Page 97 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies

She grinned, flushed, and hugged me as if she needed me to physically absorb her nerves. And then she headed toward the door of the suite with a sweet little smile on her face.

The moment the door shut behind her, the silence came in like a tide.

It was alot.

I made tea. Lit a candle. Tried to read a book.

But my brain wouldn’t sit still. It kept flicking back to Lucy’s flushed cheeks and bright eyes and that dopey little smile she didn’t even realize she had.

I was happy for her. Really.

But it cracked something in me, too.

Because I used to be the girl people envied. The one with the big, glossy life. I had the sponsors. The invites. The steady stream of people telling me how perfect everything looked.

I had thisimagethat made me feel untouchable, like the world couldn’t touch me if I kept it curated and beautiful.

And now?

Now I was hiding in a tiny town, pretty much in the woods, wearing two pairs of socks and wondering how my best friend’s date was going.

I caved.

I pulled out my phone and connected to the Internet, which wheezed and groaned as if I’d asked it to solve world peace. But eventually, it loaded.

Too slow, though. I wasn’t sure how people in Medford coped with this.

Social media was a mistake. A big, glittery, neon-lit mistake.

Ava’s face hit me first.

Perfect. Pouty. Highlighted within an inch of her life. She was on a yacht in the Maldives, or maybe it was Cabo?

I didn’t know, the captions were vague and annoying, but she looked like she’d stepped straight out of a swimsuit campaign.

Because she had.

Sponsored bymyold brand.

The one I was supposed to secure on Halloween night.

What. The. Hell?

I bolted up straighter, continuing to scroll on her page.What?

More ofmysponsors, now working with her.

Grateful for this dream opportunity with @SelenaSwim. Manifestation is real, babes.

But worse…

The dreaded comments.

Fire emojis, heart eyes,OMG Queen,andFinally someone who DESERVES this campaign!

No one said my name. Not even in the past tense.

It was as if I’d been scrubbed out.

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