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It also made me remember how I’d pressed my palm to his mouth, to his lips. My hands now were fisted in my lap, containing the emotions inside me.
After coming back into the room, Josh loaded one of the streaming sites and picked a movie easily, tilting the popcorn bowl closer to me for easier access. “Don’t fall asleep,” he warned with a glint to his eye.
Yeah, with Reed at one side, inches away, and Josh on the other? “No chance of that.”
As the movie opened, my phone gave a soft buzz in my pocket.
Ava,
Oh, wow, what an improvement already!
I noticed that the images in the About Me section are sized a bit differently than previously. Can you make my image a little larger than the rest? I do own the company—might as well stand out when possible, ha-ha! But overall, so far, I’m very impressed with your work. I know my employees will also love it.
I did have a question for you—I noticed Reed didn’t play the game last Friday. Do you know anything about that? I know school has just started, but I hope the twins are enjoying their senior year. How is Reed feeling about it so far? Do you know?
I look forward to your response!
All the best,
Jacob Manning
I swallowed hard as I read through the last paragraph. Again, he brought it back to Reed. In a way that asked for more detail than before, too.
I made my bed, though. I knew why I did this. Even if he’d ask about them, I needed this gig. The money for Mom. The recommendation on college applications.
I glanced over at Reed, whose profile was in broad view as he focused on the TV. After what he told me about his father forcing him to play football, Mr. Manning’s question about Reed not playing seemed to weigh heavier.
Reed caught me looking from the corner of his eye, and he raised his eyebrows at me, almost like awhat’s up?
“The movie’s starting,” Josh whispered to me, as if we were at an actual theater instead of sitting on his living room couch. He drew my attention off of Reed and to the screen.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, locking my phone and sliding it once more into my pocket. Even though my thoughts were elsewhere, there was no forgetting the email, and there was no forgetting the boy beside me.
* * *
Over the hour and forty-five-minute film, it became increasingly hard to pay attention. Cindy had scrolled through her phone the entire time, text chime after text chime cutting in between the action scenes. Josh tapped his fingers on the ceramic bowl throughout the movie, even after the popcorn was all gone. And Reed—halfway through the film, he’d draped his arm on the back of the couch, and it was a constant fight tonotlean backward and touch my neck to his forearm.
By the time the credits rolled, I felt wound tight, a rubber band about to snap.
“I should probably head out,” Reed announced to no one in particular, pulling his arm back. “I’ve got a mountain of math homework.”
“Maybe your sister’s friend can help you,” Cindy replied as we all got to our feet, pocketing her cell. “Hey, Ava, I meant to ask you—how come you didn’t post that Connor thing yesterday?” She folded her arms across her chest and blinked innocently, but the action itself reminded me too much of the Top Tier, especially Jade. “A few of the girls in my homeroom were talking about it. I was waiting for you to cover it on Babble.”
For some reason, the question caused a burst of anxiety to bubble within me, and maybe it was because I was suddenly aware of everyone looking at me. “It’d already spread around school without Babble,” I told Cindy. “It was kind of old news when I got to it.”
I could’ve been honest, that I wasn’t comfortable posting without proof, but I was afraid that’d introduce us down a new rabbit hole.Have you ever needed concrete proof before?
“Do you know who it was?” Cindy leaned closer. “The girl caught with Connor, I mean.”
“No one named names.”
“Yeah, but do you have any ideas? Has there been any tips before involving him and someone else?”
Her words had me hesitating. Absolutely nothing had come in about Connor with someone else before yesterday, which was odd. No photos, no rumors, nothing. Him hooking up with someone else wasn’t just out of character—it was way out of left field.
“Cindy,” Josh groaned. “Lay off with the gossip. Don’t turn into one of those people.”
“Don’t be rude,” she snapped, glaring at him. “She’sone of those people.”
