Page 92 of Fight For Me

As embarrassing as that would be, I still think I would prefer it to the next image, the one I feared. Sure enough, the camera zeros in on me and Wyatt. Dancing to a slow song, his hands gripping my waist, the crowd pushing closer together. It’s so strange to watch my face on the screen—I can remember exactly what I felt in that moment. The half-drunk lazy happiness. The thrum of attraction coursing between us. The way his hair had felt under my fingers.

Then the sting of rejection when he pushed me away.

They edited out his look of horror at the camera when he realized they were recording us. The next shot is me stomping away, him following. The footage is unsteady for a few moments, like the camera guy was trying to get into position. When it settles, my stomach drops.

The camera was at the end of the hallway while we were fighting. I wonder how we hadn’t seen it, but from the angle of the shot I guess it’s possible they would have been hidden to us. We both scramble to take off our mics, glaring at each other, breathing hard. Then we’re clearly fighting, Wyatt towering over me, pressing my back against the wall.

“Uh,” Rose says, giving a nervous laugh. “This seems…intense.”

I chance a glance at Wyatt but his face has turned masklike, completely rigid and expressionless.

“What were you guys fighting about?” Eva asks, eyes wide.

“I don’t even remember,” I say, trying to laugh, but my voice is shrill and high and I’m sure they can tell I’m full of it. “I was so drunk that night.”

The rest of the episode seems to happen in slow motion. Bodhi and Everly dance at the club. River and Fox hit on girls, with voice overs from Rose about how gross and slutty her brothers are. I can’t feel relieved about the change in attention, though. The room is still thick with tension.

I want to groan when the focus shifts to our paddle board outing. There’s lot of shots of Bodhi being ridiculous on the board and Everly trying to help him. Will and Eva try to grab at each other without falling in. Rose paddles off gracefully, far ahead of everyone else.

And Wyatt and I lay on our boards, laughing our heads off. The camera is on us when we finally still and lay there staring at each other. And it’s still filming when Wyatt reaches over to brush a tear from my face.

“Well,” Everly says, turning wide eyes on me. “I guess it’s pretty obvious what their agenda is with this editing.”

“What do you mean?” Will asks. I can’t help but notice the suspicious glances he’s casting in his older brother’s direction.

“They’re trying to make it look like Wyatt and Alex have athing.”

“A romantic thing,” Bodhi agrees.

“They’re trying to do the same thing with the two of you,” River tells her. I catch his eye and there’s something knowing in his expression. I get the sense that he did that on purpose—deflecting the attention, making it sound like the footage of the two of them is on par with the footage of me and Wyatt. Some of the tension seems to melt from the room and I’m so grateful to him I want to cry.

Wyatt, apparently, doesn’t agree. As soon as the commercial comes on, he mutters something about another beer and stomps to the kitchen.

I need to stay in my spot. Going after him would be way too obvious. If there’s any chance that anyone in this room is still buying the idea that what’s unfolding in the show is just creative editing, I need to remain chill. Chasing after him would not be chill.

I do it anyways. I just can’t help it. He’s clearly freaking out. Hell, I’m freaking out, and there’s no way I can just sit here and try to chat with them through the commercial.

I find him pacing through the kitchen, tugging on the ends of his hair. Yeah, definitely freaking out.

“This is fucked,” he says when he sees me. “You know that, right?”

“Maybe that’s the worst of it.”

He barks out a bitter laugh. “It’s not.”

I blink at his certainty. “How do you know that?”

“Scott,” he mutters darkly. He tugs on his hair again, eyes almost wild. “That fucker. He wasn’t bluffing. I fucking know it.”

Something cold slithers into my belly. “Bluffing about what?”

Before he can answer, River appears in the doorway to the kitchen. He looks between the two of us and I’m sure there’s no way he can miss the terrible vibe in here. After a moment, he holds out a phone too Wyatt. “It kept ringing.”

“Thanks,” Wyatt grumbles, taking the phone. He shoots me an unreadable look before shaking his head. “I’ll go take this in Will’s room.”

After he leaves, the cold feeling doesn’t leave my body. I rub my arms, wondering what the hell he was talking about. Scott wasn’t bluffing? What would Scott be bluffing about?

“Alex?”