Noah must feel me go rigid under his hand, because he sits up suddenly, brow creased in concern. “What is it?”
My lips part, but it’s like someone else is speaking for me. “I got an interview.”
His eyes trace my features, searching. His mouth bends in a worried frown. “Is that a good thing?”
But my mind’s gone blank. Once again, I tell him the only truth I can.
“I don’t know.”
Chapter
Fifteen
I should feel relieved—excited, even. But I haven’t gotten past the shock. Most of my half-assed applications have been for jobs at companies I know nothing about, but Paragon is a gem, a stellar and competitive agency with a growing reputation. My application to them had been a shot in the dark, and I hadn’t expected to get an interview at all—especially not this soon. Not to mention, one phone call to my old manager and Paragon could learn the truth of how I’d left Incite. Why would they bother to take a chance on me?
I didn’t open the email until I got back to Liam’s. On the drive back to Alchemist to unload Noah’s van and pick up my car, he’d been so kind. Rather than try to untangle the complicated conversations we’d broached lying next to each other, he’d instead distracted me by playing a new band he thought I’d appreciate, sometimes peppering in easy questions about what the next steps were for the mural.
Back at Liam’s, I’d stood in front of the pantry for ten minutes trying to figure out what I wanted for dinner before caving in and ordering delivery to save myself the effort of making a decision.
Tomorrow,I’d thought, curling up in bed after picking at my burrito bowl and staring at my phone, the events of the dayreplaying in my mind.I’ll have an early night and figure it all out tomorrow.
But now it’s nearly midnight and I’m reading through the email for the hundredth time.I’ll do the first step of the interview, of course, there’s no harm in that,I think robotically.That’s it. That’s all I’ve got to decide right now.
Well. It’s not all I’ve got to decide.
My thoughts circle back to him, as they so often do lately. I open up my messages.
I can’t sleep
Noah responds in seconds.
how can I help? more anime? the chess app? you’ve owed me a rematch for weeks now
what’s the point of a rematch when you won?
it’s hardly a win when your opponent gives up
I fell asleep!
…I see your point
don’t think that’ll work this time tho. something else, maybe?
like what?
I exhale noisily, frustrated.
I wish we were playing tonight.
I’ve fallen in love with Liam’s game for more reasons than one, but at this moment, I just miss the way it gets me out of my headand into Jaylie’s. I drum my fingertips on the back of my phone as I watch Noah’s text bubbles appear and disappear, over and over again.
do you like to write?
it’s…okay?
hmmmm
when Liam first started the game, did you fill out the backstory document he sent around? the one with all the questions about Jaylie’s history, motivations, weaknesses, etc?
