Wrong Number

Chapter 13

"Are you going to tell me why you were so weird with Kail the other day?" Haley asks, taking a seat on the couch. "I wasn't being weird," I shrug innocently. She sends me a knowing look. "I wasn't," I insist.

"Penelope," her voice stern and serious like a mother's. "Don't full name me," I narrow my eyes at her. "Don't lie to me," she hums back, taking a sip of the warm coffee in her hand.

I roll my eyes. "Who says I'm lying to you?" "Ellie, please. Give me some credit here," she deadpans.

"Does it have something to do with that band?" Haley asks and I know she can see my body go rigid. Way to give it away. I sigh. "It's nothing."

It's far from nothing. I was talking to one of the boys on the cover of that magazine. I was talking to someone who had actual sold out shows with thousands of people attending each one. I may have not been talking to a 50 year old man but I sure as hell was not talking to a normal 19 year old boy either.

"Why have you been so secretive? I swear ever since you've started speaking to that creep you're suddenly hiding things,"  she frowns. "And not just from me. Sean's noticed it too."

Oh god. Of course she had to bring Luke up. That's all I hear from both of them. I get it. They're curious and worried and want to know why the hell I'm up all hours of the night on the phone.

To be honest, I'd like to know myself.

"I'm not being secretive. I just know how you guys feel about him and I didn't think you wanted to know," I quickly b.s. my way through this conversation. "Well we want to know," she states. "Okay," I nod.

For me, this was the end of the conversation. We were done talking about it at least until Sean was home. This was apparently not the case. She sits quietly, raising her brows pointedly, clearly waiting for me to say something.

"What?" I groan. "Are you going to tell me about him?" She huffs. "What do you want to know?" I all but whine. This was the last thing I wanted to talk about. This road only leads one way.

Which is the reason why I was being so weird with Kail. This path of conversation is the path ending with all my cards on the table. A path I wasn't sure I was ready to even be taking. It was a lot to take in and here we are days later and it still hasn't sunken in properly.

"You can start with his name," she coaxes. I think about lying. Coming up with any random name I can think of. But I realize eventually things were bound to come out and I might as well just bite the bullet now.

"He's the naked boy on the magazine cover." The words just sort of blurt out of me with a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding.

I gasp, my hand coming up to my mouth. I hadn't even meant to say that. I was torn between Luke and Adam - why Adam I have no idea. But that doesn't matter now because my mouth had different plans.

"What?" I watch her eyebrows pull together with the confused shake of her head. It begins to be too much. Her eyes on me while my minds a swirling mess of thoughts. I stand up, running a hand through my messy hair and start pacing.

"Ellie? What are you talking about?" Haley's eyes are boring into me looking for answers. I take a deep breath. "Kail's band," I grit out as if it physically pains me. "Kail's band? El, I'm going to need sentences here babe. What are you on about?" She sets her coffee down on the coffee table.

"Okay. Okay." I close my eyes in an attempt to calm myself. "You know the band Kail likes? The one she was telling us about?" I ask and Haley nods intently. "Okay, I think - well I'm pretty sure - I'm maybe sort of talking to one of them." It sounds ridiculous. I know. So I completely understand her reaction.