Page 61 of The Anaconda Downstairs

Just as soon as I fixed this.

Everett stole a quick kiss and then waited for me to grab my clothes and pull them on. I grabbed my things, my hands shaking as I tried to smooth my rumpled clothes, then I bent over to be as small as I could and scooted toward the back door.

From the side of the house, I could hear Everett's deep voice greeting Declan, making up some excuse about getting ready for a shower.

I hurried across the street to Declan and Kelsey's house, guilt and fear warring within me. Everett's words sent all kinds of alarm bells off inside.For him, family meant support, unconditional love, a safety net. For me? Family was my father's disappointed sighs, my mother's absence, a lifetime of feeling like I was both too much and not enough.

I shook my head, pushing away the memories. I couldn't think about that now. I had a crisis to manage.

At Kelsey's front door, I took a deep breath, steeling myself. Whatever storm was coming, I'd weather it. I had to. I'd worked too hard, come too far, to let someone like Odin tear it all down.

With one last glance back at Everett's house, where I knew he was facing Declan alone because of me, I let myself in. It was time to face the music—just not the tune Everett had in mind.

“There you are.” Kelsey's voice, tinged with worry, greeted me before I even rounded the corner. She and Neith were huddled on the couch, a laptop open between them. “We've been texting you for ages.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled, self-consciously smoothing down my rumpled clothes. “I was... preoccupied.”

Kelsey's eyebrow quirked up, a knowing look in her eye that made me squirm.

“I bet you were,” she said, but her tone was gentle. “With Everett, I assume?”

Heat crept up my neck like little ant bites. Of course Kelsey would put two and two together.

Neith, ever the professional, cut straight to the chase. “Have you seen Odin's video yet?”

I shook my head. Ever since I'd admitted earlier this year that I was the woman behind Besties' Bestie, my entire life was all over social media. It was the life I'd chosen, and I was proud to have the platform I did and help Kels spread her really important body positivity message to people all over the world.

But why did my hardest struggles have to be so damn highlighted? Why couldn't everything just continue to be the best parts of my life? No one needed to see the battles, the hardships, the pain.

But I had a feeling they were about to.

Kelsey and Neith exchanged a look. Kelsey turned the laptop towards me. “You need to see this.”

As Odin's chiseled face, his open flannel shirt showing off his six-pack abs and tattoos, filled the screen, my stomach clenched. His voice, dripping with false concern, filled the room. “Hey, beautiful people. Today, we're talking about real body positivity. Not the fake stuff you've been fed.”

I watched in growing horror as Odin walked through a wooded area, his axe over his shoulder, and expounded on how true self-love meant taking care of your health, which, in his narrow view, inevitably meant losing weight. Each word felt like a personal attack on everything I stood for.

But was he right about me. Did I genuinely love myself?

I didn't want to answer that.

“But don't worry,” he said with a wink that made my skin crawl. “In my next few videos, I'll be exposing the biggest frauds in the body positivity movement. You won't believe how these so-called advocates really feel about themselves.”

The screen flashed, and suddenly I was looking at myself. It was a screenshot from one of my Besties' Bestie posts, where I'd talked about my journey to self-acceptance. The image lingered for just a moment before flashing to another of me, standing outside the speed dating event, looking stressed. Then Odin's face returned, promising more truth to come.

“That manipulative jackass,” Kelsey growled, breaking the silence. “Who the fuck does he think he is?”

Neith leaned forward, her eyes intent. “Penelope, do you have any idea what he might be about to say about you? Any... compromising statements or photos?”

The image of Everett and me at the speed dating event flashed through my mind. I swallowed hard. “I... I'm not sure. But I met him at a speed dating event before Christmas. I mayhave ignored him and spilled my water on him. But I swear that was an accident.”

“Ooph. So he's feeling scorned. I see. We need to get ahead of this and shut it down before the Grampys,” Neith said, already tapping furiously on her phone. “We need a statement, maybe a counter-video. The Besties will?—”

“Wait,” Kelsey interrupted, her gaze fixed on me. Her voice softened. “Pen, honey... I think it's time we talk about what's really going on between you and Everett.”

I looked between Kelsey and Neith, seeing concern in both their faces. The urge to deflect warred with my desperate need for help, for someone to tell me what to do. I was the one who always took care of everyone and everything else, and I didn't know how to be anything else. I didn't know how to take care of... me.

And I was exhausted. And sad. And mad.

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