Chapter 31 #3
“Oh fuck,” I said as the disaster unfolded.
Within seconds, the dog peed and Lila slipped, landing flat on her back. Her evening gown hiked up, revealing the most ridiculous pair of undergarments I’d ever seen, bright yellow cartoon bananas printed all over them.
“Her lucky spanx,” Gideon supplied unnecessarily.
On screen, Lila lay there in shock, the dog now happily licking her face. Then, as if the universe had a sick sense of timing, a confetti cannon went off in the background, showering her with colorful paper while she was still down.
The crowd reacted immediately, first gasps, then laughter. The camera zoomed in on Lila’s mortified face as she scrambled to sit up, tears shining in her eyes, smoothing down her dress with frantic fingers while trying to keep that pageant smile pasted on.
“Jesus,” I breathed, my chest tight with secondhand humiliation. Watching Lila, my confident, put-together Lila, get flattened like that made my stomach turn.
“There’s more,” Gideon said. The last of his humor drained out as he took the phone back and swiped to a social media page. “This went viral five years ago. Became a meme. ‘Epic Fail Girl.’ It was everywhere for months.”
He swiped to another version, the same clip with cruel captions slapped over it: “Epic Fail Girl Returns!” and “Mason Callahan Picks a Real Slip-Up!”
“What the fuck is this?” I growled, my free hand curling into a fist.
“It gets worse,” Gideon said, scrolling. “Twitter, Instagram, TikTok. It’s all over. Even on the sports feeds already.”
He showed me one after another, each one meaner than the last. People were tagging me, pairing the video with photos of Lila and me, turning it into a punchline.
Crude banana jokes. Speculation about our sex life.
Comments asking what I saw in her. Comments calling her an attention-seeker using me for fame.
“This one went up an hour ago, and it already has over fifty thousand views,” Gideon said, showing me another repost. The caption read: “Hockey Star’s New Girlfriend Has Bananas in Her Pants!”
Anger shot through my chest, sharp and immediate. “Who posted these?”
“It’s everywhere already. Doesn’t matter who started it.” Gideon leaned against his car, shoulders sagging as he stared at the pavement. “What matters is that Lila is mortified. She thought she’d finally escaped this. Now it’s all coming back because she’s dating you.”
The implications hit hard, sudden and ugly. “That’s why she’s been so private,” I said, the pieces locking into place. “Why she doesn’t use social media. Why she didn’t want to post a picture of us.”
Rage flared. I wanted to punch something, to find whoever dug up this video and make them regret it. But under the anger was something worse, guilt. This was happening because of me, because of who I was.
My mind ran back through every conversation, finding new meaning in things Lila had said. Her aversion to the spotlight. How cautious she was about being seen with me in public. Her reaction after the paparazzi caught us outside the restaurant. Now I knew why, and it scraped raw.
“She didn’t want to be recognized,” I said, more to myself than to Gideon. “She was protecting herself.”
“Exactly.” Gideon pushed off the car and paced a few steps.
“Look, I shouldn’t even be showing you this.
She didn’t want you to see it. Said she was going to ‘handle it herself.’ Whatever that means.
” He turned and looked right at me. “But, Mase, I’ve got a feeling she’s going to run. That’s what she did before.”
I stared at him. “What do you mean?”
“That’s why she moved to Miami, to escape all this.
She dyed her hair blonde and built a new life here.
” He stopped pacing, meeting my gaze directly.
“But someone put it together at the game, and it was awful. Some mean girls were vicious to her. I’ve never seen Lila so devastated, Mason.
She was crying and shaking. It was brutal to watch. ”
The image of Lila crying hit harder than I expected. In the months I’d known her, she’d always been composed, quick with a smile, pageant poise wrapped around something softer. The thought of her hurting, humiliated, hiding because of something that shouldn’t matter made my chest feel tight.
“Where is she?” My hand clenched so hard my knuckles ached.
“I made sure she got home safely. But she made it clear she wants space right now.”
“I don’t care.” The words came out sharper than I intended. I inhaled and forced my tone down. “I mean, I get that she wants space. But I’m not letting her sit alone with this, thinking I’m going to judge her for something like that.”
Gideon watched me for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re right. She shouldn’t be alone.” He hesitated. “Just be careful with her. She’s more fragile than she lets on.”
“I’ll be careful,” I promised, already moving toward my car. “Thanks for showing me, Gideon. Even if she told you not to.”
“Yeah, well, she might fire me as her new best friend, but I’ll survive.” A sliver of his usual humor returned. “Besides, I’ve seen how you look at her. Figured you’d want to know.”
I didn’t answer. My focus was already locked on one thing, finding Lila.
She could push me away. She could try to disappear, bury the past, shut me out to protect herself.
But I wasn’t going anywhere.
She may have run before. I’d be damned if I let her do it again. Especially not from me.