“I’m sure it does.” Maverick shot me some side-eye before smiling. “Benji can help you get through this, not the opposite. Trust him, and trust me when I say you’re going to get through this. Stay hopeful, all right?”
I nodded, the spark of hope catching inside my chest. The world didn’t seem as dark and heavy as it had before I picked up my best friend’s call. The spiral slowed, stabilized. I could see a way out of this.
“Plus, there won’t be any more threats,” Mav said. “That’s a bright side, isn’t it?”
“It is, it is.” I opened the bathroom door, getting hit with a draft from the open window in the hall. “I wish I knew the fucker behind this shit, though.”
“Theo’s still on the case, don’t worry. He’s not quitting until someone can be charged and prosecuted for this monstrous bullshit.”
Again, more hope. It pushed away the images that flashed through my head.
A city penthouse. Twinkling lights. Three naked bodies.
“I just want this to be over with.”
“I know, Rex. I know.” An empathetic sadness cross through Mav’s golden eyes. “It will be. Go hang out with Benji. Turn your phone off and forget about the rest of the world for now.”
That was good advice, although it sounded much easier than I knew it would be. I gave an approving grunt. “I’ll try,” I said, already thinking about what my mom would say if she were alive right now. I knew she’d take me into her arms and tell me that it would all be all right. She loved to say “challenges are only opportunities for growth, Rex. A forest always grows greener after a fire,” and she’d give me a kiss on the forehead. A magical kiss, one that took an eraser to all of my problems, making everything seem so small and inconsequential.
“All right,” I said, gathering myself. “I should probably head back out, then. I don’t want to worry Benji.”
“And you already know he’s probably nervously talking my moms’ ears off. Go. Rescue all three of them.”
Another laugh, and, like a rainbow after the rain, a smile. “Thanks, Mav. For everything.” I choked on the word, emotion catching in my throat. “I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend like you.”
“You’ve got my back, and I’ve got yours. Simple as that.”
“Simple as that.”
We hung up and my mood felt noticeably lifted. A heavy, pregnant cloud still hung over my head, that much was sure. And I still had to deal with the fallout from this tape, which would take months, if not years to sort out. I didn’t even want to think about the prospects of now pursuing a career in politics, seeing as how that was effectively shot dead with this tape.
But… still. There was hope. And maybe this was all me blowing it up in my own head. Maybe people wouldn’t care as much as I assumed they would. We lived in progressive times—maybe this wouldn’t be as much of a blow as I thought it was.
A blow.
Ha. Ha.
I left the bathroom, deciding that Maverick’s plan really did sound like the best way to handle this. The Christmas decorations that transformed the living room into a winter wonderland helped make things feel a little bit brighter. I went to turn off my phone, ready to stuff it in a drawer and forget about it, when it started to ring.
I expected Maverick’s name, which didn’t show up. Another name appeared on my screen instead:
Gavin Madison.
I swiped to answer. “Hi, Dad.”
23
Benjamin Gold
“Hey, Ma.”
“Benji, come sit.” Mia pulled out a chair and patted the beige cushion. She sat outside on a blanket next to the small animal house. Two volunteers sat on either side of her, Furonda with her bright smile and Tarrek with his permanent frown, both of them holding bottles for their suckling deer. My sister, Kaitlyn, was also there, wearing on old college sweatshirt that had milk spilled all down the front.
“Hey, guys.” I planned on heading to my room and pacing a hole in the carpet. Rex storming away worried the hell out of me. This felt like a house of cards on the precipice of crumbling, and that scared me like nothing else. I wanted to follow him and reassure him that I couldn’t give any fucks about the video. All I cared about was him, his health and his happiness. Point-blank, period.
But I didn’t follow him. I did yell after him, but he didn’t even slow down. He made a beeline for the guesthouse, leaving me in a wake of worry.
So maybe hanging out with my mom and some baby deer under the beaming sun would be better than going to my dark room.
I sat down across from Tarrek, who gave me a slanted smirk before turning his attention back to the deer. If I wasn’t mistaken, the white mark on her side told me it was Isabella. And Tarrek handled her as if she were his own baby. There was a tenderness and care that surprised me. I didn’t imagine many people seeing him out on the street, with his rugged beard and pin-up girl tattoos, would think he would be this maternal toward some orphaned animals.
“Everything okay?” my mom asked. She had a way of sensing when something was off without me ever even saying a word.
“Not really.” I looked to the two volunteers and decided to be as vague as possible. “Some outside drama is really messing with Rex right now.”
“I saw him rush past.”
“Yeah, it’s—it’s pretty bad.”
My mom put a hand on my shoulder, a silent move that spoke volumes. My mom’s touch always comforted me, and she understood how much I needed it right now.
“I’m sure he’ll be okay.” I said it more so for myself than anyone else, but my mom entertained me.
“I’m sure he will, too.” She waved to someone behind me.
“Look who I found at the front gate!” my mom, Ashley, called from behind. I turned and saw her walking over with Helena Ramsey at her side, another girl walking hand in hand with her.
Helena used to be a volunteer at the sanctuary for as long as I could remember. It had been a few months since she last visited, so it served as a good distraction to what currently clattered around inside my head.
“Everyone, meet my girlfriend, Leah!”
Helena stepped to the side as Leah lifted a shy hand and waved at the small group, her attention quickly pulled toward the baby deer. She squatted down so she could get a better look at the one closest to her, the typical “awws” and “ohhs” coming from her as she gently scratched the deer’s head. Helena got down with her, and they both cooed at the deer, making Tarrek seem slightly uncomfortable. I noticed him grow tense, his eye contact jumping around the crowd and rarely settling.
“I’m surprised we were even let in,” Helena said, standing back up. “It’s like getting into the Mint to get in here now.”
Mia gave a deprecating chuckle and said, “That’s what we’re aiming for.”
Helena’s eyebrows rose. “No… The Dove?”
Both my moms nodded. The name had a toxic feel to it, tinging the air.
“But I thought they caught him.”
“Yeah, we did, too,” Ashley said, sighing, brushing a strand of hair back from her freckled face. “There was another threat a few weeks ago. They got Tammy.”