Page 24 of Fight For Me

“I think so—hard to see in the dark.”

“Everything else looks pretty damn awesome in the dark,” she laughs. It’s true. LA is lit up before us, the sprawling city stretching as far as the eye can see from our spot on the top floor of the condo building.

“I can’t believe this is really happening,” I tell her, holding out an arm. “Pinch me.”

She slips an arm around my shoulder instead, squeezing me tight. “I’m proud of you, Alex,” she says. “You figured out what you wanted and worked your ass off to get here. You even stood up to all of the crazy parents, which is definitely a feat.”

I glance back over my shoulder to see most of the family milling around inside the condo. The producers arranged for us to have a day to show the place off before filming starts this weekend. Most of the kids seem pretty impressed by the place as Fox shows them around, but the parents are another story. With the exception of Paige—who has come around to full excitement the way only Paige can—the rest of them still seem pretty pissed about the whole thing.

“Not sure it did much good,” I tell Rose, catching sight of Daltrey standing in the kitchen with his arms crossed, a scowl on his face as his gaze follows Fox around the space. “They’re still not on board.”

“They’re not actively trying to stop you,” she says. “Sometimes, that’s all you can ask for.” She nods toward the sliding glass doors. “Come on. I want to see your bedroom.”

A fresh surge of giddiness rushes through me. “My closet isamazing,” I admit. “Everly got the good bathtub, but my shower is to die for.”

After I’ve showed Rose my bedroom, we make our way down the hall to the room Everly picked. She’s showing her mom the view out her floor to ceiling windows. “Alex, honey.” Aunt Paige takes my hand and squeezes. “I’m so excited for you girls! This place is amazing!”

“You haven’t even seen the rooftop pool yet.”

I laugh when she squeals, which is precisely the same noise Everly made when we first saw it. “Did Lele show you her bathroom yet?”

She hadn’t, so we head in. We don’t even have to crowd each other—the bathroom is almost as big as my bedroom back home. “Look at that tub!” Paige cries. “I bet we could all fit in there!”

My mom finds us a few minutes later, all four of us crowded into the tub, our legs a tangled mess in the middle, laughing our heads off.

“I feel like this scene should be more surprising than it is,” she says drily.

“There’s probably room for one more,” Aunt Paige says, shifting so she’s half on top of Rose.

“I think I’ll pass.” Mom looks at me and Everly. “Your fathers want to see you.”

“Of course they do,” Everly mutters. Things continue to be icy between her and Uncle Reed.

Paige pats her on the back. “Go easy on him. He’s struggling. I think this is the longest you’ve ever been mad at him, and you know how much he hates it when any of his girls are upset.”

“He should stop being a massive jerk face then.”

“Give him time. He was always going to have a hard time with you moving out.”

She throws up her hands. “I’m twenty-one!”

“I know. It’s just harder for him to see you that way.”

“Come on, Lele.” I hold out a hand to help her out of the tub. “Let’s get this over with.”

We walk down the hall to the living space arm and arm. I falter when I see who’s joined the party. Wyatt is standing in the kitchen with the other guys, arms crossed over his chest, expression closed off. So basically the same way he looks pretty much all the time when he sees me.

I sigh, straighten my shoulders, and follow Everly to the kitchen, determined not to let him see how much he gets to me.

“Come and sit down for a minute,” my dad says. “We want to talk to you about something.”

To my surprise, Wyatt joins us at the dining table. Fox shoots him a suspicious look. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to nag us too.” He holds out his arms to encompass the space. “It’s too late. Contracts are signed.”

Wyatt shakes his head. “I’m not trying to talk you out of anything.”

“We asked Wyatt to come over because we think there’s a way we can all help each other out,” Uncle Reed explains.

Everly narrows her eyes at him. “Why do you think we need help?”