Outer Masks - Chapter 19: Pathetic Little Girls

Three Days Later 

Max was staring at Rory skeptically and had been doing so since he entered her penthouse, waiting for her to give him some kind of insight into what she was feeling. 

“Are you just going to sit there, staring at me like a fucking weirdo?” Rory sighed, glancing between her friend and the game they were supposed to be playing on her tv screen. 

“That depends, are you going to sit here and act like seeing Hailey again hasn’t fucked you up?” Max asked. 

“It hasn’t.” Rory said, “I’m perfectly fine.” 

“Is that why you haven’t gone outside in the last three days? Or why I had to basically force my way inside? Or why you weren’t responding to any of my calls or texts?” 

“I was busy.” Rory muttered, pointedly not looking in Max’s direction as she used the controller in her hands. 

She did not mean to ignore everyone, but seeing Hailey made her feel that same insecurity she once experienced in high school, one that made her question of she truly deserved all the people and things in her life. 

Max threw his head back and groaned, “Is that really the excuse you’re going to use?” 

“It’s not an excuse.” 

Max glared at Rory, but if was half-hearted at best because he was worried about Rory rather than angry at her. 

She’s closing herself off again. Max thought, tossing his controller to the other side of the couch. 

Rory refused to look in Max’s direction, even as she was now playing on her own, which only worried Max even more. 

They sat there like this for a few more minutes before Rory’s phone started ringing, and Max could see that Peach was the one who was calling her. 

Rory glanced at her phone; her experience twisted into one of guilt for a few seconds before becoming blank once more and she ignored Peach’s call. 

Max huffed, watching as Peach called Rory’s phone again, and for the woman sitting next to him to ignore it again. “And you really expect me to believe you’re fine when you’re ignoring Peach of all people’s calls?” 

“You and I are hanging out, excuse me for wanting to give you my undivided attention.” Rory shrugged, still not looking his way. 

“Yeah, right.” Max muttered. 

Rory sighed, “Max-” 

“Rory, Hailey Andrews is a fucking bitch.” Max said, his lip curling in disgust when he said Hailey’s name. “But you shouldn’t let her or anyone else dictate how you feel about yourself and how you live your life, because their opinions don’t mean shit.” 

“I know that.” Rory murmured, putting down her controller with a sigh, “But it’s just... it's just so hard not to.” 

While she was able to fake her outward confidence, it was hard not to care, not when the world was so adamant about making Rory feel like she was a freak of nature that should have been killed at birth. Rory could never fully squash down those dark thoughts, they lived as a part of her, buried deep down inside of her heart. 

Her being intersex was why Sandy loved her less than she did Joe, it was why Raphael, amongst Rory being born from an affair Sandy had, treated Rory like she was his personal punching bag, it was why her parents sought to keep her sheltered from the world, it was every relationship of hers only lasted for a short time before crashing and burning, and it was why she was always the butt of the joke to people like Hailey. 

I hate this. Why can’t I just...Ugh, this fucking sucks. Rory thought, slumping back onto the couch. 

For the past few days, Rory only wanted to hide from the world, hide the parts of herself that felt as if they had been ripped open and bared for everyone to see. 

If I could talk to my younger self, I would tell her to run and never believe for a second that Hailey Andrew would never want to be her friend.

~X~

Why the fuck isn’t she picking up? Peach thought, ending the call when she heard the familiar sound of Rory’s voicemail starting to play. 

She hung up with a scowl, leaning back into Beck’s couch, resisting the urge she had to throw her phone against the wall. 

“I’m just saying that it would be better to take my advice, Blythe is sweet, but she doesn't understand the complexities or the importance of marketing.” Lynn said, trying to make Beck see sense, “Maintaining artistic integrity by not selling out is great and all, but completely unrealistic, and it certainly doesn’t pay the bills.” 

Yesterday, Beck had gotten a call from Skyhorse Publishing who had read her short story and had seen the online reception to it, wanting to sign a deal with her. 

