Page 25 of Never You

Three missed calls, five text messages, and two voicemails.

The circus has begun.

I pinch my lips together with a groan before I unlock my phone, assuming the worst.

One missed call: mother—nope.Ignore.

One missed call: Kay—not right now.Ignore.

One missed call: Unknown number.Ignore.

I dial the number for my voicemails and listen while I try to rub the stiffness out of my neck.

“You have three new messages” rings through my ear before a loud beep makes me shut my eyes for a brief second, the high tone tensing the muscles in my neck.

“Jared James Jensen.”My mother’s voice makes goosebumps shower my body. “Why do I see your face on the internet with some trashy blonde? Again? No wonder Emily is upset. Call me when you get this—”

Yup, the circus definitely began.

Even though I knew leaving the city was futile, I still hoped shit would hit the fan tomorrow, or tonight at its earliest. At least at a point when LA is nothing but a small dot in the rearview mirror. Not when we are…where are we anyway?

I move my head, twisting and turning until I read a sign.

Topock Arizona Marina.

Great, we’re in boondocks, Arizona. Well, at least my chances of being recognized around here are slim if this is a one-horse town like it seems to be.

Without feeling the need to listen to the rest of it, I press thedeletebutton before putting it back to my ear to listen to the next one.

“Jensen, little bro, buddy.”I hear the smile on my brother’s face when I recognize his voice.

“Thank you for making mom lose it again. As always, it was very entertaining. Rumor is, the girl in the picture is Rae Stafford. Kudos, Jensen. She is hawt!”He calls out the lastword, and I laugh at his theatrics, sounding nothing like the upstanding lawyer that he is. “I sure hope you are serious about this PR girl, because I’ve watched the girl put you in your place a few times, and I would love to watch that every Christmas for the rest of our lives. Besides Emily, she’s hot and all, but fuck me—she is goddamn boring.”

“Is it true? Is he breaking up with Emily?!”My little sister bellows through the phone, resulting in a small grunt from Finn.

“Shut up, Della. Anyway, call me when you get this, because I want to hear the full story.”

I chuckle while deleting the message, envisioning how my mother probably stormed into his home office, demanding that he tell her what the fuck I’m doing. I can just hear her rant about how I’m throwing my life away and that it’s time for me to grow up.

Whatever the fuck that means in her books.

I guess putting a ring on Emily’s finger and knocking her up with a few babies. The thought alone suffocates me, resulting in a shiver running down my spine while I listen to the last message.

“Hi, Jared, this is Lisa Thompson from US Time! Magazine. We would like to ask you to comment on your relationship with Rae Stafford. I’m willing to give you an exclusive—”.

Hell fucking no.

Aggravated, I delete the message before it ends, letting her words run through my mind. My eyes shut, the sun burning on my skin.

Relationship with Rae Stafford.

There is none. We’re nothing; we’re not even friends. Still, I hate how reporters now know her name, igniting a primal urge to protect her from the vultures of the media. Wondering how viral we’re going, I google my name, secretly hoping it’s not front-page news already. Call it wishful thinking because theknot in my gut tells me I’m not that lucky. The picture of Rae and I is the first that pops up, giving me an answer instantly.

It’s out.

It’s everywhere.

The world knows.

---