Page 44 of Head Over Skates

"I cannot with you right now! Why did you pretend not to know her?"

I hold up both hands. "Whoa, I've never seen that woman before in my life."

"Don't lie!" She's about to tear me a new one, but then glances at Cyrus and presses her lips together.

"I swear I'm not lying. I don't know her."

"Save it, Owen." Emily huffs angrily and stomps off after her friend, leaving me standing there scratching my head. What the hell just happened?

I look down at Cyrus, who is literally crossing his legs now.

"Alright little man, enough drama. Let's hit the can before you explode."

14

EMILY

Ipace back and forth in my living room, phone glued to my ear as I listen to Jaime's voicemail greeting for the hundredth time.

"Hi! You've reached Jaime. Sorry I can't get to the phone right now..."

I hang up in frustration. I've called and texted at least twenty times since yesterday's run-in with Owen at Tim Horton’s. When I chased after her, she was freaking out, sobbing, basically losing her mind, saying all sorts of nonsense. Then she just ran away from me, telling me to leave her alone.

Now, she won't answer my calls or texts. I considered going to her apartment to check on her, but I want to give her space if that’s what she really wants.

A knock at the door startles me out of my spiraling thoughts. I peer through the peephole to see Maggie on the other side, holding two large coffees and a bakery bag. I quickly let her in, relieved to have someone to talk to about this whole mess.

"Any word from Jaime?" Maggie asks.

I shake my head. "Nothing. It's like she vanished. I'm really worried, Mags."

Maggie steps inside, plopping her purse on the kitchen counter. "Well, I did some digging of my own. And you're not going to believe what I found out."

She hands me one of the coffees and I take a grateful sip. We sit down on the couch and Maggie pulls two gigantic chocolate chip cookies out of the bag, passing one to me.

"So get this," she says through a mouthful of cookie. "I couldn't reach Jaime so I called her mom. And we had a very enlightening conversation."

My eyes widen in surprise. "You did? What did she say?"

She takes a deep breath before continuing. "So Jaime's mom told me that Jaime has some… issues."

"What kind of issues?" I ask nervously.

"She has a tendency to make up elaborate stories that aren't exactly true. Brace yourself, Em, because basically, Jaime is a pathological liar."

I stare at Maggie, stunned. “What?”

Maggie nods, swallowing hard. "Her mom said Jaime used to tell elaborate fabricated stories since she was a kid. She'll make up these intricate lies and really commit to them, but there's never any truth behind it."

My mind races, slotting memories into this new framework.

“She said Jaime made up those stories about her dad,” Maggie goes on. “You know, the ones about him walking out and never contacting her again?”

My stomach drops. Those stories are seared into my brain. “Jaime's told them so many times, usually in tears. And they aren't real?”

"I know, insane, right?" Maggie says. "Apparently he's just an average divorced dad. They have a normal relationship."

My thoughts drift back to yesterday, Jaime's face when she saw Owen. How it drained of color. It clicks now.

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