Chapter 26 #2
“Haddy, oh my God!” Tears flood Gina’s eyes, and she throws her arms around her cousin. “Why didn’t you tell me? Look at that cute little bump! How far along are you? What is it?”
“Dang, bro.” Mav rubs the back of his neck, looking confused and sheepish. “I’m really sorry I tried to kill you just now. I had no idea.”
“No worries…” My voice is rough, and my throat hurts from being crushed by his muscled forearm. “I would’ve wanted to kill me, too, if I thought what you did.”
He shakes his head, rubbing his face. “I didn’t want to believe it, but I saw those pictures and, well, there was all that past shit.”
It burns to know Karen’s lie still casts doubt on my name, but I accept his apology. “You love Haddy. I get it.”
“Although…” His tone changes. “You knocked up my cousin. Are you planning to marry her?”
My eyes meet his, and I hesitate. I think he sees the thoughts I’ve been turning over in my mind, and a flash of understanding is there.
It’s like when we’re out on the ice, and we know what we’re about to do, but Haddy walks over to shove his shoulder.
“You are so old fashioned, Maverick Murphy! First you try to kill your best friend, and now you’re trying to marry me off like I don’t have a say in the matter.”
He bites back a grin, but I shake my head to let it go. It’s not time.
Changing his tone, he shrugs. “I just wanted to know where we stood.”
“Where we stand is absolute, top secrecy.” Her blue eyes are sharp, and she points a cute finger up at her cousin. “No one can find out about this, understand?”
“No…” Mav frowns down at her.
“Haddeeee…” Gigi hugs her waist, resting her strawberry head on her cousin’s shoulder. “I want to start shopping and buying little outfits and doing all the things. We need to have a shower and a gender reveal party and we have to tell the family…”
“We can’t do any of that, Gigi.” Haddy takes her arm, turning to face her cousin. “If the IPW finds out, they’ll strip me of my title. I’ll have to pay back all the scholarship money, and I’ve already spent it on tuition.”
The old anger in me is reignited hearing her say all of these things. “I told her it doesn’t matter. I can help her with tuition…”
“Strip you of your title?” Outrage infuses Gigi’s voice, and I couldn’t agree more. “That is absolutely the most patriarchal, discriminatory, misogynistic…”
Haddy only holds up her hand, shaking her head. “Maybe it is, but my term is almost over. It’s just a few more months until the next girl is crowned, and then I’m off the hook.”
“I don’t like it.” Mav’s voice is quiet. “I’m with Gina and Gav. These pageant people need to get over themselves. It’s not like you’re a teenager or something, not that it would matter then either, I guess.”
“It’s their rules,” Haddy argues. “If I’m going to represent their organization, I have to abide by them.”
Gigi’s lips tighten, and I wonder if she’s thinking the same thing as me. Haddy has the highest standards of anyone I know. She’s beautiful and smart, and I’d let her represent my organization any day of the week.
She’s also a dirty, dirty girl in private, but I can’t start thinking about that right now.
“I know you want to protect me.” Haddy goes to her cousins, pulling them into a group hug.
“And don’t think I haven’t considered telling them myself, but it’s almost finished, and I don’t know.
I worked really hard for a long time to win that crown.
Maybe it’s dumb, but it’s the top prize, and I earned it. ”
Her nose wrinkles, and the way she says it, like it’s a guilty confession or something, hits me right in the chest. I know what it’s like to work hard and feel a sense of accomplishment over something you achieved, something hard.
“You did earn it, and you should be able to keep it.” I step up behind her, joining them in the hug, wanting her to have everything her heart desires.
“If you put it that way… I guess I understand,” Gigi sighs. “Okay. Top secret.”
“I won’t rat you out, Hads.” Mav lifts his phone to her. “But I don’t know how you’re stopping this. The cat’s out of the bag, and these gossip sites are going to be stalking Gav like crazy.”
“What does the article say?” She takes his phone, scrolling through the story, her lips pressed into a straight line as she reads it quickly. “It looks like they only know about Gavin. They only have these photos of him through the glass doors.”
“Isn’t there some kind of privacy thing for patients?” Gina’s tone is fussy. “What does HIPAA say about this?”
“That sounds right,” I agree, thinking about it. “Mav and I are considered celebrities, but I don’t know about Haddy. Are pageant winners celebrities?”
“I think if it were Miss America or Miss USA, it would be.” She looks up at me. “I should be protected.”
“I don’t know,” Mav cautions. “Those guys use that excuse to get away with all kinds of bad behavior.”
“In that case, we’ll have to outsmart them.” I grab my friend by the shoulder. “It’ll be like on the ice. We’ll have them looking one way, and we’ll send you around to the other side for a fast pass, slap-shot score!”
Haddy’s nose wrinkles, but when she starts to laugh, it relaxes the tension in my chest. We’re a great team, and I have a good feeling about this.