Curvy Girls Can't Date Bad Boys - Kelsie Stelting Page 0,56
I would and then got out of the car. Jordan came toward me, eyes wide, looking between me and Chester’s car backing out of the spot.
Her concern was palpable, and it nearly undid me. I wasn’t this girl—the one who lost control. The one people spent time worrying about. I was strong, fierce, confident.
I was sobbing.
As Jordan came toward me, tears rolled down my cheeks. She hugged me tight, not asking anything, and said, “Let’s get you inside.”
I let her guide me into her home with her arm around me, and inside I found each of my friends. They were all standing in the doorway, waiting for me..
“What are you guys doing here?” I asked, stunned.
Callie immediately wrapped me in a hug, then stepped back. “We thought you might need to be around family.”
That did it. That word. I collapsed on the couch, and my friends surrounded me with their love, with their warmth. With each of them holding me together, I had the support I needed to fall apart.
I sobbed into my hands about my dad, my home, and most of all, my heart. That was the thing about crying, though. It didn’t solve my problems. Didn’t make my dad see eye to eye with me, didn’t change the lies running on news headlines or make the man I did love forgive me.
“How bad is the news?” I asked them. I needed to know what was being said so I could have some idea of what to do. What school would be like on Monday.
My friends looked at each other like they were picking invisible straws.
Ginger finally said, “It’s bad. Everyone covered your engagement, but now there’s twice as much.”
I braced myself. “What are they saying?”
“What aren’t they saying is a better question.” She winced. “Or selling.”
“Selling?” I asked. My dad wouldn’t auction off my stuff out of spite, would he?
Rory shook her head. “It’s those stupid Ryders.”
“What are they selling?” I asked, desperate now to know.
Ginger said, “They have a T-shirt of your face with the words ‘THAT B*TCH’ in big bold print.”
I laughed. And then I kept laughing. And then I couldn’t stop laughing hysterically. Was this what it felt like to go insane?
My friends chuckled awkwardly, like they didn’t quite know what to make of my reaction either.
I wiped a tear of crazy laughter from my eyes. “That’s the best they can do? Call me a bad name? I lost my family.”
Jordan rolled her eyes. “I mean, that and guessing whether or not you had sex with Ronan.”
“Do they know his name?” I asked. Even though he’d broken my heart and left me alone, I didn’t want his name being dragged through the mud. He’d suffered enough already.
“Someone connected him to Roy Taylor,” Callie said. “That’s his stepdad—the owner of the—”
“Brentwood Badgers,” I finished sourly. “I know.”
“Roy hasn’t made a statement yet, but they’re calling a press conference Tuesday to talk about it.”
I sagged, thinking of the vitriol that would come out of that scumbag’s mouth, and almost got sick. I wasn’t the only one getting hurt in all this.
“Of course,” Ginger said, “Ryde’s profiting from this whole mess. His movie’s ranking higher than ever and #RydeStayStrong is trending.” She rolled her eyes, and I had about the same reaction.
“Oh, poor Ryde won’t be getting the settlement for our wedding.” The disgust in my voice was palpable. “Has he said anything on the news about that?”
“Settlement?” Jordan hissed.
I told them about the news I’d heard the night before, the betrayal my dad had put me through. I couldn’t believe how much had happened since I’d seen them at Chester’s just a couple days ago. I launched into the story of what had happened when I’d attempted to break up with Ryde—and the truth he’d revealed.
“That’s prostitution!” Ginger cried.
I nodded, sneering at the floor. “It’s disgusting.”
Ginger shook her head. “Ryde just posted a devastated selfie on social about how his heart is broken and he just needs time to heal. Now we know why he’s so upset.”
The more they talked about him, the sicker I became. How could my dad have ever even considered Ryde for a husband?
Rory asked, “What did Ronan think of it all when you told him?”
The tears were back as I cried about our argument. About him leaving me in the parking lot to be attacked by paparazzi.
Jordan rubbed my back. “I’m so sorry.”
I wiped at my face with the heels of my hands. “I just don’t know how to fix it.”