Page 46 of Your Biggest Downfall
I got up from the ground, splashed water on my face, and looked at myself in the mirror. I took a deep breath and walked back into the living room.
The only noises in the apartment were the pounding on the door and the shuffle of my feet as I moved toward Luna.
“The comments don’t know who the girl is. Everyone is saying it’s a puck bunny.”
I nodded, taking my phone back. This would be okay. This had to be okay.
“Do you think Iris is inviting me in to fire me?” I asked.
Luna shook her head. “No. I don’t think she knows.”
I hesitated and looked at the photo. “My tattoos are visible.”
We both stood there while the pounding continued, and I zoomed in on the photo. They were there, but the photo was so blurry it was hard to make them out.
“You don’t wear short sleeves at work. Iris has never seen your sleeves. I’m the only person right now who knows, and it’ll stay that way.” Luna hugged me tightly.
“Nova,” Austin screamed from the other side of the door. “Please. I didn’t know.”
“I have to deal with him. He won’t stop.”
Luna sighed. “I take back what I told you yesterday. He’s no good for you, Nova.”
She gave me a quick hug and then moved to my dresser, taking out one of my work outfits for me and laying it out before disappearing into her bedroom. I closed my eyes, surprised that I hadn’t cried this morning.
I opened the door, and Austin almost fell forward. If I thought he looked like shit last night, now he looked terrible.
“Nova. I won’t ever say anything. I’m so sorry. I had no idea?—”
“Stop.” I spoke calmly but sternly. “Did they call you for a meeting?”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to the meeting. You will be there and then go wherever they want to send you.”
This wasn’t the first time this sort of thing happened in professional sports. Plenty of guys got caught with their pants down. If anything, my professional self thrived in this kind of setting, which was probably helping me maintain my cool.
“I want to make it up to you—” he started to say, but I shook my head.
“No,” I said coolly. “You’ll go wherever they want to send you because that might be the only way to save your career.”
He nodded and tried to reach out to me, but I stopped him, throwing his hand away from my body. “We cannot be friends, Austin. I won’t allow you to drag me down with you.”
“Nova. I don’t know how to say sorry.”
I closed my eyes. “Listen to me.” I paused and opened them again. “Are you listening?”
He nodded frantically.
“My tattoos are visible in this photo. While I cover most of them up for work, you can still see them?—”
“It’s blurry,” Austin said.
“Shut up. It’s my turn to talk.”
“Okay.” He took a step backward and looked down.
I felt bad for a fleeting second, but I also felt like this was the first time anyone in his life had ever given him pushback. His mom babied him, and all last year, she’d had to travel with him because he’d gotten caught with that fake ID.
