Will goes very still beside me.
Blake’s gaze flicks between us before he continues, “The article isn’t great, and apparently there is going to be a television special where your foster father will be doing some sort of tell-all. The good news is, thanks to an intern who is a big enough fan to risk their job, we aren’t going to be blindsided by this.”
Despite knowing this might happen, the knowledge that it is lands like a weight dropped to the bottom of my stomach. But it’s Will’s reaction that hurts more than the information itself. The color drains from his face in a way that makes me concerned he’s about to get sick. His jaw tightens, and for a moment he doesn’t breathe.
This was his worst fear all along. It’s what prompted him to take matters into his own hands and threaten Don with his own words.
“It’s going to be okay,” I say immediately, turning toward him and threading my fingers through his. “Thanks to you, we have a voice recording of Don admitting to being a nasty liar.”
“Unfortunately, he’s not the only one they interviewed,” Blake adds. “They’ve tracked down people that you supposedly slept with or tried to. As well as people Will allegedly threatened. Which, of course, leads into Don’s claims that there is anunnatural attachmentbetween the two of you.”
Will closes his eyes briefly, but we expected that part. Tentatively, I pick up the tablet and skim over the article.
The worst of it is an entirely fictional deep dive into my supposed troubled childhood, as if I ended up in foster care because of something I did. Of course, Don has a lot to say on that topic as well. There are a bunch of far-fetched and downright unbelievable claims about what happened the night my mother was arrested. Most of it reads like conspiracy theories, but I’d be lying if the images it brings up in my mind don’t make me want to hurl.
How could anyone look at the bruised, malnourished, and haunted child in that photo and believe he was capable of murder? My wrists were thin enough to snap. I was small enough to disappear behind a couch cushion. And the man who died that night, the one who had his hands around my neck, pressing me against the dirty wall, wasn’t stabbed—he was shot with his own gun.
I feel something hot and sharp rise in my throat and put the tablet down. Will picks it up, teeth grinding as he reads over the details.
He scoffs and shows me where Don gives a lengthy statement about his bravery coming forward after Will threatened him. He says he’s ashamed to call us his, but that he had to speak out for the love of his country and allegiance to his president.
For a moment, the room is silent except for the faint hum of the studio through the wall.
“Well,” I say finally, swallowing hard. “This is trash.”
Blake nods. “It’s ugly. Unfortunately, it’ll probably get enough attention to cause some backlash. PR has suggested, again, that we pause the tour until the news cycle moves on.”
I look at Will and see a flicker of doubt there. Not about us. Never about us. It’s about whether he has dragged me into something bigger than we can control.
“Hell no,” I say, louder than I intended. “Fuck that.”
The words feel solid in my mouth. Strong.
“They want us quiet,” I continue. “They want us ashamed. They want us defensive. That’s the whole point.”
Naz appears in the doorway, peeking in because he hears my raised voice. Jesse follows behind him when we gesture them in. I nod at Blake so he can fill them in. Jesse knows now, for sure, that Will and I are together. Sure enough, he had his suspicions. He actually thought we’d been fucking since high school.
Neither of them is happy about the exposé. There is anger there, and something protective, and something else that looks a hell of a lot like resolve. Resolve I feel in my gut.
“I think we should get ahead of it.”
Blake studies me carefully. “You’re sure?”
I nod. “I think we should make our official announcement for the tour as soon as possible, today if we can make it happen. And as part of that, we shoot down the fallacies and bullshit that are being spread about us to distract us from our cause.”
“So you’re still planning on keeping your relationship private?” Blake almost sounds hopeful, but to his credit, he doesn’t balk when I tell him no.
“The whole thing is silly. The world might see us as brothers, but we aren’t related, and we’re adults. If we keep hiding, it just makes it look like we’re ashamed when we aren’t.”
I look to Will for acceptance or confirmation or something to tell me he’s not on board, but all I see there is pride. And love.
Within hours, all four of us are in front of a ton of cameras. Only this time, it’s me that talks instead of Jesse.
“Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us today. You might have heard some rumors…” I let that drag out, earning me a few chuckles. “We are headed out on a mini tour across the US that has a special purpose. We want to raise awareness of the very real and very frightening things happening in our country, and come together to stand against it. The details of the tour, including dates, venues, and how you can help, are all included in the press packets you were given.”
I pause to take a breath, steeling myself. “Also in the press packet, you will also find a copy of an article that was leaked to us anonymously, where a popular and commonly biased entertainment news source plans to publish an expose about myself and Will Kessler. More specifically, the article seeks to exploit our childhood trauma and use it against us. Also attached to the article is a recorded confession from the main contributor of that article, where he specifically threatens to selllies to the media circus that has surrounded me and my band members lately.”
“There are people—many of them powerful—who want to use our past and our present to discredit us. They want to twist love into perversion and spread lies to distract you. They do not want you looking behind the curtain. They do not want you listening to facts or reason. They want us all ignorant and docile. We are anything but.”
