Page 86 of While You Were Trending

How easy it is for me to forgive her for what she did to him.

How much I understand.

How much I’m grateful that she’s willing to trust me with her side of the story.

“Doesn’t matter,” I add to Flow. “She doesn’t like me back.”

And she shouldn’t.

She has a good life here, and she’ll continue to have a good life here long after I’m gone.

16

JEALOUSY HOUR

Ginny

I’mout in the fermentation building on the grape-sorting line when Declan, Flow, and Shade join us shortly after lunch.

Declan takes a spot at a different table, between Dori and Cricket, while Shade films them working.

The camera has my skin itching and memories of my adolescence trickling through my mind, but I’m keeping my head down and pretending it’s not there as much as I can.

I pretend it doesn’t bother me to hear how much Dori and Cricket and Declan are laughing too.

Or how much I want to participate when Cricket shoves a bunch of grapes all over Declan’s shirt.

“Don’t waste good grapes,” Mabel calls.

“They were rotten, just like his terrible joke,” Cricket calls back.

“Ah. You’re sorting what he picked then?”

“Definitely his bins.”

Declan’s smiling so big that dimples crease both of his cheeks. “Must’ve gone bad since last night. I don’t pick bad grapes.”

I catch myself scowling at feeling excluded.

Like I’m watching what’s supposed to be my life, my fun, but he’s having it instead since he’s comfortable on camera.

Forgive yourself yet?

Why does the man like to hit me with the hard questions every time I see him?

And why do I kind of like it?

But not in a punishment kind of way.

It’s something else. Something I can’t put my finger on.

“Okay, hon?” Samantha asks softly beside me.

I suck in a breath and force a smile. “Yes.”

“We can tell them to stop filming,” Olivia says on my other side. “They’ve got plenty of footage.”

“It’s just a camera. I should get over myself.”