Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

Landon

Listen to Champagne Problems

by Taylor Swift

A fter one of the most emotional nights of my life, I climbed out of Adam's bed with a sense of purpose. He loved me. He'd said the words that broke through our last barrier, and I knew now I could face anything—even the physical distance between us in our future. Yes, I was still hurting from my friends and their choice, but it didn't matter as much after the time I spent with Adam. The bond between us felt unbreakable, and if I needed to face difficulty, having him by my side made it all possible.

But when I checked my phone to see if Elle had texted or anyone had reached out, I saw a scrolling stream of notifications that made my belly clench. I half closed my eyes and wondered if I should crawl back into bed and delay the inevitable. But Adam was already putting on coffee and I was tired being scared of the unknown.

So, I clicked on it.

The Tik Tok video blasted me like a punch to the face. Gabby had posted it to her page, and it was blowing up with likes and endless comments. The graphic screamed in red font: Love Triangle Alert! 2 Gorg Men fighting over you...check out this fight!

The video zoomed in on us. I stood close to Adam, who had me tucked behind him as if trying to protect me. The camera panned out quickly to see the group's reaction, then straight to Max's furious face. Even in anger, his thick blonde hair and perfect profile made him look like the hero in the movie rather than the villain.

In rising horror, I watched the scene play out for the world to judge. I watched me desperately trying to explain. I watched Adam boldly claim me as his. I watched Max hit Adam, and Adam's cold response. I watched the group go apeshit and get thrown out.

The camera jerked and followed as we stumbled outside, then went black.

Oh, my God. It got much worse.

Gabby's face spoke to the camera in a close up. I was struck by her presence, with her bright red hair and perfect skin; her full lips and the dramatic way she catered to the screen, as if she was sharing a big secret with a chosen, lucky few. "What do you think of Landon's choice? Yay or Nay?" she whispered.

Then she tagged all three of us.

I closed my eyes and fought nausea. What had Gabby done to all of us? Had this been her plan all along? To become part of our inner group to destroy us? Was she laughing right now at our naivete? Was this her way to gain a million more followers at my expense?

My voice shook. "Adam. You have to come see this."

He walked over with a concerned expression. "If anyone’s texting you crap, maybe you should let them cool down before responding. They're probably all still smashed and aren't thinking clearly."

"It's not that. It's much worse."

I handed him the phone. He watched the video with a tight jaw, but his eyes blazed with emotion as the video rolled on. "What the fuck," he muttered, handing it back and grabbing his own. He punched a few things out and stared in shock. "Holy crap. This isn't possible."

"What?"

"My followers. I have thousands now. They keep going up."

I brought up my own pages on IG and TikTok and my jaw almost dropped. The same thing had happened. I'd begun with 25K followers and now I was over 50K and climbing. The video had already been shared and was going viral. I'd seen this stuff before and it was like watching a train approach a wreck. I'd always wanted to be in a video that blew up and put me in the world's focus. But this was different. This was...all wrong.

In silence, we read the rush of comments. People chose sides and asked for more info from Gabby. Gabby teased in the comments to follow her, like and share, and maybe she'd give everyone an update.

And it worked.

In real time, I watched myself get famous for something I wanted to keep private—something that tore my chosen family apart. And now the world was there to judge, and pick apart every nuance, like we'd filmed a scene in Vanderpump Rules in the Bravo universe.

Adam muttered a curse. "The page for Unison is also blowing up. And so is Max's account."

"How did she do this?" I asked in wonder. "Why does anyone care about us?"

Adam's tone was slightly bitter. "Because everyone loves drama. Because judging and watching us is easier than dealing with their own shit. You should know, Landon It's always been the game."

I bit my lower lip. “What do we do? I can’t believe she did this to us. I’m going to kill her!”

“Gabby’s always been a wild card but I never thought she’d hurt us on purpose. I thought we were close. Guess not.”

“She posted this late last night when she was probably still at the club. Do you think she got drunk and everyone was in on it?”

He shook his head. “No. She’s obviously narrating it from a quieter place. She did this afterward. And she knew what she was doing.”

On cue, texts began rolling in. The first one was from Elle.

Were you in on this?

My head throbbed. “I have to call Elle.”

