Page 73 of The Sound Of Silence

“Bullshit. Who?” she asks, her eyes subtly moving to Jesse before settling back on me. “I need all the details.”

“Pippa!” Mom scolds but Pippa just shrugs.

“Do I know him?” Mom asks, repeating Pippa’s question in a nicer way. “When did you meet?”

“It’s the guy you asked about from Dad’s dinner. His name is Alex and—”

“The fuck?” Jesse huffs under his breath, but it comes out much louder than he meant. He curses again, much softer this time, but it’s too late. All our eyes flash his way as he visibly swallows.

Mom and Pippa stay silent, but I can tell by the look on Dad’s face that he’s not letting that go.

“You got something to say about this Alex guy, Jesse?” he asks after a beat.

Jesse, to his credit, sits tall and owns his opinion. “He’s bad news.”

I can’t help but scoff. “Come on.”

“Willow?” Dad questions.

“He’s a good guy, Dad. He and Jesse just don’t see eye to eye.” I have no idea if he’s a good guy or not, but I’m going with it anyway.

“We don’t see eye to eye?” Jesse questions, folding his arms across his chest as he stares at me in challenge.

“That’s right. And why is that? What have you got against him? I’d love to know.”

“Willow,” Pippa interrupts before he answers. “I trust Jesse. If he says someone is bad news, I believe him.”

“And you trust him fully, right?” I say, my eyebrows raised in question.

“She means no offense by that, Jesse,” Mom says, clearly not wanting to upset Jesse now that she’s accepted him for Pippa.

“Bullshit. I mean total offense. Alex has been nothing but nice to me. He makes me feel alive. Something thatno oneelse has ever done.” I’m talking absolute garbage here, but I can’t seem to stop myself. And when Jesse’s shoulders tense and his nostrils flare, I want to keep going. “I’m an adult. If I want to date him, I’ll date him. If I want to do other things, I’ll—”

“Okay. We get it,” Pippa cuts me off seconds before I completely embarrass myself in front of my parents.Fuck him.I was going to say fuck him. And from the look of disgust on Jesse’s face, he understood me perfectly.

“If Jesse’s worried about you being with Alex then I think you should listen to him,” Dad says, nodding toward Jesse like he’s done him a favor.

“Jesse doesn’t know me well enough to understand that I can take care of myself. But,”—I turn to Jesse—“you’ll be gone in a few days anyway and none the wiser. So how about you stay out of my goddamn business.”

“Willow!” Pippa shouts.

“This isn’t like you at all,” Mom adds.

“No, it’s okay,” Jesse says. “Willow’s right. She’s old enough to make her own decisions. Even if those decisions are bad ones. And wewillbe gone in a few days… but sowill he.”

He smirks like that thought pleases him, so I throw a metaphorical knife his way. “Then I better make the most of my time with him now.”

All eyes are back on me, so no one notices the scowl on Jesse’s face. But I notice, and a little part of me feels vindicated. I don’t want to date Alex. I never did. But knowing that the idea of it has Jesse all ragey makes me happy, albeit a little confused. He says he doesn’t want me, so what’s this all about? Why is he still so protective, while at the same time pushing me away?

Conversation moves from my love life onto football—my Dad’s other favorite pastime—and before long, Alex is forgotten.

Jesse’s not overly talkative through the rest of dinner, but he answers questions when asked, which is more than I want to do right now.

When my phone rings and Lucia’s name flashes across my screen, I excuse myself. After listening to one of Mom’s “we shouldn’t have phones at the table” rants, I head into a bedroom to answer.

“Hi Lucia, how are you and your little one?”

Yes, I know her name, but I still can’t bring myself to say it.

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