Lynn had been trying to convince Beck since then to take it, seeing it as the best opportunity she was going to get, and that she should not throw it away because this may not happen again. While Blythe had called Beck, telling her that Skyhorse Publishing was an evil, feckless corporation with little to no morals and who was beholden to the almighty dollar. 

“I mean, she wasn’t wrong when she said that they publish and promote people with fringe beliefs.” Beck argued weakly. 

Lynn scoffed, “Everything we use, do, and own is only possible because of giant corporations, if you decided not give anything to a corporation because of its morals, then you'd have to renounce technology and civilization and become a recluse, foraging for food in the woods.” 

“That’s pretty specific.” Annika teased, making Lynn roll her eyes. 

“It’s the truth.” Lynn said before looking back at Beck, “That's why you have to sign this deal, because the next person after you certainly going to.” 

Peach started scrolling through social media, looking at Hailey’s page for the tenth time this morning. 

So far, her internet stalking had revealed to her that Hailey Andrew was the daughter of a famous former model and a movie producer, and that Rory and Max had gone to the same high school for over a year before the two of them suddenly transferred during their sophomore year. 

I already knew about that transfer, but I thought it was just Rory, not her and Max. Peach thought. 

She was not looking at an old picture on Hailey’s Instagram, one that showed her and Rory at their Homecoming dance; their arms wrapped around each other as they smiled at the camera. 

Again, Peach felt the urge to throw her phone at the wall as she looked at the picture. 

“Peach? What do you think?” Beck asked the other woman. 

Peach slowly blinked, trying to remember what the others were talking about while she was distracted. “I think you should take the deal.” 

Beck nervously adjusted herself in her seat, “Yeah, but what if… But what if this is the wrong choice?” 

Peach rolled her eyes, looking at Beck like she thought she was being stupid. “What is this about? Joe? Is this why you’re afraid of doing this? Because you were just like this when your professor asked you to submit your writing in the first place.” 

It's not the only reason. Beck thought, still worried that all of this exposure to her work would draw Joe and her father’s attention. “It's just… what I wrote was kind of mean and-” 

“Oh please! Why should you care about what Joe thinks?” Peach let out an annoyed groan, “He's the ass who you broke up with because he was stalking and trying to control you and who is already dating someone else. Why should his feelings stop you from pursuing your dream?” 

Beck could not say that Peach’s words did not resonate with her, especially as she was reminded of Joe having a new girlfriend. 

Why should I care what Joe or what my dad thinks? Why should I care about not hurting them? They didn’t give a shit when the shoe was on the other foot. 

Beck picked up her phone and started going through her call history. 

“Does this mean?” Lynn asked, looking at Beck with anticipation. 

Beck grinned, “I’m going to call them back.” 

“Yes!” Lynn cheered, “Now, we need to set up a meeting and get a couple of lawyers to bring with us so we can-” 

“You know, Beck didn’t ask you to be her manager, right?” Annika asked with a laugh. 

Lynn crossed her arms, pouting, “Excuse me for wanting our very inexperienced friend here to not be taken advantage of.” 

As Lynn and Annika started to playfully argue with each other, Peach tried texting Rory again, only this time Peach could see that Rory had read her message and ignored it. 

I’m going to kill her. Peach thought as she squeezed her phone and began grinding her teeth together.

~X~

The Next Day 

“See? Isn’t it better to be outside rather than sulking in your penthouse?” Max asked as he pulled his friend into the arcade. 

“I wasn’t sulking, asshole.” Rory muttered as she reluctantly allowed Max to pull her along, “Excuse me for not wanting to go out every night like your worthless ass.” 

Max rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Now shut up so I can kick your ass in Alley Hoops.” 

Rory could admit that beating Max in every game they played made her feel better, especially as Max grew more competitive with each loss. 

Time passed quickly for the duo, and eventually Rory went to sit at the bar, eating from a large plate of nachos and watching as Max was playing a round of Dance Dance Revolution against a twelve-year-old. 

How is he still losing? Rory thought amused, a crowd growing around the machine as Max struggled to keep up with his smug opponent. 

“You know, you could take the time to call people back if you’re able to spend hours in an arcade.” Rory nearly choked on her food when she heard Peach’s voice. 

