Ivy
I'm out of town, but please catch me up ASAP!
Jessa
I'm putting on my coat and grabbing my keys. I'll meet y'all at Juliet's!
I show up with a bottle of wine and no plan. Jessa opens the door, takes one look at my face, and steps aside without asking a single question. I end up on the couch, elbows on my knees, staring at the floor.
Juliet sits on the floor in front of me, back against the couch, close enough that her knee presses lightly into mine. Wren takes the armchair, curling her feet under her. No onerushes me. No one fills the silence with meaningless comfort.
I start with, "Silas and I had a fight. A big one."
"What did he do?" Juliet's assumption that he did something puts a weak smile on my face.
"He set up a fake profile on a dating site, targeted me, and got me talking. And, um. I said a lot of things to him that I probably wouldn't have said if I knew who he was."
"What kind of things?" Wren lowers her voice to a whisper. "Sexy things?"
I nod. "Sexy things. But also like... a lot of really personal confessions? Like he asked me about what I want out of life and I told him... everything. God, I'm so embarrassed."
I hide my face behind my hands.
Jessa swears under her breath. When I peek out between my fingers, Juliet is frowning and Wren's mouth falls open.
"Oh my god," Jessa says. "That's... wow."
Juliet lets out a breath that sounds like a laugh, but it dies fast when she looks at me. "Okay," she says instead. "Okay."
"I can't believe Silas did that." Wren shakes her head slowly. "I didn't have that on my bingo card."
Jessa kneels on the floor, looking concerned. "You're allowed to be mad," she says. "And sad. And confused. Possibly all at once."
No one tells me to forgive him. No one tells me to run.
"What do you want?" Wren asks quietly.
The question lands differently than I expect. Not like pressure, but like permission.
"I don't know yet," I admit. "I mean, I think I love him. But I don't like being lied to."
"Girl, I get it." Juliet nods. "It's fine to be mad at him for doing that. It's a violation of your trust."
"I just feel like an idiot. Silas was in the room next tomine, texting me all that stuff. And I was clueless." I shake my head. "I ended things with StatMan weeks ago because I was falling for Silas. I had no idea they were the same person."
"Maybe he thought it was safer to talk to you that way first," Juliet offers.
"I still fell in love with him, though. I'm so easy. It makes me look pathetic."
"Hey! Don't talk about my friend Scout like that." Jessa hugs me. "You're not stupid for wanting him."
"Silas is hot," Wren says. "Scary, but hot. I’m pretty sure that wanting connection with means you're human."
I sigh. "Maybe. But what am I supposed to do now? I told him I needed space tonight."
Juliet smiles softly. "Then take the space. Stay here tonight. Sleep on it. You'll know what you want to do tomorrow."
"Just remember that we've got your back no matter what," Wren says.
