Page 92 of Fighting the Odds

“I love you, Cyrus Donaldson. Thank you for being there for me, and fighting for me even when I was pushing you away. You’ve been my protector since the moment I met you. I just wish I realized it sooner.”

“I love you, Sierra. And I will always fight for you, for the rest of eternity. Now let’s shower.”

I open the door, holding her hand in mine, and step into the hallway.

“If you're coming back out here, especially with my niece, then put some damn clothes on. Your pasty white ass already traumatized me once, Cyrus,” comes from the living room.

Rico!

When did he get here? How did I not see him when I came out earlier?

Sierra pulls her hand out of mine and dashes back into the room. I chuckle, then turn around and follow behind her.

“Why didn’t you tell me he was here?” she whispers angrily as she pulls some clothes out of a drawer and begins putting them on.

“I didn’t know he was here. Swear to god I didn’t see him when I went to the bathroom.” Her face goes white and I’m afraid she's about to puke. “Are you okay?” I rush toward her.

“I just realized. He’s out there. He saw you go to the bathroom. Cyrus, he knows we had sex! He probably heard us. I know he knows about us, but I never wanted him to hear us. ”

I slide my hand behind her head and cradle it, tilting her face up.

“If he did, he did. You’re my girl and we’ve been living together. Rico isn’t an idiot; he knows what happens when people are in love. And if he heard anything, it serves him fucking right for letting himself into the apartment without notice. Now let’s finish getting dressed and go see what he wants before we’re both late for school.”

I pick up my boxer briefs and shirt from the floor and put them on. It’s as dressed as he’s going to get from me. When I look back up, Sierra’s in a pair of pajama shorts and an oversized black shirt.

“Let’s go.” Her voice cracks as she speaks. I know she’s embarrassed to face Rico. He and I are going to have a conversation about calling or knocking when he comes over, especially with Sierra and the guys' relationships beginning to bud.

She grips my hand so tightly, I can feel the blood flow being cut off and my fingers going numb.

“It’s going to be fine,” I whisper, reassuring her.

We step into the living room to see Rico sitting in the chair, feet propped on the table, with two cups of coffee sitting near them.

“Take a seat, we need to talk.” His deep voice is void of emotion.

“Rico, I know she’s your niece, but she’s my—”

“I do not want to talk about my niece and her sex life. It’s bad enough I had to hear the tail end of it. I thought her dancing at the club was bad, but that was next level. I’m not butting into that part of her life unless she asks me to, then I’ll burn down the world for her.”

I guide Sierra over to the couch and sit down beside her, picking up the coffee cups and handing one to her. She cradles it in her hand before lifting it to her lips and taking a sip.

“First, I want to let you know that my buddy Earl has some of his people on the way to help. But we have a little snag in our plans. Seems someone went and turned in the full video of your rape, Sierra. Seeing how your boy Weasel was the one who gave it to me, makes me believe he made a copy. Cops want to see us down at the police station this morning.” Sierra’s hand comes down on my leg, gripping so tightly her nails pierce my skin.

“Why do they want to see me?” Sierra asks, her lips trembling.

“They have questions. It’s all I know, sweetheart. They want us there at nine sharp. So go shower and get dressed. Cyrus, stay here while she does. I want to talk to you.”

“Okay.” Sierra stands, taking her coffee with her as she disappears down the hallway.

Rico doesn’t speak right away; he waits until he hears her step into the bathroom and turn the shower on.

“How is she doing?” he asks.

“She’s doing okay. Zander, one of the guys, said something happened at school yesterday, but she wouldn’t elaborate on it. The best I could get from him was there was some bullying when they weren’t around her and something happened with Wesley during the class they share together at the end of the day. When I asked about it before going to bed, she wouldn’t go into detail about that with me either, and quickly changed the subject,” I tell him.

I should’ve tried harder last night to get the whole story, but I could sense her shutting down and I didn’t want that to happen. I opted to let it go, hoping she would come to me later and talk about it.

“Well, this video coming to life puts the fucker in the limelight, so we have to be careful what we do. When the Hellions get here, we’re going to revamp our plan and also decide how we’re going to handle that little slut who spread the video to begin with.”

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