Page 57 of Now Streaming

“No, Brittany, Jesus.” Min’s heart clenched at the thought. Hayden had disappointed her, had hurt her, but he would never do something so awful.

“Don’t give me that. I’m here with my friend who just had her fucking heart broken so I’m going to assume the worst about this asshole who kicked you down after all this shit happenedagain.”

Min’s mind was still spinning, trying to see the connections. It was almost like…

“Someone doesn’t want me here. Someone who knew where I was and what I was going to do. Someone who knows my real identity.”

Brittany flopped back on the bed. “Okay, but who? You know it wasn’t me or Robbie or Gus because we love you. And you’re adamant it wasn’t Hayden. So, who?”

“Alex,” Min said slowly. “Alex is here. He’s competing in the tournament. He knows who I am, and he has access to all the tapes since he fucking made them in the first place. Someone must have told him where I was staying. Someone who really doesn’t want me competing.”

Brittany threw her a sly look. “And what do we do when some asshole tries to stop us from doing what we want?”

Min smiled, feeling right for the first time since she left Hayden. “We crush them beneath our boot heel.”

Brittany leaped up, jumping on the bed, knocking Min around so much she laughed.

“Fuck yes! You’re going to win this stupid tournament and then take that trophy and shove it up their assholes!”

“There’s no trophy, Brittany.”

Brittany leaned over, glaring at Min with a lot of malevolence that told her Brittany would be bringing a lighter to the tournament. “But the rest is going to be true.”

“Damn straight.”

* * *

Min felt like throwing up.

She was fighting the urge, since she was in a rideshare and the driver was already looking at her suspiciously, like he could sense she was about to violate his sedan with her vomit. Min tried to ignore him and focused on taking deep breaths while staring out the window.

She could feel her newfound determination to win the tournament being tested with every passing moment. Everything had gone from bad to the toilet drain. The photos from the Waterfront were terrible enough, but now there were new photos of her and Hayden everywhere from the day they first met. Min knew it was only a matter of time before people figured out who he was. And she was terrified.

Hayden was going to hate her. If he didn’t already.

The first thing he had made clear to her, from that very first day in the elevator when he pushed into her and demanded to see her phone, was that he didn’t want to reveal his identity to the world. He had told her over and over again how important his privacy was to him, how overwhelming his anxiety was about the issue. And now here they were, with Hayden caught up in the shitstorm Alex had thrown her in, a victim of the slut-shaming mob that had already ruined her career. They wouldn’t stop until they knew who he was.

On top of that, everyone thought she was cheating at the tournament, a tournament she desperately needed to win. She needed the sponsorship to help relaunch her career as a streamer, needed the money to help cover Devery’s medical bills. The people running everything had already released a statement claiming that whoever the man was, he didn’t work for them, and that Min’s performance in the tournament was based solely on her ability to play the game. Min was grateful they had backed her up. But of course, the internet didn’t believe any statements that had been put out, calling it a conspiracy as if this was somehow all working in Min’s favor and not completely destroying her life. Now, even if she won, there would always be some doubt about her performance.

And then more pictures had leaked, this time of Min and Hayden in LA the day they met. Min didn’t know how anyone got those, unless her ex had taken to stalking her around the city. Which, when she really thought about it, she couldn’t discount. Now, even if she won, there would always be some doubt about her performance. Worse than that, the world now knew FlameThrower’s real name, knew what she really looked like. Her days of blending into a crowd were over.

As her rideshare pulled up to the venue, she saw a crowd of protestors waiting outside, all with hate on their signs telling the tournament to disqualify her. Her driver whistled at the sight.

“You sure you want me to drop you here?”

Min took a deep breath. “Wouldn’t be my first angry mob.”

The cab driver shook his head. “If you say so.”

Min handed him his money, tipping well, and stepped out onto the street. She was in her normal clothes, just jeans and a plain T-shirt, no makeup, and her auburn hair thrown in a ponytail. She had dressed as plainly as possible, keeping everything she needed in her bag to become FlameThrower. But the internet had done its job relentlessly, and the crowd recognized her the moment her feet hit the sidewalk.

Min was instantly swarmed. People she didn’t know shoved their way close to her, screaming into her face that she needed to quit the tournament. One larger gentleman called her a slut. A woman across the way was screaming something unintelligible at her. As Min pushed her way through them, slowly, trying not to instigate, she found she couldn’t hear anything, could barely think. So, she just tucked her head down and strode as best she could for the entrance. Luckily, the crowd didn’t seem intent on physically hurting her, just following and yelling obscenities—a small favor. When she neared the entrance, security was waiting for her, pushing back the crowd to let her slip through the door alone.

She sighed at the sudden quiet of the building, a relief after the yelling from the street. Min already felt a headache forming and was trying to shake it off when she heard footsteps behind her.

“Ms. Hayes?”

Min turned to find Dylan, one of the businessmen who had originally arranged for her to join the tournament. He smiled at her, but Min couldn’t help but notice that it didn’t reach his eyes. Dylan indicated to a room behind him. “Could I have a word with you before you prepare for the tournament?”

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