The Hard Crush 1 (Feelings For You)

FIFTEEN

A visitor?

Jerry wasn't expecting any visitors toady. Or was it Tristian coming to explain his strange behavior?

No. If it was Tristian, he definitely would have called before coming.

He took his phone and sent Rachel a text.

Who's the visitor?

His phone chimed almost immediately and he saw her reply: It's a girl.

He frowned. Who?

Go see for yourself.

A girl? Maybe it was Ashley or-

Jerry's heart sank. Could it be Hilary? He knew Ashley would have called before coming too, but Hilary? Hmm... Hilary loved surprises.

He left his room and as he went down the stairs he began searching for an excuse to drive Hilary away. But when he got to the drawing room, the girl he saw wasn't Hilary.

"Winifred," he said. Well, this was a surprise.

She smiled when she noticed him. "Jericho."

Oh, Jericho? Now that came as a surprise too. He was so used to being addressed as Jerry by his peers, and she calling him Jericho made him feel as though the name was indeed extra special.

"I didn't expect to see you here," he said.

She gave a light chuckle. "I didn't expect to see me here either."

He walked over and sat down next to her, making sure there was a good distance between them. It was safer that way.

"You came alone?" He asked.

"Beatrice is here."

"With Conrad, huh?"

She gave a warm smile and then nodded.

And suddenly there was an uncomfortable silence that lingered between them. Jerry glanced at her as she stared down at her nails, probably to avoid looking at him.

Looking at her now, brought home memories of last night. The look of distaste she'd given her mum and Travis' dad during dinner yesterday pushed him to have a distinct impression that there was more to the situation than meets the eye. It made Jerry wonder just how much Winifred approved of her mother's relationship with Mr.West. But then she seemed pretty comfortable around Beatrice, which was a good sign. But he wasn't so sure about Travis.

"How long have you been living with Mr.West and the family?" Jerry asked before he could stop himself.

Her head snapped up and her stunning blue eyes stared directly into his grey ones. "Barely a week. I came on Monday."

"Oh. I thought you've been there longer. How long have your parents been married?"

She frowned. "Parents?"

Exactly the reaction he'd been expecting.

He gave her a fake confused look. "I apologize. I assumed Mr.West is now married to your mom seeing as you now live at his home."

"They're married. But..."

"But what?" He urged and she averted her eyes, returning them back to her nails.

"I don't wish to talk about this," she said quietly.

"Because I'm not Tristian?" Again, those words came out before he could even stop them.

She threw him a quizzical look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hmm. Well, she seemed slightly offended. He probably shouldn't have mentioned Tristian, or used the word parents earlier. But he was curious about her relationship with her new family, even though he wasn't supposed to be curious at all. But most especially, he was more curious about his friend's sudden strange behavior. It certainly wasn't trivial so he couldn't just ignore the whole thing. Tristian's weird attitude had come about when he'd first met Winifred, which probably meant Winifred knew something. Even if she didn't, she could help find out, sine Tristian had practically replaced him and Ashley with Winifred.