Chapter Twenty
Lyric Adair is no longer following @cashcurran.
Less than a week after announcing their engagement, Lyric Adair and Cash Curran seem to call it quits as video of Curran kissing
ex-girlfriend surfaces
by Jaimie Xin
published on December 21
Mere days after sharing the news of their whirlwind engagement on social media, Adair and Curran appear to have called it
quits.
Rumors of trouble in paradise started swirling early Tuesday morning after Adair was spotted outside the Beverly Hills home
of her publicist, Rosaline Sinclair, sans engagement ring, looking as if she’d been crying.
Later that same day, a shocking video of Curran kissing ex-girlfriend, Ashley Tibbey, was shared exclusively with Notoriety Magazine.
While the video has no time stamp, eagle-eyed fans immediately spotted several clues including a recent tattoo that suggest this lip-lock took place after Curran and Adair began dating.
In addition to the video, a Tinder profile belonging to Curran has surfaced. According to the app, Curran created the profile
in November of this year.
While a formal statement has yet to be released by any of the parties involved, Adair has removed the post announcing her
engagement to the quarterback and wiped any mention of him from her social media.
Representatives for Curran, Adair, and Tibbey have yet to respond to requests from People for comment.
Victoria @pdxprincess · 15h
I just saw the video. I literally feel sick to my stomach. Poor Lyric ?? #CashCurranIsCanceled
in my santa ana era @omgahdaaaaavid · 15h
I was rooting for them so hard ?????? #CashCurranIsCanceled
ur fav lesbian @imubutgayer · 15h
CASH CURRAN YOU WILL BEGIN TO COUGH IN SEVEN DAYS #CashCurranIsCanceled
daniLA @danianne · 14h
omg this next album is going to be fire ?????? #CashCurranIsCanceled
Lyric Adair Rares @lyricadairrares · 14h
replying to @danianne
what a shitty, exploitative thing to say. we all love her music, but wtf? she literally just got her heart broken and you’re
already thinking about the songs that are going to come out of her grief? ??
X Trending Bot @xtrendingbot · 14h
#CashCurranIsCanceled is currently trending in the United States with #LyricAdair and #CashCurran
Cherry ?? @polinlover96 · 13h
not gonna lie, this has me more depressed than when my parents got divorced ?? #CashCurranIsCanceled
liliana @evanbuckleystan98 · 9h
Am I the only one wondering if Rosaline and Poppy are okay? ?? #CashCurranIsCanceled
in my pining era @claudiaxyz92 · 5h
replying to @evanbuckleystan98
I don’t have a good feeling about this ??
PaigeLA @infrontofmysalad · 3h
Man, I have got to stop forming parasocial relationships with celebrities. #CashCurranIsCanceled
Portland Pathfinders suffer bitter loss against Las Vegas Raiders amid cheating scandal plaguing star quarterback
by Edgar Jones, ESPN staff writer
published on December 22
LAS VEGAS, NV—Cash Curran’s relationship woes appear to be affecting his performance on the field.
The Pathfinders, favored by seven points, failed to pick up the win, losing 38–34 against the Raiders. Curran, in particular,
was off his game, missing four touchdown throws in addition to throwing a game-losing pick in the final quarter of the game.
His mood was markedly melancholy after the game. “It sucks, yeah. We weren’t at our best. We weren’t cohesive. We gotta clean
it up. We gotta do better next time.”
“It’s all you can do,” DeAndre Jones added. “We got two games left and then the playoffs to think about. Consistency is gonna
be key for us going forward.”
When asked point blank if he believes his recent breakup with pop star Lyric Adair affected his gameplay, Curran took a moment
to consider his answer before he replied. “I like to think I’m decent at compartmentalizing and leaving my baggage at the
door and stepping onto the field with a clear head, but that’s not always the case. I play with my heart as much as I do with
my head and unfortunately there’s no such thing as concussion protocol for the former.”
The Pathfinders are currently the second seed in the NFC West. Their next game will be on December 28, where they will face
off against the San Francisco 49ers at home.
December 23
Poppy (12:23 p.m.): Mom, I wanted to let you know I won’t be coming over on Christmas Day. Frankly, I don’t think you really want me there, so
I don’t think this will come as much of a disappointment. Maybe you’ll even be relieved.
Poppy (12:26 p.m.): I know I haven’t always made life easy for you and Dad, but you’re my parents. You’re supposed to love me anyway. And most
of the time, it doesn’t feel like you do. It feels like the goalposts for me are different than for Jessica and Dillon; my
goalposts are constantly moving. Nothing I do is ever good enough and I’m really tired of feeling that way.
Poppy (12:28 p.m.): Could you please let me know when is a good time for me to swing by and drop off everyone’s presents tomorrow?
Read at 12:35 p.m.
