Compulsive (Liar #1)

By

Lia
Fairchild

Bestselling
Author of

In Search of Lucy
and
Circle in the Sand

All rights reserved.

Copyright 2015 © [Lia Fairchild]

Cover Design by Sommer Stein,

Perfect Pear Creative Covers

[Cover Image: Dollar Photo Club © olly]

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under
International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint
or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
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without express written permission from the author /publisher.

ISBN-978-0-9864153-0-2

Lies hurt.

Lies destroy.

But some lies protect…and heal. At least
that’s what Gray Donovan had hoped for. She’s a compulsive liar using it as a
defense mechanism to survive life and her shattered past.

When she starts seeing therapist Daniel
Harrison, she can no longer deny the truths that have haunted her for so many
years. She must now stand and face them.

Opening up to Daniel leaves her exposed
and vulnerable. When her soul is bared to him, she can’t contain the attraction
or the feelings he elicits.

Daniel feels drawn to his new patient,
but he knows he will have to fight it in order to resurrect Gray from her
demons. His will and his judgment are tested when he must overcome his own
doubts and face his own secrets.

DEDICATION

For the lost souls.

ALSO BY
LIA FAIRCHILD

In Search of Lucy

Circle in the Sand

VigilAnnie

Emma vs. the Tech Guy

A Hint of Murder

Special Delivery

Home for Christmas

High Maintenance

--------------------------

The ridges on the stark white ceiling blurred from my intense stare as
I listened to the steady even breaths coming from the body next to me. He
wasn’t a bad guy. Just an idiot. Maybe even married for all I knew. The clock
read four twenty-three. That wouldn’t work for me. I waited for a nice round
even number. Something that felt right. I held my phone with the message typed
out:
I need you
. I keyed in the address, and when the clock hit four
thirty, I hit
Send
.

At ten before five AM, I eased my body out of the bed
the way a mother slips from her sleeping child, hoping not to rouse her angel. He
stirred a moment and turned on his side, his arm involuntarily reaching for me.

“Sky,” he murmured with his eyes closed. His dark buzz
cut hair was sprinkled with gray flecks, and a small rectangular scar bordered
the hairline on the right side of his face. I hadn’t noticed that the night
before, or I would have asked him. Now my curiosity had me pausing, conjuring
up various scenarios for its origin. Whatever the cause would forever remain a
mystery. With a gentle hold around his wrist, I lifted his hand and rested it
on the comforter. His eyes flitted open and closed. Frozen, I waited to see if
he’d wake. I didn’t worry about coming up with a story. It always came.

Still sitting on the edge of the bed, I reached over
to an adjacent chair to snag my black silk shirt. When I pulled it over my head
and then glanced down, two light blue eyes met mine.

“Hey, you,” he whispered. His soft, sweet smile almost
made a dent, but I pulled my hand away.

“I’ve got to run.”

Surprise and confusion colored his face. “What time is
it?”

“Around five. I’ve got early rounds.”

He seemed satisfied with my excuse and looked
thoughtful. “Ah, yes, Dr. Phillips. Time to save lives.”

I gave him a nod and a tight smile just before a knock
at the door sounded. I rose from the bed to pull on my skirt and slip my feet
into my heels.

He sat up watching me closely like a cat that’d dart
out of an open door. “Who could that be at this time?” he said.

“My ride,” I threw over my shoulder. I scooped up my
purse from the dresser on the way out, catching his face in the mirror. They
always had that same look the next day. Or perhaps I was the one who saw things
differently.

I heard him jump out of bed and scramble for his pants
as I made my way to the living room, picking up my pace. “Sky, wait.”

When I reached the door, he came in and leaned against
the couch, folding his arms. “I could have driven you home.”

“It’s okay,” I said, pulling the door open.

Nathan stood in the doorway, hands stretched out to the
jams on each side, his brown hair ragged from being dragged from the comfort of
his bed. He shot me that look that said,
you owe me
and then let one
hand fall and sweep to the side as if making a path for royalty.

“Wait,” a voice came from behind me. “Who’s this guy?”

Nathan took a step into the doorway. “Oh, hey, man.”

“John, this is my cousin, Nathan,” I said.

Unfortunately, Nathan had spoken at the same time I
did and said, “I’m her neighbor.”

John walked over to the two of us, eyes darting
between me and my partner in crime. “Well, which is it?”

Nathan and I exchanged looks, and I opened my mouth to
speak.

John held up his hand. “No. Let me guess,” he said in
a sarcastic tone. “He’s your cousin who lives next door.”

I half-shrugged while looking him dead in the eye. “I
really should get going.” A split second later, I plastered on a smile. “I’ll
call you.”

