Espionage

An Even Better Exit

Paris, famously known for being the city of love, aka the very thing I'm trying extra hard not to think about at the moment. Luckily for me, both of my male suitors are on a completely different continent than me, so I don't have to think about either of them right now. Unluckily for me, I haven't been able to stop thinking about either of them the entire time I've been here. And not for lack of trying.

Jerry's been an absolute saint and played tour guide for Jade and I all day yesterday and today. While our moms went and did whatever adults do in this city, which probably included a lot of wine and probably some luxurious spa day. Jerry took us to every major landmark and all of his new favorite places. It's been nice getting to see him in a different element. He looks happy here and that makes me happy. However, he did have to do something with his mom tonight so we bid him farewell as we'll be heading to London early tomorrow morning.

Now, we've met up back with our moms for a nice dinner and are walking along the Seine River to enjoy our final night here. Well, enjoy it as much as we can.

"Can you please just try to have some fun? We're in Paris!" Jade grabbed my attention as we walked through a gathering of pigeons. Yea, real romantic. Paris was beautiful and I really have been having fun, but how can I really enjoy anything when I'm being targeted.

"I am having fun." I whined as I continued to eat my ice cream. "I've been having fun"

"No you're not. You're worrying. I can tell. I know your worried face." The thing with Jade being my best friend is that she can see through me like glass.

"I don't have a worried face!" I definitely do have a worried face.

"Yea, you do. You're gonna get permanent forehead creases and I'm not letting you pay for botox." She teased pressing fingers to my forehead.

"Ok. Shut up!" I slapped her hand away. If there's anyone I can open up to it's Jade and Tyler warned me not to push my friends away. So, I should be honest with her about the things that are bothering me. "Tyler sent me a message letting me know he was alive before he came to me in person." Jade's ice cream slipped from her hands as she whipped her body towards me.

"I'm sorry, come again?" She didn't even mourn the loss of her dessert as she pulled me down to sit on a bench near the edge of the river. "You said you didn't know he was alive until he came to see you."

"That's the thing. I never got the message. According to him he sent it to me a month and a half before he came to see me. He assumed I was still mad at him over the argument we had prior to him leaving and that's why I never replied." The sounds of the river was all I heard as Jade took a moment to process what I'd just told her.

"That's around when you started things with Evan." She muttered, mostly to herself.

"If you're implying that Evan had something to do with Tyler's missing message, that's absolutely crazy. Someone in the Circle probably hacked into Tyler's phone and stopped any outgoing messages so he couldn't get rescued or something." She glanced over at me before rolling her eyes.

" I think it's super convenient that you mysteriously don't get the message that your lover is alive right when you're about to start something with a new boy. But you're probably right, it's more than likely not connected because there's really no one in the Circle who would even know that you're dating Evan." Her admitting that I was right probably tasted sour in her mouth because Jade loves being right.

"Exactly. I kept it a secret from almost everyone for months. But it is perfect timing, I have to give you that." She raised an eyebrow at me before continuing.

"Let me ask you this, would you have continued seeing Evan if you knew that Tyler was still alive?" The answer to that question was blatantly obvious, but I humored her.