Page 47 of Hearts Adrift
“Of course it was, and I wish I was there. But! … If we aren’t able to tell everyonewhyyou punched him—for fear of the spotlight zeroing in on your friend—then we need to make everyonewonder for themselves. Hence instilling all of thedoubt in this first wave. We can push unrelated but similar stories about others abusing their power. Nothing gets people going more than injustice. We’ll remind them this happens, get people talking and considering things—it’s a great social media primer for wavenúmerodos: the Love River Wolfe train.”
“Love River Wolfe—??” Finn blurts, then shuts up and cradles his head in his hands, overwhelmed, plopping down on the couch with a sigh.
Brooke, unaffected, spreads her hands. “Second wave: after everyone’s full of doubts and questions about the video, we strike with clips of you being funny on set, or silly, cute … anything to humanize you. Caught in the act of doing something kind for someone. Bloopers … real behind-the-scenes stuff. I’ll scatter them everywhere with shadow accounts, taglines like ‘River so goofy’ or ‘River is too real’, hashtags, the works. It won’t come from you.”
“I don’t know about this,” mumbles Finn.
“It isn’t your opinion I need,” she says, then eyes me.
Finn keeps muttering to himself on the couch while his sister patiently awaits my answer. My feelings about the whole matter have been as chaotic and undecided as they were the instant I chose to run away here to Dreamwood. I wonder if I ever cared what’s gonna happen to my career. Perhaps I let it all go the second I let myself fly out of that press meeting before it even started, off on a quick trip to the bathroom that I never returned from.
My agent hasn’t called me back since that first time. Is he even someone I can trust? This “team” of his, who have done fuck all to help the situation? Things online only keep going from bad to worse with no relief in sight.
Maybe someone like Brooke is exactly what I need.
“None of this will track back to Finn or us in any way,” she adds. “That’s why I’d use shadow accounts … burner accounts, inother words. I use them to promote the Fair.”
“You do?” blurts Finn, lifting his head from his hands and twisting to shoot her a surprised look. “Since when?”
Brooke makes a face. “How else do you think I got us all these people hitting up Booty Bridge—” She enjoys a private giggle at the name before resuming uninterrupted. “—this weekend? You seriously think those flyers make a difference? Dad’s permanently living in 1995. No one pays attention topaper, boo, they pay attention tophones.” She returns her full attention to me. “All you’ve gotta do, Mr. Wolfe, is tell me you’re okay with my plan—Project Let’s Love River Wolfe—and I’ll hop right on it.”
I give it half a breath’s thought, then shrug. “Sure.”
Finn spins to face me, stunned. “Really?”
Brooke grins proudly like I just pinned a gold medal of awesomeness on her. “I’ll make a plan and let you know what I need. We’ll make this work. I’m sorry your people are bad at their jobs. I’ll do my best to do what they won’t. And might I say …” She giggles. “I still can’t believetheRiver Wolfe is in my house right now, standing in the same room as me, and having asecret thingwith my little bro.”
“We’re not having a … athing,” sputters Finn.
“We’re not?” I ask right back.
He draws silent.
Brooke smacks Finn’s arm. “And to think you had me believing you andChasewere the secret thing. I should’ve known better. That Chase is pickier than Goldilocks when it comes to dating guys. No one is ‘just right’ for him.” She giggles suddenly, overcome. “I can’t believe my life right now. I’ve never been filled with more purpose.” And with that, she dances out of the room.
“Hey!” Finn calls out at her. “Remember you’re sworn to secrecy! No one can know! Not even Dad!” But she’s already longgone, leaving us by ourselves.
I tilt my head. “So we’re not a thing?”
He turns back. “What?”
I come up to him. “This? Us? We’re not a thing?”
He rises to his feet. “Why are you letting my sister take over like this? She’s serious, I hope you realize. Brooke is addicted to this whole social media thing, day in and day out. This isn’t just a game to her.”
“As one who … happens to know a thing or two about addiction,that…” I point. “… is not an addiction.That… is apassion.”
“Okay.Passion. She has apassionfor doing this, and she takes itveryseriously.”
“I know.”
“Then how can you agree so flippantly to just … to just let her …” He crosses his arms with a sigh. “I donotwant my sister to get in too deep with this and … and get into trouble. This is way over her head. I’m worried, River.”
“She seems to know exactly what she’s doing.”
“That’s just Brooke. You can ask her to climb Everest and she’ll take off running to Nepal or Tibet after half an hour of research.”
“Let’s have a little faith in her for now. I’ve been to a hundred promo meetings and not one of my team members had half the confidence your sister does.” I tug on his shirt. “Getting back to my first point: whyaren’twe a thing?”
