It wrecked me.
The next morning, the internet caught it. A blurry photo on some gossip site—Rogue Gallagher hugging a mystery woman outside an apartment building. His head resting on hers, his arms around her. You couldn’t see my face, but the speculation started anyway.
Who is she? Rogue’s secret girlfriend? The woman behind the star?
The headlines haven’t stopped since. Every other day, there’s a new theory. Some PR intern probably knows my shoe size by now.
And Rogue… well, he’s been quiet. Not cold, just careful. He still smiles at me when no one’s watching. Still makes my job easier, cooperating for interviews and giving me perfect content moments without needing direction. But we’re both pretending nothing’s changed, even though everything has.
“Cat.” Bri’s voice pulls me back. “You spaced out.”
“Sorry.” I force a smile. “He’s just… the same. Kind of. Keeps his distance in public, but I can tell he’s making an effort.”
“Effort how?”
“He helps without being asked. Makes sure I get the shots I need. Gives me that little grin when no one else is paying attention.”
“Ugh, the secret grin.” Bri throws herself dramatically back on the couch. “You’re living a fanfic, and you’re too emotionally stable to realize it.”
I laugh halfheartedly. “Yeah, sure. My life’s definitely a fantasy.”
She props herself up on her elbows, eyeing me. “And what about your mystery man? HalfWritten?”
That makes me blush. “He’s… amazing.”
Bri grins. “Define amazing.”
I roll a bead between my fingers, trying not to smile too hard. “He just… gets me. We talk about everything. Stupid stuff like favorite ice-cream flavors, and serious things too, like what it means to chase a dream that might not love you back. He listens. He remembers things. He asked what my safe place was once, and I told him it’s the beach at sunrise. The next day, he sent me a quote that said,‘Somewhere between night and morning, the world exhales. Maybe that’s when we’re closest to ourselves.’”
Bri softens. “Okay, that’s disgustingly sweet.”
“I know.” I grin despite myself. “It’s easy with him. No expectations, no pressure. Just words that somehow always make sense.”
“Do you think you’ll meet him?”
I hesitate, the knot of thread slipping between my fingers. “I don’t know. I want to. But… what if meeting ruins it? What if he’s not who I think he is? What ifI’mnot who he thinks I am?”
“Or,” Bri says gently, “what if it’s even better?” Bri studies me for a long moment, quiet, the kind of quiet that feels heavy with knowing. Then she sighs and nudges a pile of beads. “Can I say something without you overthinking it to death?”
I glance up. “That depends.”
She smiles, soft but pointed. “You’ve spent so long taking care of everyone else, planning everything, bracing for disappointment before it even happens. Maybe this time, youshould just give yourself a chance. No expectations, no rules. Just… go after what you need. Whether that’s this mystery HalfWritten guy or the sexy goalkeeper youdefinitelycan’t stop thinking about.”
I laugh, embarrassed. “You’re impossible.”
“Honest,” she corrects, looping the last bead through her bracelet and tying it off with a flourish. “You deserve something that feels good, Cat. Not safe, not logical, just good.”
Her words linger longer than I’d like. I toy with a loose thread, then nod slowly. “You might be right.”
“I’m always right.”
“Questionable,” I mutter, but I’m smiling now.
For a moment, it’s quiet again, the easy kind of quiet that comes from knowing someone so well you don’t have to fill the space. I nod, twisting the end of my bracelet between my fingers. “I talked to Anna this morning,” I say.
Bri looks up. “Oh, babe. How’s she doing?”
“She’s… doing the best she can, considering.”