Rory quickly lifted her beer, taking a large gulp so as to clear her throat before turning around and seeing the other woman standing behind her, a fiery glare on her face. 

“H-Hey, Peaches.” Rory inwardly cursed herself when her voice cracked, “What’s up?” 

“What’s up?” Peach parroted in an incredulously tone, “Are you seriously asking me that?” 

“Uh, yes?” Rory pursed her lips, “Wait, how did you even know where I was?” 

“Don’t try and change the subject.” Peach said, not wanting to tell the other woman that she had been stalking her on social media and that Rory did not have her location turned off on most of them, which allowed her to know where Rory whenever she used one of them. “Why the fuck have you been ignoring and avoiding me? And does it have anything to do with that trollop we saw at the club the other night?” 

“Trollop?” Rory asked with a laugh, “What are you, a nineteenth century English lady? Keep talking like that and you’ll turn into my brother.” 

Peach ignored the jab, “Rory.” 

Rory sighed, scratching the back of her neck, “It’s…. It’s just complicated.” 

Peach sat down in the sit next to Rory, “Then explain it to me in an uncomplicated way.” 

Rory dragged her finger against the side of her sweating beer glass, “When my parents adopted me, I didn’t go to school for the first few years, instead they got a bunch of fancy tutors to come teach me. It wasn’t until I was fourteen years old and was going to start high school, that they finally allowed me to attend an actual school.” 

Rory’s eyes glossed over as she remembered her high school experience; she hated being reminded of it all as it was just another point in her life where she felt useless and like an embarrassment for everyone to mock and belittle. 

“Rory?” Peach saw the faraway look in Rory’s eyes as she stopped talking, and she placed a hand on top of Rory’s arm. 

Rory blinked, clearing her throat, “At the first high school I went to, Walden Prep, I thought it would just be me keeping to myself with Max as the only person I talked to, and It was like that for most of our freshmen year, until… until Hailey Andrews, the most popular girl in our grade decided to talk me. I was hesitant at first, to trust her, and I usually tried to ignore her whenever she would try to talk to me, but she wore me down eventually. Max was happy that I was trying to just be a normal kid, and that I was hanging out with other people, Hailey was even the one who convinced me that I should join all the school clubs and teams that I did. We were friends until we weren’t.” 

Peach knew what Rory meant when she said that she and Hailey were friends until they were not. 

They dated? Peach thought, disgusted and enraged at the idea of Rory being with anyone, even as she knew it was irrational to feel this way. 

Rory continued her story, her eyes becoming glossy again, “I think I… no, I know I loved her, I thought she was the first person outside of Joe, Max, and my parents to see me, to really see me, and I thought I could trust Hailey, with… everything. So, after a couple of months, we slept together for the first time, and I… The next day I was riding high, only for me to walk into school and see pictures of me, naked, all over the hallway, I guess she took them when I fell asleep, and she and her friends put them up for everyone to see them, and everyone... Turns out Hailey only dated me as a dare from one of her friends, to… to find out why the quiet girl who trailed behind Max was so fucking weird. The bullying got so bad, my parents had to threaten legal action against the school to get people to stop sharing the pictures, and I had to transfer in the middle of my sophomore year. Our whole relationship was just a fucking joke, and I was stupid enough to fall for it, to think that someone like her, that anyone could ever want me and don’t just want to use me.” 

“That isn’t true!” The words rushed out of Peach’s mouth, “You have to know that it's not, you’re-” 

“No one I’ve ever been with hasn’t used me in one way or another, Peach. I’ve accepted that I’m just never going to find anyone who won’t.” 

“Okay, Hailey and most of the women you’ve been with have been bitches, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll never find love. There’s a perfect woman out there who will be everything you want and won’t be two-faced.” 

“But you don’t love me.” 

Peach froze when Rory said this, unable to formulate a response to Rory thinking that she was the perfect woman for her. 

Rory smiled at the gobsmaked look on Peach’s face, happy to know that she was still capable of shocking the other woman. 

