Page 99 of How We Fooled

I told them, no matter what, Liza was not going to leave my side. This isn’t about me anymore. This is about us and what happened to her.

“Okay, let’s go,” Steve says to the attorneys, who walk out first.

We follow and are hit with the instant light of flashing cameras. I hold my head high as we approach the podium they have set up with all the different microphones.

We wait as our attorneys make their statement before moving to the side and letting me talk.

“Thank you for coming here today. Before rumors could spread even more, I wanted to stand here and tell our story. First, I want to be very clear when I say I am over eighteen, and I was over eighteen when I first met Liza. We met over the summer while hiking in the hills above Mason Creek. She was not a teacher at that time, though I knew she’d moved here to pursue a teaching career.

“We dated all summer as I traveled on the national circuit for baseball. I never tried to hide the fact that I was a senior in high school, but it never came up, and she thought I was in college. Her dream was to teach elementary school, and our age gap was never even brought up.

“It was not until what she thought was the happiest day of her life—the day she got hired to teach at Leighton River High—that we both realized what that really meant. We knew it was wrong, and we put our relationship on hold, but you can’t fight true love. I love Liza Hernandez with all my heart, and I knew this before she became my teacher.

“All year, we have kept our distance, only talking on the phone and not being together in person. Spring break came, and I just wanted to be with the person I loved, so we planned a trip to be together a few hours away so no one would know who we were. Yes, we knew it was wrong, but I dare any of you to go day in and day out with the person you love right in front of you, but there isn’t anything you can do about it.

“We just wanted to be together.

“We went to a restaurant that turned into a bar after hours. I did not drink. I did not try to drink, and I do not have a fake ID. We stayed in the restaurant section the entire night. Liza got up to get a drink and brought it back to our table. What we didn’t know was someone had slipped a drug into her drink before she did so.

“Time went by, and when she didn’t come back from the restroom, I went to look for her, only to find her on the lap of another guy. Yes, I did get into a fight, but only because I knew she wasn’t okay.

“To any female who is listening, I want you to pay close attention here. This drug makes you act totally normal to anyone around you. She was not loopy or even coming off as drunk. She was very stable in her words and what she was saying, so everyone believed her when she said she was not with me.

“I don’t blame the guys at the bar for wanting to fight me. She was making them believe that we were not together and they needed to get rid of me. They thought they were protecting her when, really, I was the one trying to protect her even more.

“Yes, I fought very hard for her and would do it a thousand times again. This is why I was arrested. This is the only reason why I was arrested.

“Thankfully, as she was leaving with one of the guys and I was handcuffed in the police car, the drug took a turn for the worse in her body, and she started violently throwing up. There was not a thing I could do while I watched the guy who was trying to take her home leave her there, not wanting to deal with a woman throwing up.

“I’m grateful for the police officers who knew she wasn’t okay and called the paramedics to check her out.

“We don’t know if the guy she was trying to leave with or someone else slipped it in her drink, but there is no doubt she was drugged. The hospital has confirmed with our lawyers that there have been multiple cases of women coming in with the same symptoms. Please watch out for your friends. Know if they plan to leave with a guy or not. I can’t make this clear enough that she was acting totally normal. I see now why everyone there thought I was crazy.

“Above everything, I am very thankful that she was okay and that I was there to protect her as much as I could. Unfortunately, this is not the case for some of these women, and I hope our story helps protect anyone who is listening in the future.

“Thank you for your time.”

I walk away from the podium, and Steve instantly steps up in my place as people start shouting from the crowd. “He will not be answering any questions. We did just get a call though, saying all charges have been dropped, so Eli will not have to face any further legal dates. Thank you all for coming.”

We enter back inside the police station, where I pick up Liza and hug her, needing the relief she’s giving me more than I need air right now. Hearing the charges were dropped was the last bit of news I needed.

We’ll deal with the school and any colleges or pro teams that have issues with us dating later. As long as she’s okay and I’m free of any legal trouble, I know we can get through anything else.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Eli

Thankfully, after our press conference, talk died down on me getting arrested, but unfortunately, Liza wasn’t faring as well on the local front. This entire year, we wished we could be with each other in public, but now that everyone knows, the last thing we want to do is be seen in public.

I never want anyone to look at Liza any differently only for dating me, but I’m afraid there is no way around it now.

I hated seeing the tears in her eyes as I left for school today. It’s absolutely killing her that she’s been put on administrative leave. We all know that means she’s getting fired, and it sucks that they are just stringing this along, giving her even a glimpse of hope.

I’ve grown up with people whispering about me as I walk by them. If it wasn’t about who my dad was, it was about how big I was, so I should be used to it by now. But I feel like it’s the first time I’ve ever experienced something like this as I enter our school.

Our story making national news took the small-town chatter and made it a crowded roar. I hate that even my mom can’t really go anywhere in town without people stopping to talk or making it very obvious they don’t approve.

I don’t care what people think—I never have—but I want to fly off the handle again when I see the two women in my life being hurt by all of this.

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