Page 114 of No Headlines Please

It was nice they had each other.

Honest, it was.

Still, my voice wobbled as I softly added, "But I'm glad you're both okay."

"Hey, it's not like I replaced you." She sounded a little desperate. "Trust me, she'd take you over me, any day."

It was such a nice thing to say.

Then again, Tessa was almost always nice. Was it any wonder that she was everyone's favorite choice?

Suddenly, I felt so very alone. "Yeah, right. Just like Mom, huh?"

To Tessa's credit, she didn't deny it. Still, even I could hear the doubt in her voice as she said, "Mom does love you, you know. Maybe she's not good at showing it, but I know she does."

No. Tessa didn't.

And neither did I.

With a bitter laugh, I said, "Yeah, I can tell." A lifetime of memories came flooding back. "Even when she buys us matching earrings, she goes on and on about how pretty they are, because they match your eyes."

Good grief. Why on Earth was I mentioning earrings? I'd never been big into jewelry, so it shouldn't have mattered. And yet, it wasn't lost on me that with my first decent royalty payment, I'd splurged on that pair of genuine emerald earrings because they matched my eyes, not Tessa's.

And those sapphire earrings? The ones that matched Tessa's eyes? I'd hurled them straight into the trash.

Petty?

Yes.

Foolish?

Also yes, but not nearly as much as you'd think.

On the phone, Tessa laughed. "If it makes you feel any better, I had to sell the earrings for rent."

That did it. "You are such a liar."

Her response was immediate. "I'm not lying."

But she was. And I had the receipt to prove it. It was my turn to laugh. "Oh, please. Like you'd pay your own rent."

On the phone, she groaned, like even she knew she was busted.

I couldn't contain my sarcasm. "Sorry, what was that?"

"Delaney—"

"What?" I snapped.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't ask her to do it." Tessa sounded absolutely mortified. "And I'll pay you back, I promise."

I blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"The rent, like you said."

What a load of crap. Just moments ago, Tessa had claimed she'd sold those earrings for rent. But I knew for a fact they were worthless. And besides, she hadn't been paying her rent at all. I scoffed, "Rent for what? A shoebox?"

"Sorry, what?"