Chapter 34

I stared at the headline for several minutes before registering the fact that Lily was calling me. I sighed and answered, patching it through the car’s speakers.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Lily practically screamed.

“Tell you what?” I screamed back out of annoyance.

“That you and Barnett are together!”

“That’s because we’re not!” A laugh mixed with a sigh as I tried to pull myself together. “I’m relieved that you jumped to that conclusion, though, rather than the alternative.”

“That you got back together with Bob? Ew, no! Of course I didn’t think that!”

We were silent for a moment, and I contemplated starting the drive home.

“Well, if you aren’t together, then what’s with the pic? The one with you and Barnett all cozy with the barbell?”

I rolled my eyes. I loved her, but sometimes, Lily could be such a dumbbell.

“Did you not watch my vlog this morning?”

“Not yet. Why?”

“I had Barnett on there as a special guest. This pic is a still from that. He was just adjusting my form.”

Lily snorted.

“Oh, please. That bulge is about a little more than ‘adjusting your form.’”

Even though I was the only one who could hear Lily, I couldn’t help blushing at her comment.

“Lily, he’s your uncle!”

“Yeah, and I wish I could unsee it, but it’s as plain as the nose on my face.”

I groaned and shrank in my seat.

“And you can’t tell me that you didn’t enjoy it,” Lily added.

I hesitated.

“Ha! I knew it!”

“That doesn’t matter,” I said. “The last love triangle I was accused of being in nearly got me killed by one of Julia’s crazed fans.”

That sobered up Lily quickly.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do about this. Last time, it took Barnett telling the entire world that he would take legal action if people didn’t leave me alone.”

“Maybe he’ll help again—”

“Ha! Right. I can’t be any more of a burden on that man than I already am.”

This time, Lily groaned.

“I already told you, you aren’t a burden on him.”

“How do you know that?”

Lily didn’t answer.

“That’s what I thought. Honestly, I don’t know where people get the idea that he and I are a couple.”

“Need I point to the picture again?”

“No, no. I get it.”

“Just talk to him. I’m sure that he’ll fix it.”

“No, he took care of it last time. I need to start fixing my own messes.”

“If you’re sure…” When Lily spoke again, I could practically hear the smirk in her voice. “So, what was it like kissing Bob again?”

I laughed heartily, though a part of me wanted to wretch at the memory.

“Repulsively. Absolutely repulsively.”

•* *

I spent the rest of the night scrolling through people’s comments on the story. Most of them were cringeworthy, with many using words for me that I would rather not repeat. Some were predictable:

She’s just an attention-grubber. Why else would she put herself in front of the camera so much?

Gold-digger! Nothing but a gold-digger.

She’s just another fame whore. Her 15 minutes will be up sooner if we stop talking about her.

Others were clearly from Julia’s fans:

Anna thinks she’s hot but she’s not.

Once a fat bitch, always a fat bitch.

She’s no Julia Cogsworth.

And still others hurt me for reasons I didn’t quite understand:

Why does anyone even care?

Who cares who she dates? She’s just some nobody who shakes her fat ass in front of the camera for views all day.

Who the Hell is she, anyway?

I was about to give up for the night and cry myself to sleep when I came across some comments that made me smile:

Leave this goddess alone! Let her date whoever she’ll date!

Both these pics are taken out of context. Leave the poor woman alone!

Anna has been an inspiration to me ever since her vlog started. I don’t know what the truth is here, but I do know that whatever it is that she wants to do, it’s her personal life and none of our business. Women are allowed to date!

This final comment struck me hard. Why shouldn’t a woman—a celebrity—be allowed to date without other people sticking their noses in it? We should be allowed to go on dates with multiple men—if that is even the case!

Realizing that I had been crying, I wiped tears off my cheeks and prepped myself for a quick video. Then I turned on the camera on my phone and switched it to selfie mode before pressing record.

“Hi, everyone,” I began. “I wanted to record this special vlog to address some rumors about me that started floating around earlier today.”

I took a deep breath.

“No, I am not dating anyone right now. Not Bob Hayes, not Barnett Cogsworth. Both those images were taken out of context.”

I bit my lower lip.

“I don’t wish to go into details about the Bob Hayes photo right now. Rest assured, though, that we are not dating, we are not sleeping together, we have nothing to do with each other. We are divorced, and that’s all there is to it.

“As for Barnett Cogsworth, he is my coach and neighbor. That is all. For more details, you know where to see his own video on this subject.”

I cleared my throat, preparing myself for what I was about to say next.

“However, if I would like to say that if I were dating anyone, if I were dating multiple people, that would be my right, as it is any person’s—any woman’s—right. It would also be right to keep it private, and I would owe no one any answers except for the person or people involved directly in my relationship or relationships. As is any woman’s right.”

A smile crept across my face.

“#LetWomenDate. Thank you for listening. Goodnight.”

With that, I stopped the recording and posted the video.

I knew that some people would give me Hell for that vlog, and my stomach churned at the thought. However, a part of me felt lighter for getting those thoughts off my chest. I would sleep better that night.

•* *

The next morning, I rushed for the door after a morning of catching up on social media notifications. The previous night’s vlog hadn’t been one of my most popular, but it had been one of my most controversial. Even so, I still felt strangely proud of it as I skimmed through the alternatingly praising and scathing comments.

As I closed the apartment door behind me, I nearly missed a new—and frightening—decoration to it. Then a red mark caught my eye, and I came to a screeching halt.

When I turned my head, I saw a large red X had been painted on my pristine black apartment door. In the center, someone had taped an envelope that simply had my name, ANNA LEONARD, written in all-caps on it.

My hands trembled as I opened the envelope. Inside, a short note written in red ink said:

Stay away from Barnett, or I will make your life a living Hell.

--Julia Cogsworth