I woke up to my phone buzzing on the nightstand. Still half asleep, I reached over and grabbed it, already expecting what was coming. I saw Bryce's name pop up, and even though he was all the way at university right now, I knew this wasn't about to be a normal FaceTime call.
"Yo," I mumbled, sitting up and rubbing my face. "What's up?"
"Yo, you been ignoring everybody or what?" Bryce said sounding concerned. "Mom and Dad are freaking out. They've been trying to reach you all morning."
I sighed. "Yeah, I figured. I knew this was coming."
Bryce paused for a second. "So, you've seen it?"
"Not yet, but I don't need to." I said, rubbing my eyes. "I knew this sh*t was gonna blow up. That whole thing with Taylor last night..."
"It's worse than you think, Brodie." Bryce warned. "You're trending. The video's everywhere. People are dragging you, talking about you and Sophia."
I finally unlocked my phone and went straight to X (Twitter), and there was my name, trending at the top.
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I didn't even need to scroll much before the video popped up, clear as day. Taylor's meltdown, Sophia caught in the middle, everyone's phones out. The whole world had seen it by now.
"Yeah, I'm seeing it." I muttered. "Damn."
"Look, Dad's pissed, man. Mom's worried. You need to call them back right away." Bryce said, his tone serious.
"I know, I know. I'll call them back in a bit." I said, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
"Just handle it, aight? I got your back."
"Thanks, Brodie." I replied before hanging up. I stared at my phone for a moment, trying to take it all in. I knew it was going to be bad, but seeing it out there made it feel even worse.
Next to me, Sophia stirred in bed, her naked body rubbing against mine, shifting as she started to wake up. I quickly put my phone down, not wanting to stress her out.
She blinked her eyes open slowly, stretching as she looked over at me. "Morning." she said, her voice soft, a sleepy smile on her lips.
"Good morning, beautiful." I replied, leaning over to give her a kiss on her forehead. I rested my hand gently on her belly, rubbing it softly.
"How's my little man doing?" I asked with a smile.
"He's kicking a little." she said, smiling as she placed her hand over mine. "I think he's ready for breakfast."
I laughed softly, but in the back of my mind, the stress still lingered. "I'll make sure he gets fed."
She shifted a bit, her eyes finding mine. "You okay?"
