Chapter 1
LOGAN
I took a deep breath, trying to gather the right words. I didn’t enjoy talking about what had happened between Danica and I. I didn’t enjoy talking about her at all, really. It just brought back painful memories and made me feel terrible all over again. It was bad enough that I still had to work with her and see her all the time at SMW.
Ambria sat beside me on the edge of the bed, holding my hand. “It’s just hard to talk about,” I started, shifting nervously.
She leaned her head on my shoulder. “You know I’ll believe you no matter what.”
“Yeah, of course.” I took a deep breath. “Okay, so… basically, there was this other girl, Bridget.”
“What was her stage name?” Ambria asked, squeezing my hand tighter.
“Oh, she wasn’t a wrestler,” I explained. “She actually worked at SMW as one of the trainers. She was a yoga instructor and a physical therapist. Anyway, her and I got along really well, but we were just friends. Of course, rumors started we were more than friends.”
“Yeah… but those were just rumors, right?”
“They were, yeah… but then Bridget showed up at my apartment one night. She was super drunk, just coming from the bar. I wouldn’t have done anything with her even if I was single. I’m not going to just take advantage of some drunk girl.”
“So, what did you do?”
“Well, she showed up, and I was home alone. I told her that she could stay for a bit and have a glass of water, and that I’d make her something to eat. She was wasted. I knew she needed to get some food in her. I threw on some water to make some pasta. We sat on the couch, since I was in the middle of watching a movie. And… well, then she took her shirt off and tried to make out with me.”
“Oh, I see,” Ambria said thoughtfully. “So, how did the rumor start that you guys hooked up?”
“Right, yeah, so just my luck, Danica shows up unannounced to surprise me. She had brought me takeout, and we were dating, so she never knocked or anything. And yeah… she walked in just as all this crap with Bridget was happening. Oh, by this point, Bridget had taken off her bra as well.”
Ambria gasped. “So, Danica walked in and you’re sitting there with a topless chick who’s literally throwing herself at you?”
“Yeah, exactly. Danica was furious. Bridget was so drunk that she fell off the couch and hit her head on the coffee table. So, there I was, trying to help Bridget and also stop Danica from leaving. Didn’t matter though. Dani literally threw the takeout at me and ran off. There was food everywhere, it was so gross. And then she told everyone that I was cheating, and she caught me in the act and blah blah blah. Only Astra and Toby actually believed me.”
Ambria nodded as I spoke, squeezing my hand every so often. She looked genuinely saddened by my story. “So, why didn’t Bridget just tell Danica the truth about what happened?”
I burst out laughing and shook my head. “She couldn’t even remember what happened! The girl was so wasted. I ended up driving her home and her roommate put her to bed. She didn’t even know why her head was so sore the next day. Like, I’m sure she had a headache, too, but she didn’t remember being at my place or tripping and smashing her head. Nothing.”
“Wow,” she replied. “Brutal. So, after that everyone at SMW just believed Danica? They didn’t even wait to hear your side of it?”
“Some of them did. Most of the guys just laughed, though. They were patting me on the back and basically telling me I was lucky to be sleeping with two chicks and stupid for getting busted. That kind of thing. I didn’t care about all that, though. I just wanted Dani to believe me.”
“What happened to Bridget?”
I winced at the thought. “Dani beat the crap out of her. She almost got kicked out over it, but Bridget convinced them to let her stay. She said she deserved it. And then she quit.” I took a long pause, running my hand through my hair. “I know this is a ridiculous story, by the way. I totally get it if you don’t really believe me.”
“How could you say that?” Ambria cried. “Of course, I believe you!”
The sincerity warmed every part of me in her voice. It was such a relief to find someone who actually, truly believed my side of things for once. Astra and Toby had said they believed me… and I wanted to believe them, but a piece of me felt as though they were just saying that. Ambria was the first person whose support felt sincere, and I never wanted to let that go.
