I nodded. “Yeah. Just send me where you want to meet, and I’ll be there in five minutes.”
I ended the line and looked back at Nora. She still refused to look at me. I hated how this turned. I came here to make this better, not worse.
“I have to go. I’ll text you. Think about what I said. Because otherwise, this won’t work.”
She gave me a simple nod before she turned and walked away. I watched her head inside, slamming the door shut behind her.
Chapter 7 - Nora
I arrived home exhausted. I threw my purse onto my side table and kicked off my shoes. I flicked my light on and screamed. Jade was sitting on my couch with her legs thrown up. I felt my heart race and placed my hand over my heart as I leaned over, clutching the doorknob tightly.
“What the fuck, Jade!”
Jade gave me a simple smirk as she looked away from her phone, which was propped up on her leg. “Welcome home. I’ve only been waiting for like fifteen minutes.”
I pulled myself up, taking a few deep breaths in. “That key is for emergencies in my house. Not to loiter.”
“I’m not loitering, and this is an emergency. I just caught wind that a certain someone is dating a certain someone else, and I happen to not know about either of them being together.” She laid me with a look and I felt my stomach drop.
I groaned as I walked into the living room and sat down on my love seat across from the couch. I ran my hands over my face as I sighed. “Oh, that…I can explain. It’s not what you think.”
She scowled, pulled herself up, and leaned forward. “That’s all you have to say? Oh that? Like you, boinking my brother isn’t something I should know.”
I cringed at her words. “We aren’t boinking.”
Jade snorted. “Oh, please! I’ve seen the way you two have acted. I thought it had been weird the past few months, but I see why now. You two have been fucking and hiding it from me.” She clicked her tongue. “Why wouldn’t you just tell me rather than keep it a secret?”
I sighed again as I pinched my eyes. “Jade, we aren’t boinking, we aren’t fucking. We aren’t sleeping together. We’re not even together.”
She leaned back clearly, not convinced. She raised an eyebrow at me. “Oh, come on, the entire pack is talking about it. It would have been nice to hear it from you first, rather than Jill from the gym. Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was? Everyone seemed to know you two were together, but me. I looked like an idiot. How could you keep this from me? I thought you were my best friend.”
I sighed. “Jade, we aren’t together.”
She scoffed. “Why do you keep saying that?”
“Because it’s fake.” I threw my hands up. “Like I said. It’s not what it looks like.”
Jade stopped, her mouth froze as she processed my words. “I don’t understand. What do you mean it’s fake?”
I pulled myself up, needing a drink if I was about to have this conversation with her. “Your brother kind of announced it first…and roped me into it.”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
“Your brother came up with the idea of us dating to get your father off his back. He announced it and then kind of twisted my arm to agree.”
“What?” Jade yelled, springing off the couch. “Are you saying he forced you into this? I’m going to literally murder my brother!”
I slipped into the kitchen, flicking the light on. I walked right over to my wine fridge and pulled a bottle out.
“Don’t walk away! I need details, Nora! What the hell do you mean?”
I grabbed two glasses and opened the bottle, pouring each of us a glass. I took a long sip of mine. “Jade, I took care of it. Take a breath.”
“I’m your best friend. I should know this stuff. If my brother is being a pig, I need to know that.”
I walked back into the living room and handed her the glass. I reseated myself on the love seat and crossed my legs, yanking a blanket over myself. “I mean, your brother is a bit of an ass, but he’s not a pig. And I agreed. This will get Ryan to leave me alone.”
Jade’s eyes narrowed on me. “I need details. When did this happen? How did this happen?”
