Page 94 of A Certain Step
“No one can take any of that away. No matter what they say or who knows. We’re still us, Wills.”
He felt her head shake against his shoulder. “Everything changes now. All of it.”
He wanted to ask her to elaborate, to dig into all the things that were freaking her out, but he gathered now wasn’t the time. This moment wasn’t it. There’d be time to talk, hopefully later in the day.
She ripped herself from his arms and leaned back against the headboard, trying to catch her breath. He noticed Tulip’s little head look toward them from the footboard bench, and then she jumped on the bed and spread out next to Willa. Whoever said cats were affectionless never had one. They might not like attention as much as dogs,but they could sense discomfort and try to fix it in their own way. She tried to make biscuits against her side of the blanket, gaining Willa’s attention.
“How’d you even see this? I thought you had your notifications disabled.”
She released a quiet sniffle. “My agent left a voicemail. And then Sahar texted me to tell me to just ignore the internet entirely, but I obviously didn’t listen and went searching.”
“Wills…”
“Please don’t finish that sentence. I know it’s my own doing, but it’s our personal lives. I couldn’t stay shielded from it forever.”
He didn’t say anything.
Ethan’s phone rang suddenly, with Sam’s name on the caller ID. He debated answering, letting the silence stretch between him and Willa instead, then opted to pick up.
“Hey, man,” he said.
“Mate, I’m so sorry. I just saw the picture. Priya and I can’t figure out who was sitting at that angle. They must’ve been fans. We didn’t really recognize any regulars.”
“You’re fine. It’s not your fault.”
“I know, but I feel like shit. I know you guys wanted to keep it private. It shouldn’t have gone out like this.”
Ethan swallowed a lump in his throat. “Yeah, it’s not ideal.”
“Is Willa okay?” he asked.
Ethan’s head spun. “No, not really,” he replied.
“Shit, man. I’m so sorry. Are you with her at least?”
He took a breath. “I am, yeah.”
“Good. I’ll let you go then. Let me know if you need anything. Whatever it is. Me or Priya. We have both your backs. Please try not to let it ruin a day off.”
“Thanks, Sam. Will do.”
He hung upthe phone as Willa got up off the bed. “I need water. Do you want any?”
Inaudibly, he declined.
God, he felt horrible. Her eyes were so dejected, gone to a place he couldn’t reach. He didn’t want to spend their day off like this. He didn’t want her agency robbed of her because of one stupid little thing he did.
Willa returned to the room with a glass of water in her hand, set it down, and then walked to the bathroom. He felt sharp stabs of pain every time he looked at her, unsure of what to do or how to handle the situation. He opened Instagram to check if any comments would’ve bothered her, scrolling through his notifications first.
Ethan had followedethaneverettdailyway back when, and they’d posted a story. He really hoped it wasn’t the picture. He clicked on it, seeing white writing against a black background. It read: “Out of respect for Ethan’s personal life, which he’s always been very private about, we will not be sharing the photo currently circulating unless something comes directly from him. Frankly, it’s appalling how quickly some of you jumped to make assumptions about something we know little about. Ethan, along with all the other cast members, are entitled to their privacy. Thanks.”
He’d met the two women who ran the account a few times, and they were both always respectful. He was thankful for fans like them in his corner, so he sent them a short message for the post: “Appreciate this a lot. Thank you both ??.”
Willa came back into the room, muffled a whimper, and sat beside him.
He took her hand in his and held onto it. “How can I make this better? Please tell me what to do.”
She sighed heavily, apprehension thick in the sound. “There’s nothing you can do.”
