Page 89 of Breaking News

He regretted losing her.

Because of course he did.

Losing Jill would devastate anyone.

With my hands in my back pockets, I watched her spin a small circle on the sidewalk, taking it all in with wide eyes and her mouth fully agape. There were a million things to look at—the flashing screens overhead, the throngs of people moving around us, and a person in an Elmo costume who kept circling our group, becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.

But the only thing I wanted to look at was Jillian. Because nothing in Times Square—not the flashy billboards, the neon lights, or the passing cars—could outshine her. I was entranced.

On my right, Xander broke the spell with a heavy sigh. “Wonder how many trees you’d have to plant each year to offset the carbon footprint of this neon shrine to late-stage capitalism.”

I held my breath for a moment, reflecting on how just one hour ago, I’d told my friend Chris at theIndyStarthat yes, Xander would be theperfectcandidate for their regional reporter position.He said he’d been following Xander’s work for years, and I’d sat there and agreed with every damn complimentary word.

I had half a mind to call Chris and tell him I rescinded my recommendation.

“Can’t you shut off your pessimism for one night?” I asked him, and he looked at me like he wanted to kill me.

We sized each other up for a moment before he shook his head, taking a step back. “I’m done. Peace out. See you all in the morning,” he said, breaking away from our group.

Good.

Meghan and Chase had their heads together with Google Maps open on one of their phones, jabbering about something they wanted to see that was only a couple blocks away. Chase, who was wearing a GoPro around his neck, looked at Meghan and said, “They won’t want to do any of that.”

“Do what?” I asked.

“Go to the library from the firstGhostbustersmovie and take some videos on the steps.”

“Yeah, no,” I said, watching Jill, whose eyes were filling up with tears. The sight of her like that, here of all places, tugged at my heart and made my throat scratchy. I turned back to Chase. “You guys should go, though. I’m sure we could find something to do.”

I tilted my head toward Jill, who turned to Meghan with a nod. “Yeah. You guys go do your nerd thing,” she said.

“Are you sure?” Meghan looked in her eyes. “You okay?”

“Just soaking it in,” Jill answered, her voice a little shaky. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Meghan gave her one last look, then slipped her phone into her purse. Chase adjusted his GoPro, took her by the hand, and after a quick goodbye, they were off.

Jillian and I stood in silence for a minute, scooting closer together to let a noisy tour group pass by. She stared at the perfume billboard for a moment longer before finally looking up at me, the tears in her eyes shining under the glow of the lights.

“Tell me what you’re thinking about right now,” I said, reaching forward to run my hand down her bare arm.

“You,” she answered without a beat.

That’s what I was afraid of. She shouldn’t be thinking about me. Not now. Not standing in the middle of this bustling intersection, hundreds of miles from home. If I hadn’t come into her life and disrupted it, she would’ve been happily skipping off with Meghan and Chase right now. Hell, she might have even had a fun night with Xander, who was much closer to her age and mostly unproblematic.

He made sense. I didn’t.

And God knew what awaited us back in Woodvale. All day, I kept an eye on my phone, waiting for some sign of the breaking news. A text, an email, a post in the Concerned Citizens of Woodvale group. It was only a matter of time.

Whatever happened, I knew I could handle it.

But I wasn’t sure I could stomach what people would inevitably say about her. I knew how these things usually played out. Anytime there was a scandal, people blamed the woman, pointing fingers and pulling out the worst names in the book.

Once this got out, she was going to read some of the most cruel, thoughtless things about herself online.

And the internet doesn’t forget.

“I’m sorry,” I said, my voice low. “For all of this.”

She blinked like she didn’t hear me at first. “All of what?”

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