Page 45 of A Deception of Massive Proportion

A sick feeling stared in her gut and spread through her. In order to get her promotion, she had to ruin Shadow’s career.Jalen’s career.

He’d obviously put on a mask in order to hide his scars. He’d tried to get into the music business as himself, but no one wanted him. So, he’d hidden himself. Now he had fans all over the world. He was one of the hottest pop stars on the tops of the charts. But if he were to take off the mask, would anyone want to see who he really was?

Riley would like to think that his fans wouldn’t care, but she’d seen people turn against stars for things she never thought they would. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that Shadow’s career would be ruined if she told the world who he was.

But could she go home and not write the story? Her boss would murder her if he ever found out. No, he wouldn’t. He would just torture her until she was at the brink of death, then nurse her back to health so he could do it all over again.

Plus, what would she do with all the bills she couldn’t pay? Could she afford to walk away from a story like this? She was late paying the rent…very late. She already had to figure out how she was going to pay the late fee on top of everything. Her mother took the 200 dollars she’d left for her father. And now he’d have another ER bill to add to the stack.

Her throat closed, and she had a hard time breathing. She gripped the washing machine and tried to drag in air to her lungs. She couldn’t give up now. She couldn’t let her father be evicted from his apartment.

“Are you okay?” Shadow’s deep voice cut into her thoughts, and she jerked around. Shadow…No, Jalen stood near the door, a look of concern in his eyes.

“Yeah,” she managed to say, nodding her head for good measure. “I’m fine.”

He crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. “You look shaken. Did that woman hurt you? Are you really okay?” He looked her over.

It was odd, knowing Jalen was behind that mask. But his concern for her was obvious, and it touched her. “I’m not hurt. Really.”

“Let’s get out of here. Go somewhere else,” he said.

“But your laundry…”

“It looks done. I’ll toss it in the dryer, and we can go for a walk.”

Wait, the washing machine had gotten done? She hadn’t even noticed. Feeling foolish, she helped him transfer the wet clothes to one of the dryers and stepped into the courtyard with him. Evan trailed along behind them.

“Where do you want to walk?” Jalen asked.

“The beach.” Then she remembered he was dressed as Shadow, the beach would be crowded, and it was a warm day. “Would you rather go somewhere else? Maybe not as sunny?”

He smiled. “The beach is fine.”

“No, I’ve changed my mind. Let’s just go walk to that park that’s near the resort.” It would be shady and more private.

“If that’s what you want.”

“Yes. That’s what I want.” She walked beside him through the courtyard to the main building, then out the front doors. As they walked, she had an uncomfortable conversation with herself. Should she reach out and take his hand? It wouldn’t be odd, right? They’d been holding hands, but she hadn’t known it was Jalen at the time, so it seemed weird. But she still missed the feeling of his hand on hers. Indecision plagued her.

Luckily, she didn’t have to think about it much longer because Jalen made the decision for her by sliding his fingers through hers in an easy manner. Flutters erupted in her stomach. She could easily imagine Jalen walking next to her, no mask on. Just the two of them enjoying one another’s company, like a real couple.

“You seem pensive.”

“Yeah, just thinking.”

He chuckled. “About what?”

About him. Being Jalen. It was blowing her mind a little. Yet, she couldn’t tell him that for obvious reasons. “Nothing important.”

“Are you still worried about your father?”

“Always.” Not a lie. She was terrified something would happen to her father.

They took the path into the park. A few people milled about, but the gazebo was empty, so Riley steered them toward it. They stepped up into the structure, while Evan hung back.

Jalen turned toward her. “Is there anything I can do?”

Yeah, he could give her permission to write a story about who he was under his mask. A story like that would give her enough money to save them from being kicked onto the street. And it would get her that promotion. She didn’t even want to think of the cost of the transplant surgery, or the medications he’d have to take forever afterward.

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