Page 186 of Rebound
I do the thing that every PR company recommends you should never do. I make a fucking video, and I upload it to my account. I don’t say anything because no words are ever going to be enough to describe what I’m feeling.
So, I let the music do the talking. In the video, I post my stats compared to Josh’s stats and our career trajectory to Sabrina Carpenter’s Manchild.
I cried the day the podcast was released. Yesterday I wallowed in my misery, eating an entire cheesecake all by myself. Today, it’s time for action because there’s no way in hell I’m going to wait for a PR company to come in and tell me what to do and what not to do. I’m definitely not going to wait for my husband and my friends to come to my rescue.
A post isn’t going to do much damage. But it’s the perfect reply I could think of because why do I need to say anything with words when my stats say everything. When they show the world that Josh is nothing but a man child who’s upset he lost.
Before I even leave for the game, the post has thousands of likes, shares, and comments. As I sit in the arena, I can feel everyone’s stares burning into my back.
“How much do you know about hockey?” Elena asks from beside me.
I turn, throwing her a look. Did she ask me how much I know about hockey?
“Almost nothing,” I say. “The Olympic medals were a fluke.”
“The system is rigged,” Jules agrees.
“Okay, I realize it might have been a bit of a stupid question,” Elena says. “Of course, you know hockey, you’re a hockey player. Will you teach me, is what I meant to ask?”
“Teach you how to play?”
“Yeah, I’ve never played hockey before and what else do I have to do with my time?” She shrugs casually, eyes trained on the rink in front of us. There’s still fifteen minutes before the game starts and people are still wandering in, looking for their seats.
“You literally have like four jobs,” I point out.
“But I haven’t found theonejob,” Elena says.
“I tried working in an office once, and it brought me to tears,” Jules says.
I shift in my seat uncomfortably as a couple sitting in front of us turns to glance over their shoulder. When they see me looking, their faces turn red, and they quickly turn back around.
I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I turn around to look at a middle-aged man behind me. I prepare myself for whatever toxicity he’s about to spew at me. Jules grabs my hand, turning to glare at him. On my other side, Elena does the same.
“I’m so sorry to bother you. Would you mind signing this jersey? My daughter is a huge fan, but she’s too shy to come over.”
My whole body sags with relief. He points two rows up where a little girl is sitting next to a woman. Smiling, I wave at her, and she gives me the shyest wave back.
“Do you have a pen?” I ask.
“Thank you so much,” he says, handing me my old New York jersey and a marker. “I should mention my wife and I are huge fans as well. We saw you play in New York a few times.”
I sign the jersey and return it to him. “Thank you, I really appreciate that.”
He goes back to his seat and puts the jersey on his daughter. It swallows her whole, but she’s so happy. If nothing else goes right tonight, I don’t really care. This is literally the best thing that could’ve happened to me.
“I’m starting to believe that Roman is right, and people don’t really care about bad reputations,” I say to the girls.
“If you’re in the public eye, the more notorious you are the more press you get,” Jules says. “You, my dear friend, have spent years building a community. Brick houses aren’t knocked down by a little gust of wind.”
A glow fills me, and I hook my arm through hers, resting my head on her shoulder. She’s always been my ride or die, no matter what. If I killed someone, she wouldn’t even ask why. Just pick a shovel and help me dig a hole.
“Aw, you two are so cute,” Elena gushes.
The tension in the crowd ripples as the Falcons skate onto the ice. My eyes find Josh’s jersey number immediately as the crowd goes wild around us. I stiffen, feeling so much hatred it actually leaves me a little breathless. I can’t believe I was going to marry that man, that I fell for his lies and so easily. This is the cruel side of love. You lose yourself for someone who never thought you’re worth the effort.
The Titans skate out next and if I thought I was breathless before, I’m dying as Roman skates out.
“Oh my god,” Jules breathes.
