Everybody has problems they need to deal with.

I bet if I asked my friends they would tell me a million things that I could fix about myself. And I could do the same to them. It's just the way we are as people, we all make mistakes. What sets us apart, however is how we react to advice on how to fix our mistakes in the future. You can be mature and listen to that advice by acting upon it, making yourself a better person in the process. Or you could be stubborn and not listen to the advice at all.

And finally, you can be insane and listen while doing the complete opposite.

I'd like to say I was mature, someone would tell me about a flaw in my character and I would work my hardest to rectify it. If I was wrong, I would try my best to make it right. But, I guess some people don't view the world the same way. You know, the type of people who think there is only one correct way, and it's their way.

The fact that I thought people were willing to change was a grave mistake of mine. I have a friend named Mathew, who everyone called Matt. We had been friends for a good 17 years, since the end of high school. He was funny and great company. But he had a problem.

He lied constantly.

And I mean constantly. Even about the smallest things. When I first met him, I asked if he had any siblings, and he told me he was an only child. Later that year I found out that he had a younger sister. He would lie about what he did on the weekend, about what pets he had at home, stuff that was really inconsequential, that he didn't need to lie about. And yet he kept lying.

And when confronted he would smile and shrug it off, as if it was just a joke and that I shouldn't off taken what he had said so seriously. And so I stopped really concentrating on what he said.

Just let him be. I had thought. He's not hurting anybody.

Well, Matt wasn't hurting anybody yet. You see, after time his lies would get worse. From little white lies that didn't have any value to big lies that, at best would screw with people, and at worst would ruin their lives.

It snowballed from "I went to that Coldplay concert on the weekend."

And went to, "I saw that bitch Jessica fucking David in that back alley behind the cinemas."

Jessica's boyfriend wasn't too happy with that.

After 4 chipped teeth, 2 cracked ribs, severe facial tearing and mild brain haemorrhaging, David was finally released from hospital. Luckily he was able to get back on his feet, but the doctor's said he would never be able to move as fast as he used too. Goodbye scholarship.

It was proved later that what Matt had said, was in fact a lie. When he was confronted about it he played it down and got away scot-free. I could see something was wrong with Matt, and yet I still let him be. I was worried of course, but I didn't know how to bring it up. How do you tell one of your best friends that they may have severe mental problems?

So I let it go.

I was moving states after all. I kept in touch with him, visiting him when I went back home to visit my own family. We would go fishing or watch a movie. Just generally hanging out. As time went on, he seemed quieter, more withdrawn. More hesitant to speak about his personal life. I had taken that as a good sign. To me less talking meant less lying. Hell, he could even be going to therapy. And so we kept up that sort of relationship for 17 years.

17 fucking years.

I don't know how many people he had hurt since then, I don't even want to know. But I have some sort of idea. The grief occasionally wakes me up in the middle of the night.

"I could have stopped this." I would sob into my pillow. "I could have done something."

But I never did. And it costed me dearly.

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

It was early 2015. I was busy with work and life, and so I hadn't got to see my parents for a while. But then things changed. And when I finally booked my plane tickets I was giddy with excitement. I loved my parents and missed them. And I knew they would be excited to see their first grandson.

I looked at my wife, Abby, who was holding little baby Marc, and smiled again. To me life was good, my job payed well, I had a beautiful wife and son, I was happy and content. And I couldn't wait to share my feelings with my parents. My mom especially would be overjoyed.

She had always told me, "You need a good wife to ground you! Take your head out of the clouds, eh?"

I would smile and shake my head. "Soon." I would say.

And soon was now.

Marc's first plane trip was uneventful, which surprised me. But probably relieved all the other passengers on that plane. We got off and spent a joyous few days at my parent's house, who loved to spoil little Marc to bits. We would talk and laugh, and it seemed to me Abby and her in-laws really clicked.

Those were the last days I was truly happy.

I had texted Matt for another catch-up. And he, of course, had said yes. We met at our usual spot. A really nice lake deep inside the bowels of Montana. It was a 40 minute drive to get there but as always, the conditions were perfect and the fish were biting.

We planned to stay there for about four hours, and during the middle of the session I managed to catch a massive Lake Whitefish. After congratulating me, Matt had told me he had one time caught a fish two times that size. I rolled my eyes at him. I, of course, knew what he was like. Upon noticing my reaction, he seemed kind of hurt, but nevertheless agreed to snap a photo of me holding the fish.

Once he finished taking the photos of me, he leaned forward to pass the phone back. And as he did, the boat suddenly lurched, causing Matt to roll to one side, and in turn drop my phone. We both watched in horror as the phone landed in the water with a plonk!

