Chapter 11 #3
Ember shook her head. “Sometimes it feels like too little, too late. You’ve all seen the superficial shit that was posted on there for years.
I feel disconnected from most people because I was raised in Beverly Hills, with all the money I could ever want or need, and I existed in my own little bubble.
Not everyone has been so lucky. It’s time I got my hands dirty, so to speak.
Use my privilege for good instead of selfish gains.
That’s what my gym, The Modern Kid, is about. ”
“Is that the name? I love it,” Aspen said.
“Yeah. It’s a play on the modern pentathlon. I wanted it to be kid-centered but cute at the same time,” Ember said shyly.
“It works. And…even if the chance is low that someone in the Middle East will see Sierra’s picture and remember her, I think it’s better than nothing,” Devyn said.
“Me too,” Ember agreed as she hit the button to publish the post. She put her phone back down on the table and took a large sip of her drink.
“Speaking of your social media accounts…why are so many people such douchebags?” Riley asked.
“Right? Like if someone posts something happy, why do there have to be so many downers?” Gillian asked.
“And if someone says something on their own account, why do people feel as if they have the right to go on there and disagree, most of the time in a shitty way?” Kinley threw in.
“Yes! And why so many stupid dick pics?” Devyn asked.
Ember almost choked on the sip of drink she’d just taken.
“I bet you get a ton of those,” Aspen said with a smile.
Ember nodded. “You know, I never saw them before because my parents hired people to manage my accounts. But once I took over, I was shocked by how many guys think nothing of taking pictures of their junk and sending them.”
“I bet they’re not theirs though,” Riley said. “They probably watch porn, take a screen shot, and send that.”
“True,” Gillian said. “Most likely because their dicks are tiny.”
Everyone laughed.
Ember relaxed in her chair, a huge smile on her face. She loved this. Laughing and joking with people and not having to watch every little thing she said for fear it would be misconstrued or all over the internet the next day.
“Aren’t you worried about the obviously crazy people who post on your account, Ember?
” Riley asked quietly. “I mean, I’ve worked with some authors who have had some pretty weird stuff sent to them.
I’ve heard about one woman who had a guy show up at her house with a huge bouquet of flowers for her.
It freaked her and her husband out so much, they moved out of state and pretty much stopped posting anything on social media. ”
Ember took another sip of her drink. She was tipsy, but not drunk.
Yet. Her inhibitions were down just enough to be honest with these women.
“Sometimes? Yeah, it scares me. Before, like I said, others managed my accounts, so I was in the dark about it. But every now and then I’d get something in the mail that was super creepy and security would be stepped up a bit.
But I can’t live my life in fear. I won’t. ”
“Walker would lose his mind if I was ever threatened online or by mail,” Gillian said.
“Right? Gage would lock me in the house and never let me leave until he was sure the threat was over. Especially after everything that happened to me. Even when I was on alert, evil still managed to find me,” Kinley said.
“And you had to go into deep hiding to escape it,” Aspen agreed. “Witness protection had to have been awful.”
“It wasn’t fun,” Kinley agreed. “I missed Gage so much.”
“I’ve arranged for security for the gym,” Ember said. “Not for me, but for the kids. I know having a child-centered business makes those kids vulnerable to predators. I’m more worried about them than me.”
“But I’ve read some of the messages on your posts,” Devyn insisted.
“Those kids aren’t in danger; it feels like you are.
” She pulled out her phone and clicked on a few things before saying, “Like this. On that post you just put up on Sierra. Most people are saying how horrible it is that she’s missing.
But there are a few comments that seem to be direct attacks at you.
Like this one…Maybe someone will come and kidnap your ass so we don’t have to see your posts anymore.
Or this one…No one cares, bitch. Oh, and this one by this Alex guy is pretty rude…
Why even pretend you care about others? We all know you’re self-centered, narcissistic, and don’t care about anyone other than yourself.
I’m not sure I’d be able to deal with that kind of hate directed at me. What does Doc say about it?”
Ember shrugged. “It comes with the territory. I know not everyone is going to like me, there’s nothing I can do about that. And I refuse to let them freak me out. Or live in a bubble. I did that for years, and I like it on the outside too much to go back.”
