Page 178 of Accidentally Under Your Tree

My parents and the high schoolers considered me with disturbed looks.

Swallowing, I swiped a hand over my bun. "Rose will think it's funny."

"I'm sure she will," Mom replied after a beat. But she didn't sound convinced. I didn't really care. I needed a quiet spot to think and regain my composure.

It's not a big deal. It's just a stupid picture.

But it was more than that. It was a microscope I didn't want to be under. A magnifying glass that would leave me burnt.

Will

Three nights before Christmas

"We should tell your parents tonight," I said to Rose's profile. She was staring at something just past my shoulder, not registering I was even speaking. I followed her gaze.

Lawrence stood with his back to us.

"Rose." This time, I spoke with enough force in my voice to get her attention. "We need to end the lie. It's gone too far. I want to tell your parents tonight."

A crease formed between her eyebrows. "That we broke up or…?"

I shook my head, looking far more confident than I felt. "That we've been lying to them."

"No. Nope. They'll freak out."

"We are not pulling this off. We're going to get caught if we keep this up. It's better to get ahead of it."

"We're doing fine."

"I'm not keeping my distance from Lizzy, and I don't want to." I admitted with a heavy omission of fucking around in the basement. "And you"—I jerked my head in Lawrence's direction, where Rose's attention had already wandered—"are not being as discrete as you think, either."

She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I don't want to keep lying. Particularly, not about Lizzy—"

"We are not telling my parents in the same conversation that we lied about datingandyou having the hots for my sister," Rose interrupted.

Exhaling a deep breath, I agreed, "That's probably smart."

She smirked. "So, it's unlike us?"

"Practically opposites." I nudged her shoulder with mine. "We can wait a couple of days and announce an amicable breakup online."

"I really don't want to tell my mom and dad." She pleaded.

"I think we should." I scraped my toe on a black scuff mark on the tile floor. "We shouldn't have lied to them to begin with."

"Fine…we'll tell them tonight when we get home."

"Thanks."

I found Lizzy standing with her parents and a group of high schoolers. One of the orchestra kids held her phone in front of Lizzy's face. She stilled like she did when she was nervous.

I rubbed at the back of my neck, my muscles knotting into one. My throat closed, dreading what could be on that screen. With numb fingers, I slid my phone from my pocket and pulled up the show's most popular profile. The half a second it took for it to load was the longest in my life. My heart beat a panicked rhythm in my ears.

My breath rushed from my lungs. Relief washing over me and drying the cold sweat that had beaded on my forehead.

There was a picture of me and Lizzy, but it was as innocent as I could hope for. In the shot we were standing far enough apart, our facial expressions innocent. Some comments were suspicious, but nothing too bad. She had been nervous a few seconds ago, but she was probably experiencing the same wash of comfort I was.

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