“How? The media are everywhere.”
“You let me handle it.” She calls Chase and puts him on speakerphone. “Hey, babe, are you at the apartment?”
“Sure am. You coming home soon? You want to try that new po?—”
She cuts him off. “You’re on speakerphone.”
“Okay. Cool. What’s up?”
“The media mobbed us as soon as we left class.”
“They’re following Tally again?”
It happened outside the apartment on my way home from rehearsal yesterday, but there were only a couple, and they couldn’t follow me into the building.
“Yeah. Someone figured out her schedule.”
“This is borderline psychotic. I’m on the way over to the arts building,” Chase says. “I’ll meet you at the back entrance, closest to Prince Street. Brody’s place is only a ten-minute walk from there. I’ll escort you.”
I wring my hands. “What if there are more reporters at the back entrance? What if they see us on the way to Brody’s?”
“There’s a hidden path, so we can stay off the sidewalks. I’ll message when I get there, stay in the bathroom until then.” Chase hangs up.
Cammie and I stare at each other.
“I didn’t think it would be likethis.” What if his teammates turn on him? What if my dad freaks out, too? “I don’t want Flip to end up traded over me.”
“Your dad wouldn’t jeopardize the team like that.”
“They are his favorite child.” I wish I was joking.
“I’m sorry.” Cammie hugs me. “Let’s get you out of here, then we can deal with whatever we need to.”
Cammie and I trade hoodies and I try not to dive back into the panic spiral while she messages with Chase. When we get the all clear, I tuck my hair into her Tilton baseball cap and we slip into the stairwell and descend, popping out at the back of the building.
Chase is the only person there. “You two okay?” he pants and runs a hand through his sweaty hair.
“Slightly traumatized and highly annoyed that we can’t soak up some vitamin D in the quad, but fine otherwise,” Cammie assures him.
“How did you know about this exit?” I stay pressed against the wall, still anxious that we’ll be bombarded again.
“Sometimes Brody uses it to avoid the fangirls who have a class after him,” Cammie explains.
“Poor guy.”
“It’s hard to have a famous brother and be following in his footsteps,” Chase says. “I let Brodes know we’re coming. He said to stick to the path.”
“Okay.” I nod, my throat tight as anxiety takes hold again.
“I’ll go first, and, Cammie, you fall in behind Tally, so she’s guarded, yeah?”
“You got it, babe.” She tips her chin up and puckers her lips.
He dips down to kiss her.
Cammie has a black belt in karate, and Chase is a six-four hockey player, so despite my trepidation, we should be safe.
Chase leads us to a trail that runs parallel to the street, through the park behind a few off-campus subdivisions.