“I better call the band. I made your coffee—it’s on the table.”

“Thanks.” I turned, then stopped to grab him. “Adam?”

“Yeah?”

My words wobbled. “Last night meant everything.”

Immediately, his face softened. Last night had really happened and he wasn’t taking it back with the light of day. “Same, princess. Same.” He pressed a kiss to my lips then took his phone into the bathroom.

I sucked in a lungful of air and called Elle. “What in the hell is going on, Landon?” she practically shrieked. “Did you tell Gabby to post this so you can get followers? It’s like I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

I ignored the pang of hurt my bestie could think like that and kept calm. “No! Why the hell would I do that, Elle?”

“Because you lied and you’ve never lied to me! Maybe you and Gabby are much closer and I had nothing to do with this whole plan to blow up your platform and secretly have sex with Adam.”

“It wasn’t like that and you know it,” I said softly. “You were the only one who knew how I felt about Adam. I never told Gabby, no matter what she said. And this video? I don’t want my private life out there so I can become some weird zoo like animal!”

Elle was quiet for a while, and then I heard a whoosh of breath. “I have such a headache,” she muttered. “I can’t deal with this right now.”

“Meet me at the diner,” I begged. “Please. I want to talk to you in person.”

“Now?”

“Right now. I need you.”

I waited for her answer with a pounding heart. If Elle didn’t believe me, no one else would. What if everyone believed I urged Gabby to post so I could get attention? This whole thing could blow up in so many bad ways.

“Okay. I’m leaving now.”

“Thanks.”

I finished getting dressed and peeked my head into the bathroom where Adam was talking to JJ. I mouthed I was meeting Elle and he nodded. Then I raced out and toward the diner where all of our big moments seemed to occur.

I got our favorite booth and ordered coffee and Elle’s favorite French Toast special. She rolled in with her hair up in a messy bun, baggy sweats, and a t-shirt. Typical morning after outfit when nursing a hangover. Jealousy struck when I thought of her partying and having fun after our big fight but I pushed it away.

“I ordered you the French Toast.”

“Thanks.”

We stared at each other and I had the strange impulse to cry. Elle was my sister. I didn’t know how to do life without her—she was my person. “I’m sorry,” I finally said. “That it blew up like that and I didn’t get to talk to you in private. But I swear, you need to believe you were the only one I confided in.”

Her eyes filled with anguish. “Landon, I know. I was a total bitch. I lost it because I was mad you told Gabby and not me and felt stupid. And after Max punched Adam, you seemed to act like it was you against us and that got me mad, too. I thought you blamed me for getting caught. I texted but obviously you didn’t see it.”

Tears burned against my lids. “Elle, I wasn’t mad! I felt like I was in this bad dream or some Black Mirror episode. One minute, Adam and I were going over our plan to tell everyone in this calm, informative manner, and the next, the shit hits the fan and you hate us.”

“I don’t hate you. I love you. When I got up this morning and saw Gabby’s video, I convinced myself you were in on it but I knew the truth. I know you, Landon. Sure, you want followers and to become known, but not like this. Not at the expense of Adam and Max.”

I reached out across the table and she snagged my hands. Relief washed through me. Elle hadn’t turned her back on me—she’d needed time to process. “Thank God, because I cannot go through this alone. I’m losing my mind.”

“Did you call Gabby?”

I shook my head. “Adam and I saw the video. I keep thinking how she played all of us. Maybe the whole friendship thing was a lie. It makes me sick.”

“We need to talk to her. This is ridiculous—we have to know.”

“You’re right. Let’s do it now.” A chill overcame me as I tapped out her number and put her on speaker.

She picked up. “Girl, I’ve been waiting for you to call me.”

“I bet. How about you get your ass over to the diner? I’m here with Elle. I think I deserve a one on one, don’t you? Or is that how you like to ruin people? Stabbing them in the back?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

I shared a disbelieving look with Elle. “I’m talking about finally telling us the truth, Gabby. Because you are a fucking liar and cheat, just like I originally thought.”

“Okay, this shit is going sideways fast. Stay there. I’ll be right over.”

The phone clicked.

Finally, I’d get the answers I needed.

Because I was going to burn this whole fake friendship to the ground.