He sings the first verse of his song with all the sincerity of a man auditioning for a lead role inDelusion: The Musical.
Then…
A whistle.
A loud, piercing Dex whistle.
Mark jumps. The band stops. The crowd gasps.
And my boys, MY boys, swarm the stage like unhinged backup dancers who escaped from a locker room.
Colby grabs the mic.“LISTEN UP, AMERICA!”
Eli harmonizes badly on purpose.“We got FACTS!”
Gabriel spins like a dramatic lighthouse and declares,“Truth incoming!”
Dex waves a folded paper.“Receipts, motherBLEEP!”
I choke on my tea.
The musical number that follows should be illegal. Actually, I’m pretty sure parts of it are.
Colby belts accusations like he’s performing at a diva showdown. Eli croons about cheating scandals. Dex does slam poetry that rhymes ‘victim’ with ‘kicked him.’ Gabriel performs an interpretive dance that looks vaguely spiritual.
I grab a pillow and scream into it.
They are exposing Mark on live television.
They are exposing Mark on live television FOR ME.
Mark sputters, panics, melts into a sweaty puddle of guilt.
And then…
The confession.
“FINE! I used it for publicity! Annabelle told me to stop! She doesn’t want me back! She wants your hockey idiot! It was ALL FAKE!”
I freeze.
My heart thunders.
“Your hockey idiot.”
Bryce.
The camera swings to Bryce for a second or two. I rewind. Watch Bryce’s face as those words hit him.
He looks cracked open. Like someone finally turned a light on inside him.
My eyes burn.
“Oh my God,” I whisper. “He still… he still cares.”
The show dissolves into chaos. The guys pose for the cameras like criminals accepting Oscars. Fans scream. Someone in the crowd faints.
I cover my mouth and laugh until tears spill over.
