CHAPTER 32

CARMEN

“Nova!” Mrs. Pierce scolded her daughter, nudging her with her elbow. “Why would you say something like that?”

“I’m not the one who said it!” Nova argued in her defence. “I said it was a rumour. All they have to do is tell us if it’s true or not.”

As if all the adults lost their sense of self at the words of a seventeen-year-old, they all shared their gazes between me, Kate, and Dave, waiting for us to confirm what was true and what was not.

“Can you all please tell her what the issue is and let her give us a moment to catch our breaths?” Mr. Pierce said. “She is never going to let us live if you don’t tell her what is true and what isn’t.”

I was the first to speak up, tired of everyone at the table and everything.

“Nothing happened between me and Dave, okay? We were good friends in school and nothing else. In fact, we’ve grown distant, just the way your sister and I grew distant,” I explained, giving Nova a tight smile that threatened to split my face in half.

“She’s right,” m