Dark Wolfe

19- Oh, to be a duck

(Song of the chapter: 'Good Enough' - Empire Cast)

AVALON

I was a hoe.

A truly disgusting, shameful hoe.

I should be boiled. I should be lynched. I should be flogged. I didn't deserve to be part of society.

But I was still doing it.

Inhaling, I took a glance left, then right, searching furtively for anyone who might be watching.

There was no one.

I exhaled, and before I could talk sense into myself, I googled 'Rhys Mason'.

Millions of results popped up from my search. I disregarded the pointless articles that were sure to be filled with drivel and scrolled down, trying to find...

Oh, there it was.

Rhys Mason, @itsRhysMason ✔ on Instagram. I read the figure beside it and my eyes bulged out.

13 MILLION FOLLOWERS!!!

Now this I had to see.

After another guilty scan of the room, I held my breath and clicked the link.

A collage of high-quality photographs greeted me. Dipping my head further, I peered closely as I scrolled. There were pictures of Rhys... everywhere.

There he was, sitting on a stool with a paintbrush in his hand. The easel wasn't shown in the frame, and he wasn't even looking at the camera, his focus on the task he was doing. From the angle the picture was taken, I could see his jaw tightly clenched from concentration.

Swallowing from a suddenly dry mouth, I moved on to the next picture.

Here, Rhys was lounging on what looked like a window sill. A book was open in his lap, but his eyes were closed. In fact, his head fell forward like he was asleep.

A lot of these pics, it seemed, were taken when he wasn't looking.

Next picture. There was Rhys... watering the grass...

Without a shirt.

My eyes bulged out and nearly touched the screen like in cartoons.

I couldn't help but trace the planes of his muscles with my eyes. He was looking down in the direction of his bare feet, his raven-colored hair falling forward to his chest. It almost seemed to point towards his muscled torso.

Piddling Piccadilly.

I counted up to six abs before catching myself and swiftly moving on, heat flooding my cheeks.

I was a hoe.

But if I was wrong, I didn't want to be right.

More scrolling, more Rhys. Rhys facing the window, Rhys scowling at Jasper, Rhys leaning over to open the car door...

Rhys smiling faintly at the camera, with a girl I'd never seen before leaning against him...

I abruptly stopped at the picture. Bringing the phone even closer to my face, I stared at the girl.