Matt turned to me, "Fuck! I'm so sorry Daniel! Honestly I didn't mean to do it!"

I laughed. "It's ok Matt, I was looking to get it replaced anyways."

He began to laugh as well, but I could see the relief wash over his face. It was the truth, anyways. I couldn't be walking around with an i phone 8 anymore, it just wasn't practical. But then I had a thought.

"Oh!" I exclaimed. Matt quickly turned to look at me. "You better text Abby I'm not going to be able to text her anymore. Do you have her phone number?"

He nodded in affirmation.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You don't actually, do you?" I questioned.

He sheepishly nodded again, so I told him her phone number.

"Yeah, you better explain the situation to her." I said. And when he pulled out his phone and started texting her, I casted out my line again.

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

Once the sun started to set, I turned the boat around and we made our way back to where we had parked. I waved goodbye to him and left to my parent's house. After the drive, I walked up to the front door and knocked quietly, afraid that I might wake up Marc. The door opened slightly, and I saw my mother's face peek out. She looked as if she had been crying. As soon as she saw me, she sped out and embraced me in a tight hug.

"I thought you were in trouble!" She exclaimed. "Oh, we were so worried!"

"What?" I managed to say.

She looked at me with a confused expression. "You know, how you fell off the boat and drowned. Matt told us all about it. He said he was calling the park rangers to see if they could find you, but he warned us not to get our hopes up. I don't know how you managed to get out, but I'm so glad you did!" And then she hugged me even tighter.

At this point I was even more confused. "What exactly did Matt tell you?" I said slowly.

"It doesn't matter now, you're home safe, that's all that counts." She whispered.

Shaking my head, I walked inside the house. "Where's Abby?" I called out to my mum.

"Oh, as soon as she heard the news she took our car and rushed to go see Matt at the lake."

"WHAT?" I exclaimed. And turned around.

"Yeah, we're going to have to call-" She began to say, but I had already made my way back to the car.

I put my keys in the ignition and drove off as fast as I could. As I quickly made my way back to the lake, trying to avoid an accident, the cogs began to turn in my head. I didn't know why Matt had told my parents that I had drowned, but Abby was going to the lake to meet him. Something was wrong, I could feel it. I reached into my pocket to call Abby, when I realised I didn't have a phone.

"Shit!" I yelled out, and slammed my palm against the wheel.

There was no use turning back now, so I kept on driving. But then I noticed a jogger coming towards me, headphones on and listening to music. I pulled over and practically leaped out of the car. They saw me coming towards them and stopped with a worried look on their face. I held up both my hands as a sign of peace.

"Listen, I'll give you a hundred dollars if you can let me use your phone right now." I said.

"I don't know." The jogger said.

I pulled out my keys. "You can have these until I'm finished so you know I won't run away. Please!" I pleaded.

The jogger took the keys from my hand and tossed me their phone. I thanked them and quickly opened up the phone app, and called Abby. No response. Cursing myself, I decided to call Matt. He answered surprisingly quickly.

"Hey, Daniel what's up?"

"WHERE THE HELL IS ABBY?" I shouted at him, causing the jogger to back away from me.

"Hey man, calm down. What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? What are you talking about? You're the one lying about me drowning or some other stupid shit."

He was silent for a while before responding. "...I'm don't lie, Daniel."

"My ass you're not! Now tell me the truth for once in your life, WHERE. IS. ABBY?" I yelled again.

"Oh yeah! Her. Well it turns out the human body doesn't take kindly to a gunshot to the sternum. Just like I don't take kindly to being called a liar. Sorry about that. There was nothing I could do."

"Liar! Where the fuck is she?" I said. But for once, I almost believed him. He sounded way to calm given the situation.

"I don't lie, Daniel."

And then he hung up.

I stared at my phone in disbelief for a couple of seconds before handing it, along with a hundred dollars, to the now very concerned jogger. I sped away into the night, rushing as fast as I could to get to the lake. I knew Matt was prone to lying, but at this point I was panicking, seriously fearing for Abby's life.

The trip seemed to last an eternity, every second was spent wondering if it was Abby's last. But, eventually I made it to the lake. Both Matt and my parent's car were parked at the front, confirming my suspicions. They were both here. I walked over to the main part of the lake to see if I could scout out anything. The lake was eerily calm, the water still and even the trees seemed not to rustle in the evening wind. My heart was in my throat, I was terrified of what could be happening, unseen by everyone including myself.

