Page 6 of Break

My gaze drifts to Landon’s door again. I hate when he’s upset, and I keep screwing things up between us.

How do I tell him how I feel without losinghim? How am I supposed to make things right when they’ve been a little wrong since the very beginning?

A tension headache forms, and I shut my laptop, abandoning work all together. Shoving my gear into my waiting backpack, I fold the blanket on our couch, straighten the chairs, water the plants, and wipe down the kitchen sink. None of this mundane bullshit helps take my mind off Landon.

I don’t like tension between us, damnit.

Creeping to his door, I press my ear against it and listen.

“If you’re going to hover, you might as well join,” he grumbles from inside.

Well shit, I didn’t think he’d notice me out here.

Popping my head in, I see him lying on his bed, dressed in a pair of jeans and a Henley that fits him like a glove. He’s holding his phone with one hand, the other tucked behind his head.

“She’s got a new post,” he says.

I gave up on stalking Nicole online months ago. Landon, however, seems to have made it part of his daily routine. I don’t know how I feel about that.

“What’s it about?” I ask, against my better judgement. “New business collab, or another ploy for donations to the Greystone Foundation?”

Those are the only kinds of posts she makes on social media. Because she’s tied so tightly toher family’s well-known corporation, and since she doesn’t mix business with pleasure, Nicole never posts personal stuff online. Ever.

“It says she’s stepping away and taking a break. There’s a link to mental health awareness added to it.”

My heart crashes.

We stare at each other, both rocking huge concerns, and I’m already pulling out my phone, dialing her number.

Of course it goes straight to voicemail. And the inbox is full.

Fuuuuck.

“This is bad,” Landon says.

And there’s a part of me that takes the blame for it.

The morning she left our hotel suite, the first article published online about the gala. Then another. Then another. It wasn’t enough to make international news, but it definitely made the rounds in every part of the judgmental society she’s part of.

Greystone heiress rejected by Big Tech Heartthrob.

Nicole Greystone publicly dethroned by Camgirl.

The click bait got uglier and uglier from there.

Greystone Princess rebels with ex-fiancé’s best friends.

Rebound and Reboot- Taking revenge where shecan find it.

But everything went away before it had a chance to go viral. Mason told us her family likely paid off the reporters to have them take their pieces down, or perhaps threatened to sue them.

It was a whirlwind mess that lasted less than seventy-two hours online but has become immortal in my brain. Landon’s too.

“This fucking sucks.” He tosses his cell on the bed. “I can’t believe she’s shut us out. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Her family controls her, Lan. You know that.”

“She’s a grown woman, for fuck’s sake.”

---