Page 126 of Illegal Formation
And I had to go and ruin it.
I always ruined everything.
“Our PR team is in a frenzy trying to get ahead of it,” Claire continued. “And with that kind of attention comes… scrutiny.”
The word settled heavy in the room, and I couldn’t help it. I glanced at Braden. His focus was on Claire, but his eyes darted my way, and I saw the same fear echoing in my chest mirrored in that gaze.
I’m sorry, I mouthed.
Braden frowned, subtly shaking his head as if telling me not to say that, not to go there, not to take the blame.
But it was mine to take.
“People start digging,” Coach Palmer said bluntly. “Into you. Your history. Your social media. Your life.”
A chill crept up my spine. I hadn’t even considered that part of it yet. Of course, the comments would be crazy. Ofcourse, they’d dig into me.
The injured cheerleader, not even dancing, complaining about pay.
I was going to be sick.
Claire reached for her phone on the desk, her expression tightening just slightly. “And when people dig, they don’t really look for context. They just find what they can find and make up stories of their own.”
She unlocked the screen, tapped once, then turned it toward us.
I didn’t want to look, but I did, and the moment it registered what I was looking at, I knew it was over.
The photo was dark and grainy, taken from a distance by God knew who.
But it was unmistakable.
Braden and me.
Behind the stadium.
His hands on my face.
My mouth on his.
The room tilted, taking my composure with it. The breath I’d been struggling to grasp evaporated altogether.
I could handle my own demise. I could stomach getting cut from the team, being shamed in the industry. Surviving was what I did. I would move somewhere new. Find something new.Besomeone new.
But Braden had risked everything.
And I’d betrayed his trust with my recklessness.
My eyes welled as I lifted my gaze to him, finding him ghostly white and staring blankly at the screen. I willed him to look at me, though I didn’t know why. I wouldn’t exactly be a grounding force in this situation, would I?
I’d only make it worse.
Silence stretched, thick and suffocating, until Coach Palmer exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down his face. “This is exactly what we’re trying to avoid when we have you sign a contract.”
Claire lowered the phone but didn’t look away from us. “As of right now, this hasn’t hit the outlets that picked up the interview.”
A fragile thread of hope flickered.
“But it’s circulating,” she added. “Fan forums. Message boards. Private accounts. It’s only a matter of time.”
