Time (Laws of Physics #3)(64)



He shook his head as though to clear it. “Yes, absolutely, we’ll call Lisa, see what we can do to make this go away for her. She shouldn’t have to go through this. But you’re missing my point. If we tell everyone that it’s actually you in the photos, that we’re together, there’s a chance you’ll be ripped apart.”

He lost me again. “Uh, yeah?”

Eyes flashing, Abram exhaled suddenly, clearly perplexed and frustrated by how well I was taking this. “And that’s okay with you?”

Staring at him, comprehension slowly seeped through the barrier of my intimate familiarity with all matters celebrity. “Ah! I see. You didn’t realize this was going to happen.”

He seemed to choke on my statement for a few seconds before coughing out, “I thought, maybe, there’d be a few haters, outliers, whatever. But nothing like this. You were expecting this level of vitriol?”

“Yes. Well”—I waved my hand in the air—“not the Lisa part. And I can fix that for her. But the Abram Fletcher’s girlfriend being criticized for existing by news and social media part? Oh yeah. I knew that was going to happen, and I knew it would be vicious. That’s what always happens to women who date attractive male super celebrities.”

Abram gaped at me like he’d never seen me before, and then he jumped up, paced to the other side of the room and ripped off his leather jacket with jerky movements.

Left alone with the food and an empty stomach, I slowly reached for the closest bag while keeping my eyes on him. I didn’t want to be rude, as I could see he was going through a crisis of reality-fueled frustration, but I was extremely hungry, and my stomach demanded action. Reasoning with myself that I could be supportive and well-fed, I untied the top of the plastic bag, reaching inside to withdraw the first container of mystery takeout while hunting for utensils.

“I can’t believe this.” His hand was over his mouth and muffled the words slightly. “You wanted to be with me even though you knew this kind of cruelty might happen to you.”

“Yes,” I answered evenly, popping the container open. NACHOS! Licking my lips in anticipation, I dipped the cheesiest of the chips into a pool of salsa, and then shoved the whole thing in my mouth. Yum. So good.

Pacing back and forth, he scowled at me, quietly seething, “This is bullshit. You shouldn’t have to deal with this. You shouldn’t have to put up with being torn down simply because we’re together.”

“I mean—” Speaking around a mouthful of nacho, I had to swallow before continuing, “In a perfect world, yeah. This wouldn’t happen. But this is just how it is.”

“Why aren’t you more pissed?” He stopped short on the other side of the coffee table, his eyes accusatory.

“Abram, I grew up around celebrities, rock stars, movie stars. I guess I’m used to it. You’ll get used to it too.” I meant my words to be comforting, hoping they’d make a positive impact.

They did not.

He exhaled. Loudly. If he’d been a dragon, I was certain I’d be on fire. His hands came up, his fingers stiff, and he shook them while making a growling sound. “This is so fucking frustrating!”

He paced away.

Surreptitiously, I quickly ate another nacho, chewing with haste and swallowing before he paced back. “Okay, okay. I can see you are very upset—”

“UPSET?!”

I rolled my lips between my teeth, standing and making a slow, careful approach. “And I appreciate you being upset on my behalf. But, my dearest love, I entered into this beautiful relationship with you knowing that, eventually, once we made our connection public, the peanut gallery was going to pick me apart. Everything about me will be public fodder. But that’s okay, it always has been to a certain extent. I’ll deal with it.”

His eyes cut to mine, glaring at me like I was nuts.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret.” I took a few tiny steps closer. “The peanut gallery doesn’t actually matter. All those haters? Who tear people down? They don’t matter. And what they say doesn’t matter. It’ll just be more publicity for you, more noise. Your name will trend upward. My parents always say, ‘All noise is good noise, unless it’s mocking noise.’ I don’t think you’ll be mocked for dating me, but I don’t know for certain.”

Abram shook his head. “I don’t care about me, I don’t care what they say about me. That’s not the problem. It’s what they say about you.”

“But they don’t matter.”

“They shouldn’t be allowed to say such hateful things.”

“But since they don’t matter, what they say doesn’t matter either. It’s like multiplying any number by zero. The peanut gallery is the zero.”

He snapped his mouth shut, his jaw flexing. Breathing hard, his hands on his hips, once again he reminded me of a caged animal. But this time, it was angry helplessness I spied, not hunger.

I made a soft sound of compassion, closing the distance between us to place a hand on his scruffy cheek. “Oh, Abram. Please don’t waste energy on this. Haters gonna hate, idiots gonna procreate.”

He huffed a laugh, but his eyes looked sad, trapped. “I’m never going to be okay with this.” Covering my hand with his, he brought my palm to his lips. “I’m going to fight the world for you.” He sounded so fierce.

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