Tetris in Red

34: Tetris in Focus

34: Tetris in Focus

Alec

My head snaps to Rhys as I feel her stiffen in my arms. The mask that slipped off so easily a while ago now firmly back in place. She looks at Holland with a scowl and a question in her eyes. My lips twitch slightly before shaking my head to will me out of my trance.

Holland is still frowning at us as he walks toward the living room, plopping down on a single-seat sofa with a huff. "Where were you? We've been calling you all day."

I step away from Rhys and look into her eyes. "Meet me in the studio in the morning. I believe I haven't given you the tour I promised."

Rhys is skeptical, her eyes scanning my pleading ones. Not long after, she gives me a hesitant nod, before she walks up the stairs. Holland is watching the whole exchange as I turn to him. I ignore his silent inquiry and take a seat opposite him. "What happened?"

No pleasantries. Holland and I haven't talked one on one after our argument in the hospital, much less address the issue. I don't need him as a friend yet. I need him as an agent. Not that he hasn't tried to reach out. He did. Every damn time we were doing stuff for publicity. But I'm not giving in until he gives the whole band an explanation.

Holland pulls out his phone and clicks on it a few times, obviously knowing the drill. When he's done, he leans across to hand it to me. It's an article with a picture of Rhys and me on the beach. Our backs were to the camera, only half of our faces were visible. Rhys was between my legs, my arms around her. It's a picture of our first kiss. I read the headline. A string of curse escaping me.

"The media had been relentless after that incident in Paris. Every time we are out in public, they'd take pictures of Tetris and you and makeup stories I don't know where the hell they heard." I grab my inhaler from my pocket as my throat begins to tighten. So many possible headlines about me and Rhys flashing through my mind. "It's getting out of control. We need to make a statement."

"I want to see." I want to know what we're dealing with. I want to know that we aren't going to take a step backward if Rhys will ever know. Because even though she hasn't admitted it to me yet, I know she's scared of this life.

He shakes his head. "They were mainly all about Tetris. You have nothing to worry about—"

"Then it's everything I need to worry about," I snap. Holland is taken aback, his jaw slack. "Look, Rhys had already done so much for us by being all silent about what you fucking did to her, and to us. It's only right you give her the same courtesy. She became our responsibility the minute you knocked on her door, Holland. I want to see, then I'll tell you how to deal with it."

We stare at each other for what seems like a full minute before he gave in. I'd do it myself, but we had already made sure to block all news related to our names before we signed up for our career. He made another series of clicks before passing his phone back to me.

My pulse skyrockets as I begin to read, each one a freaking knife to my gut.

Alec MacSweeny and Tetris Posziel Leaving Together After Mini-Show in Malibu

GET TO KNOW TETRIS POSZIEL AND HER EXTENSIVE LISTS OF ESCAPADES

Alec MacSweeny's Girlfriend An Ex-Stripper?

Pictures of us this past week greets my eyes: A picture of us in a charity ball, us leaving a hospital where we visited cancer patients, then more candids of us in the backstage. As I scroll down, my throat tightens even more that I have to stop and wipe the sweat on my forehead. There are pictures of Rhys in scantily, sequined, barely-there dresses. She's wearing heavy makeup but anyone can still recognize it was her.

One picture particularly catches my attention. One that graces almost every article about her and I. It's a picture of her sitting on a booth with five older men. Two of them appear to be shaking dollar bills at her. I chew on my bottom lip as I try so hard not to draw conclusions. She did admit that she was a Go-go dancer.

They're just tips for dancing, right? Tetris wasn't lying. She's the most honest and direct person I know. She could've left that part out, but she still told me straight-up. And besides, what's wrong if she was a stripper?

I continue scrolling. My whole body going rigid as I read another article released three days ago. This time, I put the phone down and lean against the sofa. My hand reaches up to wipe a palm across my face in frustration.

"We still can't trace where this particular photo came from. Must've been one of the journalists we invited. Or maybe it's a staff," Holland mutters when he saw what riled me up.

I grit my teeth. "He was harassing her at the time. They weren't fucking kissing. I want you to pull out the article."

"I tried to do damage control when I saw that. But it's too late. So many people already had a copy of it on multiple social media sites. Trended number one on Twitter worldwide and was already printed on the daily newspaper when I've gotten ahold of it."

My fist slams on the table. "And Cyprus?"

"You know he doesn't care about public opinion."

I feel so powerless. Anger slowly consuming me with every word coming out of Holland's mouth. I want to beat something, at the same time that I want to hide Tetris from all of this. Far, far away when no one can see her and dissect every moment of her life. We need to gain back control.

Rhys. She doesn't want a part of this. She just wants to build her reputation in her industry. That part... she made it loud and clear. The anger I feel gradually builds into fear. I feel as though, she's already slipping out of my grasps even when she's not aware of the extent of this yet.

I think about early this morning, how worried she was that someone would recognize us, how mad she was that I could subject us to something that stupid. Now I feel like shit. How are we going to get past this?

"I..." I clear my throat and straighten up. "I'm going to make a statement later this week. Give us time to figure it out. For now, I want you to leave me out of any appearances due until we released it. I'll keep Rhys here with me in the meantime."

Holland shakes his head. "No. You're opening the VMAs on Monday. Then there's this photoshoot and interview with Vogue on Wednesday. Both events can't be postponed. Everything else, I can fix."

I curse. "All right. Just... give us time." I sigh and look Holland straight in the eyes, making sure he understands every word. "Rhys means something to me. I don't want them to ruin her."

A glint of understanding flashes across them. "But they already did, Alec. They are already ruining her."

I shake my head in denial. "Not yet. Not when we can still do something about it. Not when she doesn't know anything yet."

He nods.
I nod.
But we both know we are already in deep.
And the name Tetris Posziel is already drowning.

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