“Don’t say that.” Peach said softly, turning away from Rory as she felt her face heating up. 

Rory’s smile soon became bittersweet, “It’s how I feel, Peaches.” 

It had been tiring trying to hide her feelings, even as she knew that she may scare Peach off again; she could not help herself. 

“Rory, I...” 

“You don’t have to say anything, I get it.” Rory said, “I’m just trying to tell you why I’m not very optimistic about there being someone out there for me.” 

Before Peach could say anything else, Max had suddenly appeared, shoving himself between the two women, grinning as he did so. “So, what are we talking about?” 

“How shitty you are at pretty much everything.” Rory said without missing a beat. 

It almost impressed Peach just how quickly Rory could put on a mask and act as if nothing was wrong, and she had not just verbally knocked Peach off her feet. 

Peach stared at the side of Rory’s face while she and Max talked to each other, wondering just how the woman sitting next to her was real. 

Which in turn made Peach angry with herself because she still could not be honest with herself and with Rory. 

“Peach.” Max said leaning down far enough that their noses almost touched, “How good are you at Skee-ball?” 

Rory let out a snort as Peach leaned away from Max, “Even if Peaches is absolute garbage at Skee-ball she’d still be better that your ass.” 

Max gave Rory a playful glare, “First of all, fuck you, secondly-” 

“Rory?” Both Rory and Max tensed when they heard the voice of the woman they had been trying to avoid thinking about. 

Rory tensed when she turned around at immediately met with a pair of blue eyes she had once loved, “W-What are you doing here, Hailey?” 

Hailey fidgeted, “Uh, Max posted a picture of the arcade on his Insta.” 

“Great, now I have to make it private.” Max sneered, standing up fully so that he towered over the woman. “It was bad enough that we had to run into you the other day, but now you’re stalking Rory?” 

“No!” Hailey exclaimed, “I just wanted to-” 

“To what? Try and see if you can break her heart again? Are you that much of a sadistic bitch that you to follow her so you can see effects of what you did?” Max spat, and Hailey took a step back in response. 

“Max, stop.” Rory said, tugging Max’s arm and pulling him back, her eyes darting around as people started to look at them. 

But Max ignored her as he continued to question Hailey, his anger growing the longer he was forced to look at the woman. 

Rory had never been the most confident or self-assured person, what she told him of her life before her adoption had ensured that, but for years, Max had to watch the effects that Hailey’s cruel prank had on her already fragile self-esteem, had to watch Rory make herself small and keep everyone that was not him, her brother, or her parents at distance so that she would not be hurt again. 

And this thing has the nerve to walk back into Rory’s life like nothing happened?! Max thought, practically seeing red. 

Rory felt like she could not breath as more of the arcade turned their attention to them, their eyes reminding Rory of the eyes of her classmates at Walden Prep, as if she was an oddity for their entertainment. And she could not stop herself from imagining that the customers were laughing at her just as her classmates once did. 

Her vision started to blur, and Rory did not know if she was going to vomit or cry, but she knew that she needed to leave before she did either in front of an audience. 

Rory rushed to stand, knocking over her stool in the process, and running out of the arcade, ignoring the calls of her friends and Hailey as she did so. 

Rory did not know how long she ran for, but by the time she stopped, she was out of breath and when she looked up, could see that the Empire State Building looked to be only a few blocks away from where she was standing. 

“Fuck, fucking fuck.” Rory gasped, “What the fuck is wrong with me?” 

She wanted to grab her hair and scream until her voice was hoarse, to dig her fingernails into her scalp just so that she could feel something else other than shame and fear. 

Rory took a deep breath, finally registering the sensation of her phone vibrating in her pocket. She ignored the vibrations, knowing that it would most likely be Max or Peach that was calling her, wanting to know why she had run off and where. 

I fucking hate this. Rory thought, forcing herself to walk, still tired from her frantic running. Why did Hailey have to come back into my life? And why now?

~X~

“Look what you did!” Max shouted, “You just have to ruin everything, don’t you?!” 

Hailey glared at Max, having had enough of his attitude, “Me? You’re the one making a scene, Maximilian!” 