“You haven’t given me much choice,” he said to my back
as I sidled past Nathan. “I don’t even have your number.”

I’d be willing to bet John wouldn’t be holding his
breath.

In the car, we drove in easy silence with the windows
down. The sky was still a hazy blue melding to light. My shoulder length, dark brown
hair fought and tangled around my face as I stared out the window. I watched
the dawn covered streets half-filled with commuters and the deprived waiting
for jobs or wandering about. I sucked the crisp, clean air into my lungs,
feeling cleansed and thankful our mutual agreement didn’t require explanation.
That didn’t mean we never gave them.

At the stoplight, I gazed through a glass window at a
father and son sitting at a table in a diner. The boy, possibly six or seven
with soulful eyes, stared back at me. He smiled and brought a hand slowly to his
lips as if kissing it. Then, he reached up two fingers and looked toward the
sky. I gasped and squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them, he was gone; the
booth was empty. The way my heart felt as it sank inside my chest pounding with
immense force. Nathan stroked the back of my head. I turned and met his smile
as his hand ran down my shoulder to my hand, interlacing our fingers. He and I
didn’t need words to comfort each other.

My phone sounded in my purse as we pulled into a gas
station. I released his hand to retrieve a text from Dr. Wallace that I’d
missed our appointment yesterday. Strike three. Only if she documented it. I
contemplated whether it would be worth giving her a story, considering she knew
my history. I started typing:
Sorry, Alyssa was stranded again. Had to
…
Backspace all the way
. I had an urgent appointment with
… Backspace.
Close application.
Fuck
! She wouldn’t believe me, and lies annoyed her.
I had no choice. A personal visit accompanied with begging and bribery was the best
solution. I thought about her reaction if I told her I’d given John my middle
name, Sky, instead of making one up. Was I losing my edge? I had enjoyed being
the privileged doctor for a night.

Back at my apartment, Nathan followed me up the
walkway. At the top of the stairs, Alyssa sat outside her door feeding a stray
cat.

“Don’t let Cruella see you doing that in here,” I said,
bending over to scratch the top of the cat’s head.

“No shit,” Alyssa said. Her ingenuous eyes stayed
glued to the little tabby. “She won’t be up for hours.”

“Where’s your mom?” Nathan asked.

“Like I know that.” She stood and yanked up her tight
skinny jeans. “Got any cash? I could go grab us some donuts.” She smiled and
held out her hand like it was a done deal. I wasn’t the only damsel Nathan
would rescue on occasion.

He dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out two
crumpled bills. “Sorry, I only have six bucks.” He rolled coffee-colored eyes
in my direction. “I left in such a hurry I forgot my wallet.”

Alyssa snatched the cash from his hand. “No biggie.”
She shoved the money into her back pocket and then picked up the kitten,
caressing her cheek against its fur. “Thanks. What do you guys want?”

“We’re good,” I said, pulling my keys from my purse.
“Nathan’s on a diet.” I gave her a squinty smile.

Alyssa shrugged and headed down the stairs.

I tossed my things onto the couch and then collapsed
next to them. My feet pushed at each heel until they thumped onto the carpet. Had
I slept at all last night? Distinguishing between sleep and awake was not
always easy for me, especially in a strange bed. Nathan fell in place next to
me, and I noted we still hadn’t said a word to each other. He put his arm
around me and I leaned into him, resting my head on his comforting shoulder. I
played with the buttons on his shirt for a second and then said, “I’m sorry.”

“I know,” he said.

* * *

I must have dozed off, because my eyes popped open at sounds and smells
coming from the kitchen. I turned to find Nathan at the stove, his back to me.
I stared at his broad shoulders and examined how his back muscles pressed
tightly inside his white T-shirt and his half-sleeve tattoo showed on his left
arm. For a moment, an image flashed in my mind of me grasping that shirt in my
eager fists and pulling it over his head. I sighed, closed my eyes, and then took
a deep breath, drawing in the scent of bacon. Yes, better to focus on food.

When I opened my eyes, he turned toward the sink, grabbing
my gaze with his. “Hey, gorgeous. You hungry?” he asked with an innocent grin.

“Always.”

“Then you better get your ass over here and make
something. This is all mine.”

I grinned and scoffed. “So, you can cook for hundreds
of people every day, but not me?”

He kept his head down as he rinsed a glass bowl in the
sink. “Well, they do pay me and…I think I’ve done enough for you today.” Those
dark eyes peeked up at me, testing my reaction.

