Page 153 of Forever Relentless

I called my mom.

Yes, I was that sibling. She told me he had gone out early this morning. She then had a five-minute debate with herself about whether he had gone out or had just come home, then went out.

Mason didn’t live at home. Technically. He lived in space above the garage. Next to home. He made it very clear that he saw a distinction. I made it very clear that I wasn’t bursting any more of the fragile bubbles that were my brother’s life.

But he lived at home.

He paid no rent, little toward food, and Mom covered the house’s utilities in her bills. Which included the power to the garage.

I, on the other hand, lived alone. Because I was an independent woman who had a job. Mason had a job, but he spent his rent money on alcohol instead of taking responsibility.

Okay, that was really bitchy.

As I got dressed for my morning, I doubted my independent status as my gaze kept flicking to the bed, and I remembered what had happened between the sheets within the last twelve hours.

I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and dressed in jeans and a light sweater, and, armed with determination, I went to find Hadley.

I didn’t know which apartment was hers, but I knew it was in the next building, and if the layout was the same as mine, then I could figure it out.

One wrong knock later, I found her on the top floor. She opened the door, looking as frustrated as I felt.

She didn’t even seem surprised to see me; she just mumbled something about ‘liking cats’ before turning around and leaving me to enter her apartment.

I closed the door behind me and saw how small her apartment was compared to mine. I also saw the white, fluffy, pissed-off kitty that glared at me from a cage. I wasn’t surprised to see Savannah on the couch, or that she also looked pissed.

“How’s your morning?” I asked as I dropped down beside her.

The window was wide open, and Savannah had a tissue pressed against her nose.

“I have allergies.”

Ah, that explained the white ball of indignation in the cage.

“I take it you found out this morning?” Savannah asked me quietly.

“I did.” I watched the other girl, who was pointedly ignoring both of us, as she studied her phone. She stepped up to the couch, showed us the phone, and scrolled through the comments.

“Look.” Hadley pointed at the screen. “Look at all of those comments. Not everyone hates this. People are saying things.”

“I can say the sky is green, Hadley,” I snapped. “You need to be able to prove it before anyone really listens, let alone believes it.”

“If we contact these people, they might have proof.”

Savannah was already shaking her head. “Whatever they may have, if it isn’t documented, then it’s nothing. And I can bet the athletic department spent the weekend making sure all its paperwork was pristine.”

Hadley glanced at her. “You think?”

She nodded. “It’s what I would do. You think these people commenting aren’t getting their profiles checked, looked into, to see who they are, when they were here, if they were here?”

“That’s an operation,” Hadley conceded.

It was clear Hadley hadn’t thought of that. Which is why she was completely the wrong person for this task, and neither of them, including my stupid brother, should have done it without my input. The burn of betrayal felt deeper than I expected. This was my job, not theirs.

“I’m sure they have an army of people already prepped,” Savannah added bitterly. “They pass every routine investigation; they’ll pass this one, too. If it happens.”

I looked at Hadley. “Why did you pull the trigger so early?” I didn’t accuse. I didn’t reprimand. I was sure she’d heard enough of that already this morning. “Why did no one come to me?”

“We had so much information. Mason had more, and he insisted you weren’t to be involved before he helped us.” She looked between us. “And just because you, Dante, Savvy, and Dustin know now, it doesn’t change that we can still post.” She looked at me in earnest. “Will he really fuck it up for us?”