“I’ll make us some coffee in a sec,” Gwen says as she stretches. She’s still in the yellow pajamas she proudly showed off last night, while I’m only in my boxers. I usually sleep without clothes, but I didn’t want to rush anything or make her uncomfortable.
“No rush,” I reply with a small smile. I reach for my phone, still in night mode, to check the time.
My heart drops when I see the screen: six missed calls, twelve texts, and five emails. Something is wrong.
I sit up immediately and start going through the messages.
LISA: Can you call your manager? He can fix this, right?
LISA: This really isn’t fair.
LEO: I can’t believe they would spin it like that.
BLAKE: I’m punching Holt for inviting his sister and that blonde.
“What’s wrong?” Gwen asks, sitting up beside me.
“I’m not sure yet,” I reply, scrolling further. Then I find the message that explains everything.
BLAKE: They posted Gwen and made it seem like she started a fight with that blonde at the party. I’m sending the article, sorry, man. Let me know what you need.
I open the link, and my stomach tightens as I read. The article frames Gwen as the aggressor, showing her in the middle of pushing the blonde, completely stripping the situation of context. It ignores the fact that she was protecting Lisa. The headline makes it worse.
“Miller’s new girlfriend accused of assault at party,” Gwen reads softly beside me.
“They can’t be serious,” I mutter.
“We’ll fix this,” I tell her quickly, turning toward her. “I’ll call my manager. We’ll clear this up, I promise.”
Gwen’s eyes begin to water. “I can’t believe this turned into such a mess,” she says quietly, a tear slipping down her cheek.
“Hey,” I say gently, pulling her into an embrace. “We know the truth. I know you didn’t do anything wrong. Your friends know it too. We’re going to make sure the truth comes out.”
She nods against me, her breathing slowly steadying as she calms down.
Before either of us can say anything else, the doorbell rings.
“Are you expecting anyone?” I ask, surprised.
She shakes her head and gets up to check the window, still dressed in her yellow pajamas.
“It’s Tess,” she says before walking into the living room and pressing the buzzer to let her in. She must have seen the article, too.
Tess runs up the stairs quickly, and we hear her enter the apartment moments later.
“Tell me you’re ok,” she says immediately.
“I’m fine,” Gwen replies, though it’s clear she’s not telling the truth. My chest tightens at the sound of it. I quickly pull on my pants and shirt.
“Let me change real quick, I feel ridiculous in this,” Gwen adds with a small laugh before heading back into the bedroom.
“I think you look great,” Tess calls from the living room.
“We’ll fix this, Gwen,” I tell her as she re-enters the bedroom, hoping she can hear the determination in my voice. Gwen smiles and nods, then goes to her dresser and pulls out a pair of pants and a shirt. I’m not sure she fully believes me, but I intend to prove her wrong.
Gwen gets dressed faster than I do and heads back into the living room. I’m still on the edge of the bed putting on my socks when I hear Leo’s voice.
“Why don’t you sit down? I’ll make some coffee,” he suggests. The kitchen is close to the bedroom door, and I can’t really hide and I don’t feel the need to.
