Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“But interest in the former superstar has never waned, and Shaw featured prominently in a recent sports documentary about careers cut short by the yips.” The shot cut to a clip from the documentary in which some crusty old coach was shaking his head and referring to Tyler as a “poor bastard.” My hands clenched into fists.
“Shaw hasn’t been home since his career ended, but last weekend, he was seen at Cherry Capital Airport.” Cell phone footage played of a stern-faced, square-shouldered Tyler moving through the airport, cap low, sunglasses on. “He was home for his sister’s wedding, but don’t be surprised if you see him around town a little more often now—with a brand new girlfriend on his arm.” My jaw dropped as amateur footage of Tyler and me appeared—chatting on the track at the high school, having breakfast at Coffee Darling, walking down Main Street.
“April Sawyer, a hometown honey, is a high school friend of Shaw’s.” A slightly out-of-focus photo of Tyler and me from senior year appeared, the other faces blurred out. “But someone might want to warn her about Shaw’s dark side.”
Now the video footage was of a clearly frustrated Tyler yelling obscenities at photographers, cameramen, and reporters, getting in their faces, going so far as to shove one away from him as he tried to leave his house. “He might have lost his arm, but he obviously gained a violent temper. Last night the two were spotted having dinner in a local establishment, and when he was approached for an autograph, things got ugly fast.”
Outraged, I watched the clip of us leaving the restaurant again. “You lying bitch! You didn’t ask him for an autograph! You just wanted dirt!” Huffing and puffing, I felt my face getting hot as I yelled at my phone. “And what about the way you tricked me into talking to you?”
“I asked Shaw several times if he wanted to comment for this story, but I can’t repeat his answer,” Bethany was saying, but at that point I turned it off. I’d already seen the rest anyway, and if I had to look at her phony-concerned face anymore, I was going to lose it.
My phone vibrated in my hand, and I saw it was my mom calling. “Shit,” I said, not in the mood to talk but knowing I had to.
I accepted the call. “Hi, Mom.”
“April! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I gritted my teeth.
“Have you seen it?”
“I’ve seen it.”
“I can’t believe we didn’t notice the cameras out on the lawn. When your father realized they were out there, he and Mack went right out and kicked them off the grounds.”
“Good.”
A pause. “I didn’t realize you and Tyler were in touch.”
“We weren’t. I mean, we haven’t been.” My head began to ache, and I touched two fingers to my temple, closing my eyes. “We reconnected right before Sadie’s wedding.”
“Oh. And is it . . . how’s it going?”
“It’s actually going great, Mom,” I said with a little more venom than necessary. “We have fun together. That news story was bullshit, okay? Don’t believe it.”
“Okay, darling. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted to check in.”
I sighed. “Sorry. I’m just—my head is pounding right now. I’m not upset with you. I’m just angry at that story.”
“Of course you are. Can I do anything for you?”
I took a deep breath. “Not right now. But thanks for checking in.”
“I’m always here, honey.”
After we hung up, I called Chloe.
“Hey,” she said as soon as she picked up. “I saw it. Fucking Bethany Bloomstar. I hope she gets a big wart on her face.”
I almost laughed. “Yeah, she deserves it.”
“You okay?”
“Yes. But I’m worried about Tyler. He’s trying so hard to move on from everything, and the media attention doesn’t help.”
“I know.”
“Why can’t they just leave him alone?” I asked angrily. “He’s not even playing anymore.”
“Because he’s still a story, especially around here. People are still interested.”
I frowned. “He’s going to hate that. He doesn’t want to be a story. He just wants to be himself. But it’s like the public only has one version of him they want, and if he can’t be that, they won’t accept it.”
“Well, that’s why it’s good he has you,” she said. “And soon he’ll realize he has the rest of the Sawyer clan too. We’re a package deal.”
That made me smile. “Yeah.”
“Hey, want to get together this weekend? Maybe we can all hang out at Sylvia’s. Or even at Mom and Dad’s for Sunday dinner. You skipped it last weekend.”
“I was busy,” I said.
She laughed. “Yeah, I know what you were busy doing. But now that he’s staying for good, you guys don’t have to be so precious about your time. You can spare a few hours for the rest of us.”
“I guess we could. Actually, I like that idea a lot.”