Saved by the Cross (Cross 3)

34 - Purpose

Doyle hadn't expected her interview to generate the response it had. She ended the speculation about everything except Gray. Her relationship with Gray was no one's business. Luckily, reporters couldn't afford to stalk her when she never left the house, so even her romantic life or lack of it wasn't a story anymore.

The new story was the number of girls who posted videos on TikTok revealing their experience with the band. The rockers treated women like sex objects and not humans. It wasn't just Unhinged Rage; women had similar experiences with other bands. Their stories helped Doyle feel as though her experience had a purpose. After all her talk about standing up for women and fighting misogyny, she had somehow started a wave of females fighting back. She missed Gray every day, but felt a sense of purpose she had never had before. She posted on TikTok to support the others.

The gossip hounds didn't care about what was happening on TikTok. They had better stories to uncover like Tate's wedding. Amelia worked overtime to keep it trending. It caused some heated arguments between mother and daughter. Doyle felt sorry for Tate, not really she was marrying her true love, but the youngest daughter was glad to be off her mother's radar.

Because she joined her parents for meals and took photography gigs, Amelia considered her over her foolish attraction to the chauffeur. Her mother's cavalier words were like a blow to her abdomen. Still, she hid it and pretended she was fine.

To prove she was the old Doyle, she put on a tight dress which showed most of her thighs and took an Uber to meet her friend, Aubrey. Doyle hadn't been a good friend since she joined the band. First it was Mick, then her recovery, but her time talking to Gray really put her friend on the back burner for months. Thankfully, Aubrey could forgive.

Maybe a night spent dancing with strangers would reset her brain. None of the men at clubs would pass Amelia's standards, and it was not a road she intended to go down again.

The lights flashed, and the music boomed as the two women entered the club. Doyle never had to wait in line. She flashed her smile and pointed to the security camera. Someone watching from afar gave the okay to the bouncer, and they received a bracelet which allowed them into the VIP lounge with a bar that wasn't mobbed and comfortable seats with a view of the dancefloor.

Aubrey pulled her towards the dancefloor. Doyle pulled her to the bar. "I need a drink first."

There were a lot of VIPs, and Aubrey smiled at a group of men. Doyle only gave them a passing glance as they cheered on a round of shots. Two of them went from cheering to standing behind them at the bar.

A guy with blonde hair and a perfect smile greeted them. "Ladies, it's nice to see you this evening."

His shaggy blonde Owen Wilson look didn't match his expensive jeans and Italian loafers, he dressed like Baxter had in Vegas. "Have we met before?"

He smiled, and his blue eyes crinkled. "Not officially." He held out his hand. "Harrison Alden."

She nodded in recognition. The Aldens were another old Boston family. "Did we go to school together?"

He shook his head. "I went to Phillips Exeter."

"Shipped away?" To a prominent boarding school.

He shrugged. "A family tradition. My family is very traditional."

Doyle snorted and quickly covered her mouth. "Sorry."

He smiled. "No need. What are you drinking? Allow me."

Aubrey said, "Thanks. Cosmos."

His friend had been quietly watching their exchange. She nodded to the dark hair guy dressed like an ad for Brooks Brothers' weekend wear. "Were you two roommates?"