Page 64 of Breakaway

When he said her name, I realized it was one of my old roommates. Wrapping my arm around his waist, I leaned into his side.

“Oh, hey, Brynn. How are you doing?” I smiled sweetly at her, but my eyes said it all. Back off, bitch.

“Hailey, how are you?” she asked, purposefully saying my name wrong. I ignored it. In the grand scheme of things, a jealous girl was the least of my problems.

“I’m perfect. Speaking of, I’m going to steal my boyfriend. I’m in need of his care. Bye.”

I pulled Fletcher with me, barely controlling my laugh as we turned the corner. Fletcher had no qualms about letting his loose, the sound loud as he bellowed.

“I love you, Baby Shaw.” He stopped and bent down to kiss me. It was soft and sweet, and my heart thumped loudly in my chest.

“Where are the other two?” I asked, smiling up at him.

“Out back, I believe.”

Together, we walked to the back and down across the deck. The size of this house amazed me. I’d thought our house was nice with the four bedrooms and a basement, but it was nothing compared to this mansion. It had a similar layout to the Barbie Mansion I’d lived in the first week, but it had been decorated with soft, warm tones and not the ridiculous hot pink.

“There they are.” Fletcher pointed to a group gathered around the fire pit. I noticed a few familiar faces waving as we approached.

“Henley Henshaw! Bout time you graced us with your presence,” Asa chided, standing to hug me. “Come and meet my girlfriend.” He turned back round and held his hand out to a gorgeous brunette. Her costume was stunning, an exact replica of the dress Wednesday Addams wore to the dance in the new show.

“I love your outfit.”

“Thanks. I made it.” She beamed as she stood and rushed toward me, almost toppling me in a hug before she started speaking a mile a minute. “Oh, my God. It’s so nice to meet you. Asa wouldn’t shut up about you, and then I learned that even Milo had met you first! Sawyer was so excited to have you come here. She credits herself for convincing Ollie to—”

“Take a breath, babe,” Asa said as he stared down lovingly at the girl.

Her cheeks pinked as she did as he asked. I noticed Milo was where she’d jumped up from, so I waved while she gathered herself.

“So this is Finley,” Asa said, smiling, and I realized he was dressed in a white suit like Wednesday’s date from the dance. Two other guys hovered nearby, their hands interlocked as they watched the introductions. They both kept their gazes alert, and I wondered what it was they did. Neither fit the athlete profile despite their sculpted bodies. They were too aware of their surroundings, something I’d only been noticing since the whole Gareth ordeal.

“I’m a bit of a rambler. Sorry, I word vomited all over you.”

I snorted. “You’re completely fine. I’ve heard so many great things about you, so I’m glad we’ve finally gotten to meet.”

Finley asked me questions about Asa; laughing as I shared some stories from the Olympics. Reed walked over a few minutes later, and I coughed to cover my laugh, not surprised he was making a claim.

He pulled me into his arms and sat on an open bench. The rest of our friends filtered their way outside, making our group large. Despite that, I felt more comfortable out here talking with them than I had inside. It was nice to see everyone outside of work, and I knew we needed to make more of an effort to get together. Now that I’d met Finley, maybe we could include them in our circle, too.

“Oh shit,” Keaton cursed, shocking me. His eyes jumped up from his phone and met mine. He swallowed before he glanced back down and typed a mile a minute.

I turned to Fletcher to see if he knew what was happening. He shook his head, and I stared back at the quiet genius. Scar looked down at his phone; her smile morphing into a frown worried me. Not able to take the anxiety, I stood up and walked over. I didn’t have to check if the guys were behind me; I could feel them at my back. Their support was a weighted blanket, reassuring and warm as it covered me.

“What’s going on?” I asked when I was close enough.

“I,” Keaton started, shaking his head. “I don’t know how, but the campaign’s been leaked.”

Dread welled up in me. “What does that mean?”

“It means someone has stolen it and is using it for something other than what it was intended,” Scar spat. “They’re making homophobic and racial slur memes.”

“What? But how? I don’t understand.” My voice was small as I tried to think of how this would look.

“What do you need, Keaton?” Fletcher asked, stepping into his leadership role.

“I’m not sure. Do we take it off these sites? Scrap it completely? What’s the best solution?” Keaton’s face had paled; his eyes were wide as he tried to figure out what to do. His panic made mine disappear.

“Let’s all meet back at the house. We need computers and phones and not a bunch of other people listening in. Everyone okay to drive?” I asked, peering around our group at Scar and Susie, their men nodding in quick succession. We moved forward, picking up our things as we said a quick goodbye to Finley and her men.

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