“But such outward hate? I wouldn’t be able to do it,” Kinley said.
Ember put down her drink and slowly met the gazes of the women around her.
“I’m Black,” she said bluntly. “People hate me because of the color of my skin. I’m also rich, and pretty.
So they hate me because of those things too.
They don’t have to know me to hate me. To think that I don’t deserve the same rights they have.
It’s ridiculous and crazy. Do I care about people saying they hope I die?
Of course. But if I let everyone’s opinions of me dictate how I live, I wouldn’t be living at all.
I’m sure there are many people who don’t think Craig and I should have a relationship.
They don’t agree or approve of interracial marriages.
Does that mean I should break up with him? ”
“No.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Love is love.”
Ember appreciated the other women’s support.
“Exactly. I can’t live my life in fear. Does that mean I’m going to skip out the door without a care in the world?
No. I’m gonna watch my back and do what I can to protect myself and those I love.
Let those keyboard cowards hide behind their fake accounts and mean words online.
The people who matter to me are the kids I can hopefully make a difference for.
My neighbors. My friends. My family. Craig and his Army family. ”
“Damn,” Riley said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Stupid post-pregnancy hormones.”
Everyone laughed, breaking the tension in the air.
“I love that you’re so courageous, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still worried about the hate,” Devyn insisted. “And again, does Doc know that people are threatening to kidnap you on social media? Or that they’re calling you names and hoping you die?”
Ember opened her mouth to answer, when a deep voice spoke from behind her.
“Someone threatened to kidnap you?”
Shit. Ember turned to see Craig standing with Trigger. “It’s the same old stuff they always say,” Ember answered, trying to defuse the situation.
“She just made a post about Sierra,” Kinley said, less than helpfully. “And someone posted that they hoped she disappears too.”
“And someone named Alex has posted several times, even since the last time I looked,” Devyn said, still reading her phone.
“He agreed with the other guy and hopes someone wipes you off the face of the Earth. And,” she tapped her phone a few more times, “look…here on Facebook…this Alex jerk has posted several gifs of guns against people’s heads on one of your posts over there too. ”
“We need to talk,” Craig said, reaching for Ember’s arm.
She let him help her up and followed him into the house without a word. She really didn’t want to get into this now, but it didn’t look like she had a choice. She wasn’t mad at the girls. They were just trying to look out for her well-being, which honestly felt really good.
Trigger followed behind her, and the other guys were already inside the house. Somehow in the midst of her conversation with the girls, she’d missed them going inside.
“What’s wrong?” Lefty asked as they entered.
Craig led Ember over to the couch and once she sat, he paced the floor in front of her. “Ember’s getting death threats.”
“What?”
“Holy shit!”
“From who?”
The concern and horror from the other men was immediate and heartfelt.
“It’s not like that,” Ember said, trying to calm everyone down. But Craig had his phone out and was already scrolling. Shit. That wasn’t good.
“She posted that picture of Sierra,” Craig told his friends.
“Thank you,” Grover said, the gratitude easy to hear in his tone.
Ember nodded at him.
“It seems as if every post she puts up that isn’t superficial, or showing off some worthless product, gets more and more nasty comments,” Craig said.
“Maybe you should take a break from posting for a while,” Trigger suggested.
“No,” Ember said emphatically. “Look, I know you guys are worried about this, but honestly, this isn’t anything new.
Go back to the older posts from before the Olympics.
From when I had that stupid reality show.
People have always hated me. Will always hate me.
They’ll make up something if they have to, just so they can hate me even more. ”
It was as if she hadn’t spoken.
“Maybe we can analyze the comments and see who’s repeatedly posting threats,” Lefty suggested.
“Yeah, we can see if they’ve escalated or stayed the same,” Brain added.
“We could trace the IP addresses,” Oz threw in.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the people posting mean shit were using their real names too,” Lucky said.
“Damn, she said she was in Texas…not where, but we’ll have to stay on our toes,” Trigger said.
“What about fan mail and gifts? Have you received hate mail through the postal service?” Grover asked.
“Yeah, that would make it an actual crime,” Craig agreed. “We could turn that shit in and see if we couldn’t bring up charges.”
“I wonder if we could match gifts to the posts online?” Brain asked.