Keegan129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzQIJ1K4Bz
“This is a story about love. And about hate.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlINs0xZ9R5
Rebecca Wolfe’s lush voice rises and falls as she looks into the camera; it almost sounds like she’s reciting a fairy tale. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKNFqcPf05
But it’s not a fairy tale. She’s talking about real people, real problems. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1k48MkMVG
“This is a story about ambition and power,” Rebecca goes on, “heroism and heartbreak. It’s about two young lovers—rich college kids—just getting started in life. And about other young people who will never get a chance to live their lives, go to college.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoh3hMtYOEc
“Young, brave men barely out of boyhood, men from disadvantaged backgrounds, who will never get married or have a child. Who will never grow old, never look back at all they’ve accomplished.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4evOUmSA5
She’s really piling it on thick. Blue, standing next to me and holding my hand, flinches at her words.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNauX7U7o3
We’re standing under a cloudy sky on the Oval, the center of campus. We’re just out of view of the camera trained on Rebecca, and we’ve been told to wait until she introduces us and then step into the shot together.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBmRfivto1
“This is also a story about friendship,” Rebecca intones. “And betrayal. Courage and cowardice. It’s an almost Shakespearean saga. It’s about telling the truth. And about a terrible lie.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJiYZKvd9U
Holmlund, standing a few feet away, fidgets at her words.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzDHzTcaiC
“Un…fucking…believable,” he says loud enough to be heard by the producer, a woman named Allie, who is standing in front of Rebecca next to a burly, bearded cameraman.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbsOeAcig5
Allie turns to glare at Holmlund, and he swells up like one of the scrappy roosters at the ranch.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvIQvgsxrS
“This is not what we agreed to,” he says in a stage whisper, obviously wanting Rebecca to hear him. He slaps his palm against his forehead and walks a tight, angry circle before continuing. “This is absolutely not what we agreed to.” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMkWIaaWwk
Allie moves toward Holmlund with her hands out, slowly lowering them as she tries to calm and quiet him. So, naturally, he raises his voice.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPlrE8lV1e
“Allie,” he says, “what the hell is this about rich kids and disadvantaged backgrounds? What are you trying to do? Set up some kind of rich versus poor angle?”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Fhxay4owa
I look back and forth between Holmlund and Rebecca, who goes on speaking into the camera as her eyes shift ever so slightly toward her whispering producer, who is doing her best to contain our lawyer.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrhiFauf5g
“Money has nothing to do with this story, and you know it,” Holmlund goes on. “I was promised an objective interview. And what’s stuff about a terrible lie? That’s editorializing.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTRbeNPhe1
Blue’s eyes are fixed on Rebecca, but I’m not sure he’s really watching her. He has that look he sometimes gets when he is seeing something other than what’s in front of him.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW9ueduPSBu
After another moment of Holmlund’s ranting, Rebecca drops her microphone. “Cut! Goddammit, cut.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7RVG6QtRr
She stomps over to Holmlund, her heels sinking into the brown grass. “What is the problem?” she snaps.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGQdnfAF15
This close, I realize she’s older than I’d initially thought. Wrinkles brackets her eyes at the temples, and two heavy frown lines between her brows are in full force. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVN173XyeTQ
At least she hasn’t botoxed her face into an emotionless mask. As a public figure, the pressure to do that is probably intense. I like her a little better for resisting.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5nYJ9gsT3
Until she opens her mouth again.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1m4zViSzbi
“I told you up front that I would go where the facts take me in this story,” she says evenly, her gaze flickering over me and Blue before coming back to Holmlund’s contorted face. “And it’s a fact that these two had every possible advantage growing up and that the boys in Mr. Daniels’ unit, the boys who went out looking for him, who went out to save him from his own—”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7b3hp0epAc
Holmlund and I start protesting at the same time, but Blue silences all of us with his quiet words. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMW7GYq8kw
“That’s right. You’re right. I grew up rich. And Monti, Hud, and Cunny all grew up without much money.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QksLNNupV
All of us just stare at Blue for a moment.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmpFgBOPAF
“But what I did,” he goes on, “and what they did, had nothing to do with money. I enlisted in the Army. I didn’t have to do that. I wanted to. I wanted to serve my country. And those guys didn’t have to go out looking for me. They wanted to find me and bring me back. They were my brothers. They were…”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVq4iuqVfq
