I stare at her. “That sounds ridiculous.”
She shrugs. “Sometimes it’s the only way to survive,” Jenni says softly. “I’m not saying it’s fair. I’m saying it might be necessary. If people think you aren’t together, then they can’t hate you.”
She jerks her thumb at Chris. “Hell, let them think you’re dating this guy. That’ll make people stop caring about you in a heartbeat.”
“Jenni,” Chris says sharply, not looking at me.
“What? Oh, sorry, you’re right, that would be like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. The hockey girlies would eat you alive.”
I blow out a breath in disbelief, only for my gaze to drift to my phone. It’s lighting up, and unfortunately, I can see the message on the screen.
Unknown:Do you really think this ends with a happily ever after? Just because Zach is a light reprieve from Jamie doesn’t mean you won’t end up in the same ashes.
All the blood drains from my face.
Jamie.
How do they know about that?
“Honey?” I barely hear Chris’s voice as my head spirals.
I look up at my friends—these people who claim to care about me—and realize what they're really suggesting. That I make myself smaller. That I hide the best thing in my life because other people can't stand seeing me have it.
We won’t end up like Jamie and me. I know it.
“No,” I say firmly. “Absolutely not.”
“Honey—” Jenni starts.
“No.” I stand up, pacing to the window. “I'm not going to pretend to have problems with Zach just to make other people feel better. I'm not going to hide the fact that I love him, and heloves me. That's exactly what they want—for me to be miserable and alone.”
“But what if it would stop the messages—” Jenni tries.
“It won't,” I interrupt. “It'll just change them. Then they'll say I'm pathetic for losing him, or that I never deserved him in the first place, or that I'm trying too hard to get him back. There's no winning with people like this.”
The room falls silent except for the sound of my phone buzzing again.
Jenni sighs. “I just hate seeing you go through this.”
“Then help me figure out who's doing it,” I say, turning back to face them. “Help me find out who has it out for me instead of suggesting I change my entire life around their hate.”
Chris nods slowly. “You're right. That's… that's what we should be doing.”
But when I look at Jenni, something flickers across her face. Something I can't quite read before she gives me a sympathetic smile.
“Of course,” she says. “We'll figure this out together.”
The room falls quiet, the tension thick enough to cut. I can feel both of them watching me, waiting to see if I'll change my mind about their suggestion, but I won't. I refuse to let anonymous cowards dictate how I live my life or love my boyfriend.
“Look,” I say, settling back into my desk chair. “I appreciate that you both care, but I'm not going to pretend to have problems with Zach. End of discussion.”
Chris nods, though he still looks worried. “Fair enough. But promise me you'll be careful? You looked like you saw a ghost after reading that last one.”
“I will,” I assure him, though we all know there's not much I can actually do to protect myself from faceless harassment.
I reach for my phone, ready to turn it off completely so we can focus on studying without interruption, when it flashes with a message one more time.
For a split second, my heart sinks, expecting another cruel message, but when I see the name on the screen, my entire body relaxes.