Falling for the Ghost of You(78)

"For sure," Kim agrees, looking star struck.

"But he's still the same person, V." Lauren twists a lock of hair around her finger. "And he said he loves you."

"Yeah, but..." I frown, staring off into space. "I don't care what he said. He didn't care enough about me to tell me the truth. And what about all those pictures of him with other women? Kim, do you know if he's dating anyone?"

"There are rumors about him and Alaina Skye," Kim admits. "But neither side has officially confirmed it. And there's never been any pics of them kissing." She gives a little laugh. "Believe me, I'd know."

I lapse into a miserable silence. Lauren carefully eases down onto the floor beside me. "So, can you forgive him for lying to you about who he really is?"

"You really should," Kim enthuses, patting me on the shoulder. "Dude, he's Aiden Cross! I would give my left boob to go out with him."

I can't help but laugh at that, even though the image it evokes is disturbing.

"Seriously, though," Kim says, looking me in the eye. "I can see why he did it. I bet he gets sick of all the little fan girls—like me— throwing themselves at him. You're probably the most normal relationship he's had in years. Maybe he wanted to keep it like that for as long as he could."

"Insightful," Lauren murmurs, impressed.

Kim grins and shrugs. "I saw a couple of movies like this."

"Yeah, it is like a plot out of some lame movie," I say. "That's why--I just can't wrap my head around it. It's so surreal, I just don't know what to think. But he lied. Not about something stupid, like what his favorite color is. He lied to me about his identity! How can I forgive him for that?"

"There are all kinds of reasons why people have secret identities," Lauren says, in a not-so-subtle reminder that I have one, too.

I let my meaningful look convey to her that it's totally not the same thing. I use a pseudonym for my writing—I don't fake a whole other life. And besides, I told Zane about my writing. So, there.

"It doesn't even matter whether I can forgive him or not, guys," I say finally, resting my chin on my knees. "It can't ever work out between us, anyway. It's stupid to even hope."

"No, Violet!" Kim groans. "Don't give up."

Lauren surprisingly agrees. "There's always a way to make it work," she says. "If you love him, you would find a way."

"Yeah, well, if he loved me, he would have told me the truth."

I climb wearily to my feet. "Time to go home and face the music," I mutter.

"Where did that expression come from, anyway?" Kim wonders. "You would think that would be a good thing, right? Who doesn't like music?"

Lauren shrugs. "Maybe because it sounds better than 'face the year long grounding,' or 'face the dragon mother.'"

"'Face the end of your life.'"

"Thanks for joking about it," I say. "I'll let you know if I make it out alive. Maybe."

Face the dragon mother. Ha. More like gentle lamb mother. I bet she doesn't even raise her voice. Maybe a quiet reprimand, between bone-crushing hugs.



Ten agonizing minutes later...



"--never ever leaving this house again! Is that clear?!"

I cringe back into the chair. "Crystal."

Mom takes a deep breath. Clearly, screaming at the top of her lungs drains her.

"—never have dreamed you would be capable of being so irresponsible! What were you thinking?!"

I grimace at her disappointed tone. "All I can say is I'm sorry. I don't have a good excuse, and I deserve whatever you decide to do with me."

Mom just looks at me for a long minute. Then she sighs and kind of collapses onto the couch. "Did you sleep with him, Violet?"

"Well, Mom, there wasn't much sleeping involved."

She groans. "Oh, Violet! Really...ugh. Okay, were you at least safe? You used protection?"

"Um...yes?"

"That doesn't sound very convincing. Are you sure?"

I squirm uncomfortably. We definitely did the first three times, but the fourth...it was really early in the morning, and I don't remember...

"I'm sure," I say to Mom, because I want to spare her the gory details.

She covers her eyes with her hands. "It wouldn't be realistic of me to think this won't happen again. So I think we should discuss birth control options. And Zane should be here, too. I'd definitely like to have a talk with him."

"I don't—you don't have to worry about that," I say quickly. "We aren't together anymore. We broke up."

Mom opens her mouth to say something, changes her mind, then opens it again. "Oh, honey. He dumped you, huh? I'm so—"