Page 76 of Take My Hand

“From the way I see it, and I think other people will too, you can see the way Daniel got up in Carter’s face and how she shrank back. Anyone with eyes will see that he was coming at her. And now that it’s out there that she’s my girlfriend, I think people’s perception will be that I was defending her from someone harassing her on a night out.”

Even if they find out who he is and how he’s connected to Carter, I still think the way he got in her face will keep people firmly on our side of defending her.

Arun nods, clearly on the same page as my perception of the video and thinking of how others are receiving it.

People in the comments below the video didn’t seem surprised when Reid jumped forward and punched him because it’s not the first time he’s been caught punching someone in public.

I’m not prone to outbursts and have never been caught in the public eye appearing any other way than calm and collected. So for me to snap like that, people have quickly come to the conclusion that it must’ve been justified.

At least for now. But the initial reactions to a story like this are important and help shape the public perception once it spreads to a larger audience. And right now, our fans are on our side and helping drive that narrative without us having to get out there and defend it.

“It’ll only add more eyes to the incident if we make a public statement,” I say. “And as far as I can tell right now, we’re not really catching much heat for it. So my vote would be to just let it pass over.”

I let out a breath and look around the screen.

“I agree with Hayden,” Walker says.

“Me too,” Nikolai echoes.

Reid nods his head.

The four of us agree then.

And it strikes me that this might be the first time in two years that we’re all on the same page about something.

Their support for my decision and respect for my opinion warms my chest, but there’s a sadness that undercuts it. Because it feels like how things used to be. The four of us making decisions together and being a united front.

And we’ve lost it somewhere along the way. I had forgotten what it feels like to have harmony among us, even if it’s over something like this.

“I agree with that assessment as well,” Arun says, pulling out his phone and flicking his fingers across the screen. “That’s everything I wanted to discuss for now. You boys only have three more shows left and a few press engagements for each of them. We’ll talk about the formal announcement before the final show.”

The breakup announcement.

My jaw clenches at the thought of it, but I’ve already been sitting with that knowledge for months. Carter is more important right now.

“Thank you for jumping on the call. I’ll see you boys soon.” Arun clicks off the call.

Everyone else reaches forward to do the same but I stop Reid in his tracks. “Reid, do you have a sec?”

His hand hovers in the air, debating if he wants to pretend he didn’t hear me. But he pulls it back. “Sure.”

Nikolai and Walker hesitate, but I tell them they can jump off. After a debate of their own, they each drop from the call and I know I’ll be getting a text any minute from them wondering what’s up.

Reid watches me expectantly. I decide to just say it, because small talk hasn’t really gotten us anywhere lately.

“I wanted to say thank you.” I scratch the back of my neck. “For jumping in. I’m not naïve enough to think that you did it for me, but it means a lot to me that you did it for Carter.”

His jaw ticks. “Why wouldn’t I do it for you?”

“Because you basically haven’t been able to stand my presence and always have something snide to say to me every time we’re in the same room?”

He’s silent, only the sound of him cracking his knuckles filtering through the screen.

“Look, maybe you didn’t even do it for her. Maybe you just wanted to take some of your shit out on someone and found your opening. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter, I guess. But I wanted to say thanks anyway.”

Annoyed at his silence, I’m about to click off the meeting when he finally says, “I did it for both of you.”

His words give me pause and I sit back quietly, waiting to see if he’ll continue.

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