Page 60 of Caught Looking

“You’re going to have to keep this up, you know.” Jeri stood, shoving the last of her stuff in her bag. “You’re the new unofficial ambassador of women’s soccer.”

I rolled my eyes. “You are always so extreme. I’m just glad it struck a chord.” I already had another idea for what to post next.

The sound of raised voices came from the hallway and everyone froze. Phoebe and Nan were closer to the door and traded a look. Then Phoebe came for me. My heart sank. And I just…knew.

She came right to my side. “It’s Owen. He’s screaming about you and rights and making you take it down. Coach is out there and Melody from marketing.”

My feet moved on their own. If Owen was mad about my post then I wasn’t going to let Coach or anyone else take that man’s wrath.

What I found in the hallway was even worse than I expected. Owen had lost it. Completely lost it. His eyes were wild and dark. Spit flew as he screamed, his finger punching the air as he demanded they summon me. His body vibrated with rage. This was the dark side of Owen Montgomery. The one he carefully hid away from his adoring public. I was glad I wasn’t the only one to see it.

I spread my hands out at my sides. “I’m right here.”

Coach and Melody swung my way, forming a wall, standing shoulder to shoulder. “Go back inside,” Coach demanded.

“Nope. Owen has a problem with me, not you.”

“Yes I do.Ihave exclusive rights to film this documentary. Your stupid social media post violates that.”

“My stupid social media post.” I nodded. “Right. And how does it violate your documentary rights exactly?”

“There are photos and videos of the Tangerines’ practice from today.” He nodded once like that explained it all.

Melody glared at him. “You don’t have exclusive rights to everything we do. To produce a documentary, yes. Annalise and every other member of the team is still free to post about their lives. In fact, it’s part of their job these days. It’s how we engage with fans and build a thriving, active fan base.”

Owen turned red. I thought his head might actually explode. “If she posts these types of things there will be no reason for anyone towatchthe documentary. Everything will already be out there!” He waved his hand wildly and Coach Summer jerked back to avoid being hit.

“Whoa there, cowboy. There is no way they can post the entirety of this story. The deeper inner workings aren’t privy to everyone. All her posts will do is drum up interest in your fancy documentary.”

Owen was jealous. Ofme.Of my fame. That was why he lashed out and belittled me, tried to make me feel like my success was only because of Seth. I realized now it was a desperate attempt to soothe his own bruised ego.

And now I’d gone and beaten it up some more with an instantly viral post.

He straightened his shirt. “Still, I’m creating a work of art, a nuanced story of a unique team. She’s ruining it.”

Melody snorted. “If her single post about her day can ruin your work of art, you might not be doing as good of a job as you think you are.”

He lunged towards Melody, his finger in her face, his body nearly touching hers. He was a few inches taller than her so he bent, but she didn’t budge. Not an inch. She stared at his chin as he raged. “Howdareyou speak to me like that! Just because you’re too stupid to understand—”

Owen yelped as Jackson and Mercedes hauled him back, one on each arm, until he was a good ten feet away from us.

I rushed to Melody. “Are you all right?”

“Sure am. Are you?”

“Yep.” Never better. Not only was I glad someone else saw Owen for who he really was, but it felt damn good to have these women defending me.

“Let me go! I’ll sue you!” Owen screamed.

“Nope. You sure won’t,” Jackson said calmly as he continued to drag Owen away. “You just violated your contract. Documentary canceled.”

Owen somehow yanked free, flying back towards me. “You cunt! You’ll pay for this!” I stood perfectly still, following Melody’s example, as he grabbed me, shaking me. “You’ll never be free of me.”

For a split second I thought he was going to kiss me.Gross.But then Jackson slammed him to the ground, twisting his arms behind his back. “And that’s assault. Cops are on the way, buddy.”

I shook off Owen’s touch, throwing a nod to Coach and Melody to let them know I was fine. Physically anyway. Mentally? I was somewhere between pissed and something else. Not quite terror but…violation maybe? His fingers had dug into my biceps so hard I could still feel them. Still smell him. And even though he’d only shaken me a few times, my head swam.

It was all too familiar. The rage, the insults, the entitlement. I had walked away from it all once, but the shadow of my relationship with Owen had loomed over me. I’d never truly broken free of it. I pushed him out of my mind and blocked out the memories, but if seeing him on the Fourth of July had proven anything it was that I hadn’t everdealtwith what happened.

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