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Even if it means selling my soul in the process.

“Promise me you’ll be on the plane,” Claire pleads.

“Yeah. Fine. I’ll be there.”

She exhales a heavy sigh. “Good, I’ll talk to you soon. I have to go. I’ve still got at least a dozen more calls to make.”

I end the call without saying goodbye. As much as I’ve been dreading this moment, I know what I need to do. I glance over at Matilda. “You want to go see Sasha and Evie?”

Her ears perk up, and she twirls in a circle, her nub of a tail wagging violently as she barks an enthusiastic yes.

Despite the dread churning in my stomach at the thought of breaking the news to my sister, my silly girl makes me smile. “How did I know that’s what you were going to say?”

When I get to Greer’s house, all the lights are off, but the soft glow of the TV tells me they’re still up. I probably should’ve called to let them know I was coming, but it’s only eight and calling would only raise her suspicions.

Unlike most of the older people in this town, my sister’s too busy working and shuttling the kids to soccer games to get caught up in petty town gossip. She and our mother haven’t been on speaking terms since she got pregnant with Sasha and struck out on her own. And she doesn’t use social media either, so hopefully she hasn’t heard any of this.

I need to tell her in person. I owe her that much.

I knock on the door, announcing it’s just me, and use my key to let myself in. When there’s no response, I step inside the dark entryway and kick off my shoes before making my way to the living room. “Hey, sorry I didn’t call first. I just wanted to⁠—”

“Jesus Christ!” Greer screams as the bowl of popcorn she was apparently holding goes flying through the air. Evie ducks beneath the blanket and Sasha nearly falls out of the chair he’s lying sideways in.

Popcorn rains down over her head as the metal bowl clinks to the ground.

Greer clutches a hand over her chest. “What the fuck are you doing?” she scolds, then pauses the movie. “You scared the shit out of us!”

I hold up my hands and wince. “Sorry. I should’ve called.”

“Tilly!” Evie shrieks, wrapping her arms around Matilda’s neck as she licks her smiling face. Sasha rolls out of the chair and starts cleaning up the popcorn, but not before Matilda manages to gobble a few kernels. Between the two of them, the evidence is gone in no time.

Greer tilts her head. “Damn, I can’t deny that she does have some advantages.” She jerks her head back to me like she’s going to scold me for scaring her, but her eyes narrow when she notices my swollen, red eyes. Big sister mode activated, she grabs my hand and leads me to sit. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Why have you been crying?” The panic in her voice is undeniable, and considering she hasn’t seen me cry since I was twelve, there’s no telling what she’s thinking right now.

I blow out a long sigh and pull out my phone. “There’s something you need to know…” I pull up the video and click play, letting her watch the entire clip before clicking on the caption.

Her eyes go wide as she reads the text, then she takes the phone from me and scrolls through the comments.

She glances over her shoulder to make sure the kids can’t hear her. “When was this video posted?”

“I think sometime last night. But I didn’t find out about it until this morning.” I run my fingers through my hair and massage my aching temples. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to fix this, but I’m not sure there’s anything I can do. Now that the scandal’s out there, everyone’s going to want a front row seat to the action. And with the festival happening in three days, and all the promotion Roman’s been doing, I’m not sure we can stop them if we tried.”

She blinks at me but doesn’t say a word.

“Look, I think it would be best for you to go away for a few weeks. Roman’s offered to treat you and the kids to a vacation, all expenses paid.” I place a hand on her shoulder and look her in the eyes. “We could find a vacation home on a quiet beach somewhere, and when the buzz dies down, you can come back, and no one will be the wiser.”

She shakes her head. “No… we can’t just leave right now. Sasha has soccer practice. He just made the A team. There’s no way they’d let him miss that many practices.”

“Are you hearing me, sis? I know it’s not exactly convenient, but there are lots of people heading this way right now. They’ll probably be here by morning, phones in hand and ready to record. All it will take is for one person to recognize you…”

“What about my job? I can’t just spring something like this on them and expect them to be okay without me,” she says, her breathing quicker. “We don’t have enough nurses to cover me. We’re already working beyond what’s recommended.”

“I’m so sorry, Greer. I fucked up, but I can help you with this…”

She snatches her arm away and glares at me. “Unless you’re a registered nurse volunteering to cover my shifts, then, no, Kira, I don’t think you can help me.”

“Greer, please don’t be like that. I’m trying to fix this,” I plead. “Please, just let me help you. You and the kids are my top priority right now.”

“Can you stop worrying about me for two seconds and worry about yourself?” she shouts. “Jesus, Kira, I’m a grown-up. I don’t need you to swoop in here and fix all my problems.”