* * *
Jane goes to bed soon after Holly leaves, but first she eats the other half of the banana leftover from the one Holly cut up for me. I’m tired, but I’m not ready to go to bed.
I’m still floored that Holly showed up and took care of us. I’m even more stunned when I see that she’s left a couple of to-go containers with mashed potatoes and chicken noodle soup.
Has Holly Mayberry been taken over by pod-people?
I’m already exhausted after tucking Jane in and my exploration of the refrigerator, so I shuffle back to the sofa and pick up my phone.
Me:Thanks for coming over with food and taking care of Jane while I was passed out.
Holly:Yeah, well don’t get used to it. I was feeling generous.
Me:I’ll repay the favor sometime.
Holly:Like I told you, I don’t get sick. Maybe we can work out some other kind of trade.
Holly:What are you doing up? You should be asleep, not texting me.
Me:I’m not tired, and there’s nothing I want to watch on TV.
Holly:So you’re only texting me because you’re bored? You sure know how to flatter a girl.
Shit.
Me:I didn’t mean it like that. I’m still out of it.
Holly:I’ll let you off the hook because you looked like death when I saw you. And I’ll even give you this: if you’re really bored, check out Cinema Sins on YouTube. Someone told me about it a couple of weeks ago. It’s hilarious.
Something niggles in my brain. Cinema Sins. A couple of weeks ago.
Oh my fucking God.
The blood rushes from my brain, and I know my synapses aren’t firing on all cylinders, but could Holly be Cherrybomb? I mean, I know she created the app with her sister, but could she be a beta tester too? Oh my God, she totally could. It makes sense that she’d want to test it.
It’s probably a coincidence, but I have to know. I can’t outright ask her. She’ll think I’m an asshole and dump me. Besides, it’s a pretty popular YouTube channel.Anyonecould have told her.
Me:Someone? This someone have a name?
Holly:Jealous? ;)
Me:Maybe. Who told you?
Holly:Some guy. He turned out to be a douchebag who ghosted me.
My chest tightens. It isn’t definitive proof, but it’s pretty damn close.
Me:He had to be a total idiot if he ghosted you. His loss is my gain.
Holly:Now I know you’re delirious. Take some ibuprofen and go to bed.
Holy shit. Holly is Cherrybomb. Holly is the one I’m supposedly 97% compatible with…
What the fuck am I going to go about that? Will she dump me if she finds out it was me? I don’t know the answer to that, which means I’m doing nothing.
I can’t risk losing her.
