the river | e. roundtree

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PITTSBURGH ON THREE
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TRANSCRIPT FROM TOM RHODES' INTERVIEW ON THE MIKE DOUGLAS SHOW

Mike Douglas: I heard rumours that you and Kathryn Summers from The Six, once dated. Is that true?

Tom Rhodes: [Laughs] Unfortunately, that is true Mike.

Mike Douglas: Unfortunately? Why do you say unfortunately? I'd say it's unfortunate it didn't work out, Kathryn is very easy on the eye.

Tom Rhodes: Don't let her good looks deceive you, Mike. Kathryn is a real piece of work.

Mike Douglas: Care to elaborate?

Tom Rhodes: Well, for starters she cheated on me multiple times. I mean if I were to call her a whore that would be me putting it nicely. [Laughs] She would belittle me, call me names... what's the word for it?

Mike Douglas: Bullying? Emotional abuse?

Tom Rhodes: [Clicks fingers] Emotional abuse that's it! I mean she treated me like dirt, Mike... I think the worst of it all was when she found out she was pregnant and instead of asking me if I wanted a baby she just went behind my back and got an abortion. I begged her not too...

Mike Douglas: Wow, sounds like she's an impossible woman. [Laughs]

Tom Rhodes: She's more than impossible, Mike. Steer clear of that one, gentlemen.
—

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Kathryn screamed. "This asshole just blamed every single thing he did to me on me! On national fucking television," Kathryn was seething. She was seeing red, her hands balled into fists as she stood in front of the tv.

—
Interviewer: Why didn't you set the record straight?

Kathryn Summers: Because i'm a woman. Because people choose to believe a good looking man over a woman.
He had the whole world fooled.
This is finally my time to set the record straight and i'm sure people still won't believe me.
—

"What's all the commotion about?" Camila asked, wiping her hands on her jean shorts as her and Billy walked inside the house after a long day of packing their things, anticipating for their move into their new house.

"Tom fucking Rhodes lying about me on the Mike Douglas Show," Kathryn said. Everyone went silent, watching as Kathryn stared daggers into the tv.

"Did you love him?" Warren piped up.

Kathryn turned around, everyone sucked in a breath, assuming that Kathryn would snap. "I thought I did," she said, walking over to the couch and slumping in between Eddie and Warren. Warren wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "It wasn't love, just heavy manipulation."

"I'm sorry," Warren said, rubbing her shoulder.

Kathryn pushed Tom to the back of her mind, she had tried so desperately to forget about him only to be reminded of him again. Every newspaper, every magazine, radio stations, the tv. The news had spread like wildfire. Kathryn was a social pariah, all thanks to a rumour. She was sure that Tom was at home, laughing to himself.

—
Kathryn Summers: Camila and Billy moved out and there was this sense of freedom. It felt like we could be as loud and as reckless as we wanted too without any consequences.
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