“This…” He motions from me to him. “Us. We can’t work unless we’re honest with one another. You’ll be able to tell if I drink, but Lil, I’ll have no idea if you’ve relapsed until it’s too late. I don’t want there to be distrust between us.”
“I don’t either.”
“Then talk to me,” he urges. “Don’t reach the point where you’re watching porn or masturbating again to speak up. It’s not okay, Lil.”
He’s right, but that doesn’t make hearing those words, from him, any easier. Maybe I need a good kick in the ass though.
Ryke clears his throat from the couch, and Lo rolls his eyes dramatically. He grabs his wallet from the table and fishes out a twenty. Ryke smirks as he takes the bill.
“Did you bet on me?” I ask, dumbfounded.
“Yeah,” Lo says, unabashed. His eyes fall to mine. “And I’ll always bet on your side.”
He probably suspected I had watched porn all along too. I should be more offended that they bet on my addiction, but it lightens the mood and helps me not curl up in a ball of guilt.
“And I’ll gladly take your money,” Ryke tells him.
No way. The prospect of Ryke winning off my failure motivates me to do better.
I open my mouth, about to tell Ryke that he’ll never win again, but a glimmer in the window catches my eye. I sidle to the panes and peer through.
Across the street, a van has pulled onto the curb. Cameras flash, the lens directed at Ryke’s living room. I duck to the floor. How did they find us?
Lo sees me hugging the hardwood, and he comes over to glance out the window. I shoo him with my hand. “Cameras,” I say.
He squints in confusion and then quickly grabs the remote. He flips on the television while Ryke hops over the coffee table and comes to my aid. He snags the blinds, and they close the room in afternoon darkness.
A familiar voice blares through the sound system, and my head whips to the flat-screen.
“I spent an entire week with her during Spring Break.”
Oh. My. God.
I go to Lo’s side in a daze and plop on the couch. Melissa talks candidly with a camera crew outside of what appears to be Ryke’s apartment complex.
“And what was she like?” the news anchor asks.
Melissa let out a short laugh. “Wild.”
“Liar!” I yell and grab a pillow from the couch, ready to fling it against the television.
Ryke points a finger at me. “Do not break my TV.”
I motion to Melissa and her fake smile. “The one time I actually didn’t even have sex, and I’m being blasted for it. It’s not fucking fair.”
“She’s not the first person who’s been on camera lying about you,” Lo reminds me. Yesterday a kid from prep school claimed I had sex with him, and since I was particular and choosy back then, I can recall most of my high school conquests. He was definitely not among them. But this feels different. Melissa is the first person who has proof that she’s been in our company, and not only that, she’s discussing events that didn’t take place four years ago.
It happened last Friday.
As far as they know, she has no reason to lie.
The news anchor asks her to elaborate, and Melissa wears another complacent smile. “Well, let’s just say Lily and Loren Hale have an open relationship.”
“What does that mean exactly?”
“Loren Hale has a half-brother,” Melissa says. Yeah, the media revealed that not too long ago, and Sara Hale was finally painted as the hero, divorced out of adultery, which she was forced to keep quiet after the end of her marriage. She’s no longer the money-grubbing gold digger that my own mother used to call her. Although, I suspect my mom still knew the truth about Jonathan’s cheating all along like my father did.
“Do you know who his half-brother is?” the anchor questions.
Ryke’s identity has not been confirmed. By anyone yet.
“Of course,” Melissa says. “He tells almost everyone that he’s related to Loren Hale. I think he likes being associated to money.”
Ryke rolls his eyes and sits on the armrest of the couch beside his brother.
Lo pats his back. “Nothing like a woman scorned, huh, big bro?”
“Fuck off,” Ryke says lightly.
Lo smiles, but it fades as soon as Melissa answers the news anchor’s whole question.
“His name is Ryke Meadows.”
“And there goes my anonymity,” Ryke mutters. He sighs and curses under his breath as Melissa discusses the apartment building, his affiliation to Penn and the track team…it’s a lot to digest.