Chapter 15 : 💥 A Plan Falling Apart
(Narrator : Jessica)
As soon as the door closes behind Mom, the silence becomes unbearable. I stand still for a few seconds, arms crossed, staring at the floor like it might offer some kind of answer. Then, without warning, a wave of emotions crashes over me.
- Jessica: “Fuck, Josh! How the hell did we get here?!”
My voice cuts through the apartment like a whip, shattering the quiet. Josh, who had slumped onto the couch, suddenly snaps his head up. He looks at me, startled, but stays silent. I can feel my hands shaking as I take a step closer to him.
- Jessica : “Sérieusement, Josh. On est coincés. Complètement piégés ! Ils pensent qu’on est… ensemble ! Et maintenant, qu’est-ce qu’on fait ? Comment tu veux qu’on leur dise la vérité ? Qu’on leur avoue qu’on a menti tout ce temps ?!”
Je sais que je suis injuste. Ce n’est pas sa faute, pas plus que la mienne. Mais les mots sortent sans que je puisse les arrêter. Mes pensées se bousculent, et tout ce que je ressens, c’est une frustration dévorante.
Josh se lève lentement, levant les mains comme pour me calmer.
- Josh: “Jess, I know this is messy, but yelling isn’t going to fix anything.”
His voice is calm, maddeningly calm, and it only fuels the anger bubbling inside me. I point a finger at him, my vision blurring with the sting of tears.
- Jessica: “Easy for you to stay calm! But I’m done, Josh. I can’t take it anymore—those looks, the jokes, and now Mom… She thinks this is all some kind of game, a joke! But it’s not funny. Not at all.”
My voice cracks on the last words, and I feel the tears welling up. I turn my back to him, desperate to get a grip on myself, but it’s no use. The tears spill over before I can stop them.
- Jessica (sobbing): “It’s my fault. I should’ve said something from the start. But now, it’s too late. They’ll never believe us.”
I can feel Josh stepping closer behind me. His voice is soft, but there’s an underlying tension that betrays his calm tone.
- Josh: “Jess… listen to me. We’ll figure this out. But we can’t go back and change things. So we need to focus on what we do next.”
I turn around, my vision blurred by tears. His expression is serious, almost stern, but there’s a raw honesty in his eyes that stirs something in me. I shake my head, struggling to understand how he can seem so composed.
Jessica: “Do you really think we can get out of this? Josh, they think we’re a couple—like, officially! How the hell are we supposed to explain that?!”
Josh: “I don’t know yet. But… we’ll handle it. We don’t have a choice anymore.”
His words don’t do much to calm the storm inside me. But I don’t have the energy to scream or argue. I collapse onto a chair, wiping away my tears as my heart pounds uncontrollably.
As I try to pull myself together, my phone buzzes on the table. I glance at the screen, using my sleeve to dry my eyes. The message is from our friend group chat. Harper’s written something, and the tone immediately sets off alarm bells.
- Harper (text): “Hey guys, we just found out something interesting… Seems like some sneaky people forgot to tell us something big. 😏”
My stomach twists instantly. I look up at Josh, who’s already staring at his own phone, his jaw tight. I notice his thumb hovering over the screen, as if he’s hesitating to open the chat.
- Jessica: “Josh… what do we do?”
He doesn’t answer right away. The panic starts rising in me again, my heart hammering in my chest. They know. They know, and now they want us to confirm it… or deny it.
Another message pops up, this time from Brice:
- Brice (text): “No way, don’t tell me it’s what I think it is… 😂😂”
Almost instantly, Harper jumps in:
- Harper (text): “Come on, spill the details. This is too big to be true!”
I set my phone down on the table, unable to keep reading. My hands are trembling, and I can feel the tears starting to well up again. Josh stays silent, his fingers still gripping his phone tightly.
- Jessica: “They’re not going to stop, Josh. They want an answer. What do we tell them?”
He finally sets his phone down too, locking eyes with me. His expression is a mix of frustration and intense thought.
- Josh: “We need to think this through. We can’t respond impulsively. But I know one thing: if we stay quiet, it’s only going to make things worse.”
I shake my head, my voice breaking as I speak.
- Jessica: “But if we confirm it… Josh, we can’t take it back. They’ll believe we’re… together. For real.”
My phone buzzes again, and I can’t bring myself to look. Josh picks up his own phone and reads the message out loud, his voice tense.
- Harper (text): “So, are you confirming it, or should we start spreading the news? 😉”
I read the message over and over, unable to process the sheer scope of the trap we’ve fallen into. My breathing quickens, and I clutch my phone so tightly my fingers start to tremble.
- Jessica: “Josh… they’re not joking. They’re waiting for us to say something.”
