Page 41 of The Truth of Us

"I was just wondering if anything happened today."

"With whom?"

"Elliot."

The line went silent.

"Julian."

"Harper."

I sat up straighter.

"What happened?"

"Is there something critical you need tonight for work?" He asked, redirecting the conversation.

“No, I…”

"I'll talk to you later."

"Julian."

But he'd already hung up. I stared at my phone. Because, what the fuck, Julian, and here Elliot was trying to convince me that man wasn’t an absolute asshole. Then I called Caleb, because if there was one thing I had learned over the past few weeks: it was that Caleb was physically incapable of lying convincingly, or he just didn’t care to.

He answered on the second ring. "Everything okay?"

"Why is everyone asking me that tonight?"

Another pause. “Why would you call me if something…”

"You people are terrible at phone etiquette."

A soft sigh came through the line. "Harper..."

"What happened?"

He said nothing, and I thought maybe he would hang up on me, too, but then he sighed again and said, "It's his birthday."

I blinked. "What?"

"It's Elliot's birthday."

That wasn't what I expected at all. I sat there for a second. Then another. Caleb made the ‘I am going to hang up now’ noise, and I choked out, "Wait."

Caleb was quiet, but he stayed on the line.

"You're telling me Elliot Vale doesn't celebrate his birthday?"

"No."

I frowned. "That's absurd," I huffed before continuing, "I thought he'd treat it like a national holiday."

Caleb made a sound that was suspiciously close to a growl and said, "Maybe you don't know him as well as you think."

The words hurt more than they should have, because maybe he was right, maybe I didn't. Maybe there were still pieces of Elliot I hadn't seen. Pieces hidden beneath the charm, confidence, and carefully practiced smiles.

"Caleb."