documents attaching my social security number to the name I prefer to be known by.

My mother was extremely sick at the time, so she didn’t notice that I changed my last name as well, but I don’t think she cared much. Just like me, she wanted me to be rid of the other woman’s name. That way, she could say that she named me herself.

“Do you need anything from me?” I meekly question, not wanting to seem like a nosey person by asking too many questions.

“Not right now; I’ve been asked to clear out an office, and Mr. Ashton asked me to change and wash all the linens in the house. As soon as we’re done with that, we’ll come find you.”

I’m really confused, but this isn’t my house, so I sit there, stewing in absolute awkwardness as I watch the crew begin to clean the house from top to bottom.

Every time I try to pick something up, or help in any way, one of the women shoos me away.

“I wonder how she got him to settle down.” One of the ladies whispers in Spanish, glancing back at me with a smile. “She’s pretty, but she looks pregnant.”

“Maybe that’s why.” They don’t know that I can understand them, so I pretend not to be paying attention. "You know what Junior's like."

I’m not embarrassed because they aren’t saying anything bad about me, they’re just speculating, and truthfully, I'm learning a lot about Ashton from them.

One, he had been cheating on his ex-girlfriend since the beginning of their relationship, two, they weren’t broken up for a 'long time' the way he said they were, and last, Ashton is at lunch with the woman and her father right now.

“I feel sorry for that girl. She put up with so much.”

“Men are like that. They’ll use you for years, then replace you with someone younger, but at least she's rich.” A loud ‘callarte’ (shut up) startles us all, and a woman steps forward with a smile.

“Hello, I’m Mrs. Ernesto, sorry I didn’t greet you earlier. I was with another crew in the main house.”

“That’s okay, I don’t really have any requests.” I stand, wanting to get out of the way by going back to my room, but Mrs. Ernesto follows me.

“I was asked to clean your room personally.”

“Please don’t. That would make me feel terrible.”

“Miss Cori, even before you came here, we cleaned this room regularly. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, but I have to do my job.” With a frown, I take my laptop and move to the kitchen, but someone starts working in there too, making me feel like I have no place to ‘hide,’ so I go to the backyard.

It’s not long before someone serves me a snack, and I just about faint from the embarrassment and guilt of it.

“You don’t have to do this for me.” The woman looks confused, so I repeat myself in Spanish, making her eyes go wide, but she quickly recovers.

“Mr. Ashton asked us to make sure you were okay.” Turns out, she speaks English very well, but I just gave myself away. “Miss Cori, I hope we didn’t offend you earlier.”

“No, no. I’m not Ashton’s girlfriend. His business is none of mine.”

“Then, do you not trust me to prepare something for you? It’s hot out, and you look… well… your belly… um…" the woman clearly doesn't know I'm carrying, but because of what I'm wearing, it's pretty obvious. "My sister thinks that you're angry with us being here," she finally says.

“No, don't worry. That's not true. It’s just that… I don’t feel right watching people clean up after me.”

“Then, we can leave and come back another-”

“No, no, no. That isn’t what I meant either.” I shake my head and hands vigorously, silently wondering what kind of people these women work for to be so angsty. Likewise, I don’t know how to behave in this situation, but because I used to do this kind of work, I know how hard it is. “Just ignore me, okay?” I thought that would be the end of things, but Mr. Ernesto came a few minutes later, asking me how his crew offended me.

I’m assuming that Ashton must have said something to them, so in order to help ease everyone’s mind, I change the subject by asking them if they can help me reorganize the kitchen cabinets, knowing that I've made a mess of them.

That seems to work, and this time, they don’t stop me from helping.

The ladies who were gossiping earlier keep staring at me, likely feeling guilty, but they only filled me in on what I already suspected.

Ashton was really close to his ex at the engagement dinner, and no matter what he said, I should have known better than to listen.

“Don't worry, I won’t be here for much longer,” I randomly add, wanting the women to know that I’m just a visitor, so they don’t have to be afraid of me giving them annoying tasks in the future.

Weird looks go around, but I put on my best fake smile, hoping to ease their worry.

However, as soon as Mrs. Ernesto announces that she’s finished with my room, I immediately disappear, wanting and needing to find a safe place to unwind.

Somehow, I end up on Julia’s social media page again, and notice that someone is antagonizing the woman about her ‘dual title’ in the comment section. I click onto the person’s page, but there is nothing to really identify who it is.

Their last post was just a few hours ago, and it’s a picture of text saying, ‘already missing my girl,’ and immediately under that, ‘Van_Do’ commented with a heart emoticon. I click on that profile and get my answer right away. In fact, I get more than that.

Vanessa’s last post is a candid photo of a man, who I can only guess is her father, and Ashton having lunch, and the caption ‘family’ leaves little up for misinterpretation.

Ashton probably couldn’t wait for his parents to leave, that way, he could go back to being the jerk that he is, but I won’t stress myself out over it. Instead, I like his photo and hers, wanting them both to know that I got the message, and they don’t have to worry about me interfering.

Ashton’s POV

As soon as I got into the office, I was handed the dreaded task of calming Mr. Dodson, one of our most panicky and demanding clients.

We have never let the man down in any project, but he’s lost hundreds of thousands in the past, and because of that experience, he’s prone to stopping by our building, claiming to have a gut feeling about ‘something.’

Sadly, Troy isn’t around to personally give the man a detailed report of where his money was spent, so I have to do it, and the man insists on taking me to lunch after I successfully placate him.

I intended to get back to Cori early because I want to take her on a romantic date tonight, but since I may be late, I text Mr. Ernesto, asking him to make sure that Cori eats well.

I forgot that they were coming, so I didn’t get to warn her, but my mother beat me to it. She was first to notice the man used his keycard to get through the gates, but I was in a meeting, so I couldn’t call right away.

Knowing that I have no choice but to agree, I post a cheesy status, hoping it makes Cori’s heart flutter, but since she isn’t following me, she likely won't see it.

She doesn’t use social media to post much, so I’ve never brought it up, but I may have to because I want her and everyone to know that she’s mine.