The other end of the line is silent, but I know I’m right. Jesse was there when Miles and I kissed outside the auditorium and in the hallway. He lives next door to Miles, so he always sees when I’m there. That’s why he left the notes. He cares about Miles. All the times I talked to him during rehearsal, he wasn’t interested in what I had to say. He just wanted to know more. He wants to protect Miles from me.

“It doesn’t matter.” He sighs like this is a huge weight on him. “It’s Thanksgiving, and you’re out of time.”

“What does that mean?”

The line goes dead.

Fuck.

CHAPTER 28

After Jesse hangs up, I fumble with my phone, checking my texts for any sign of trouble. My notifications are suspiciously blank. I guess it makes sense, since I’m not talking to Claudia and Lydia and Miles is in the living room, but it’s eerie, like a digital ghost town.

Come on, Simone, think. If you were Jesse, how would you spread something like this to as many people as possible? Sarah texted everyone she knew when she found out about my status, but that doesn’t seem like Jesse’s style.

I scroll through the apps on my phone. Instagram? No, everything is out of order. Not enough people would see it at the same time. He could’ve used Snapchat, but when I open the app, it’s just videos of people singing at parties or sitting with their families for dinner.

Where else could he reach a bunch of people at once?

Oh shit. I hit the Twitter icon, but the blue opening screen takes longer to go away than usual. It never takes this long to load. I jab at the screen with my thumb. Come on, come on, come—

The tweet at the top of my timeline is from the Sacred Heart Drama Department account.

New student director, Simone Garcia-Hampton, has HIV. I’ve seen her getting treatment from St. Mary’s Hospital, so I know it’s true. Consider yourself warned.

There are a hundred mentions underneath the original tweet, stretching on and on.

@MattlegQuagga: [GIF of Steve Carell grimacing]

@Purebob7777: Oh my god, do I need to get tested?????

@TinyAngel: It could just be a rumor but I don’t know

@Heydayfix_97: Oh boo hoo!! Are we supposed to care that she made bad decisions?

@Bellswas: this is what happens when you sleep around i mean we dont even know where she came from

My phone shakes in my hands, tears blurring my vision. I kept pretending this wouldn’t happen until it did. I thought I could stop it by being—what, proud of myself for kissing a boy? God, I’m such an idiot.