Page 20 of That Secret Something

“I had an interview.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Yeah, we got that far. Why are you being so secretive about it?”

She shifted in her seat. It was weird to see her like this. Not completely put together. A chink in the otherwise perfect Rebecca armour.

She sighed and rolled her neck. “I don’t know, Jess.”

There was a beat where we didn’t speak. I slowed down for the red traffic light and stopped the car. I glanced at her, momentarily stunned by the realisation that she was sitting with me in my little Ford Ka.

“I just feel like they don’t understand me sometimes. Lily. My parents. They don’t get that breaking into the film industry takes time. Whenever I get an opportunity, they put so much pressure on me. It’s like if I don’t succeed, I’m a failure. They don’t understand that the probability of making it big is like winning the lottery.” She sighed, folding her hands in her lap. “It’s not about that. It’s about doing what I love to do. They think I should’ve packed it in a long time ago. They don’t say it anymore, but I can still see it in their faces.”

I nodded, warmth curling around my chest at her sudden burst of honesty. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t customary for her. A rare glimpse of a Rebecca Lawson out in the wild, unguarded.

“I’m sorry they make you feel like that,” I said. “That must be hard.”

She sighed. “I just want to do it on my terms, you know. If I fail, so be it. But I don’t want to feel their disappointment every step of the way.”

A blaring horn startled me, and I almost stalled the car. I quickly put it into gear and sped off, my heartbeat pulsing in my ears.

Rebecca laughed at me, shaking her head.

I sneaked a peek at her. “Why do you always find my misfortunes so amusing?” I asked, unable to stop my own smile from surfacing.

“I don’t know. It’s just the way that you are. I can’t explain it.”

I pressed my lips together, forcing myself to look ahead at the road. Half of me wanted her to try and explain it, while the other half was terrified about what she might say. The logical side of my brain knew I’d overthink this conversation for months to come, anyway. Just like the night at prom when she’d said she wanted to tell me something.

I turned onto the Lawsons’ street and pulled up outside their house, mounting the curb a little too fast and jerking both of us forward.

“Jesus, Jess. You nearly took my head off.” She laughed.

“Don’t be so dramatic.” I switched off the engine, something sinking in my chest.

Rebecca glanced at the house. The lights were on in the living room, two shadowy figures watching TV. She shook out her shoulders, sucked in a deep breath, and let it go. Then she spotted my little dog air-freshener dangling from my mirror and gave it a loving stroke.

“How is little Sausage doing these days?”

A small smile tugged at my mouth, thinking about my Dachshund-cross. I was surprised she remembered. “He’s good, thanks. Chubby and bordering on the laziest dog in the county, but he’s cute and loves a cuddle.”

Rebecca nodded, her focus switching to me. “I always wanted to meet him, you know. Lily would always come back from your house begging Mum and Dad for a dog.” Her dimple surfaced before vanishing in a sudden frown. She shifted forward in the seat, digging around in her pocket.

“Well, we could go for a walk sometime.” My eyes widened slightly when I realised what I’d just said. Dammit, Jess. You should be spending time apart, not planning more time together. “I mean—”

“That sounds nice, yeah.” She grinned at me, sending little tingles up my spine, then searched her other pocket before finally pulling out a crumpled-up card. “Could you give this to Lily? I should’ve done it earlier, but…well, could you give it to her?”

I took the card from her, reading the scribbled names and a number. “What is this?”

“I was talking about Lily with the woman who interviewed me today. Really nice person. We were joking about afterward, and I said how Lily was going to kill me for being late. Well, the woman is friends with the owner of the Kennedy Boathouse. She said if Lily wanted to get jumped up the list, the owner owes her a favour.”

“Wow. Rebecca, why didn’t you say anything? She’s going to be so excited.”

She shrugged. “It didn’t feel like the right time.”

“Did you get the job?”

Her smile brightened, reaching her eyes. “I’m going back for another interview. With the big boss this time.”

“That’s great, Rebecca. You deserve it.”

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