Chapter 16
Zane
When I wake up, I still feel dreamy. Gwen is softly snoring beside me, and for a brief moment, everything feels calm and peaceful. She’s a dream come true, and she doesn’t even realize it yet.
“Morning,” Gwen says as she turns toward me, slowly opening her eyes. “Have you been up for a while?”
“Not too long,” I lie. In truth, I’ve been watching her sleep for a while. I couldn’t help it. Last night, I tried reading beside her, but I couldn’t stay focused. Every time I opened a page, my attention drifted back to her. Watching her read had become unexpectedly captivating.
“I’ll make us some coffee in a sec,” Gwen says as she stretches. She’s still in the yellow pajamas she proudly showed off last night, while I’m only in my boxers. I usually sleep without clothes, but I didn’t want to rush anything or make her uncomfortable.
“No rush,” I reply with a small smile. I reach for my phone, still in night mode, to check the time.
My heart drops when I see the screen: six missed calls, twelve texts, and five emails. Something is wrong.
I sit up immediately and start going through the messages.
LISA: Can you call your manager? He can fix this, right?
LISA: This really isn’t fair.
LEO: I can’t believe they would spin it like that.
BLAKE: I’m punching Holt for inviting his sister and that blonde.
“What’s wrong?” Gwen asks, sitting up beside me.
“I’m not sure yet,” I reply, scrolling further. Then I find the message that explains everything.
BLAKE: They posted Gwen and made it seem like she started a fight with that blonde at the party. I’m sending the article, sorry, man. Let me know what you need.
I open the link, and my stomach tightens as I read. The article frames Gwen as the aggressor, showing her in the middle of pushing the blonde, completely stripping the situation of context. It ignores the fact that she was protecting Lisa. The headline makes it worse.
“Miller’s new girlfriend accused of assault at party,” Gwen reads softly beside me.
“They can’t be serious,” I mutter.
“We’ll fix this,” I tell her quickly, turning toward her. “I’ll call my manager. We’ll clear this up, I promise.”
Gwen’s eyes begin to water. “I can’t believe this turned into such a mess,” she says quietly, a tear slipping down her cheek.
“Hey,” I say gently, pulling her into an embrace. “We know the truth. I know you didn’t do anything wrong. Your friends know it too. We’re going to make sure the truth comes out.”
She nods against me, her breathing slowly steadying as she calms down.
Before either of us can say anything else, the doorbell rings.
“Are you expecting anyone?” I ask, surprised.
She shakes her head and gets up to check the window, still dressed in her yellow pajamas.
“It’s Tess,” she says before walking into the living room and pressing the buzzer to let her in. She must have seen the article, too.
Tess runs up the stairs quickly, and we hear her enter the apartment moments later.
“Tell me you’re ok,” she says immediately.
“I’m fine,” Gwen replies, though it’s clear she’s not telling the truth. My chest tightens at the sound of it. I quickly pull on my pants and shirt.
“Let me change real quick, I feel ridiculous in this,” Gwen adds with a small laugh before heading back into the bedroom.
“I think you look great,” Tess calls from the living room.
“We’ll fix this, Gwen,” I tell her as she re-enters the bedroom, hoping she can hear the determination in my voice. Gwen smiles and nods, then goes to her dresser and pulls out a pair of pants and a shirt. I’m not sure she fully believes me, but I intend to prove her wrong.
Gwen gets dressed faster than I do and heads back into the living room. I’m still on the edge of the bed putting on my socks when I hear Leo’s voice.
“Why don’t you sit down? I’ll make some coffee,” he suggests. The kitchen is close to the bedroom door, and I can’t really hide and I don’t feel the need to.
“Hey, man,” I say casually from where I’m sitting.
Leo jumps slightly and turns toward me. His eyes move from me to my socks to the bed and back again.
“You’re… here,” he says, clearly surprised.
“Who are you talking to?” Tess asks as she walks toward the kitchen. She reacts the same way Leo did, glancing from me to my socks, to the bed, and back again. Then she looks at Gwen and gives her a knowing smile.
“Well, at least that’s out,” I shrug.
“Can you go make coffee, please?” Gwen gently nudges Leo toward the coffeemaker.
“Right four coffees it is,” he replies, heading into the kitchen as Gwen and Tess sit down on the couch.
