Page 130 of Light My Fire Three Times
“Do youknowhow long he played me for?” Oh, she is loving the attention. The more people who look at her, the louder Vanessa gets. “It might as well have been forever.”
I bite my bottom lip, doing everything I can to keep the words inside.
“It would have hurt less if he’d just ripped my heart out, honestly. At least then I wouldn’t have to be in all this pain. Jesse basically trampled all over me anyway…”
“Stop it!” I cut her off, louder than I mean to, the words tumbling out before I can stop them. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Jesse’s nothing like that!”
I feel the eyes of the crowd boring into me now. Too many people are listening now, and it’s hard to ignore the heat of it all. But I can’t hold back anymore.
“You don’t know him. Clearly, you don’t know him.” I throw my hands in the air in frustration. “If that’s what you’re saying about him, then I would suggest you never knew him. Not like I do.”
The words hang in the air, a defiant banner, and I realize, too late, that I’ve just given too much away. The quiet tension in the air shrouds me, and suddenly it seems the whole town knows more than they should.
They’ve heard me. They’ve listened to my defense of Jesse. They’ve heard how much I believe in him. And that is a kind of confession.
Vanessa stands there, her expression unreadable. I see the flicker of satisfaction in her eyes, like she’s won something, even though I’m the one shaking.
“Watch your back, Olivia,” she says coldly. “Jesse’s not who you think he is.”
I watch her walk away, but my heart is still pounding. The crowd slowly dissipates, but I know this isn’t over. The rumor mill will start turning, and the whispers will follow me like shadows.
Fuck.
Vanessa’s words still feel like a slap across the face as I turn back to the espresso machine, trying to put everything back in its place.
My hands are shaking, and I’m fairly certain that if I hold onto this counter any longer, it will splinter under the pressure of everything building inside me.
But before I can take a breath and find my center, the crowd around me stirs. They’re waiting for the next big thing to happen.
“Two hot chocolates. One with extra marshmallows,” Bill says as he hands me a note. “Everything okay with you, Olivia?”
I force a smile and nod. It probably looks like I’m sucking on a lemon, but I try. “Sure, Bill, coming right up.”
My eyes flick past him to catch the curious glances of the town’s other spectators. Dottie is leaning against the window, arms crossed, looking like she might explode with gossip excitement.
I try to focus on the milk, my hands moving on autopilot. But the voices keep getting louder, a low buzz of murmurs and whispers I can’t ignore.
I need to tell the guys. To inform them of what happened so we can plan accordingly. But the queue is lengthening by the second. I don’t think I’m getting away any time soon.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and, with a glance at the ever-growing line, I type a hasty text to the group:
Olivia:Vanessa just tore me apart in front of everyone. I need to talk. ASAP.
I hit send, feeling the weight of those words struck me like a punch. This isn’t how I wanted to handle things, but right now, it’s all I can do.
The replies come in almost immediately, but none of them is the comfort I was hoping for.
Jesse: What happened? Are you okay? I take it this was about me…
I hesitate for a moment, but I’m not going to lie to him. Not now. I type back quickly:
Olivia:Yeah, it was about you, alright. But the worst part is that people heard, and I’m worried about gossip and rumors.
Karl: What did she say? Where are you?
Olivia: She said enough to make everyone think they’ve got it figured out. I’m not sure where to go from here, Karl.
Leo: Stay where you are. We’ll figure it out. We can’t get away from work right now, but we’ll talk after.