He stops, turning toward me slowly. His expression is tense, his gaze dark. But he stays silent, as if weighing every word before speaking. Finally, he sits down across from me, elbows resting on his knees, and takes a deep breath.
- Josh: “They’re not going to stop, Jess. They’re too convinced. If we tell them the truth now, it’ll blow up in our faces. They’ll feel betrayed. And honestly… I’m not sure they’d forgive us.”
His voice is calm, but every word lands heavy. I shake my head as tears start to build again.
- Jessica: “So what? We lie? We fake it? And then what? Josh, don’t you realize that if we go down this path, there’s no turning back. It means…”
I swallow hard, forcing the words out as if they hurt to say.
- Jessica: “It means we’ll have to… cut ourselves off from our friends at some point. Is that really what you want?”
Josh runs a hand through his hair, exhaling a long, tired sigh. His eyes meet mine, and I see a flicker of sadness beneath his composed exterior.
- Josh: “Do you think I want that? They’re my friends, Jess. They mean a lot to me. But look where we are now. Every joke, every hint they’ve dropped… they’ve already gone too far with their assumptions. And we’ve never stopped them.”
I look away, unable to bear the weight of his words. He continues, his voice softening.
- Josh: “If we tell them everything now, they’ll think we’ve been mocking them, letting them believe all this for nothing. And don’t forget—they saw us kiss at that party… We can’t erase that. But if we play along… just for a while… we can manage this. Then, when the time’s right, we pull away. A fake breakup. A gradual distancing.”
I wrap my arms around myself, a cold chill spreading through me. I close my eyes for a moment, hoping it will help me think of another way out. But there’s nothing. They won’t let it go. Not now.
Jessica: “And after? When they figure out we were faking it, lying to protect our secret?”
Josh: “They’ll never find out. We’ll make sure of it. We’ll bury it. Over time, in our separate circles… it’ll just fade.”
His voice falters slightly on those last words. He’s as shaken as I am. But I can see it in his eyes—he’s determined. And as much as I hate to admit it, he’s right.
I nod slowly, tears spilling down my cheeks again.
- Jessica: “Okay. But Josh… if it gets too much, if we feel like it’s spiraling out of control, we stop. No matter the cost. Promise me.”
He takes my hand, holding it gently but firmly, his eyes locked on mine.
- Josh: “I promise. But we’re going to get through this, Jess. Together.”
I watch as he picks up his phone. His face is serious, his focus unshaken as he types out the message. Every word he writes feels like it’s pushing me closer to the edge of a cliff.
- Josh (text): “Okay, guys. You were right. Jess and I… it’s official.”
I read the words over his shoulder, and my chest tightens. The send button is pressed almost immediately, and the confirmation appears on the screen.
I fall back onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling. It’s done. There’s no undoing it now. The weight of this decision crashes down on me, and for the first time, I wonder if we’ve just made a terrible mistake.
Josh sits down beside me, his shoulder brushing against mine. He doesn’t say a word, but his presence is oddly comforting. Still, the silence between us is heavy, filled with doubt and the sharp edge of helplessness.
And now? How far is this lie going to take us?
Seconds after Josh sends the message, my phone vibrates. The replies come flooding in almost instantly, rapid and overjoyed, as if they’d all been waiting for this moment.
- Harper (text): “Finally! We knew it all along—you two are adorable together. 🥰”
- Paul (text): “I knew this would happen. Congrats, lovebirds! 🍾”
- Lily (text): “It’s official?! Oh my god, you guys are the cutest! 😍 You owe us a party to celebrate!”
- Brice (text): “Called it from the start! Now you’ve gotta invite us for a celebration!”
- Chloe (text): “Congrats, lovebirds! ❤️”
I read each message, feeling my heart sink deeper with every word. They truly believe it… They’re so happy, and it’s all built on a lie. I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees, my hands trembling slightly.
Josh, sitting beside me, keeps his gaze locked on his own phone, his expression unreadable.
- Jessica (whispering): “This is too much, Josh. How are we supposed to handle this?”
He turns to look at me, his eyes betraying a weariness that matches my own.
Josh: “We knew this would happen. It’s what we had to do, Jess. Now, we stay the course.”
Jessica: “But this… this is going too far!”
The notifications keep pouring in, each one adding another layer to my unease. Harper sends a string of heart emojis and pictures of couples, saying they “always saw this coming.” Lily is already suggesting a date for a celebratory dinner. And Paul won’t stop joking about the “bright future” ahead of us.
I turn to Josh, no longer able to keep my emotions bottled up.
- Jessica: “They’re so happy… And here we are, lying straight to their faces. They trust us, Josh. How do you stay so calm?”
He lets out a long sigh, running a hand down his face.
