Seduced by Lies Read Online Free Page B

laughter, none of them catching on to the falseness of Sam's chortles, that had started just a second after everyone else's'. He was trying to keep up, but worry for his mother continued to grow at the back of his mind, and guilt for leaving her in such a state was beginning to gnaw in the pit of his stomach. He shook it away as best he could - the dumb cow brought it on herself, so why should he be feeling guilty, especially after spending his entire summer looking after her and wiping her vomit-covered chin every morning. Plus, she had gotten herself in much worse states before, so he was sure she'd be fine (or whatever version of 'fine' his mother was capable of being these days). He focused his attention as best as he could back onto his group of friends. This is what mattered right now - he was finally back in College and he couldn't afford to lose this normal, unsullied part of his life, not without risking losing his sanity as well. He dived straight back into the interaction, laughing jovially and poking fun along with the rest of them, and though he tried his best to remember how he would have felt last year, before everything had turned to shit, no matter how hard he tried to recall those feelings, none would come to him.
                  Not that any of those around him seemed at all aware of the mask their best friend now wore, and now it was Sam's turn for the limelight.
    "What about you, Sam? Did you do any better?" Adam challenged from just behind Sam's shoulder. Sam's mind stuttered, trying frantically to pull the right response from its depths, but his smile did not falter, and after just a brief pause he replied cockily -
    "Much better than a menopausal O.A.P and a lezzer, that's for sure!" He said confidently, nodding mockingly at Dan and Johnny respectively. This induced another hearty, booming round of laughter, and Sam silently congratulated himself on a situation well-handled as he received yet more convivial pats on the back and high-fives. Maybe, just maybe, he could enjoy this day after all.
    Despite his initial anger at his mother, and his promise not to let her interfere with his College day, he couldn't quite shake the feeling of worry and abashed guilt, and so half way through his first lecture of the day, Sam gave in.
                  He'd chosen a seat at the very back of the classroom, partly because that's where his friends chose to sit (it seemed the further back you were, the cooler you were), and partly because it gave him the opportunity to sink low in his seat, avoid the gaze of the lecturer, and let his mind wander. It wasn't as if he needed to pay attention anyway - he was secretly already way ahead of everyone else in the classroom, thanks to his father teaching him more than any College lecturer ever could - before everything had gone wrong that is. Sam was probably educated to around degree level, and the only reason he was actually taking this course was for his C.V, not that he would ever let that on to anyone, or that anyone would think it from looking at him.
                  And so that day, like every other previous day he'd entered this room, he slumped, seemingly unenthusiastic, into the same plastic chair next to the far back wall, slapped his folder and pen onto the desk, and proceeded to not take any notes whatsoever - a mirror image of the other five sat next to him, in appearance at least.
    Sam acted the part as best he could - sniggering with his fellow students, throwing scrunched up balls of paper when the lecturer wasn’t looking, he even made some half thought through comment about boobs (which seemed to go down well with the lads, if not with the girl sat in front) - all the things a boy his age should be doing on his first day back at College, but his heart just wasn’t in it.
                  “Well no, that’s not exactly the right phrasing.” Sam thought to himself. After all, his heart hadn’t truly been in