Just A Little Bit ✔️

9. Kinley

Kinley Price, In Real Life

 Going to Riley Jameson for support is the last thing I ever thought I'd be doing. He's barely my friend, if I can even call him that. He's my fuckbuddy, a boy who knows how to get under my skin and stay there. Yet, when it seems like all is going to hell, he's the one who seems like he would know what to do.

"What happened?"

The words fly out of his mouth once I'm safely inside his apartment. He doesn't demand anything of me, but the curiosity is evident. He takes me into his arms for a hug as he waits for me to answer. As he holds me tightly, I get a whiff of his cologne and feel some of his strength transfer to me. He's my rock at the moment. I'm a continent away from my support system, and he's all I have.

We sit down on the couch, and I try not to cry as I stare at the ceiling. "I did a bad thing a long time ago, and it's coming back to bite me."

Riley nods, poking his tongue in his cheek. "Yeah, I've been there."

"Have you?" I ask.

"Loads of times," he says. "Once Faraway Blues took off, old skeletons in the closet came out to play. Girls from sixth form were all the media could talk about. Everyone cared about my reputation. They wanted me to be their bad boy, the player. It was all an image they carefully cultivated."

There's a pause. He crinkles his nose in disgust.

"Do they ever stop talking about us?" I wonder aloud.

He lifts a shoulder sadly. "I don't think so. You get used to it."

"They're eating me alive online." I wave my phone for emphasis.

He takes it from me, turning it off in a fluid motion.

"Hey!" I protest. "That's mine."

Riley tosses my cell backward into his recliner. "You should take a break. It won't do you any good to get caught up in whatever they're saying about you."

"I have the right to know."

"And? It's not like you'll feel better looking at it."

He has me there.

"Don't you want to know if it's true?" I question, shame burning my skin.

"A little," he admits. "But I don't know that it is. It doesn't seem like the sort of thing you would do."

I'm a different person now. When I was at the end of high school, we lost my grandma. I was close to her, and her death broke something in me. I did some shitty things, including cheating on my boyfriend at the time. I sent dirty pictures to guys who didn't deserve the time of day. I did all of it.

But it was four years ago. People change. I changed.

It seems Bradley, my biggest regret, the one I compromised my morals for, is ready for revenge. I always knew he was a skeez, but this is low. Worse than low. It's the most messed up thing anyone's ever done to me.

"We're done talking about it," Riley decides.

I frown. "What?"

"I don't need to know what went down because it's not my business. I know how I feel— what I think about you, and that isn't going to change because of some shitty people trying to ruin your reputation. It's another bogus scandal, and eventually, it'll be water under the bridge. It's just a matter of time."

I touch a hand to my chest, trying to ease the tightness in my lungs. I thought things were going well for me, and I can't help but feel like these rumors, the lies, the secrets, are going to end me. Life as I know it could be entirely compromised.