Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

JETT

I don't know why I expected Ava to be the one standing in front of me gloating. Maybe it goes to show how right Colby is about how I think the worst of her. How far I've let my opinion of her fall since she left. That, to me, she is still that horrible moment she walked away from me.

Instead, she and Gabriella sent Colby to make sure I saw what Hayden posted this morning, probably knowing I wouldn't see it on my own for a while. I force back thoughts that I wish it were Ava here. Did she think her presence would make the news worse? Or did she want my best friend here to support me? Maybe I should start giving her the benefit of the doubt and believe the latter.

I sink onto my couch next to Colby and read Hayden's video post again, shocked that this happened. This is the kind of content that @gabriella.diaz.official thinks your children should have access to and it doesn't matter what you think, and if you're not worried about her opinion, you should be. It's no secret that this future football wife will be using her platform as a step up to DC. Is this what you want representing you someday? And that's not the worst of it. The commenters are slinging mud at both Colby and Gabriella over a song Colby wants to put on their wedding playlist for fun. To think that I thought Hayden's apology last night meant I could focus on my game and not have to deal with drama.

"How did Ava see this part of Hayden when I didn't?" I ask. I'm not sure I want to know the answer. Because I ignored anything troubling about Hayden? Did I? I think about how much this contradicts the woman I thought I knew, the kind person who spent half an hour telling me a story she'd learned about a homeless person she met while grabbing lunch with a friend. I can accept that Hayden's a complicated woman with multiple facets, but this isn't Hayden questioning Gabriella's stance with concern. This is a shot over the bow.

Colby leans forward, propping his elbows on his knees. "Gabriella said Ava dug into her social media and noticed how she treated people there." He shrugs. "Some people are totally different online. Don't blame yourself for that."

That leaves me wondering why Hayden did this to Gabriella, to me. I stand up, exiting the Instagram app and tapping on the phone icon to call Hayden. It's one thing to disagree with Gabriella on something. Why did she come to that party last night looking for something to start a fight?

"I didn't tell her anything about the wedding PR stuff," I say to Colby before I dial Hayden's number. I don't want my betrayal to be anything bigger than it is. He has every right to believe I did complain, given the way I've acted over their choices. One more thing to be ashamed of.

"Huh?" Colby has already leaned back and picked up the remote to my TV.

"These lines about Gabriella stepping up to DC and representing Texans." I flip my phone toward him, even though it's gone blank since I haven't dialed Hayden yet.

Colby waves it off. "I know. Gabriella hasn't been quiet about her dreams. Hayden made a good guess about why the wedding is a production. Don't worry."

I don't deserve the trust he's putting in me right now. I whined about this "production" every step of the way. What if I'd complained to Hayden, even innocently? "Thanks," I mutter, hurrying from the room to call her. She would be using that information right now, blowing up Gabriella for using her wedding for PR. It would have been my fault. I draw in a long breath at how badly I could have messed this up for them.

I head for the beach. I need calm for a moment, and I'll need it before I see Hayden, for sure. "Hey," she answers, and by the flat tone to her voice, she knows why I'm calling.

"Are you busy?" I ask, getting straight to the point. "I'd like to come over so we can talk."

"Do we really need to hash this out in person?" Her tone is sharp in a way I've never heard before. Was she acting with me the whole time?

"I want to understand what happened. Gabriella isn't like that, and you twisted a song that Colby likes to trash her." If this is how she wants to hash it out, then I will. Good thing I came down to the beach. I move closer to the water, putting my feet in, praying for calm. I don't want to be Hayden's next post, though I have no doubt there'll be something about me soon.

"Then you don't know her very well," Hayden retorts. "Gabriella and I will always be in competition because of what we both want and the differences in what we believe. I like you, Jett, but this is who I am."

I don't like her. Not this version of her. "You told me all of that was in the past. You didn't need to lie to me."

"I didn't lie," she snaps, and her voice breaks. "I meant it when I said I handled all that stuff in college wrong. I have grown up."

I shake my head. "You told Gabriella you two could forgive and forget. This doesn't feel like that."

She huffs. "This is about now, not then. Look, people need to know exactly who Gabriella is before the shine of her wedding to Colby is too bright to see past."

"Help me understand, Hayden. Was it all an act with me? That night in Target? How apologetic you always were about taking pictures when we were together? Was all of it a plan to get you close to Gabriella?" I struggle to keep my voice calm. It feels like I got duped. "The day we met—was that part of it?"

She lets out an angry breath. "No. It wasn't. Why does one post mean everything between us is fake? You looked like you needed rescued that day, and I thought it was a good opportunity to get to know Jett McCombs. So if you want to blame me for fangirling a little bit, fine. Do that. You're very good at making yourself the innocent one, aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I grit my teeth, angry that she's turning this around on me.

"Your agent pushed you to ask me out because I'm good PR for you. Your followers have doubled since you started dating me, and your post engagement is up 200 percent." Her voice is like ice, and it freezes me. To be fair, I didn't know any of those stats. But she's exactly right. I went out with Hayden because Claire thought it would be good for me. I've framed it all as me pushing past my judgments to get to know her. I excused it because I liked Hayden, because I saw the relationship turning real and going somewhere. I told myself it only started out as a PR thing and welcomed that it helped my image as a bonus to our friendship.

The same thing I've been criticizing Colby for. The same criticism I threw at Ava about this wedding.

"Have you been fake with me?" she retorts before I can offer an apology and tell her she's right that I used her without meaning to. "We had a whole conversation about the kind of garbage kids are exposed to these days, and you told me how concerned you were about it too, about your nephews and your niece and your future kids and the world they had to wade through."

I've had a lot of experience with people taking what I've said to use for their own gain, but it sends more anger spitting through me that she's doing it, overshadowing my shame for my hypocrisy in this relationship. "It doesn't mean I support censorship," I say in a low voice.

"It means you know very little about the issues and about me."

"I don't think you ever gave me a chance to know all of you. I can separate friendships and politics, but not when people attack others." I dig my toes into the wet sand and look out at the gray water, feeling my chest clench with hurt over what Hayden did to someone who's almost like family to me.

Her tone is defensive when she replies. "I'm passionate about things that are important. That's different."

"You came personally after my best friend, not his ideals, Hayden. That's different. I can't be with someone who doesn't see that."

She snorts with derision. "I'm sorry Gabriella's blinded you to reality."

Just like that the conversation is over.

I stare down at the phone. How can Hayden be so right about everything and still be so wrong? I did see only what I wanted to see in her, a good, kind person when that wasn't the case at all. Or at least not the whole story. And in Ava I made sure to focus on the bad, the woman who left me, the woman who didn't fight hard enough for us. And that's not the whole story either.

She didn't push when I put up my back against something she knew better than me. She worked behind the scenes to see Hayden for who she really was and make sure it didn't get any worse than this. That this wasn't some live video from Gabriella and Colby's wedding or something.

I owe her an apology.

I swipe to my message app, opening my first text to Ava in years.

Jett: I'm sorry I didn't believe you.