The Meet [Jaime Preciado] [Book 3]

[8] To Tell Or Not To Tell

Vic

I knew. I knew, and I couldn’t bring myself to say something. I knew everything, everything, and I just couldn’t admit it. I couldn’t say anything to Jaime about it. I don’t think Lily knew that I knew, either.

It was eating me up inside. I kept telling myself that if Lily had wanted him to know, she would have said something by now, which she didn’t – so she wanted it to stay a secret. I couldn’t tell my best friend about any of this because Lily should be the one to let everything out, not me.

Kellin talks about her all the time to me. She’s pretty much all he’s got besides Katelynne and Copeland; she’s the only person he really trusts and truly loves. (It stings to know that, but still – I can’t really believe I have a shot with him, anyway.)

She’s never been brought up in interviews, in magazine articles, in between songs during concerts, on album recognitions, nothing – it’s like she only exists in Kellin’s mind, but she doesn’t. She’s real, but nobody knows about them; that they’re brother and sister.

I remember the first time I realized who Lily really was.

**

My phone was ringing off the hook. I knew who it was, but seriously, can’t he wait for five minutes while I get my fucking coffee? I loved talking to him, don’t get me wrong, but I… coffee.

 

I answered it once I had my hands clasped around the warm Styrofoam cup filled with the caffeine boost I needed. “Hello, Kellin,” I said coolly as I sipped my coffee, walking back outside and towards my home.

 

“Answer faster next time, you douche,” He muttered, making me grin. “Anyway, back to what I was talking about yesterday about Lily. She was thinking about becoming a singer, can you believe that? She’s got a fucking great voice, Vic. You should listen to her sing sometime and you’ll see what I’m talking about…”

 

For the whole walk home, I listened to him rant about his sister nobody but his band and I know about, occasionally saying “yeah, I’m still here” and “she sounds amazing” to keep him talking. I loved the sound of his voice.

 

He’d never think the same way towards me, though.

 

When I got home, Jaime was at my doorstep. I told Kellin to hold on for a second before smirking at Jaime. “Someone forgot where the spare key was again?” He nodded. I switched it around a lot so nobody would find it, and Jaime has a terrible memory. I unlocked the door and put the phone between my ear and shoulder as I told Kellin I’d call him a little later.

 

Kellin sighed and said, “Alright. I’ll miss you.” He didn’t even give me a chance to say anything because he hung up. Speechless, I stepped inside and took the phone back into my hand, shaking my head as I put it in my pocket.

 

“So, what’s up, Hime?” I questioned; he usually had a reason to be here this early in the morning. Something was bugging him, he had a nightmare, he was hungry, or someone died.

 

I turned to look at him. He had a smile on his face larger than his face itself. “I’ve got a pen pal! Isn’t that cool? Her name is Lily Jones, and she lives in Florida. She’s like the female version of me!” Jaime exploded, flopping back on the couch. He sighed like he was a teenage girl that just came home from the best first date ever.

 

As I thought about what he just said, it hit me; it couldn’t be Lily, Kellin’s sister, could it be? No, her last name was Jones. Then again, Kellin had said she was hiding her identity with fake last names… it could be her. I have to ask him later.

 

“Really cool,” I mumbled as I sipped my coffee and tossed my keys on the table. “Look, Hime, I’d love to hear all about her, but seriously, I have some things to get done today. Why don’t you tell Mike and Tone that we’ll go out to dinner tonight, and you can tell us about her then?”

 

He nodded excitedly and sprung to his feet in an instant. Jaime was out the door in three seconds flat, slamming it behind him. I took the opportunity to get out my phone and call Kellin back.

 

“That wasn’t a little later,” Kellin said when he answered. “It’s been six minutes, forty-seven seconds. You shouldn’t have hung up in the first place. A little later is, like, a half hour or something.”

 

“You were counting?” I ignored the last part of his mini-rant as I headed into the kitchen.

 

“Err, of course not,” He tried to play it off smoothly, but it didn’t work. I found myself smiling. “Anyway, bab–Vic, I was thinking about taking her to the label soon so she could maybe get a record deal.”

 

“Hold on, Kellin,” I interrupted his train of thought. He made a weird, confused grunt noise. “Does she happen to have a pen pal?”

 

“Yeah, she just got one. ’Not sure who it is, yet, though. She told me the name she’s using for this one is Lily Jones. Why do you ask?”

 

I swallowed hard. “No reason.”

 

**

Since then – January of two-thousand-eleven – I knew. I knew that Jaime’s pen pal, the girl he would eventually fall dangerously head over heels in love with, was Kellin’s sister. For two years, I’ve been fighting mental battles over whether or not to say something.

I haven’t.

I learned to mind my own business because if I didn’t, it’d get me in big trouble. I didn’t want to be in someone else’s business, but then again, it was my best friend’s heart in jeopardy here. I didn’t want him to get hurt, and to me, that’s a bigger thing to worry about.

There were two things I could do; one, speak up and say something, or two, keep it all bottled up in my head. Should I let them work it out and let Lily tell him on her own, or should I talk some sense into her and make her tell him or I’ll tell him for her?

**

Short chapter, I know. It wasn’t much but I need to build this up a little before the tour.

 

QOTC: What do you think Vic should do?

 

QOTC2: Did anyone catch what I’m doing? (I had to, omg. How could I not?!)

 

Thanks for being patient! I promise, a new chapter will be up before school starts (Aug. 11th).

 

CJ x