Page 24 of The Confidant

The bell rings, and Poe walks in. I can’t look at him. For some reason, Maman’s assurance that I won’t have a perfect match has made everything in me rebel against the thought of him. Damon immediately launches into talking to him about his date as if they’re best friends, covering up for my somber mood.

No one else comes in to distract me from the downward spiral of my thoughts. I keep it locked up tight and play with my phone. I don’t know who to talk to. My usual venting usually gets dismissed as drama, but I need to let this out.

I’m afraid to talk at the same time. What if they all think the same way? Is it better to know now, or am I torturing myself without cause?

I can’t talk to Daniella. She sides with Maman on everything, no matter how jealous she becomes of the constant attention Asher receives.

Sophia? She lives next door to Maman. Plus, she’s a gossip and a half. No way.

Suzette is the only one who lives far enough away from her, on the other side of town, and is too busy with her own life to bother with gossip. Not to mention an open book about her relationship. She’s my best bet.

I turn the phone around, intending to text her to see if it’s a good time to chat. Instead, my phone pings. I open it to the sisters' chat group with my first smile of the day. Something is going on, and all the girls need to know about it. It’s been forever since we all had a good gossiping session. Maybe this is my sign to open up.

The first text that pops up startles me, and my smile drops immediately.

Dani: Maman told Addie she doesn’t have a One.

Sophia: I know. She saw me on the porch this morning.

Suzi: What?

Dani: She’s been wanting to for a while. She’s trying to wake her up.

Suzi: Oh no. How did she take it?

Theyknew? And they believe it, too? That answers the question of how they see me.

What is going on with my family?

I look at the group chat with a heavy frown. Don’t they realize that I’m in it too? It’s been a while since we used it. I can see the last text I sent was a bunch of celebration emojis about Asher finding Tera. That was months ago, and there hasn’t been anything since. It’s right there and slowly getting replaced with a flood of back-and-forth between my three sisters.

Dani: I don’t know.

Sophia: Has anyone called her?

Dani: Why would we?

Suzi: I don’t think us butting in will help.

Dani: Maybe she’ll stop dying her hair to look like us now.

Sophia: That’s harsh.

Dani: But true. You said it first Soph. You can’t tell me it doesn’t creep you out.

Sophia: A little. I’m sick of the constant invites to her tattoo stuff too.

Suzi: She tries too hard. Maybe if we all say something she’ll stop.

Dani: Yeah right. She lives on ignoring the obvious.

There’s a sudden pause in the onslaught of agonizing information. A few minutes pass with nothing.

As I watch, the texts get removed in a hurry. They must have figured out they were in the wrong chat. Do they have another one with the three of them to talk to each other without me knowing? To talk aboutme?

Of course they do. Anything I’ve tried to do to fit in with them has turned out to be a joke.

Once the screen goes back to my last text, it stops. Then another comes in.

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