Page 59 of Best Wrong Thing

“Why are you telling me about Rex now?”

“I don’t want any secrets between us. I already hate that I’m lying to my parents through omission. I don’t want to keep anything from you.”

I tap my spoon against the edge of the bowl. “There’s something I need to tell you too.”

He freezes.

“Don’t freak out, okay?”

“Why would I freak out?”

I take a deep breath. “Mum read my text messages when she was here earlier. Our text messages.”

Jacob widens his eyes. His breathing becomes ragged.

I wave my hands. “It’s fine. You’re stored in my phone as J. She thinks I’m sleeping with a guy called Josiah.”

Jacob releases a little of the tension in his body. “Josiah?”

“I panicked and said the first thing that popped into my head. She doesn’t suspect anything.”

He swirls his spoon around the almost empty bowl. “I’m sorry you had to lie to your mum.”

“Yeah, well, she shouldn’t have gone through my phone.”

“It’s a massive invasion of privacy.”

“Yes, but I’m used to it.”

He looks up sharply. “You shouldn’t have to be.”

“Maybe, but I’ve realised over the years that nothing I can say will change the way Mum behaves. Often, the path of least resistance is the best one to choose. I did tell her I was pissed and that she shouldn’t have done it, and I’ve changed my pin to a number she’ll never guess. Everything’s fine, but I thought you should know.”

“Thank you.”

“Are we…okay?”

He smiles and strokes my hand. “Yes.”

“You’re not going to run out on me?”

“No.”

“Thank fuck.”

We eat in silence. I scrape my bowl clean from every last bit of the pudding. Jacob does the same.

“Archer.”

I look up. “Yeah?”

“This is nice.”

“Pudding?”

“Spending time together.”

“Oh, you mean not dashing straight to the bedroom?” I waggle my brows.