Page 56 of The Sound Of Silence

Her phone rings, cutting off whatever she was going to say, and when she checks who it is, she sighs dramatically, holding it up for me to see. “Hi Jesse,” she says with a grumble.

Just the sound of his name warms me, and I hate myself for it.

“My parents said no,” Pippa lies, throwing a wink in my direction. “No, it’s fine,” she continues. “Willow said it’s all good.”

Jesse swears so loudly that I hear it from the other side of the table, and my chest tightens. That’s all I need to confirm our moment was one-sided.Did I imagine his response?

As Pippa speaks, I busy myself in the kitchen, desperate to know what she was going to say. But when she hangs up, I don’t even mention it. Instead I help her move all of their stuff back into the spare room.

We’ve just remade the bed when Pippa sits down and pats the space beside her.

“So,” she begins and then huffs out a laugh.

“So,” I repeat back to her, pretending to be a lot calmer than I actually am.

Pippa tugs on the end of her hair and grimaces before giving my leg a squeeze. “Please don’t hate me for asking this,” she begins, making me incredibly nervous. “But… is there something going on with you and Jesse?”

Holy shit!“What? Of course not. I’m not—”

“Jesus, Willow. Sorry, wait.” She cuts me off, and a darkness fills my chest to the point of being uncomfortable, while I swallow back my fears.

After huffing again, she looks my way with a grimace. “I have something to tell you.God. Telling the truth seems so much harder than telling the lie.”

What lie?And why does that make me nauseous?

“That’s usually the case if you're hiding the truth behind the lie.”

She nods before finally opening up. “I asked Jesse to be my date this week so I could face Ashley and Jonah.”

“Okay.”Am I right about them?

“It’s all fake,” she says, as relief hits me. “We’re not really together.”

The weight of everything I’ve been feeling lifts from my shoulders, and I inwardly sigh.It’s fake.Thank God.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner, I—”

The front door slams open, putting an end to our conversation, but as I stand, Pippa grabs my top and pulls me back down.

“I’ll explain everything in detail later,” she whispers. “But for now, all you need to know is that you can’t tell Jesse that I told you.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry, I know that’s awkward because you’re living with him, but it’s important.” Her eyes plead with me to listen, so I put my feelings aside and nod. I can do that.

When we finally leave the room, we find Jesse standing in the kitchen, his pissed-off demeanor back in place.

“How was your walk?” Pippa sasses as though she didn’t just drop a bomb on me, her smiling eyes on Jesse.

“It was perfect,” he says, focused on Pippa, working hard to make sure his eyes don't drift to where I'm standing beside her. “I should have made it longer.”

Well, okay then.

Pippa’s phone rings, and she doesn’t bother excusing herself before she turns away and answers. “Hi, Mom.”

Not that I care.It’s all fake. Their relationship isn’t real. I was right.

Jesse and I stand silently, neither of us really acknowledging the other until Pippa hangs up.

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