Before I know what’s happening, Hayes is pushing me behind his body, rearing back and swinging. His punch lands right in the middle of Corey’s face. With a sickeningcrunch,Corey falls to the ground and covers his nose, swearing.
“Hayes!” I shout at him, moving back around to his front so I can glare at him.
He’s still scowling at Corey on the ground, absentmindedly shaking his fist out.
“Why did you do that?” I question him. Finally, his eyes find mine and he seems confused for a second.
“What do you mean? That dick has had it coming for a long time.”
I grab his large hand, flipping it over so I can inspect his knuckles. They look okay for now, but I suspect there will be some bruising later.
Annoyance takes over. “You’ve already got a busted knee. Do you really want to sit out for another season with a broken hand? I think quarterbacks need to have two working hands.”
He blinks, taken aback. “Are youscoldingme right now? For punchingthat guy?” He points down to Corey. “If you think I’m above punching someone to protect you and yourname, you better think again. I’ll do anything to protect you. No matter the cost.”
I cross my hands over my chest and exhale. His words stir a deep affection in my chest, and I’m forever grateful for his protectiveness, but I also need him to understand where I’m coming from.
“What the hell, guys?” Bethany asks, hurrying into the green room. I shrug, unable to give her a better answer right now.
“I agree. What thehell?” Cal’s menacing voice breaks through.
My skin goes cold. Corey has pushed himself up off the floor and he’s wiping away some of the blood from his split lower lip. He glares at Hayes and then frowns at Cal. “I’m pressing charges, and you can’t stop me.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Cal holds up a hand, effectively shutting Corey down. I’m a little surprised to see Corey deflate so easily. “You can go now, Corey.”
My ex-boyfriend clenches his jaw but doesn’t argue, seeing himself out of the green room. When he’s gone, Cal turns to Bethany. “Please get Mr. Vogt out of here, as well. Jersey and I have some important business to discuss.”
Irritation gnaws at me as Bethany gives me a helpless look, glancing between me and Cal. I give her a small nod and she sighs. “All right. Let’s go, Hayes.”
“Try not to punch anyone on your way out,” Cal sneers.
Hayes glowers at Cal as he walks by, brushing his shoulder. There are no words passed between the two of them, but there doesn’t need to be. The malice is thick enough to cut with a knife.
When Hayes is gone, Cal glowers at me, fire in his cold eyes. My stomach sinks. “We need to talk. Sit,” he growls, pointing to the small sofa. I don’t put up a fight, sitting on the couch like a child being scolded, even though I have nothing to feel guilty about.
“Are you kidding me with this?” Callum asks me, placing his hands on his hips. “I thought it would be nice to see your last show of this stretch, celebrate afterward, get excited about the album release later this year. But then this football player comes in and puts all that in jeopardy with one well-placed swing!”
I blink twice, watching as Callum’s face turns from his normal shade to an angry red with his irritation. He’s not the only one who’s irritated, though.
Scowling at him, I cross my arms over my chest. “He was trying to protect me. Corey was making a fool of himself at my expense. Why was he even there in the first place, Cal?”
“Listen,” Cal says, pointing his finger at me, totally glossing over my question as if I didn’t even ask it. “You know I don’t give two fucks about who you’re slumming it with on the side. WhatI do care about is how it’s affecting your public image. We’ve put a lot of time and effort into creating your brand only for you to go and mess it up with some guy who’s going to drag you down and get you caught up in a narrative you don’t want to be a part of. What do you think the media would do if they found out that your new boyfriend punched your old boyfriend? You don’t have time for this.”
“Cal, my fans are eating it up. Any time Hayes and I are spotted together, they go insane. My fans are happy for me and Hayes, and that’s going to convert to more sales. You should be happy, too.”
“Oh, trust me, about that part, Iamhappy. At least you’ll chart again with this upcoming album and we’ll be able to swing a tour twice as big as this one. But what I’m pissed about is how irresponsible you’ve been acting, like you’re wanting to throw it all away forsome guy.” He waves his hand in the air dismissively. “We’ve spent all this time and money creating your brand, thisversionof you that people can relate to—and now you’re dating a ticking time bomb who could ruin your whole career just like that.” He snaps his finger in my face and I flinch. “HepunchedCorey Shrader. Should we have a lawyer on retainer for when the quarterback turns onyou?”
Callum is right. They have put a lot of time and effort into turning me into this angelic character. The pop princess who keeps to herself and is professionally driven, having no time for relationships or anything other than work. They turned me into the victim when Corey and I broke up, playing on the wounds and the heartbreak of my fans and using that to create this narrative that couldn’t be further from what I want for my career, for myself.
I’m their pop princess, and they’ve locked me up in a tower.
Now that Hayes has rescued me, it’s not meshing with the persona they’ve created.
I stare at him a moment, musing about how skewed his perception is on this matter. Callum is criticizing me like I’ve floundered myself out to the highest bidder.
I can count on one finger the number of times Corey attended one of my shows. When I try to think of any instance where he showed up for me, I come up completely blank. And we dated for alongtime. Knowing that Hayes went out of his way, being injured, to support me means more than he could ever know.
It’s not as though this was the first time Hayes and I have been seen together out in public—not by a long shot. Our relationship isn’t something we were keeping secret. I’ve been spotted at his games and we’ve had pictures taken of us when we went out on public dates. Hell, there were headlines blaming me for his injury.