Where is she? Where is she? I said to myself. Come on, think man!

Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw a shape that shouldn't be there, at the end of the jetty. I focused my eyes on it, and the shape seemed to resemble something human-like, so I made my way over to it. As I made my way closer, some clouds moved past the moon, making my surroundings ever so brighter momentarily. And I ran because I saw who it was.

Abby.

She was sitting in a chair, hands and feet bound to each other, causing her to sit in an awkward position. Her mouth was bound, and blood seemed to drip over every part of her body. Yet she was still breathing, her eyes looking at me pleadingly. I came up to her and cried out in anguish when I located the source of the blood.

A bullet wound. Clean through the sternum.

"What did he do to you? Abby I fucking swear I'm going to kill him!" I cried out, while untying her knots.

Suddenly her facial expression changed from worry to fear. And before I could react, I felt a hard shove on my back, the momentum carrying me over the jetty and into the water. The cold, tangy water quickly submerged me as I wrestled with my assailant. They had the upper hand, however, as they were on top of me, forcing me down ever deeper. I began to panic, and did the one thing I shouldn't have done in that situation.

I swallowed.

As the water filled my lungs, I became light-headed and woozy. Shadows and shapes danced in front of my eyes, and I had a hard time discerning what was going on. Every fibre of my being was screaming at me to intake more oxygen, and yet I couldn't. My thrashing became weaker and as the energy slowly left my body, thoughts swirled across my head, cascading into an orchestra of noise.

I called him a liar.

He said you had drowned.

Abby had been shot in the sternum.

I never lie, Daniel.

I never lie.

My body finally hit the bottom of the lake, causing me to awaken from my trance. I thrust my hands out to support myself on the sand, like one last-ditch effort before I gave up. However, my right hand came in contact with something, small and glass.

What is it?

It's a...ah, I don't know.

I had a hard time collecting my thoughts, I was scared and lacked oxygen, but even then they culminated into an answer. I knew what it was now, a beer bottle. Mustering my strength, I swung the bottle as hard as I could onto my attacker. They recoiled, and the pressure release on my chest was almost instant. Feeling lighter, I began to swim to the surface as fast as I could.

And let me tell you, after an experience like that, air has never felt better.

I stayed stationary for a while, lapping up oxygen and regaining my strength. Before swimming my way back towards the shore. As I got to dry land, the earth began to sway and rock beneath my feet, as if I had just been on a boat. And then I felt bile rushing up my throat as I bent over and retched into the sand. I stood up again, wiping my mouth, and looking for Matt. And just as I was hoping, there was no sign of him. I must have hit him harder than I thought I did.

"Good fucking riddance to you, you bastard!" I called out towards the lake. "Drowning in the lake really suits you!"

Remembering Abby, I rushed towards the jetty again. Ever step felt like I was walking through mud. I made it to the end, and she was still there, sitting awkwardly in the chair. Except this time was different, her body was slumped over herself, she was still and she was cold.

I fell to my knees, crying aloud. "I was too late...she's gone!"

I curled into a fetal position, willing myself to die. There didn't seem to be much more to live for. I had lost my spark, my joy in this world. I couldn't go on any longer, I wouldn't have went on any longer if it wasn't for Marc. He needed a father. He needed me. And so I begrudgingly cut the ties that bound her and carried her lifeless body into my car, and sped away once more into the night.

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

It's been eight years since then.

The police were called, but because of the lack of evidence they seemed to be most suspicious of me. But after a while they dropped the investigation and left me alone. I t was hard to pick up the pieces after Abby died. I felt like half of myself had been ripped off. I didn't know who I was anymore, what I could do. But therapy helped, and I feel much better about myself now. The grief is still there but I can cope.

Marc has now a strong-minded nine year old. He's determined and adventurous. He doesn't let anything get in his way.

He's just like his mother.

Yesterday was actually the anniversary of her death. I spent it as I usually did, drunk and cursing Matt for everything. I get Marc to play outside with his friends when I'm under the influence, I don't ever want him to see me like this. I can promise you know, I will sober up and go to AA meetings. But for now, he can play outside.

So thats why I started to panic when I got a text from an unknown number.

Come quickly! Marc has just been in a hit-and-run accident! I've called an ambulance but I don't know if he's going to make it.

I leapt from my seat and quickly opened the blinds. And there was Marc, playing a game of catch with his friends. They were having fun and laughing with each other. There was no accident, they weren't even on the road.

Liar! I texted back. Who the fuck are you? What do you want?

The reply was simple, but it was enough to chill me to the bone.

You know I never lie, Daniel.