so, do we like each other or not? // JENLISA

Epilogue

Lisa pursed her lips. The message chain in front of her was much bluer than she would have liked, and she wasn't sure whether sending another text would be overkill or the thing that would finally make a typing bubble pop up.

For once, it wasn't Jennie she was waiting on. It was Lia.

They hadn't spoken that much over the past few weeks, but all of a sudden she seemed to have fallen off the grid entirely. Her read receipts also seemed to have been switched off, and the gaps between her replies were getting longer.

Lisa frowned and scrolled up to the last message she'd received from her. Thanks for putting me in touch with Jennie – I'll email her if I have any questions. This whole thing is getting a bit overwhelming. After that, days of silence.

Glancing up to make sure Cherin wasn't about to storm over to her desk and threaten to demote her to the mail room, she dialled Lia's number and waited for her to pick up. She knew she wasn't going to get an answer long before she reached her voicemail message.

That evening, Lisa found herself helping Lucas with his math homework while Jennie busied herself making dinner. As soon as there was a lull in the short division, she asked, "Hey, Jennie?"

"Mm?"

"Have you heard from Lia recently?"

Jennie looked round from the stove. "Should I have?"

"Who's Lia?" Lucas interrupted.

"Stop looking for an excuse not to do your homework," Lisa replied, placing her hand on the top of his head and swivelling it back in the direction it should be facing. He giggled and went back to his work. "She's not replying to my texts. I'm just a bit worried about her."

There was a long pause. Jennie turned back to the stove and continued stirring.

"I'm sure she's fine," she said eventually.

"Do you know something?"

"Why would I know something?"

"She knows something," Lucas chimed in, not looking up. "She's deflecting."

"How do you even know what that means?" Jennie asked.

"You send me to private school."

"Last week you asked me if Arendelle is a real country."

"Jennie," Lisa snapped. "Can you focus on me for a second, please?"

With a sigh, Jennie turned the flame down and walked over to the table where her girlfriend and son were sitting.

"I'm still making enquiries about Lee," she said slowly. "And trying to sift through an awful lot of information. A lot is happening and I'm not sure whether Lee is aware of it or not – but I imagine he must be, since Soohan was so irate about it."

"If Lee knows, that won't be good for Lia."

"I know. But I haven't heard anything
specifically about her, I promise."

Lisa nodded. "Okay. I'm just… worried. If something happens to Lee then he won't hesitate in taking her down with him. I want to make sure she's okay – she might be a bit dumb, but that doesn't mean her career should get ruined just as it's beginning."