Page 113 of Just a Little White Lie

Jack sighs, his expression crumpling. He’s looking at me like I’m a hopeless case, and it sparks my anger all over again.

“How are you going to keep him on the team?” His voice is gruff and husky.

Usually that would send my nerves into a tizzy of desire, but right now my insides flare with angst.

Play it cool, Lauren.

Forcing a little shrug, I murmur, “No one needs to know what really went down today. I’m not planning on telling anyone.”

I wish I hadn’t told you!

I internally wince at the thought of lying to him, but it may have been the better choice, judging by the look on his face right now.

He crosses his arms, his eyes narrowing. “How are you going to explain the bruising on your face?”

“I’ll tell people I slipped and fell. That’s the truth.”

“It’s not the whole truth.”

I swallow, my insides burning. “It’s enough. They don’t need to know every detail.”

His laughter is hard and brittle, and I can’t seem to take my eyes off the floor. “So, you’re going to lie, then.”

The words are bullets. They hit me in the chest, stinging and burning as they enter my body. I can’t respond. I just have to stare at that carpet and beg for time to stop moving or for space aliens to transport me off this couch somehow.

“Well, I guess you really do have it all figured out.” Jack’s tone is soft yet brutal, and I can’t help fighting to win just a little of my dignity back.

I glance up with a stony glare. “Yeah, I do have it all figured out. And I don’t need your help, so don’t feel like you have to come to Dance-Mania. You probably shouldn’t be around Maverick right now anyway.” I lift my chin and can feel my heart cracking right down the middle at the wounded look on his face.

He kind of flinches, then recoils, and then his sad gaze turns a little hard before he spins and walks out of the room.

I listen to his footsteps thundering down the hallway and then the slam of his bedroom door.

I flinch, smashing my teeth together. I’m not going after him. And I refuse to regret what I just said. I don’t want him at the dance comp if he’s going to get into some argument with Maverick. I need the situation to be calm, focused on the crew and their performance.

Was I too harsh?

Probably.

But I’m not ready to make amends just yet. I’m riled and hurt and… and we both just need to cool off.

Grabbing a cushion, I hug it to my chest. My body is aching all over again, the packet of peas leaving a wet patch on the wood. Luke’s going to be pissed. I didn’t use a coaster.

I don’t move it.

I don’t want to move anything.

I just want to sit here and stare at the growing dark patch on Luke’s precious coffee table until the edges start to blur.

“So, you’re going to lie, then.”Jack’s words swirl on repeat in my brain. Some sick mind DJ is having a field day, rewinding the words, giving them a repetitive rhythm that I can’t switch off.

Closing my eyes, I finally let the tears fall. They trail down my cheeks—a sad lament to a horrible day and my first real fight with my boyfriend.

If he is still my boyfriend.

Maybe it’s over. Maybe that makes sense.

Because why would Jack want to be with someone who can never tell the truth?

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