Page 9 of All Tied Up
Ah. I’d wondered if Thurston would tell Zeke about the other morning. Seemed he finally had.
I pressed the palm of my hand over my heart and winced at the reminder of that morning. All Ransom had said. What we haddone. How happy I had been with him. Yet three days later, and I was falling apart.
“And don’t give me theold friendbullshit you fed Thurst. I know your friends, and you do not have one who fits that description.” The accusation in her tone would be funny if I wasn’t ready to curl up into a ball and rock in a corner.
“Well, actually, it was the truth. He is from Madison. I tutored him in high school,” I replied, wishing we could talk about anything else.
“And … he was randomly in Manhattan, taking a shower in your apartment? Seriously, Noa! I am your best friend! Why did I know nothing about this?! When did you start talking? Did you bump into him when you went back to Madison? How did this happen? And is it going to happen some more?” She almost sounded giddy, except for the small pause she had added when asking about my return to Madison.
Even though Jellie knew my relationship with my mother had been nonexistent, she still treaded lightly when mentioning her.
“We texted on occasion. Then I ran into him again, and we talked a little. It’s not a big thing. He’s not the kind you have a relationship with.” Although, for a moment, I’d allowed myself to think that was what we were doing.
“Yeah, um, okay. This is me. You remember, your bestie? I require details, not a synopsis. That’s the right word, isn’t it? Synopsis? Oh, never mind. You know what I mean. I want more than that little bit of nothing. I’m not the damn media, looking to do a piece on this. I want to know every second, every little morsel. TALK!”
Sighing, I let my head fall back as I stared up at the ceiling.God, Jellie. Not today.I do not need this today. I need to mentally prepare for a weekend with you and your family. Pretending that I’m happy.
“There isn’t a big story to tell. He was in town; we met up, haddrinks, then came back here. I haven’t talked to him since he left.”
“UGH! Are you trying to drive me nuts?”
“No, but I have to pack. I would make the story more interesting if there was something to tell.” Liar. There was so much to tell. So much I couldn’t even tell my best friend.
“We’re going to my parents’. All you have to do is toss some sweats into a suitcase and go get on the train.”
“I leave for an event on Friday evening. I’m not going home before then.”
“Where are you headed to this time?”
“Chicago.”
“Signing?”
“Conference. I’m the keynote speaker.”
She chuckled. “Your favorite!”
“Yeah, right. You know me. I love getting in front of people and talking.” I hated it. Every time I was asked to do it, I wanted to throw up.
“You will be awesome. You always are. I’ll look for someone to upload it to YouTube.”
I groaned at the reminder that any mistake I made would be forever recorded on the internet.
She laughed. “They love you. Embrace it.”
My phone beeped, and I jerked it away from my ear with hope soaring in my chest that it was Ransom.Unknownflashed on the screen.
“Uh, I need to get this call. Hold on,” I told Jellie, not waiting for her response before clicking Answer.
“Hello?” My voice sounded as uncertain as I was about this.
I normally sent these calls to voicemail, but I was grasping at any chance that Ransom would call me that I was willing to answer anything.
“Do you know where your fiancé is?” a voice that soundedautomated, as if it were a computer speaking, asked.
“Um, no,” I replied cautiously. What was this? Who was it?
“You should ask.”
