Page 56 of Reel Love
“Coming,” I yelled back, trying to keep my curiosity in checkas I shuffled to the door. I was supposed to see them later tonight at the farewell pool party. I’d told them that I’d give them all the details about my adventure with Ethan then. Maybe they’d come to gossip early?
I pulled the door open, and Nittha’s anxious face greeted me. She was clutching Cricket so close to her chest that I would have been worried for the little dog’s ability to breathe if she weren’t so busy licking Nittha’s face.
“Oh, thank god,” Nittha sighed as soon as she saw me.
Next to her, Gabby was furiously chewing on her lip. Checking left, then right down the hallway, she pushed a cup of plain coffee from the breakfast buffet into my hand. “This is for you. I know it’s not the good stuff, but we wanted to get here as fast as we could. We’re so sorry. We swear, we didn’t think this would happen. Are you okay?”
Before I could ask why they were sorry, both of them hustled past me and into the room, concern radiating off them. I checked the hallway for whoever Gabby was worried about, then closed the door to face them. Their anxiety was making me nervous. Eyeing the plain coffee suspiciously, I said, “I’m fine. Should I not be?”
Gabby’s eyes went wide as Nittha winced. The two exchanged glances, silently negotiating something. Nittha gave her head an infinitesimal shake, causing Gabby to glare at her and tilt her head to the side. After a moment, Nittha let out a heavy sigh.
“So, Emmie posted a video.” Nittha paused to rock Cricket back and forth. After taking a deep breath, she added, “About how Ethan has moved on.”
“Oh.” My mouth went dry.
“It’s not that bad. She was trying to tell her fans to move on, too, because both of them were letting go. I don’t think she meant it to be a big thing.” Gabby jumped in where Nittha had left off. She sounded like she was trying hard to make everything seem like no big deal. “She didn’t name you. But since Sterling and I all posted videos of you and Ethan at go-karts, BamBam and Buzzy had those big fights, and Ethan posted a photo of a girl and a car, people kind of…”
Gabby’s voice trailed off as she moved her hand in a circle, like if she didn’t say the words they wouldn’t feel so bad.
Nittha eyed Gabby, hoping our friend would finish the story. When she didn’t, Nittha blurted out the rest. “People figured out that you and Ethan are a thing. Most of the comments are nice, though, and—”
“Comments?” I asked, my face hot as my brain shuddered under the weight of trying to connect the dots. Why should I care if people said things in Emmie’s comments?
“We’re so sorry.” Gabby jumped back in, apprehension running across her face. “If we’d known Emmie was going to do that, obviously we wouldn’t have posted anything. I think it’ll blow over fast and—”
“I don’t get it. Emmie is super popular.” I shook my head, trying to make my friends make sense. “She gets comments all the time.”
Gabby’s shoulders slumped, an expression of utter defeat crossing her face. “They aren’t commenting on Emmie’s videos.”
“Like on Ethan’s?”
Nittha nodded, a deep crease forming on either side of her mouth. “And BamBam’s.”
“Oh.” A panicked laugh bubbled up from somewhere inside of me. People were saying things about me. On the internet. Where my parents could see them. Or, worse, BamBam.
A million terrifying scenarios ran through my mind. At any moment, BamBam could decide to check her accounts and see that I’d been lying to her. About not only who I’d been with but where I’d been and what I’d been doing. Mom or Dad could be reading them right now. They’d be furious. Mom would probably call me tacky for sneaking around, and Dad would say this was a sign that I needed to get my act together. Then the business internship at Mom’s office would be off the table, and I’d probably end up at military camp like my sister that summer she got caught drinking at a house party in ninth grade.
The visual of me in a uniform, crawling around on the ground or trying to do a pull-up, was too much. My chest squeezed, and I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath. I handed Gabby my coffee, then doubled over, putting my hands on my knees and trying to block out the buzzing in my brain.
“I think you should sit down,” Gabby said from somewhere over my right shoulder. I saw Nittha’s pink manicure grab onto one of my forearms. Gabby’s black one grabbed my other. Somehow, they managed to pull me over to the bed.
“Here. Take Cricket,” Nittha said in an unusually calm voice as she shoved the dog into my lap. Sitting down next to me, she began rubbing my back. “She’ll help, I swear.”
As if on cue, Cricket stood up on her hind legs and put herpaws on my chest, then started trying to lick my face. I scooped her into my arms, holding her close to me and letting her warm, fluffy little body anchor me in the room. Objectively, I could tell I was panicking. I just couldn’t figure out how to calm down. Closing my eyes, I tried to think about breathing in through my nose.
“I’m gonna get you some water, and a cold towel for the back of your neck. That always helps me,” Gabby said, already on her way to the bathroom.
A moment later, she was back with a damp towel that she placed around my neck. Between Cricket and the cold, I was starting to relax. Opening my eyes, I looked from Gabby to Nittha. “Did BamBam seem upset?”
“I don’t think she knows yet,” Nittha said, still rubbing my back.
“Good.” I nodded and handed Cricket back to her. “I can make sure she doesn’t find out.”
I stood up and walked over to the table where my laptop was waiting, then started logging in to every one of BamBam’s accounts and her content-management platforms. If I worked fast, I could get rid of the comments. Taking the towel from my neck, I turned around to face Gabby and Nittha, who were watching me like I’d officially broken from reality.
“I’m gonna delete everything so BamBam and my parents don’t find out.”
Gabby grimaced, her voice gentle as she said, “Jamie, there are a lot of them. And you like Ethan, so maybe it would be better to tell the truth—”
