The Final Countdown

Chapter 28

Cameron

The entire drive home, I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat that only seemed to grow bigger each mile I tackled. Talking to Maddie shouldn't make me nervous, but because of the topic at hand, I can't help but be nervous. We don't agree on the solution, and I highly doubt we'll come to an agreement. She'll fight me tooth and nail no matter what I say.

Ethan said he hated the new mature me—the one who made rational, logical decisions, but little does he know the old version of me isn't too far behind. The urge to text Katie and agree to this stupid date to save Maddie's career is too tempting. I only have a few hours to decide, and if things don't go how I think they're going to, I'm worried that the irrational side of me I kept in the past will reappear.

"Well?" Maddie has her back to me as she stirs something on the stove that's filling the kitchen with a delicious aroma. Already, her voice has a grit to it. She knows I haven't given Katie an answer yet, and she's not pleased.

"Mads, I—"

"Do not call me Mads if you're going to tell me what I think you're about to tell me." She shakes the garlic powder aggressively into the pot, slamming it down on the counter beside her. "Dammit, Cameron. We talked about this. You told me at the game that if we couldn't find anything on her by the time you were supposed to answer, you'd tell her to release the video."

"I didn't say I would tell her to release it. I told you we would revisit this conversation."

I wince when she whirls around, steam radiating from her ears. I should know better than to bring technicalities into an argument when she's already pissed. It's never worked well for me before.

"There's nothing to revisit! I'm not going to live under her fucking thumb any longer. Tell her to release it and have her be out of our lives for good. I want to be done with it."

"You want to be done with the career you've worked so hard for? Just like that? The private investigator is still working. There's still a chance he could find something. If I agree to be her date, it still gives him two weeks to dig something up for me to get out of it."

"You don't think as soon as you agree that she won't go to every media source in the world to relay the information? Rumors will start circulating, and I'd much rather it be my career that goes down the drain than your character and integrity." Tears well in her eyes as she profusely tries to blink them away, which makes me take a tentative step closer to her.

"They already are. Photos of her at my game are everywhere, Maddie, but I could give two fucks what the media and the world think. If this video comes out? Not only will your career be gone, but your integrity and character will go down the drain, too. I refuse to let that happen. Being a star quarterback means people already expect less of me. It's horrible, but it's the truth. Rumors coming out about me having an affair will be handled a lot better than a video released of you doing drugs."

I watch her cross her arms over her chest, her lips turned down into a pout, but she doesn't disagree with me, which I'm taking as my cue to continue.

"Just let me tell her yes. It'll give us two more weeks to see if something will come about with the private investigator trailing her. If I don't hear something in two weeks, I'll tell her to release the video."

Her bottom lip trembles. "Do you promise?"

Unable to take her crying, I close the distance between us, dipping my head down to meet her gaze. "I promise you, okay? I know this lifestyle of mine is crazy, and you've been thrown into it head-first since you came back from Germany. If you give me time, I will figure things out with Katie. I'll end it for good."