Page 79 of Fighting the Odds

“Oh, I will.” She giggles. I give her another hug before standing up.

“Okay, let’s get out there. I’ve got to get to the club and Earl’s going to be getting back in touch with a plan. I’m going to leave you in the safe care of Cyrus.”

She just smiles and follows me as I leave her bedroom.

“Okay boys, I’m out of here. Talk, but that’s it. You treat my niece wrong and you’re all pig food.”

With that, I open the front door and step into the hallway.

I’m going to need a drink to watch this flash drive. But I need to know what happened.

Chapter 37

Sierra

“Soo…” I rock back and forth on my feet. “Shouldn’t you guys go to school? I’m sure your dad has found out you’re not there.”

“He’s already messaged us. I vaguely told him that something happened and we’re with you. He said it was okay, but we’d have a conversation tonight.” Zander smiles.

Fuck, that means he has to tell his dad about the video. My stomach churns, knowing yet another person will know about it.

“Can we talk?” Colton asks. “Privately?”

I knew it was coming. Especially after what Cyrus told me.

“Before you do that, can we talk about this Lilac thing?” Braxton raises his hand like he’s in school, asking for permission.

“Sierra, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. It can wait until another day.” Cyrus’s comforting arms wrap around me, pulling me tight into his arms.

I love how he wants to protect me, but it’s time. Wesley knows my secret; it won’t be long before others do as well. Besides, if they want to be with me, they will either accept what I do to survive or run.

Might as well find out now.

“No, I need to tell them. Especially if they mean what they say. Better to get all the secrets out now. Can we sit down, though? Maybe have something to drink?”

Cyrus guides me over to the couch, lowering me onto the cushion before rushing off to the kitchen. The guys take seats around me, not saying a word.

How the fuck do I say? Oh, guess what, I’m a stripper?

“Here you go.” Looking up, Cyrus hands a glass of water to me.

“Thank you.” I wrap my hands around it and take a sip.

I hate sharing my life with people. I’ve worked hard to keep everything Sam and I’ve been through a secret and all of it’s coming crashing down around me.

The video is public. Wesley knows I’m Lilac. The guys now know my aunt’s boyfriend, or boy toy, to be more exact, beat me. And now I have to tell them I’m a stripper.

This sucks. At least when they run, I’ll still have Cyrus. He accepted me for who I was before ever knowing all my truths.

I breathe, taking my time as my eyes drift to theirs. I linger a little longer on Colton’s as I try to gauge his authenticity. Does he really like me? Want to pursue a relationship? Or is it just another prank, led by Wes and his followers? I know Wes confessed his remorse for what he did to me, but as I’ve seen before, he’s an amazing actor. I’ve seen how he has the teachers at school eating out of his hand, believing every single lie that he spews.

“Okay, let me start off by saying this isn’t easy for me. This is going to be hard. I just request if you have any questions, wait until I’m done.”

“We can do that, Sierra. Just take your time. We’re here for you.” Zander reaches out and places his hand on my knee, squeezing gently.

I hope he means it.

“You know my mom died.” They nod; it’s not news. I’ve already told them. I just want to make sure they’re aware that one event is what set everything else into play.

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