Invisible String

Chapter 17 -Remember the rules

As I consider the possibilities, I realize how much I've come to admire Ethan. He's an incredible guy, both in conversation and in his work.

And compared to Eros, Ethan seemed like a much better match.

"What about you?" all of the sudden Ethan's voice gets me out of my head.

"What about me?"

"It has to be tough, what you're going thru."

"It has his challenging days..." I say, still with my mind elsewhere.

"If you don't wan't to talk about it..."

"No, it's cool. I'll just have to get used to sharing, right?" I sigh, settling into the story of my romantic mishap. "Noah was my first real boyfriend," I start, my voice tinged with a mix of resignation and frustration. "He was an actor I met on the set of one of my early music videos. We had to kiss and pretend to be this perfect couple for the camera, but when the cameras stopped rolling, the act didn't. At first, he seemed like the dreamiest guy, but as time went on, cracks started to show. He could be a bit controlling, you know? Not in a glaring way, but enough to bug me. He'd do things to purposely annoy me, and then he'd make fun of me when I got mad. He'd also act like a totally different person around his friends, which really rubbed me the wrong way, but I kept quiet, didn't want to start a fight... I just wanted to keep up the illusion of our perfect relationship. Then, on the first leg of my latest tour, I caught him cheating with someone from my staff. I left him, of course. I mean, I loved him, but I knew I deserved better. And dealing with all the pretending was getting exhausting. So, we didn't talk for months. My manager, Alexa, handled everything about me moving out of our home so I wouldn't have to see him, and to the press, I was the one who ended it, that's the narrative they put out. I never said a thing about that. I protected him, even if it made me look like the bad guy, even if he was the one who hurt me. And then, just recently, he resurfaces online and starts leaking private pictures of us from some secret account on social media. I have no clue why... Revenge for leaving him, I guess? But it doesn't make sense."

"That's so messed up, Genesis. Please tell me you're seeking legal action against him," he says, his expression a mix of horror and concern. I didn't like being looked at that way, but if I was going to do that interview on TV that Alexa and I were planning, I knew I had to get used to it.

"Yes, I am," I reassure him.

"Guys like him deserve to be behind bars."

I pause, briefly considering his words. Would seeing him behind bars truly bring me happiness? The thought of taking away his freedom feels like a heavy burden to bear.

He did the same thing to you -a little voice inside my head says.

But I know it's not the same. Despite my current circumstances of house arrest, I'm still able to spend time with a really cute boy and his friends while recording music. Jail is a completely different story. Before sending someone off to prison, I want to explore other alternatives that would fit the crime better.

Before I can respond, Logan returns from the kitchen.

"What are you guys talking about?" Logan curiously asks, as he hands out cans of beer to his friend and me.

I recall he mentioned earlier that he wasn't drinking tonight, citing the bitter taste left in his mouth from the last time he got too drunk. Knowing now that he was a very sloppy drunk, I thought that was a good idea.

"Genesis is telling me about that Noah dude," Ethan responds before I have a chance to explain.

"I'll be right back," Logan says abruptly, surprising me as he quickly retreats to the kitchen once more.