Follow Me Back (complete first draft of the published book)

Chapter 25: Two Blind Mice

Chapter 25: Two Blind Mice

Eric kicked up his feet on the couch and scrolled back through his DM history for the timestamp he was seeking. It must have been around noon when he'd sent Tessa that first DM – five minutes after @EricThorn had tweeted his #HappyHoliday message to the world.

12/3/13, 11:57 AM

Taylor: This fandom is so f'ed up.

Tessa: What happened?

Taylor: They're animals. Bunch of bitches in heat.

Tessa: Who?

Taylor: The fangirls!

Tessa: OK....

Taylor: I think I might vomit.

Tessa: Are you going to tell me what happened?

Taylor: I mean he's a human being. Can't they just wish him a Merry Christmas? It's disgusting, some of the shit they tweet at him. 

Tessa: Well I wished him a Merry Christmas.

Taylor: Did you reply to him? I didn't see.

She'd answered by sending him a screenshot of her most recent tweet:

Tessa H (@TessaHeartsEric)
@EricThorn All I want for Christmas is to see a smile on your face tonight. Love you! Merry Christmas!

Eric felt the corners of his mouth quirk upward in an involuntary grin as he re-read the message. What was it about Tessa? She must have some kind of supernatural power, the way she could slice through his mood and reduce him to a grinning idiot with a few simple words.

He hadn't put it quite that way at the time.

Taylor: You're a sweetheart. The rest of them can rot.

Tessa: Oh, so I'm not a bitch in heat?

Taylor: I wasn't talking about you. You know you're a special case.

Tessa: Not really.

Taylor: You're isolated. You're on twitter for therapeutic reasons. That's different.

Tessa: You think I'm the only Eric Thorn fan that's here for therapeutic reasons?

Taylor: No? Who else? Are there crazy ones I should know about??

Tessa: Everyone I talk to is on here because of something. Teenagers who don't fit in at school... lonely housewives whose husbands are never home... You don't think they feel isolated?

Taylor: It's not exactly the same thing.

Tessa: People join fandoms to connect with other people. We're all here because there's something wrong in our real life. Something missing.

Taylor: So they tweet smut about a celebrity? Couldn't they join a book club or something?

Tessa: What "they"? You think you're so different?

Taylor: Oh no. I'm not part of this fandom. My username is @EricThornSucks. This is not a fan account.

Tessa: Then you tell me, Taylor. What are you even doing on twitter?

Taylor: I'm talking to you.

Tessa: "You help me deal with my shit. I help you deal with your shit."

Taylor: What are you quoting?

Tessa: I'm quoting you. That's what you said when I asked you what you wanted. So don't tell me you're not here for therapeutic reasons too.