Page 80 of Fight For Me

I have to keep my head down as I make my way over to the bar a few minutes later. I can’t seem to wipe the grin off my face. She just makes me so damn happy. The five minutes we spent kissing and trying not to laugh in the closet were the best five minutes of my entire day.

I’m nearly to the bar when River steps in front of me. Since my head is still bowed, I nearly crash into him before managing to catch myself. “Hey, Riv.”

He doesn’t respond, just studies my face for a long moment while I feel increasingly uneasy. Finally, he locks his ice-blue eyes with mine. “You’re not being as careful as you think you are.”

My mouth goes instantly dry. “What?”

“You and Alex. You’re being way more obvious than you think.”

Holy fuck.My stomach drops somewhere in the vicinity of my knees. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I finally manage, but my voice sounds like shit. Unsteady and obviously nervous.

He shakes his head. “I’m not saying I care, Wyatt. Whatever you guys are doing—”

“We’re not doing anything.”

“Sure.” He rolls his eyes. “I’m just saying—if I’ve noticed it, I’m sure someone else is going to notice it too.”

I manage to regain some of the strength of my voice. “Notice what, exactly?”

“The way you look at each other, for one. The way you’re always sneaking off together.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“That club we went to a while back? The restaurant in Miami?”

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. River Ransome is not exactly what I would call observant. He’s usually too busy messing around and trying to hit on chicks. So if he’s noticed, it’s probably likely someone else has, too. Or they will. Soon.

“You going to tell me the two of you didn’t just come from the same place?”

“River, nothing is going on.” The lie feels sour in my stomach but I don’t know what else to do.

River holds up his hands. “Like I said, I’m not saying I care. And I’m not going to go running my mouth. Whatever is or isn’t going on is your business. But it seems pretty obvious you don’t want people to know. So I’m just giving you a heads up—you’re not being as careful as you think you are.”

He spares me more sputtered denials and turns to walk away. I don’t know how long I stand there, heart galloping in my chest, fear coursing through my veins. The idea of the rest of the family finding out…I think about Daltrey a few minutes ago, offering to go to my PT and help me practice. How supportive would he be if he found out I was screwing around with his best friend’s much younger daughter?

I still feel sick to my stomach when my brother takes River’s place a few minutes later. “You okay, man?”

I study his face, wondering if he’s about to repeat our cousin’s observations. But he doesn’t look suspicious. Just vaguely concerned.

“I’m fine,” I say, doing my best to sound it. “I was going to grab a beer. You want one?”

I spend the next hour talking with Will, Eva, Rose, and Leo. I somehow manage to keep my eyes off Alex. A few times I’m pretty sure I catch her looking at me from the corner of my eye, but I refuse to let myself meet her gaze.

Eventually the crowd starts to trickle out until it’s just the family and the crew. The cameras are shut off and a huge projection screen is set up against the back wall. Showtime.

I feel slightly sick as my family members start to take up seats around the nearby tables, turning their chairs to face the screen. I can practically feel the nerves pouring off Fox, Everly, and Alex as they wait for their big debut. I say a silent prayer that Scott didn’t fuck this up for them somehow, and then the opening credits come on.

“Oh my god,” Everly squeals, covering her face. “We have a theme song!”

“That asshole tried to get Ransom to write it,” Will mutters in my ear. “I heard Dad on the phone with someone at the studio. Told him to fuck off.”

Apparently, Scott had decided if he couldn’t get Ransom to record the opening, he’d get an impersonator. The heavy rock riff that opens the show is obviously meant to invoke the band’s sound. There’s a lot of squeals and whistles in the restaurant as the trio’s faces appear on the big screen. The initial shots of them are heavily stylized and slick. The girls are wearing tons of makeup, with big hair, all three in sleek black outfits. They look like they could pass for fashion models. The slick photos are intercut with candid shots and video from the show—Fox and Everly appearing to argue, Alex looking stressed surrounded by merchandise, Everly throwing her arms around Alex, who looks amused and slightly exasperated—everyone in the restaurant laughs at that. There’s footage of the three of them dancing, at some kind of business meeting, setting up the store, jumping in the ocean in Miami. The shots flash in beat to the music and by the end I’m kind of impressed—this looks like a legit television show.

Then the title flashes across the screen and I mutter a curse.Ransom the Runway. I finally let myself look at Alex, wondering how she feels about the show using Fox and Everly’s last name and not hers. She looks too nervous to care very much about the slight, her skin an unnatural shade of grey. Again, the urge to go and check on her is overwhelming, but I force myself to remain in my seat next to Will while the episode begins.

By the end of the first segment, it’s pretty obvious that the producers are developing the trio into distinct characters. Everly is the outgoing one, and portrayed as more than a little ditzy. Fox appears to be some kind of lothario, constantly filmed talking to girls or talking about girls and rarely seen working. Alex is obviously the responsible one, with lots of footage of her talking Everly down from one overexcitement or another. I chance another glance in her direction but this time she has her hands over her eyes, like she’s too nervous to watch.

The show introduces the FEA Threads and Fox proudly explains how successful it’s become online, leading them to the decision to open a store front. They’re filmed checking out several properties before deciding on the one—even though I know for a fact that the building was chosen long before filming started. It’s not the only time the editing is misleading. Lots of things happen out of order and when the trio moves into the condo it’s insinuated that their parents are putting them up, instead of the show itself.