Page 90 of Fight For Me

I want to tell Alex that I’ll be in as soon as the others have their doors closed, but Everly follows her into her room. I can hear the soft murmur of them talking through the walls.

Lying on top of my covers, I remember what Alex said about her inability to lie. My stomach sinks. What if she’s telling Everly everything? And then I feel like a total asshole, because Everly is her best friend in the world and she should be able to tell her what’s going on in her life. The only thing I want to do is make Alex happy, to make her life better. Yet I keep making it worse.

And I can’t ignore the fear that’s swimming right under the surface. The fear that Scott really does have something. And the fear of what might happen to us if he doesn’t get his way.

Alex

“I’m never going to get the hang of this.” Bodhi grumbles.

I look up from my own plate of potstickers to see him struggling with his chopsticks. We’re all sitting around the coffee table in the apartment shared by Rose, River, and Will. Wyatt showed up fifteen minutes ago with bags of Chinese food and we’ve been busy stuffing our faces ever since.

“Keep your thumb straight,” I advise Bodhi, holding up my right hand to show him. “All the movement should be in the top stick.” I pinch my sticks together several times to show him, then pluck up a potsticker and dip it into sauce.

“You make it look so easy,” he says.

“Dude,” River says, holding up his own utensils. “Just use a fork.

“I don’t want to use a fork,” Bodhi replies. “IfLeocan figure out chopsticks, I should be able to.”

Leo looks up from his plate wearing a bewildered expression. “What does that mean?”

“I’m obviously more culturally advanced than you.”

Leo snaps his chopsticks together loudly. “Apparently not.”

“How about we stop arguing about chopsticks?” Eva suggests.

“Good call,” Wyatt mutters. I chance a glance in his direction. He’s seems grumpier then usual tonight. I don’t think he’s said two words since he got here. And he hasn’t looked at me once.

A familiar unease grows in my belly. This is the first time I’ve seen Wyatt since filming wrapped two days ago and we all moved out of the condo. It feels weird not to see him every day. It feels weirder knowing he’s right down the street. We’re both staying at our parents’ for the time being. It’s kind of strange to be back in the house I grew up in. Not that my parents have ever been all that strict. Still, I’d gotten used to the independence of living away from home.

I’m not sure what’s going to happen next. Everly, Fox, and I have been throwing around the idea of getting an apartment but everything is on hold for the time being. Scott officially gave us contracts for a second season and we’re still debating what to do. Ever since the show started airing, sales on our website have been through the roof and the store is constantly packed. We’re going to look at offices next week because things have gotten way too big to handle from the dining room table. There’s no doubt that this was exactly the kind of publicity we were hoping for.

But is it worth going through the stress of another filming season?

I talked about it several times with Wyatt during our last week in the condo, but he’s been annoyingly neutral. He just keeps telling me to do what’s right for me and try not to worry about anyone else. That’s easier said than done.

“We actually have an announcement,” Rose says, eyeing Leo.

Everly gasps. “Oh my god,” she squeals. “Are you engaged?”

“What?” Bodhi cries. He stares at Leo, dismayed. “You proposed without telling me? I thought we would go ring shopping together!”

“We’re not engaged.” Rose says. Then she waggles her eyebrows at Leo. “But I want to hear more about this ring shopping trip you and Bodhi have planned.”

Leo rolls his eyes. “There’s no plan. Bodhi is just a nut job.”

“What’s the announcement?” I ask.

“Oh, right.” Leo and Rose share a look. “Um, we actually decided, now that the semester is over, um.” She looks nervous, and she keeps darting glances at her brother and Bohdi. “We’re, uh, gonna move in together.”

Bodhi’s face lights up. “You’re moving in with us? Rosie! We’re going to have so much fun! We can stay up late watching movies and—” He cuts off suddenly, apparently noticing the panicked look on Rose’s face. “Oh. You didn’t mean our apartment, did you?”

“No, buddy,” she says softly, eyes full of sympathy.

“We’re going to look for our own place,” Leo says, sliding an arm around her shoulder. He’s also giving Bodhi a sympathetic look. For all the two of them bicker with each other, they’ve been roommates since their freshman year of college and I know they’re very close.

For one second, Bodhi looks completely devastated. Then he plasters that bright Bodhi smile on his face. It doesn’t reach his eyes.