- Josh: “I’m not calm, Jess, I’m thinking. But… what can we do? We agreed to this lie. Now, we just have to… stick it out. It’s not forever.”
I shake my head, my thoughts a chaotic mess of guilt and panic. They’re celebrating. And we’re suffocating.
Josh finally sets his phone down and moves closer to me. His hand rests gently on my shoulder.
- Josh: “I know this is hard. But look at me, Jess. We’re in this together. We’ll get through it, like we always do. They’re our friends. They love us. And we’re doing this as much for them as we are for ourselves.”
I lift my gaze to him, searching for even a shred of comfort in his words. And there’s a little. But it’s nowhere near enough to lift the weight of the situation.
- Jessica (quietly): “What if we lose everything, Josh? Our friends, this bond we have… everything?”
He hesitates for a moment, then nods softly.
- Josh: “Then we’ll rebuild. Together.”
His words are earnest, but they do nothing to quiet the storm inside me. I slump back against the couch, wiping away a tear that rolls down my cheek.
A final message from Chloe seals the moment, making the air even heavier.
- Chloe (text): “You’re the perfect couple. You’re going to inspire everyone to find their own soulmate, just watch! 😉”
I let out a bitter laugh, surprising even myself. The perfect couple… If only they knew how fake all of this is. Josh catches my expression and offers a faint smile, one that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
- Josh: “They have no idea, do they?”
I shake my head, staring off into the void.
As the flood of messages finally starts to slow, I begin to believe that the worst is over. I sit up slightly, trying to catch my breath after the avalanche of congratulations. But then my phone buzzes again. Harper. A cold shiver runs through me. Again?
- Harper (text): “By the way… Paul and I have something to tell you.”
I frown, my stomach tightening. Harper’s not done, and this can’t be good. Beside me, Josh picks up his phone, his face tense.
- Jessica: “What are they up to now?”
Josh doesn’t answer, but his expression tells me he shares my unease. Another notification appears, and I read the message out loud, as if saying it will somehow make it less surreal.
- Harper (text): “We’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks. 😌”
The silence that follows is deafening. My phone slips from my hands, landing on the couch. Slowly, I turn my head to Josh, who’s staring at his screen, his brow furrowed. His face is expressionless, but I know this news hits him just as hard as it hits me.
- Jessica (horrified): “Harper… and Paul? Together? Since when?!”
Josh places his phone on the table with a sharp thud, his jaw clenched tight. He stays still for a moment, then lets out a long, heavy sigh.
- Josh: “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Another message comes in, this time from Paul.
- Paul (text): “We wanted to wait before saying anything, but, well… with your announcement, it seemed like the perfect time! 😄”
The sarcasm in their words burns me. They’re so happy, so confident, as if everything is easy. But for Josh and me, it’s anything but that.
I jump to my feet, pacing the living room. My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my temples.
Harper and Paul? Are you fucking kidding me? How are we supposed to handle this now?
- Jessica: “Josh, do you realize what this means?! They’re together. It strengthens the group dynamic. It makes everything… everything impossible!”
He doesn’t answer right away. He stands up slowly, running a nervous hand through his hair. His breathing is heavy, like he’s trying to keep something from boiling over.
- Josh: “I know, Jess. I know!”
His voice is louder than I expected. I stop dead in my tracks, staring at him. His fists are clenched, his expression dark, almost lost.
- Josh: “You think I don’t see what this means? We had a plan, Jess. A fucking plan! But now, they’re tied together. Harper and Paul. Do you know what that means? We can’t just pull away. They’ll always be there. Always together. And now, we’re trapped.”
His words hang in the air like a sentence. My knees go weak, and I collapse onto the couch, my hands covering my face. He’s right. We’re trapped. Completely.
- Jessica: “So what now? We just keep lying? For how long, Josh? Until it all blows up in our faces?”
He shakes his head, frustrated, but I can see in his eyes that he doesn’t have an answer. He sits down heavily beside me, his face buried in his hands.
- Josh: “I don’t know, Jess. I don’t know what to do. We wanted to protect everyone, but… now, it’s out of control.”
His voice trembles slightly, and it chills me to the bone. Josh, the one who always keeps it together, is falling apart.
The silence that follows is thicker than ever. I look at Josh, searching for some spark of hope in his expression, but there’s nothing there. And I have nothing left to say either. Harper and Paul have just closed off our last escape route. No matter what we do now, the fallout will be catastrophic.
Another message lights up my phone, but I don’t even bother to read it. It’s just one more piece of this infernal puzzle.
It’s over. Our plan, our bonds, everything is collapsing. And there’s nothing we can do to stop it.
I stare blankly into the void, unable to move, while Josh runs a hand over his face, his eyes shut tight. Neither of us speaks, but we both know the truth: the lie we created is now far too big to control.