This one shot is dedicated to my fellow Nerd Syndicate members.
The Lies We Tell
I woke up with a massive headache the day after my birthday. Whatever was in the email Bryce sent me was definitely not Zork. I had absolutely no idea what happened to me, but I began to know things I shouldn't know. It was scary.
Then a few days later, she walked into my life, tall, blonde, beautiful, and as I would later find out, kickass. She was Sarah Walker, a CIA agent, sent to protect me. She was the one to explain to me that all the government's secrets were now in my head, and that there was nowhere I could run, nowhere I could hide. I was now property of the United States Government, and I would work for them.
John Casey, NSA, came into my life not long after. He moved into an apartment near the one where my sister Ellie and I lived. He kept constant surveillance on me. Trust me; it's just as annoying as it sounds.
Both Sarah and Casey were adamant that I never tell my family or friends about my government affiliations. And to this day, I don't know why I listened to them. As long as it went on, the lies got bigger and easier to tell. It got to the point where I wasn't even myself anymore. I know it was to protect them, and maybe even protect myself, but at the same time, I know I was hurting them. Ellie loves me so much. She raised me. She trusted me, and every time I told her a lie, I betrayed her trust, even though she didn't know it.
Then came the day when I told Devon, Ellie's fiancé, about my double life. He took it pretty well. Actually, he took it really well, as did my best friend Morgan, who I just recently came clean to. But it took a threat against his life for me to tell him the truth. I still can't believe it. It was unfair to Morgan, and he didn't deserve that at all.
I still dreaded the day I would have to tell Ellie. I knew it would come eventually. You can't keep a secret like mine forever, and so many times I got so close, but I couldn't get the words out. Now that I think back, it would have been so easy for me to just say, "Ellie, I'm a spy."
Well, Ellie did find out eventually, and not because I told her. You know the story. And when the truth came out, she was upset, and had every right to be. I love Ellie, and never would want to hurt her, but I did, and I will never forgive myself.
If you love someone, you don't lie to them. That's the bottom line. And if you do, and don't come clean, you'll just have to tell more lies until not even you will know yourself anymore.
My name is Chuck Bartowski, and that's my story.