Max sneered at Hailey, “Only because you can't take a fucking hint and get lost.” 

Peach huffed, “Are you two done acting like fucking children? You’re both making a scene, so stop shouting at each other.” 

Max and Hailey glared at each other one last time before looking away, temporarily ending their argument. 

Hailey looked Peach up and down, recognizing her as the woman who had given her the evil eye at the club. “Who even are you?” 

“Peach Salinger, and I’m the woman who didn’t Rory and broke her heart all for the sake of a suck joke.” Peach said, her lips curling into a mean smirk. 

Hailey scowled, “Rory told you?” 

“She did, and its only because I care about her that I’m not ripping your hair out right now.” 

Hailey brown furrowed, “So, Rory told you she's-” 

“Shut up!” Max hissed, his eyes briefly flickering towards Peach, not wanting Hailey revealing to Peach Rory’s secret. 

A gleam appeared in Hailey’s eyes as she looked at Max and then Peach, “Oh, I get it; you don’t actually know everything.” 

Peach bristled at Hailey’s tone, “And what is that supposed to mean?” 

“You just seem pretty defensive and possessive over Rory when she doesn't even trust you enough to tell you everything about herself.” Hailey replied, feeling smug about Peach’s ignorance. 

Peach fumed, wanting to know just what Rory was hiding and wanting to wipe the arrogant look off Hailey’s face. She turned to Max, gritting her teeth, “Pay the bill so we can go catch Rory.” 

With that Peach turned on her heel and stormed out of the building, angier than she had been before talking to Rory. 

What the hell was that bitch talking about? Peach thought, hating the idea that someone like that could possibly know more about Rory than she did.  

“Hey! Peach, wait up!” Max yelled as he jogged towards Peach, forcing her to stop when he caught up and jumped in front of her. “Geez, didn’t you hear me? I thought you said you wanted us to look for Rory together?” 

“What was Hailey talking about when she said that I didn’t know everything about Rory?” Peach immediately asked, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Max. 

Max huffed, “That isn’t my secret to tell. If you want to know, you’ll have to ask Rory herself.” 

Peach stared at Max for a moment before clicking her teeth, “Where do you think she could have run off to?” 

Max sighed, glad that Peach was not going to push the issue, “I don’t know, but she couldn’t have gotten that far, right?” 

“Let’s hope not.” Peach muttered, walking past Max and in the direction that she was sure she had seen Rory running in.

~X~

Hours Later, the Upper East Side 

Walter sighed as he shifted through the photos on his desk, not even one so far had shown the man within them doing anything suspicious and this fact only served to irritate him further. 

“Why are her sitting here with only your desk lamp? You know it’s bad for your eyesight, Walter.” Amber said as she walked into the office, turning on the lights as she did so. 

Walter frowned, not looking up from the photos in his hands, “I just don’t understand why we haven’t found anything on him yet. Do we need to get a new private investigator?” 

“No, we don’t, we have already gone through four this month alone.” Amber sighed, sitting down on the corner of the desk next to her husband. “You should just give it time; Joseph is bound to screw up sooner or later and then will be able to get him out of our lives for good.” 

Ever since they found out that Rory was still talking to and seeing Joe, the two had been looking to find concrete proof that they could use to show their daughter the type of man they suspected her half-brother to be. 

“I know.” Walter said, tossing the pictures onto the desk and leaning back in his chair, “It’s just annoying that it is taking so long. Either Joe is a genius and knows how to cover his tracks well, he has the luck of a hundred men, or a higher power is looking down on him.” 

Amber snorted, “Or the police are just highly incompetent and negligent.” 

Walter rolled his eyes, “Yes, or that.” 

The two fell into a calm silence for a brief moment, and Amber began looking through the pictures their private investigator had obtained over the last few weeks while Walter tiredly watched her. 

Amber soon froze when she found herself looking at one of the finally pictures in the set, “Think this building is 30 Hudson Yards.” 

Walter looked down to see what his wife was talking about, seeing Joe, dressed in dark clothes and with a baseball cap on his head, walking into the skyscraper. The image looked to be taken from one of the building's security cameras. 

