Chapter 135
“Really? But who could it be? Your parents have been gone for so long, and their old friends have probably forgotten all about them. They haven’t even mentioned your parents in forever, let alone visited their graves.” Lindey’s words hit harder than I expected.
The whole “out of sight, out of mind” thing? Yeah, it’s pretty real.
Before, it didn’t really get to me, but hearing Lindey put it so bluntly? That stung.
“Maybe it was just a mistake,” Lindey suggested, trying to make me feel better.
I glanced at the tombstone, where my parents‘ names and photos were etched so clearly. How could anyone possibly make a mistake like that?
It was the kind of thing you’d say to a kid to stop them from freaking out.
“Maybe,” echoed, just going along with Lindey’s words to avoid dragging the convo out any longer.
I’d already confirmed the flowers weren’t from Lindey or Matthew, and it didn’t seem likely they were from any of my parents‘ old friends. That left one option: this bouquet was definitely suspicious, and I needed to figure out why.
“Rea, don’t overthink it. I’ll ask Matthew if any of his old friends visited,” Lindey said, trying to keep me from spiraling.
I hummed in agreement, and after reminding me, like, a million times to make sure I showed up for Matthew’s birthday, Lindey finally hung up.
I snapped a pic of the flowers in my hand and posted it on social media with the caption: [Who’s still remembering them?]
Lena called me the second she saw my post. I had to admit, she must have way more free time these days if she was keeping that close of an eye on social media.
“What’s going on?” Lena asked.
I filled her in on the whole situation, murmuring, “I’m really curious who it could be.”
“You’re seriously going to the Johnston residence? Isn’t that like walking into the lion’s den?” Lena’s focus shifted completely away from the flowers after hearing the rest of the story.
“It’s bad if I don’t go, but if I do, I’m worried something might happen,” I admitted, laying out my dilemma. “That’s why you need to find a guy to go with you. Even if things go sideways, at least you’ll have someone to back you up. Plus, it might finally get Jace and his family to back off,” Lena suggested, then asked, ” Has Hayden reached out to you?”
“He said no,” I replied, recounting my conversation with Hayden to Lena.
She chuckled. “He’s got some guts. Why don’t you just try dating him for real? Who knows, maybe you’ll actually catch feelings, and then you’d have found yourself a good guy.”
istered out the window at the sky. “I’m not in the mood for that, okay?”
I knew Hayden’s situation well enough. He had never been in a relationship before
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Chapter 135
date me, he would be all in. If I just went along with it half–heartedly, it wouldn’t be fair to him.
Besides, Hayden wasn’t the kind of guy you can just mess around with–I knew that from the moment I first met him.
Lena understood me well enough to drop the topic. Instead, she asked, concerned, “So what are you going to do? Should I go with you? Even if we can’t make Jace and his family back off, at least he won’t get a chance to pull anything else on you.”
I thought about it for a few seconds. “I still need to find a guy.”
“Exactly! Just agree to Hayden’s terms, and then-” Lena started, but I cut her off before she could finish.
“Do you know any guys who’d be willing to help? Maybe I could hire one,” I suggested.
“Seriously? You actually thought of that?” Lena sounded shocked by my idea.
“It’s the best solution–no hassle, no strings attached,” said, feeling pretty proud of my plan.
Lena sighed, “I do know some guys, but they’re all respectable doctors. I doubt any of them would agree to play along with something like this. Unless…”
“Unless what?” I asked.
“Rea, why don’t you try speed dating or matchmaking? There’s this matchmaking agency that’s really popular online right now. You could go to one of their events and find a date. With the whole nation watching their social media, you wouldn’t even have to make an official announcement to the Johnston family,” Lena suggested, though I could tell even she knew it wasn’t the best idea.
That definitely wouldn’t work, but her words did spark an idea–I could use a matchmaking agency to find
someone.
