Page 23 of Inside the Maelstrom: Part Two
Every channel was running some variation of the story, and some even dropped my father’s name, which I knew was going to drive him crazy. Just like every other time I’d done something scandalous, I was both ecstatic that I’d fucked things up a little for him, and fearful of the repercussions. And there were always repercussions. However, maybe having the world's media pointed at our front door wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Everyone loved a shotgun wedding, and hopefully that meant we’d be under scrutiny for a little while longer. Harder to get rid of us with social media influencers speculating all the time, and older constituents gushing about young love.
I had to say though, aesthetically Aviva had basically been created for the uber-conservative voters. In a pretty dress with her glasses on, she looked like America's sweet little virgin next door.
Man, they couldn’t be more wrong.
Evan was frowning at the screen, like he was working the logistics of getting us in and out of this building every day without being swamped. I didn’t like our chances. The security on this building was good, but not that good.
“Don’t stress just yet, Evan. Soon, someone is going to be running my name through whatever dark spell they cast, and my conservatorship will come up. Then the real fun is going to start. Might be worth stocking for that apocalypse now.”
He grunted his agreement. “I hate that she has to go through this. She’ll never have anonymity again.”
Guilt ate at my chest, because he was right. Even if she divorced me in twelve months, she would always be associated with this scandal, and for that, I was actually truly sorry. But maybe, in twelve months, it wouldn’t matter because we’d be happy together, and she wouldn’t even care that she’d given up her normal life for us.
Evan sighed, slapping me on the back. “I’d encourage her to marry you again in a heartbeat though. Neither of us would have slept easily with the alternative.”
I grinned in his direction. “Aw, Evan, is that true affection I hear in your voice?” I snuggled closer, and he rolled his eyes. “You know what, I’m glad Aviva fucked you and brought you into the fold. It just wouldn’t be the same without you brooding on the couch. You add normalcy to our fucked up posse.”
Screwing up his face, he bumped me with his shoulder. “Get off me, dickhead.” But he said it with fondness, I was pretty sure.
“Fine, but did you hear Sampson say that he was her boyfriend yesterday? It’s all working out how it’s supposed to, Evan. It might be rocky, but I don’t think Fate has fucked me just yet.”
Turns out, Fate just knew how to really edge a guy.
The scrutiny increased tenfold once news of the conservatorship application came out. It was like a wildfire had spread through the media outlets, and I’d ended up turning off my phone and disconnecting my socials.
Otto had sat with Viva when she called her parents yesterday, informing them that she was now married to New York’s most talked-about playboy. Somehow, through the power of Aviva, she’d convinced them that she loved me, and that I loved her, and we were actuallyhappytogether. Which, I think, we were. She’d promised to fly down there soon to see them in person, giving them a chance to meet their son-in-law.
Aviva was an adult, and I wasn’t a crackhead, so I mean, it could be worse, right? She could be shacking up in a den of ill-repute with a bunch of degenerates. Oh wait...
She’d left out that part of the story though. And the part about my father being a psycho. By the time she’d hung up the phone, they’d been shocked but reasonably appeased that their daughter was in control of her faculties enough to make good choices.
At least, until the news of my conservatorship application hit the midday news. To say that her parents had rescinded their approval at the speed of light would be an understatement. She was currently on the phone in the next room, trying to convince them it was all okay, without giving away anything that could have her parents sued for libel if they repeated it.
Evan had taken up position on the balcony to shoot down drones with rubber bullets. He actually looked like he was enjoying himself as thousands of dollars worth of equipment fell from the sky, down onto the sea of reporters below. I was probably going to get sued if anyone got hurt, but honestly, it was worth it for at least one of us to be happy.
Sampson just paced, constantly on the phone with the lawyers and his PR firm. Anyone he could call to get rid of this shitstorm. I was lying on the couch, watching the news tick over and get more and more outrageous with every hour. Otto sat in front of me, and I ran my hands through his wavy brown hair soothingly.
His parents had called as well, but if anyone had been prepared for this, it had been Letitia and John. They’d closed ranks around us, refusing to comment to the press. I was sure they were being offered hundreds of thousands of dollars to talk, but I trusted them implicitly.
“I gave Aviva an out, but I never gave you one. Are you ready for this?” I asked Otto softly, and he tilted his head back to look up at me with those blue eyes that held way too much wisdom for a guy our age.
“This? Drix, it’s been one form or another of ‘this’ for as long as we’ve been friends. I wouldn’t abandon you now, any more than I would’ve a decade ago.”
Yeah, but he hadn’t been directly involved then. He’d been a body on the periphery of my life. Not important enough for a photo opportunity, but just important enough that his name was mentioned in connection with mine or Sampson’s.
I ran my thumb over those high cheekbones that made him so classically handsome. “It’ll be different this time. You know that.”
“Uh-huh. This time I get to kiss you in front of all those cameras, and their words won’t mean a thing.”
My chest filled with a poignant emotion that I only ever felt for this fucker. He had my heartstrings wrapped around those long fingers, and I knew they were safe with him, despite the fact he could snip them at any moment.
Aviva entered the living room with a heavy sigh, and my stomach dropped. “What did they say?”
She shrugged. “Nothing I’m going to listen to, but can I say—fuck your dad with a woodchipper.”
Otto snorted. “Would he be top or bottom in that scenario?”
