Page 39 of Touched Down
The night is nothing but a blur of pure euphoria days later. Wayne's success, my heart swelling with pride--all of it a distant memory when I open my phone to discover that people have pulled my name into the mud - vilifying me with cheating accusations.
Of all things, cheating? They can’t be serious.
Horror rocks through me, and the world rips from beneath me when I see the photoshopped picture of some random guy with his arm around me. The blogger is so lazy; they don’t even have a name for my pretend lover. The writer just thought it would be interesting to get a couple hundred thousand people spewing negativity about me.
Since I read that mess, I’ve felt like shit. Wayne says not to worry about it and guarantees he doesn’t care what anyone writes about me. He says we know our story, and that is all that matters. So for him, I put on a smile and keep moving. On the inside, though, I’m exploding. Why can’t these people leave me alone?
***
A week later, I’m in bed, closed off from the world, scrolling through my phone.
“Girl, put that phone down and get your butt out of that bed,” a familiar voice orders. It’s Jasmine, leaning on the wall beside my bedroom door.
“How did you get in here?” I ask as I slide my phone out of my hands onto the glass bedside table.
“Wayne called me over, and I’m glad he did because why are you laying in this bed, moping when you and your man should be having the time of your lives? These walls should be singing of good times, success, and money, and what are you over here doing? Reading timelines,” she fusses.
“Wayne told you what I’ve been doing? He shouldn’t have done that. I’m fine.” I lie. Wayne hasn’t been as distracted as I thought since he has taken the time to call in the calvary.
“He felt like you needed to be close to your family right now.”
“No, I need people to keep my name out of their mouths. That’s what I need. You would think they would have the decency to do so after Wayne asked people to respect my privacy, but have you seen what Ellie Two-Times wrote about us? That blog has over nine million viewers, and she’s on there talking about how plain I am.”
Jasmine waves her hand, dismissing my frustration. “You look fine.”
I roll my eyes at her.
Jasmine huffs. “Listen, don’t read those blogs. The only judge of your looks that matters is Wayne’s, and he’s more than happy with you.”
I fold my arms across my chest and glare at her. “How can I not read it when they call me a cheating gold digger, average looking, and temporary? I’m sick of reading about how he could do much better than me.”
“Forget those people. They don’t matter.”
“But they say I’ll take all of his money and ask for a divorce, and if there’s anything left during the divorce, I’ll take that and run. The hateful emails and social media posts come consistently. Doing a social media search for my name is a nightmare.”
“Which is all the more reason you shouldn’t read that crap. Those people don’t even enjoy their own lives. That’s why they spin negative stories about others all day long.”
I reject my sister’s attempt to steer me toward more positive thinking. I don’t think Jasmine understands how frustrating it isto have people I don’t know talking about me. Even Moey Dash slanders my name like I stole something from her.
“And what’s up with Moey Dash? She may want Wayne, too. That could be why she’s joining the bandwagon and saying so much about me. These women are making up lies that I cheated, so they can break us up. I didn't realize so many women wanted to be with Wayne until it became public that I was his lover. Now, crazy women online are crazying, including her.”
“Are you listening to me? I said stop reading that negative stuff about you. And please, don’t worry about Moey. I’m definitely dragging her the next time I see her.” Jasmine has been fussing since she appeared in my doorway, but there's extra venom when she mentions Moey’s name.
I sit straighter in the bed and pull the covers up to my chest. “You fighting Moey would cause too much drama, and I’m trying to keep my name out of the media, not give them more reasons to mention it, so I can’t have my sister fighting a team girlfriend or wife.”
“Umph.” Jasmine crosses the room and sits on the edge of my bed. “That woman’s nobody’s wife, and she’s barely a girlfriend. She’s just hanging around because she’s trying to get Eddie to notice her.” If my sister were a kettle, steam would be blowing out of her ears, and she’d be whistling. That’s how hot she is when I stare into her angry eyes. She never told me her problem with Moey Dash, but now I have a clue.
“She wants Eddie?”
“Yeah. They used to have a thing, and she wants that old thing back, but—” She tenses, and her eyes widen as if she realizes she’s saying too much.
“But, what?” I press.Because why stop when the cat is halfway out of the bag?
She waves her hand. “Nothing. Just don’t worry about Moey or any of those other internet trolls. You have a big following that supports you. Just focus on them.”
“If by following you mean haters, then I guess I have a big following.”
“Girl, have you not seen the Les-Way fan page on IG?”
