She laughs, the sound sharp and brittle. “God, you have such an ego. Not everything is about you, Zach. Maybe I just think Honey deserves better than a guy who's always putting football first and eyeing up her best friend.”
“I’m done with this. Have a good night, Jenni.”
I grab my things and stalk toward the door in annoyance.
“H-Honey? Is that you?” I hear Jenni sob.
What the fuck?
I whip my head around, and it’s like I’m staring at a stranger. Two seconds ago, she was arrogant and smug. Now, she’s bentforward with her phone clutched to her ear while tears spill down her cheeks.
“I’m okay.” Her voice fractures mid-syllable, trembling as though she’s been hurt. “Shit, I… I didn’t know who else to call. I’m—I’m at Murphy’s and Zach showed up and—” Her breath hitches, and she lets out a choked little sob. “He asked me to come along to help throw you a surprise party, but then he—he tried to kiss me.”
My brain nearly explodes. “What the fuck are you—”
“Stop!” she cries, holding the phone away to make it look like she’s fending me off. My hands are high in the air. I haven’t touched her. She tilts her face toward the phone, her voice wobbling. “Please, just stop—”
Her eyes flick to mine as a smirk draws across her face, completely juxtaposing her voice. “I told him no, Honey. I told him I love you like a sister, that I’d never—but he wouldn’t listen. He said you don’t have to know.”
“Give me the phone,” I snap, but my voice sounds distant, strangled by disbelief.
“No—don’t!” she gasps, jerking back again, and I swear she almost smiles before she covers it with another trembling sob. “I’m so sorry, Honey. I just… I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to ruin things between you two, but I can’t stay quiet.”
“Give me the phone,” I grit out, lunging for it.
Jenni twists away with a sharp little gasp, like I’ve just proved her point. “Zach, stop,” she cries, loud enough for the bartender to glance over. “Please, just stop—”
“Stop what?!” My voice breaks. “You’re lying, Jenni. She’s not going to believe this bullshit.”
She backs up a step, still clutching the phone to her ear, tears streaking down her cheeks like she’s been rehearsing them in a mirror. “I just… I had to tell you, Honey. You deserve to know who you’re really with.”
“Give me the fucking phone—”
But she’s already pulling it away, pressing the screen with trembling fingers.
“Please don’t hate me,” she whispers, and then the line clicks dead.
My stomach drops straight through the floor.
“No,” I breathe, shoving a hand through my hair, tugging hard hoping the pain might wake me from this nightmare. “No, no, no.”
She hangs up just as I snatch the phone from her hand, the screen black, call ended. My reflection stares back at me in the glass, wild-eyed and furious and terrified.
Jenni just watches, calm now—serene, almost—like the tears were never real at all.
“You’re insane,” I hiss.
She smiles through her fake tears, and she sneers, “No.” Adjusting her hair, she tucks the phone back into her bag. “I’m smart, and now Honey knows what kind of guy she’s really dating.”
I don’t wait for more.
I turn and bolt, shoving out of Murphy’s into the cold night air. My hands are shaking as I yank out my own phone, my thumb smashing Honey’s name, but the screen stays stubbornly gray.
No signal.
“Come on,” I snarl, trying again, pacing like a caged animal. Nothing.
Fuck.