Ryan007: marry me i swear i’d never cheat on you @ PatMK this is the girl i was telling you about
PatMK: @ Ryan007 wifey material fr fr
PipaGrant: @ Ryan007 @ PatMK - get in line
Ryan007: @ PipaGrant does she even like girls?
PipaGrant: @ Ryan007 idk but i’m going to shoot my shot anyway *wink*
As I’m reading comments, I get a series of texts from Olivia. I let out a tired laugh as I scroll through.
Livie: DON’T LOOK AT ANY SOCIAL MEDIA TODAY
Livie: I mean it. You’re not going to like what you find
Livie: if you need me to tell you what it is, call me and I’ll fill you in
Livie: please don’t look at anything
Me: too late, but thanks
The phone rings with a call from her, but I send it straight to voicemail and text again.
Me: at Lyla’s watching Theo. I’ll call you later
With that, I put my phone away and rub my temple with both hands. I wish I could set all of my accounts to private for a while, but I don’t have that luxury. Brands sponsor me, teenagers look up to me, and haters watch me closely to see how I’ll react to the latest drama in my life. I refuse to set a bad example for my followers, and I won’t crumble under the scrutiny of haters. The only “good” thing about this is that Tate’s been on a family trip to Sweden for the last week, and he isn’t due to come back until next weekend. While we’ve had the “official break up conversation”—if you can call screaming at the top of my lungs and hanging up aconversation—we haven’t seen each other in person since pictures of him making out with another woman were blasted everywhere.
The worst part is that after our breakup, I promised myself I would never, ever get back together with him. And then I did. I didn’t even like himlike thatanymore, but I was sad and lonely, and he was … safe. It took him TWO WEEKS after convincing me to give him a second chance to publicly humiliate me. I sigh deeply and get back to reality, my eyes on the most adorable six-year-old in the world, who’s currently drawing a picture.
“Done.” He sets his blue crayon down like a gavel and slides the paper over to me.
“This is so nice, Theo. It’s your best work yet.”
“Mommy’s belly looks like a big basketball.” He puts his hands over his mouth as if to keep from laughing as he says it.
I smile. “She looks beautiful.”
He drops his hand and grins. He wrote his name up top and drew a stick figure picture of his family—him, his mom, his dad, and a baby—and a girl I’m assuming is me, since there’s what looks like a basketball by her feet, and she is holding his hand.
“Why’s your baby sister in the corner again?” I ask, to see what he’ll say this time.
He shrugs, and I bite my lip to keep from laughing. Theo’s a momma’s boy through and through, and he’s having a hard time accepting that he’ll have to share her. He’s a lot like his father in that sense. The thought makes me laugh.
“Your baby sister should be included, Thee. You’re going to be her favorite big brother in the whole world.”
He purses his lip. “Yeah, but she’s gonna pottya lotand I don’t want to get pee-pee on me.”
“Theo.” I admonish lightly with a laugh.
He ignores me and points a finger at another stick figure. “And that’s you. You’re wearing a basketball jersey.”
“I see. That’s so sweet.” I squeeze his cheek lightly and he smiles, hazel eyes twinkling.
“You’re there because you’re my girlfriend.”
“Well, I’m honored to have made it into the Duke family portrait.” I smile, setting the paper down and standing up. “Are you ready for lunch?”
“Yes!” He hops off the chair. “Dad says I can have ice cream.”
