Page 65 of Until We Burn
When you live under so much scrutiny, it’s so easy to lose your grip on who you are, especially in a world where rumors define your reputation and silence the truth coming out of your mouth all at once.
“Well, Sadie is a good reporter. Andrea and the rest might doubt her, but I don’t.” I raise my chin. Confidence shapes my every word. “I know she’s going to do a great interview with you.”
Kai chuckles and glances up from the ground to look at me. “So, I’m in good hands, then?”
“I’d like to think so.”
Kai smiles. My stomach flutters, unraveling with a warmth that makes my toes curl.
Stop it, Diana. It doesn’t matter how much he makes you laugh and smile. At the end of the day, Kai just wants the sex. Not you.
I clear my throat. “Well, I think?—”
“—I should…” Kai nods at the car wash. “I should probably get back to my post.”
“Right.” I nod, my heart falling as I do. “Sorry about keeping you. Thank you again for…um…”
“No problem.” Kai laughs, all traces of his anger and panic gone.
I watch as he goes back to the car wash. A pathetic sadness comes over me. I know this is what it means to be friends with benefits. You can only have bits and pieces of someone because what you have isn’t meant to last. But the arrangement still hurts as much as it relieves.
My phone pings, jostling me out of my own mind. I glance down and see a breaking news story from the HMG.
A string of food poisoning outbreaks plague restaurants in Gastown
The tension in my heart eases. Regardless of the scandal, the HMG is always the first media outlet to publish breaking news stories that grab people’s attention. Our determination to get the story first is what keeps the company afloat when our reputations are on thin ice. It’s an odd blessing I’ve always been thankful for.
My fingers tighten on my phone when I scroll down to the next story.
The HMG, Decibel 6, and the Pacific Observer collaborate on joint project to produce story on rapidly melting Arctic ice
The feature photo shows Sophia, Jonathan, and Gregory in a solemn discussion with scientists in the DHU microbiology lab.
Every word in the article makes me want to scream.
This was supposed to be my project.Iwas supposed to be in this photo. A part of me wants to storm into the lab and root myself into the project against bàba’s wishes. But I know it would backfire more than it would resolve.
No one trusts me anymore. As irritating and unfair as it is, I have tofind a way to clear my name before I can even think about getting back everything I’ve lost.
CHAPTER 28
KAI
At the firstradio interview I ever did with the Howler, the newsroom was packed with eager journalism students who wanted to catch a glimpse of me off the ice.
I still remember looking out from the booth, completely dumbstruck that all these people wanted to hear my radio interview. It gave me so much hope back then because it felt like I wasn’t the only one who believed in my dream to play for the NHL.
That’s why it stings a little to be invited back three years later and look out that same window to see unbothered students playing on their laptops and phones. It makes sense no matter how much it hurts. I’m not sitting in this sound booth because they actually wanted me. I’m sitting here as a last-minute booking to fill an empty space.
“Kai, you’ve been telling us about the importance of staying grounded as a way to handle the rumors and the criticism you face.” Sadie glances up from her notes. Those curious, big, brown eyes narrow at me through her glasses. “Still, the pressures of being a student athlete can’t be easy to handle.”
I crack a smile. “The tear stains on my sweater are that obvious, huh?”
A flash of movement catches my eye. Outside the sound booth,Diana hides her laughter with the back of her hand. The technician inquisitively raises his brow at her. Diana shakes her head, then schools her face back into that neutral, guarded expression of the editor-in-chief monitoring a radio interview. She’s standing in for the senior producer who’s down with the flu. Diana checks the time to make sure it’s running smoothly, and sometimes, her voice will pipe in over the intercom to tell us how much time we have left.
She does all that with a calm, unrattled air that’s so sexy to watch.
Stop fucking staring. You’re being too obvious.
