Heaven // Ryan Tedder

Chapter Eighteen; Truth To Power

Meanwhile, Joshua was on his break, sitting in one of the houses he would soon be showing to someone. He was still thinking about the coffee situation with Janelle, and though he knew he shouldn't let it bother him so much, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

The thing was, he had cheated before, so he was more paranoid about her doing it since he already had. It was only a matter of time until she did, and if she did, he wanted to know. He hated when she kept secrets from him, just like this. He was going to find out about this, no matter what it took.

He scrolled through his phone, licking his lips a little as he gazed at Abby's number, which he had found written down on a piece of notebook paper that was on the fridge. He thought he'd put it in his phone if he needed to find out anything about Janelle. He knew Abby, she had a tendency to talk, and, though he knew she hated him, she was bound to let something about Janelle slip out.

He pressed the call icon on his phone, beginning to pick at his nails with his other hand as he brought the phone up to his ear.

It rang a few times, and with every ring, he contemplated just giving up and forgetting about it, but, he decided against it. He had already gone as far as calling her, so he might as well still try.

On about the sixth ring, there was an answer. "Hello?"

"Abby," Joshua smirked a little. "How are you?"

Abby huffed. "I'm fine," She mumbled. "What do you want, Joshua?"

"Hey, no need to get impatient," He chuckled a little. "I just had a question."

"I'm kinda busy, so.."

"Did you bring Janelle coffee yesterday?" He interrupted her, and she scoffed.

"No, I didn't bring Janelle coffee." She muttered. "For your information, we aren't talking right now."

"Why not?" He asked.

"You." She Stated, before hanging up.

Joshua felt a surge of anger, but he pushed it away, thinking about the triumphant discovery he had just made.

If Abby wasn't bringing her coffee, then he knew Janelle was lying. Someone else was becoming close with her, and he wanted to know who.

That night, after work, Joshua came to the restaurant to pick Janelle up and take her home. The drive was quiet, apart from a pop station playing quietly on the radio of his car. She gazed out the window as they drove down the street, watching as they passed buildings and streetlights, which were now lit since it was rather dark outside.

She looked down at her hands, which she held the coffee cup from earlier in. It was still half full, since she couldn't bring herself to drink all of it. She absolutely hated caramel, but she of course was still grateful for the coffee since Ryan had been so kind to buy it for her. She'd still finish it later, maybe if she could add some coffee creamer of a different flavour to it.

Joshua's eyes followed her gaze, and he noticed the coffee cup. He looked back up at the road, smoothing his hair back with his hand. "Did Abby bring you another coffee today?" He Asked curiously.

Janelle quickly nodded. Of course, she couldn't keep up with this lie forever; sooner or later he'd find out that they hadn't been talking, at least, not since that day at the coffee shop, where she told her that she and Joshua were together again.

"Really?" He asked, before looking at her with his blue eyes intense. "Because she told me the two of you aren't talking anymore."

Janelle's eyes widened, but she kept her composure. "She probably only told you that because she doesn't like you." She mumbled. "I've been meaning to tell you, but I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

He looked back out the windshield, and she reached over, rubbing his arm.

"I promise, I'm telling the truth." She Said quietly. "I should've told you sooner."

"Why doesn't she like me?" He Asked, causing her to shrug.

"I don't know.." she mumbled, before looking out the window, sighing softly.

She tried to calm her nerves by listening to the radio, which was now softly playing a song by Ariana Grande. As the song faded out, she listened to the beginning of the next one, which she couldn't quite remember if she had heard before. She still paid close attention to it, hoping that it would keep her from being nervous on the rest of the silent drive home.

Once they made it back to the apartment, Janelle went straight to making dinner, mostly for Joshua, though, since she wasn't really hungry anymore. She decided to whip up a quick batch of spaghetti, adding a jar of pesto she found in the fridge since they didn't have any sauce.

As she made the food, Joshua went to their room, shutting the door behind him.

She let out a long sigh when she heard the door click. Why was Abby talking to Joshua? She hated him, she had no reason to be. Janelle was exhausted, confused, and honestly just ready for bed.

Joshua ended up coming back out wearing a baggy T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, which he had just changed into. He sat in one of the chairs at the counter, watching as Janelle cooked.

"What're you making?" He Asked in a mumble.

"Spaghetti with Pesto," She stated, opening the spaghetti pot and stirring the noodles inside. "It's almost done."

He nodded, and things went back to being silent. Janelle couldn't help but wonder what Joshua was thinking about. She only hoped that he believed her lie. She knew that he hated when she kept anything from him, which was why she never really did. She just thought that if she told him about Ryan, he might take it the wrong way, or maybe even be a little intimidated by her being friends with another guy.

She didn't want to keep it a secret, but he was clearly on her case about it, since he had been asking questions. She just feared that if she told him, he'd get defensive. Ryan was only a friend, but she didn't know if Joshua would trust her.

After the spaghetti finished cooking, she served Joshua some on a plate, and the two of them went out to the living room to sit on the couch. Janelle ended up putting it on 'Friends' again, and stayed awake for at least the first eight minutes of it, before she drifted off to sleep.