I reached for my phone, aimlessly scrolling without paying
attention to him. I reread the last text I got from Evyn, asking me how things
were going with Dr. Wallace. Another person in my life who amazingly hadn’t given
up on me…yet. I went to my pictures and clicked on camera roll. I thought of
the boy in the window and started scrolling to the top of the list until I
found what I was looking for. I brushed my finger across Noah’s smiling face
before clicking it off. When nothing but silence came from Nathan, I rose from the
couch and went to sit at the bar. “I’m really getting off that easy?”

“What would be the point of asking?” he said as he
pulled plates from the cupboard.

He knew I couldn’t stand when he turned things around
on me like that. “Last night wasn’t a plan, you know? Let’s call it…a setback.”

He grabbed the pan from the stove and gracefully
shifted a piled of eggs onto each plate. “Yep.”

I’d always found watching his cooking to be sexy and
artistic, but today my irritation took over. “You’re an ass,” I said, taking
the plate from his hand and adding a couple of strips of bacon.

Nathan ran a hand through his wavy dark hair in
frustration. “Fine…Did you even like the guy?”

“Sure.” I smiled. “He’s highly intelligent. A
corporate lawyer or something.”

Nathan’s head fell to his chest. He shook it a couple
of times and then sighed. I wasn’t trying to annoy him; it was just how things
worked out for us sometimes.

“Fine,” I said before picking up my fork. “I couldn’t
hear a damn word he said over that annoying music they were playing, but I did
like how he kept staring at my legs.” I scooped a bit of eggs into my mouth and
chewed while Nathan regarded whether or not this answer was the truth. If
anyone could tell that from me it was him. And sometimes I wanted someone to
know about me.

“Jeez, Gray. You’re the only woman I know who gets off
on pervs ogling her body.”

“He wasn’t a perv.” I stared straight ahead, avoiding the
angry eyes that seared into my skin. His reactions seemed to be getting worse.
It wasn’t like I never had to deal with this crap from him.

He came around to sit next to me, but kept his head
forward. “Why didn’t you have your car?”

“Lost it in a poker game,” I said, but his sigh pushed
another attempt from me. “I…uh…went out with Becca and Barb.” I flinched before
I finished the sentence. Nathan couldn’t stand my twin aunts. They took the
matching thing to a whole new level when they each left their cheating
husbands, filed for divorce, and moved in together. Becca is still going
through hers.

“Wow, you must have been desperate. Seriously?” He
turned his body and gave me a disgusted look. “Those two are like Mary Kate and
Ashley after they came back from pet cemetery.”

“God, that’s dead-on.” I managed a grin. “But they’re
not that bad. Besides, they helped me out, and I couldn’t say no. I was broke,
and Barb had someone from her work fix my laptop.” Of course, when I went to
pick it up, they had to drag me out with them. A classic case of bait and
switch. They used me to lure the men over, hoping to snag another husband, and
I got free apps and drinks. But ultimately those two have watched over me,
helped me when I was in need, even if they were like Cinderella’s step-sisters
and the fairy godmother all rolled into one.

He turned forward again and dug aggressively into his
eggs. Nathan had that stereotypical temper of a head chef, but he never
displayed it at work, and thankfully kept it under control around me. He’d had
his share of trips to the principal’s office and wasn’t a stranger to a bar
fight. But since we’d known each other, he’d only had a few setbacks. “You know
I hate it when you’re not being safe.”

“Hey, we used protection.” I smirked, trying to win
his mood back. I tilted my head in his direction only to find the opposite
expression on his face.

His fork clanked onto his plate. “You know what I
meant.” He kicked his chair back, getting up at the same time. “I don’t know if
I can do this anymore, Gray.” He wandered toward the door.

I followed behind him. “Hey, wait. Don’t go.” My blood
started to heat at the thought of him trying to leave, holding his presence
hostage for my behavior. That wasn’t what we did.

He halted in his tracks, still facing the door. I had
no idea what words he’d say when he turned around. Four years of this shit
between us. If we were too broken to have real relationships with other people,
how could we possibly have thought we could maintain one between us? No matter what
this
was. Yet through it all, Nathan and I had always clung to each
other like life preservers.

He turned halfway around and shot me a sad, helpless
look. “Have you ever heard the word ‘enabler’?”

My gut wrenched in a too familiar way. “So, that’s
what you are to me?” I said, growing angry as I spoke.

“That’s what we both are, Gray. Any shrink could tell
you that.”

“What are you saying exactly?”

He turned the rest of the way around, reached out and
grabbed my hand, softening my temper. “I’m saying that I can’t watch you do
this to yourself any longer.”

“And your life is so freaking normal?” I pulled my
hand from his, looking away toward the window. “It’s no picnic for me either.”
Though if I was being honest, this had been becoming more one-sided lately.
Nathan’s family had all but disappeared into background noise, and the
lingering effects had been miniscule.