Page 82 of Fangirl

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“Hello?”

“Eli is Jake Hollander?!” Maya’s voice nearly ruptures my eardrum.

“What?” I croak, panic flooding in. “Maya, what are you talking about?”

Did I… Did I post something? Oh god, did I tweet? I was a little drunk. Did I accidentally go full meltdown online?

“It’s everywhere, Amy! Social media’s blowing up.”

I groan. “Oh no.”

I sit up too fast, and a bolt of pain shoots through my side. Joints lock, and my muscles are on fire. Yep. Full-on stress flare. Excellent.

“You know, it’s not that bad,” Maya says quickly.

Which obviously means it’s ten times worse than I think.

“I’ll call you back later.”

I shuffle to the kitchen, feed a yowling Pea, and hit the coffee machine with the enthusiasm of a corpse. I stare blankly at a banana for a good thirty seconds, deciding whether chewing is too much effort.

Halfway through peeling it, my phone buzzes again.

Mum.

Oh god.

I shouldn’t answer. I do anyway.

“Hi.”

“Amy,” she says immediately, her voice laced with worry. “You’re alright, aren’t you? This… thing online—it’s just a hoax, right?”

My chest tightens.

“What thing?”

“TheDaily Mailis saying that Hollywood superstar Jason Hollander was dumped by a mystery woman, and it shows you!”

Jake. But I don’t correct her.

“Daily Mail, Mum? Really? That’s your trusted source?”

“It’s fake, isn’t it?” she presses. “Your brother says it must be. That it’s impossible. Because he’s a Hollywood star and, well… you’re you.”

The words land like a slap, sharper than I expect.

And the worst part? She doesn’t even mean it to be cruel, just honest.

If even my mother doubts someone like me belongs in his world… what real chance do Jake and I have?

I swallow hard, the knot in my throat burning.

“You don’t have to worry, Mum,” I say tightly. “It must be a mistake. I don’t know Jake Hollander.”

And the worst part? It doesn’t feel like a lie.

I don’t know Jake Hollander. I knew Eli.

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