“We were all there. We know the article twisted the entire situation,” Tess begins. “Did you read it?” she asks, and both Gwen and I shake our heads.
“The article said the blonde wasn’t available for comments, but her friend, Jessica Holt, was,” Tess explains. “She told C-News that you were aggressive toward her and her friend all night. She said you were jealous of her and that she was lucky you got stopped.”
“What? I didn’t, none of that happened,” Gwen says, panic creeping into her voice. I move closer and wrap an arm around her shoulders.
“Why would they do this?” she asks.
“We know that’s not what happened,” I reassure her. “These girls are chasing attention. They’re trying to use this situation, and we’re not going to let that stand.”
“I’m calling my marketing department,” Leo adds. “They’ve handled situations like this before. We’ll make sure this doesn’t spiral.”
He hands us each a cup of coffee just as my phone buzzes.
“Hey, Blake,” I say as I answer.
“Is she ok?” he asks immediately. His voice is loud enough that Gwen can hear him, and she smiles slightly.
“She will be,” I reply, reassuring both him and her at the same time.
“I’m going to cut Holt’s balls off,” Blake says heatedly. I can hear he’s driving, and in the background, Ella Langley is playing. Blake usually complains about country music. I recognize her voice instantly; Lisa has played her songs enough times for me to know them by heart.
“Not without me,” I tell him, and he falls silent for a few seconds.
“The golden retriever star player is picking a fight?” he asks mockingly.
“Great nickname,” I reply with a small laugh. “And yes, I’m protecting my girlfriend. So yes, I’m picking a fight.”
The word girlfriend registers immediately with Tess, who glances at Gwen. Gwen meets her look with a proud smile.
“Alright, I’ll leave him alone until you get here, but get to the rink soon. I told him I wanted to practice my shots with him, he’ll be there,” Blake says before hanging up.
Almost immediately after, Gwen’s phone starts ringing.
“It’s your sister,” she says. “We exchanged numbers last night. I almost forgot.”
“Do you want me to take it?” I ask, but she shakes her head.
“Hey, Lisa,” she says as she answers the call.
“I’m not letting her get away with this, Gwen. Tell me what you need me to do,” Lisa says loudly through the phone.
Gwen winces slightly and moves the phone away from her ear. “I’m here with your brother. I’ll put you on speaker.”
“Hey, sis,” I say, though I doubt she hears me clearly over her urgency.
“I’m going after her. Did you see the lies she told? She can’t do this. What do we know about her? Do we have a name?” Lisa asks, sounding frantic.
“She’s Holt’s sister, that’s all I’ve got,” I reply. “We’re heading to the rink in a few minutes to talk to him.”
“Do you think this is Holt’s way of getting to you? You said before he seemed jealous, right?” Lisa asks.
“That hasn’t really crossed my mind, but I’ll ask him. Blake’s waiting for me at the rink, he’s joining too.”
“Ok, good. What are you waiting for then?” she presses, and I don’t have an immediate answer.
“Leo, talk to your crisis team,” I say, shifting focus. “Tess and Gwen, why don’t you go do something fun? Take your mind off all this for a bit.”
“I need new clothes anyway,” Lisa adds. “There’s nothing I can do until we know more. Do you girls want to go shopping?”
Both Tess and Gwen agree almost instantly.
“I love Ella Langley,” Gwen says, music playing faintly in the background. She must be on the same station Blake was listening to earlier.
“You’re dealing with a crisis, and you’re thinking about country music?” I laugh.
“I’m there in ten,” Lisa says before ending the call.
Leo agrees to drive me to the rink while Gwen and Tess wait for Lisa to pick them up.
“Thanks for another chaotic date,” I say, pulling Gwen into a quick hug. “I don’t think I can ever go back to normal again.”
“I don’t think we know how to do normal,” she laughs.
“Good. Normal is boring. I’ll call you later,” I tell her before kissing her goodbye. “Promise me you’ll still have some fun today.”
“I promise,” Gwen replies with a smile.
We head out quickly, and I follow Leo down the hall to his car.
“Do you really think Holt has something to do with this?” he asks as we walk.
“I’m not sure anymore. It feels like it could go either way. We’ll find out soon enough,” I say with a small shrug.
“The team is handling the online side and will call me if they need anything,” Leo adds. “Mind if I come with you to the rink?”
“Not at all,” I reply. “The more the better.”