21-VINCENT
My phone gave a quiet ding, and I quickly finished replacing the bedding in the empty stall after a thorough mucking.
Reagan. Our conversations were getting consistent, and we were learning about all the things we should have before the cabin.
We hadn’t seen each other in a few days, and I was getting the itch too.
I slid my glove off and dug my phone out of my pocket.
Logan: Hey, man. I know we weren’t super close and you’re not part of The Forewarning anymore, but if this happened to me, I would want to know. You’ve been called out on social media. People know Fang is you. I’d say you’re famous, but I’m not sure if it’s for a good reason or not.
Logan, one of the other masked men. He was good with technology and always nose-deep into social media. He always made the best promo videos for his character.
Attached was a video link.
The app loaded slowly. Being in the stable caused the service to lag. I adjusted my arm as if it would help and pulled it back to me.
My jaw tightened as I rubbed my fingertips along the stubble. Finally, my screen loaded with a user named “GossipQueen”. She talked fast and had inserted proof behind her.
“It looks like the mystery of who Fang was has been solved. One of the commenters gave us a lead for someone named Vincent Hawthorne.” I paused it before the proof slipped away.
RusticJJ33 commented: I’d bet money that’s Vincent Hawthorne.
Tattoos match, and he’s got the same freckle by his eye.
My thumb tapped the screen to resume the video, and a photo of me appeared.
“Apparently, this is who Vincent is. My god, did we expect him to look like this? Maybe The Forewarning is all what it’s hyped up to be.
Anyways, thirty-four years old. Works on a family-owned ranch. ”
I had maybe one profile picture out there, and she found it. Luckily, on this app I didn’t. And I was user2039320. I’m sure The Forewarning page was getting plenty of attention now. Especially on the videos of Fang.
“If your type is dark, mysterious, broody, dominating.” She says with flair. “He’s single, ladies!”
I was none of those things. But more importantly, who actually knew me that would rat me out like this? I hit the search bar and typed in RusticJJ33. The profile was right at the top, and I followed it. The picture was some cartoon I didn’t recognize, and there had been no posts. No bio either.
Who the hell is this?
Vincent: Thanks for the heads up. Could you find out who the commenter is?
While waiting for a response from Logan, I decide it’s best that Reagan knows what’s going on. I knew she was worried about this, and I should give her the update. I didn’t want to but figured it was better than her finding out on her own and then learning that I knew and didn’t tell her.
Vincent: The jig is up, the world knows I was Fang. Hope this doesn’t change anything for you.
It didn’t change anything for me. In fact, it made me want to speed things up with Reagan just because they assumed I was single. Maybe this would all blow over quickly and people wouldn’t hyperfixate on me—or her. My phone gave another buzz, and my eyes dropped back to it.
Logan: I can poke around a little for you.
Vincent: Thanks again. I appreciate it.
Another text came through before I dropped my phone back into my pocket.
Cortez: Dude, this was you?! How do I sign up?
I gave a soft chuckle and responded, then picked up my gloves to get back to work.