Page 109 of Sweet Oblivion

What if I’m making a big deal out of nothing?

What if Brooks is just an asshole on an ego trip who doesn’t like that he was proven wrong?

But what if he’s not?

What if?—

“Delaney—”

“Over here, Delaney?—”

“Delaney, this way?—”

What the actual hell?

It feels like the walls are closing in as microphones and cameras are shoved in my face.

Close . . . Way too close.

“Delaney, was Ryker cleared of the murder charges?”

“Is it true you’re pregnant and the baby is Roger Dennings’s?”

“What?” I gasp, my head snapping toward the voice as a hand grabs my arm.

“Nope.” Hendrix yanks me back, shifting me in front of him, his body a wall between the madness and me. “Just keep walking. Ignore them.”

Ignore them?

How the hell am I supposed to ignore this?

“Delaney! Did the Kingstons pay off the DA?”

“Does Ryker have connections to the mafia?”

“Did the don handle this?”

“Delaney! Is it true your dad is a killer too?”

“Did you send your dad to prison?”

“Jesus—” My voice cracks, and my head pounds. Apparently, this can get worse.

“Just keep walking,” Hendrix growls louder this time, and my head spins as he moves closer to my back.

“Hey.” Kaleigh tucks her arm in mine, helping me cling to my last shred of sanity. “Don’t listen to them. Just focuson me.”

I try. I really do.

But the noise—the yelling—the accusations... They don’t fucking stop.

We push into the tunnel, the concrete walls beneath the stadium swallowing the sound just enough to make it echo around us like a cave.

But the voices don’t stop.

The questions don’t stop.

The cameras. The yelling.