His voice falters, and I loop an arm around him. Then I swing around to face Rebecca. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOU6BcKHew
“Are you even interested in hearing our story, hearing the truth?” I hiss. “Or are you just looking to sensationalize it, turn me and Blue into some kind of friggin’ media circus? That’s not journalism, that’s just…just… pathetic.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpTtjUUdN9
Brilliant. Insult one of the most powerful journalists in the country, Keegan. Very strategic.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2vvlGmOYv
“I think we may have to cancel this interview,” Holmlund piles on, shaking his head and shooting me a look. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdOd8eTa06d
I guess I’m supposed to leave the verbal jousting to him. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1jk80nhq7
“It’s obvious,” he adds in the portentous tone I already recognize as part of his act, “that my clients are not going to be treated fairly.” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZeOkmLJZl
“From a journalist of your stature, Ms. Wolfe, I expected an objective, open-minded approach. But this, this is the exact opposite of that.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNErEWnoZq
Again the grave, theatrical shake of his head. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYi1tCYGviz
There’s no way he’s really canceling the interview. He’s just angling for better treatment. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RvErx7iwn
I can tell from the way Rebecca’s bright-red lips curve into a cynical smile that she’s not buying it either.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7BtMRlxYm
“The stupidest thing you could do at this point,” she says calmly, looking only at me and Blue, “is to walk away. It’s too late to stop this story from getting out there.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc7MgtkYZHw
She pauses dramatically, studying her bright red fingernails. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLhqQ56cqo
“Whether you go through with the interview or not,” Rebecca goes on, “I’m doing a whole hour on it. Tonight. I’ve got other sources I can put on camera. I’m pretty good at getting people to talk to me.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdBaJDHHUF
I can’t help taking a sharp, audible breath, instantly think about Megz. Would she really break the NDA she signed and risk getting thrown out of OU to appear on TV? Or could it also be people from Fort Sill? Lots of people there now know what Blue did. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZgjIxqFNM
It could even be the family members of the men who died. It’s inevitable some of them will give media interviews.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9f0K0Cwtq
But we were supposed to get our story out there first.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbr4LAeBqj
Rebecca turns back toward me and Blue. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGK3pA8eiAW
“As for Keegan and Blue, I need a decision now on whether they’re continuing with the interview. We’re on a tight schedule here.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnB1uqDkrE
No one says anything for a long, awkward moment.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VR6cXMrN1
“This story is going to be big,” Rebecca continues, ramming home her point. “The rich, powerful families involved, the life-and-death drama of it all. The love story. The media and public are going to eat it up.” Her voice has softens just a little.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPYUdh08Bq
“Your attorney knows this,” she adds, her eyes raking Holmlund. “That’s why he called me. That’s why he desperately wants you to do this interview with me.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyzVKgLMid
Holmlund makes some small, disagreeable sound, but we all know it’s just for show.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGo9eAIhYJ
“So let’s stop playing games,” Rebecca wraps up, her tone crisp, dismissive. “This is your chance to tell the world your story. After today, it’s not going to be a media circus like Keegan said. It’s going to be a media storm. I don’t think you two really understand what’s about to rain down on you.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ248f6IQ2cC
I’m a friggin’ journalism major. I’ve followed the news as long as I can remember. Especially in the internet age, I do understand. And it scares the shit out of me. But I don’t want Blue to know that.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKne8nwGetp
And Holmlund is probably right. That media storm may be the only thing that can save Blue.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPvnaM1i9D
“You need to have the whole story—your side of it—out there from the beginning,” Rebecca says. “And there’s no one who can give you a bigger audience than me.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxHVmcNucY
It’s like the three of us are frozen. We just stand there. Not even Holmlund says anything. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnbw1s9RTX
“Still,” Rebecca sighs, turning on her heel, “if you’ve decided to cancel, that’s fine. That’s fine.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRnBzV2WLl
“Wait.” Blue tucks my hand into his arm as he says it and pulls me with him toward the camera. “We’ll do it.” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9StqGOE96
He takes a deep breath, and then his whole body seems to deflate. “Of course we’re going to do it. I just. . .never mind. Let’s get it over with.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFASip7Khz
~~~
Thanks for reading Tangled Up in Blue! More coming up soon. What do you think so far? Please like, share and follow this story!
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