Page 94 of Teasing

Dad’s old newspaper articles from before he stopped working are all printed out.

Years of articles covering the Kings and the Revolution.

Philadelphia sports have always been his first love.

A love he gave to all of us.

Watching games together, dissecting them, celebrating them, it’s what we did as a family.

God, I miss that.

I close my eyes and try to hold my heart together.

Those days seem like ten lifetimes ago.

“Emmie,” Mav growls, and when I look up, my heart drops. “What the fuck?”

Maverick

My brain can’t process what my eyes are seeing.

Page after page ofKroydon Kroniclesarticles printed out and pinned into a scrapbook.

They date back years.

I keep flipping pages, and so many familiar names are getting trashed on these pages.

My family.

My friends.

The people I love most in the world have all been shredded in these articles.

Every dirty detail of their lives spread out for public consumption.

“Em.” My voice sounds far away in my own fucking ears. Like I’m in a tunnel underwater. Like this is an out-of-body experience. Because that’s what it is. It has to be. It can’t possibly be what it looks like. Can it? “What the hell is this?”

Her face falls and pales as I pull more scrapbooks out of the box, each holdingKroydon Kroniclesarticles. Beautiful pictures are glued on the pages, and splashes of glitter cover the corners.

Pictures and glitter . . .

But that can’t mean?—

Fuck.

Don’t let it be true.

I’ve never wanted to be more wrong in my life.

“Emmie, why do you have these?”

She looks quickly to Camden, and I slam the book down. “Tell me you’re not...” The words get caught in my throat. There’s no way it’s true. No way it can be her. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

Anger and hurt and so much disappointment threaten to choke me, but Em doesn’t say anything. She just stares at me. Through me. Like I’m a ghost. Like she’s heartbroken.

“Em...” I beg her, willing her to tell me I’m wrong, but she doesn’t say anything.

Silence fills the room, and the pounding of my blood coursing through my veins is deafening.

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