“Why the hell would he be somewhere like this?” Walter muttered. 

He then looked at the last three pictures behind this one; the first showed Joe walking through the main lobby of the building, the second showed him turning into a hallway, and the third showed Joe entering a room labeled ‘security room’. 

“Wait, I think 30 Hudson Yards is close to the Chelsea Arts Tower.” Amber said before grabbing her cell phone to look up the building’s address. 

Walter's brow furrowed, “Why would that be important?” 

Amber’s eyes widened, “I was right, it is.” 

“Again, why is this important?” 

“It’s important because we have Joe going into the building’s security room, which most likely has a security panel with access to every camera in the building. And do you remember what happened a few weeks ago with Rory and Peach?” 

Walter's eyes widened as he realized what his wife was alluding to. 

They had to threaten to sue the blog that had posted the picture of Rory and Peach at Ansley’s party, but even when it was taken down, the damage had already been done and the internet had taken it as its own. 

Walter looked up at his wife, “Do you think that…” 

“That Joe Goldberg snuck into 30 Hudson Yards, went through their security footage, found that picture of Rory and Peach kissing, and anonymously releasing it to out Peach and keep her and our daughter from getting together? Yes, I fucking am.” Amber said, her eyes narrowing. 

She was furious, wanting to storm into that hovel that Joe called an apartment and end his worthless life for thinking that he could forcefully control Rory's life from behind the scenes. 

“That fucking bastard!” Walter shouted, slamming his hands down on the desk. “The fucking nerve! Where does he get off manipulating Rory like this? Did he not think about the effects of putting this online? I should kill him!” 

Although Amber felt the same, she pushed herself off the desk and placed her hands on Walter's shoulders, slowly rubbing them. “I want to hurt him too, but we have to move about this cautiously and not allow our emotions to make us reckless. Otherwise that slimy fucker might get away again.” 

Walter chuckled, his wife rarely used such foul language, seeing it as beneath someone of her status, so it was amusing to see Amber getting so heated. 

“Then what do you suggest that we do, darling?” Walter asked, wrapping his arms around Amber's waist, and smirking as Amber leaned closer to him. 

Amber smiled at Walter, knowing that he would full heartedly agree with what she would come up with. 

This may finally be the thing that gets Rory to see that Joe isn't the kind of man that he likes to pretend that he is. Amber thought, her smile growing.

~X~

Beck groaned as she walked down the street, ignoring yet another phone call from her father. 

She had not spoken to Edward since the Dickens Festival, still upset over the fight she had with Nancy, and Edward not coming to her defense. 

Beck knew that her father had to be calling her over her short story, as he has never called her so many times before, left so many texts, or even left her a voicemail, but now she had several that had gone ignored this far. 

I knew he would see it at some point, I mean, Clyde and Anya have, although they don’t speak to dad. Fuck, do I even want to know what he thinks? Beck thought, looking at her phone screen, wondering if she should call him back or look at one of the many messages he left her. 

She should just ignore Edward, but a part of her did want to know what he thought, while also being upset that it took her father this long to realize that she had written a now popular story and that he was one the main subjects of it. 

At least I don’t have Joe trying to call me about the story. Beck frowned as her thoughts turned towards her ex-boyfriend. 

She should be flying high, enjoying the success that she had worked so hard to get and had wanted for so long, but could not help but think about Joe. 

She thought that breaking up with Joe was the right thing to do especially after she caught him spying on her, but now she found herself thinking that she had made a mistake. 

Do I really want Joe back? He was spying on me, stalking me, and he clearly didn’t trust me. Ugh, and he’s already dating someone else, I mean we broke up only a few weeks ago, and he’s already moved on. 

Beck shuddered, turning around as she suddenly felt as if she was being watched, but she saw nothing behind her, just the empty street. 

“I'm just tired.” Beck muttered to herself but decided to walk faster. 

Unbeknownst to the woman, she was being watched and followed, and a figure stepped out of the shadows, smirking as their eyes never left Beck’s form.