Page 67 of Mad Rivals
I can’t quite figure out why getting a tiger emoji has me laughing at my phone, but I feel light and excited as I think about what to text her next. It’s as I’m thinking that a new message comes through from my brother, Dex.
Dex:You home?
Me:Yep.
A minute later, my phone rings, and it’s the front desk of my building.
“Send him up,” I answer, since that will be Dex.
I open my front door, and the elevators open on my floor a moment later. Dex steps off, and I greet him with our usual hug where we pound each other on the back.
“Couldn’t make it in time for family dinner?” I tease.
He rolls his eyes and shakes his head as if the thought of attending it is more than he can deal with.
“What the fuck do you want?” I tease some more.
My phone dings with a new text, and it’s probably from Kennedy. I want to look at it with everything in me, but I know if I do, I’ll get that stupid grin on my face again, and then I’ll be subjected to Dex’s questions that I’m certainly not ready to answer.
“I got into a little trouble in Vegas. Can I lay low here for a few days?” he asks. He looks…well, a little more haggard than usual.
“When you saytrouble…” I hint, trailing off, and he sighs.
“I’d prefer not to get into it.” He walks past me and into my place, and I slam the door behind him.
“And I’d prefer not to harbor a fugitive. Out with it.”
He sets his hands on his hips. The family resemblance is strong with him—with all my siblings, really, except for Archer. “Fine. Wild night out, wrong crowd. There were some drugs, a fight broke out, and a few photos were taken that could show me out of context, so my publicist suggested getting out of town. I got here intending to stay with Mom and Dad, but then I realized there is absolutely no part of me that wants to do that, so I’m here begging for a place to stay. I just need a few days. A week tops.”
“When you say there were some drugs…were you doing them?” I ask carefully.
He presses his lips together. “No.”
“Not in the photos, or not at all?”
“Not at all, man,” he says defensively. “Who do you take me for? I’ve got a career I’m not ready to fuck around with. I was in a bedroom with a woman when it all went down. It was honestly wrong place, wrong time. My publicist is trying to cover it with a deepfake, but it’s anyone’s guess whether it’ll work.”
“What’s a deepfake?” I ask.
“You know, those artificial intelligence images that are generated to look like someone or something else is going on.”
“Isn’t that illegal?”
He shrugs, and I probably don’t want to get caught up in this, but he’s my brother.
I sigh. “Okay. You can stay here. I’m going to San Diego Wednesday evening, so you’ll have the place to yourself if you’re staying longer than that.” I’m giving the hint so he’ll reply with when he plans to leave, but hedoesn’t say.
“Thanks, man.”
“Did you bring luggage?” I ask.
He shakes his head. He’s sort of the Bradley rebel, if there was one, and he tends to make impulsive decisions that can potentially put the rest of us into situations we don’t want to be in.
“You’re an idiot. You know that?” I press.
“Fuck this,” he mutters. “I’ll just go stay with Mom and Dad.”
“Knock it off. But pull yourself together, yeah? You can borrow whatever you need short of my toothbrush. I have some spares in the guest bathroom. And clean the fuck up after yourself.”
