Us. | A Joe Jonas FanFiction | Book 3

forty six.

"Stella not showing up?" He asks. "We never talked about it."

I sigh, looking off. "I was hoping you wouldn't bring it up."

"Well, I am and I'm not letting it go either."

I sigh again. "I mean, it made me upset. I think I always forget that even though Stella and I are okay, she's still Jaclyn's daughter. Not that that's a bad thing. I know she loves her, she's her mom. And I know that if I ever called Willa twenty years from now and said I needed help I'd want her to show up so I don't want to be mad. But, I can't help but to think about how she didn't even bother to send a message or call and say she wasn't coming."

Joe nods. "You're not mad, Addie. You're hurt."

"No," I shake my head. "I'm scared."

He furrows his eyebrows, confused.

"I'm scared because I am realizing that Jaclyn is Stella's mother and if Jaclyn and Stella are still in contact, I'm afraid that someone from my past is going to find out about Willa. She could be in danger. I don't want that. She didn't ask for that. I need to protect her from that possibility, even if it means letting go of someone that means a lot to me."

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Joe says, gesturing for me to pause. "You wanna cut Stella off completely?"

"Joe, I don't want to but I want to keep Willa safe. If anything ever happened to her I'd never forgive myself."

He sighs. "Okay, well, hold on though. You don't even know if Jaclyn is involved in all of that anymore. Now don't get me wrong, I hate her. But I don't think Stella needs to lose you and Willa because of her."

I feel the heat rise to my cheeks, though I take a deep breath, letting it out after a moment.

"You are mad she didn't show up."

"I just thought Willa deserved at least a message saying she wouldn't be able to make it."

He nods. "You're right, she did. You did. But we've all been in a situation where we forget to make a phone call or send a message because we're caught up in something else. Give her the benefit of the doubt, babe."

I sigh. "I'm so afraid Willa's going to get caught up in something that she shouldn't. I mean, I left that life years ago. I didn't want it to begin with. I shouldn't have been a part of it to begin with. I don't want to subject her to any of it if it can be prevented."

He nods. "I'm with you on that, my love, I am. But she knows her as aunt Stella."

"She's still young enough that she wouldn't notice if aunt Stella wasn't there anymore, Joe. I don't want to wait too long and have her hurt because we have to cut her off."

He sighs. "Okay, then have a conversation with her. See if there's any way that we can prevent anything from happening without cutting her off. That way she's aware of the fear you have and can be more understanding if we end up having to stop communication with her."

I nod. "You're right. I can't just fall off the face of the earth. She deserves more than that. I mean, she's like a little sister to me."

He nods, massaging my shoulder. "I know, baby. That's why I wanted to talk through it with you. I know you were upset when she wasn't here for Willa's first party."

"Yeah, I was."

"Which, speaking of, there's another topic we need to discuss."

"One that I don't want to," I say shortly.

"We need to, babe."

I sigh heavily, adjusting my position so I'm facing him, one leg underneath of me while the other hangs off the couch. "Your mom."