December 25
Poppy pumped her arms, weary legs pounding against the pavement. She summoned one final burst of energy and sprinted the last
hundred-some yards down the street on aching feet.
“Good run?” Cash’s neighbor, Mrs. Eichen, stood on her porch in a bathrobe, holding the paper she’d fetched from the curb
in one hand and her son’s lunch box in the other.
“Decent.” Poppy gave her ponytail a tug, tightening the elastic. “Offer still stands if you ever want to join.”
Mrs. Eichen waved her off. “I’m more of a Peloton girl, Poppy. But thanks for offering! Have a great day!”
“You too!”
After a quick cooldown in the driveway, Poppy headed inside, detouring to the kitchen for a bottle of water before limping
downstairs to the gym to stretch. Somewhere around mile five, her right sock had slipped and now there was a gnarly blister
on the back of her heel, the skin split open, raw and tender and starting to ooze. She was pretty sure Cash kept a first aid
kit somewhere down here, otherwise—
“Oh. Hi.” She drew up short at the bottom of the basement stairs. “I didn’t know you were awake.”
Cash was sitting in the middle of the sectional tucked in the farthest corner of the gym in front of the mounted flatscreen
he only ever used for watching game tape. And he’d started watching that on his iPad, which he could do anywhere. Poppy couldn’t
remember the last time Cash had spent time down here outside of his regular daily workouts.
He barely looked away from the screen, offering her the briefest of nods, but even that was enough to tell he looked worse
for wear. Unwashed hair unkempt and sticking up at all angles like he’d been running his fingers through it, purple bags beneath
his bloodshot eyes, his jaw scruffy with a hell of a lot more than a mere five o’clock shadow. His shirt was wrinkled, the
same one he’d been wearing yesterday.
“Hey.” He reached for the thermos at his feet and refilled the mug in his hands. “Good run?”
“Fine.” She kicked off her sneakers, wincing at the drag against the open skin of her heel. “Missed you, though. Thought you were going to join me.”
Cash grunted and Poppy followed his gaze to the flatscreen. Her stomach sank.
On the screen, that god-awful video of him kissing Ashley played on a never-ending loop.
“Cash.” She rested her hip against the arm of the couch and crossed her arms. “How long exactly have you been awake?”
“I don’t know.” He stared muzzily into his thermos. “What day is it?”
Jesus. “It’s Christmas, Cash.”
“Oh. Huh.” He seemed genuinely surprised to hear it. “I tried to sleep. Got an hour or two. I think?”
“Have you been down here all night?”
“Thought I’d get a workout in, try to tire myself out, but then—” He gestured to the screen. “I was just going to watch it
once.”
“You have to stop this.” Guilt was a bear, didn’t she know it, but this? This was not healthy. “You’ve got to stop torturing
yourself. You’re watching this over and over again, to what end, Cash? Are you—are you punishing yourself? Because that’s
not—”
“I’m not—” He exhaled sharply and ran a hand over his face, fingers rasping against his stubble. “I’m not torturing myself.
This isn’t punishment. I’m . . . fuck, I don’t know, Poppy. I’m trying to make it make sense.”
Poppy chewed on her thumbnail. “I love you. You know I do. But don’t you think it’s time to admit that—”
“No.” He gave a sharp shake of his head. “I’m not going to admit to something I didn’t do.”
Video Cash stuck his tongue down video Ashley’s throat and Poppy felt just as sick watching it now as she had the first time. How Cash was able to watch it on repeat was beyond her.
“You don’t believe me.” He sounded resigned.
Poppy pinched her eyes shut. “It’s not that I don’t want to. Because I do. I really, really do. I just—I don’t know what to believe, Cash.”
She knew the Cash who was sitting beside her. The Cash who’d always seemed to have a sixth sense for when she needed him.
The Cash who’d made the two-hour drive from Eugene to Portland one weekend a month, skipping out on the chance to party with
his teammates, choosing instead to spend time with her, knowing her parents left her alone more often than not. The Cash who’d
picked her up when she was down. The Cash who’d never made her feel like a failure.
It was next to impossible to reconcile that Cash with the one on the screen, blatantly cheating on his fiancé with his ex-girlfriend,
not even looking a little sorry for it.
But the Cash she knew, the Cash she loved, had always given her grace.
“You know you aren’t your mistakes, right?”
He scoffed. “I don’t need platitudes, Poppy.”
“It’s what you always tell me.”
“I didn’t do anything.” He tugged hard on his hair. No wonder it looked like shit. “I didn’t. If I did, I’d own it, okay?
I’d apologize. I’d grovel. I’d beg Lyric for forgiveness, but I didn’t do it. That?” He pointed at the screen. “That’s not
me.”
“Were you drinking? Because you know that I of all people won’t judge you if you—”