Page 14 of Dirty Little Secret

Did I mention I am terrible when it comes to keeping secrets?

“Something is going on with you.” She crosses her arms over her chest and eyes me suspiciously. “I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re hiding something—”

“Fine,” I relent. “We’ve kind of been texting. Andrew and I.”

“Texting?” She frowns at me. “What kind of texts?”

“The kind that are none of your business,” I retort, my face heating. “And don’t start lecturing me,” I add, sensing her disapproval. She got me into this mess. She doesn’t get to judge how I deal with it now.

“I’m hardly in the position to lecture you, but just be careful.” She studies me. “How much do you really know about this guy other than that he’s your ex-boyfriend’s dad?”

What kind of question is that?

I open my mouth to reply, but before I can, my phone vibrates. We both stare at it, assuming it’s Andrew.

“Is it him?” Sara asks with a knowing smirk.

I shake my head and hold up my phone for her to see the message from Nick.

Nick: Can we talk?

I’m not even sure how to respond to that. Talk about what? The only reason he could possibly want to talk is if he found out about what’s been going on between his father and me. My stomach twists into knots at the thought of having to defend my little affair with Andrew, to his son—the man that discarded me so thoughtlessly and didn’t seem to care how it made me feel.

“Have you guys even spoken since you broke up?” she asks.

“I ran into him the other day. He was with his dad,” I confess, cringing at the reminder of the awkward moment. Sara’s eyebrows lift and I hold my hand up. “Don’t say it, I know, it’s complicated.”

“Just promise me you’ll be careful, okay? I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Thanks, Mum,” I tease, pushing a strand of blonde hair behind my ear. “Not to be rude, but you should probably go. I don’t want you catching whatever I have.”

“Okay, fine, but promise you’ll call me when you’re feeling better?”

I nod and walk her out.

Once she’s gone, I pull out phone and read Nick’s text again. The fear of being caught washes over me, making my heart palpitate.

What will I say to him if he knows?

What will he say? I feel sick just thinking about it so do the only thing I can; I delete his message and pretend it never happened.

My thoughts drift back to Andrew.

I do trust him, but I can’t stop Sara’s words from ringing in my head.

How much do I really know about him?

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