Page 98 of How We Fooled

He lets out a breath. “We’re trying to figure that out. The bartender is pressing charges.”

Danny, one of the lawyers, speaks up. “We’re working on getting the charges dropped. We’ve already spoken to the judge. Hoping it will all go away by Monday.”

“You would think any guy in that situation would understand that I was just protecting my girl,” I say in confusion.

“Have you guys spoken to the hospital?” Liza asks, and we all look at her, wondering what she means.

Danny shakes his head, looking at Tony, the other lawyer, for conformation, then back to us. “No. Why do we need to?”

“She told me she thinks something’s going on in that bar. She said every weekend, they’ve had someone coming in with my same symptoms,” Liza says.

Danny stands up with his phone. “I’m on it.”

Steve gathers up all of his paperwork and stands. “I’m going to head back to the hotel to get everything situated. I’ll be back here tomorrow morning around eight, and we’ll set up the press conference for ten.”

“Okay,” I agree.

Dad stands to walk him out. “Thanks again for everything.”

Liza and I head back to our spot on the couch while Dad continues to talk to the lawyers.

“Can I get you guys anything?” Mom asks as she walks into the room.

We both shake our heads. All we need is each other right now.

Thankfully, my parents didn’t balk at the idea of Liza staying the night, and they even let her sleep in my bed. We didn’t do anything but hold each other all night, as that was all either of us needed in that moment.

Now, we’re getting ready to hold this press conference at the Leighton River police station, where news cameras are waiting outside. With us, we have my parents and Ava, Steve, Liza’s aunt and uncle, as well as Dalton, Natalie, Ben, and Maya, who just arrived.

Maya walks right up to Liza, giving her a big hug that I know makes Liza feel a lot better.

“I’m glad everything is out in the open,” Maya says, looking between the two of us. “It’s horrible what happened to you guys. If you didn’t have to hide your relationship, none of this would’ve happened.”

“Thank you for keeping our secret,” Liza says, placing her hand on Maya’s arm to show just how grateful we are for her doing so.

“You knew?” Ben asks, his eyes opened wide.

Maya blows him off. “I ran into them at the mall in Billings months ago.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” He’s shocked she kept our secret from him, and honestly, I am too. I thought they told each other everything with how close they have been all of their lives.

She places her head on his shoulder and looks at us, all googly-eyed. “It wasn’t my story to tell. They were in love, and I didn’t want anyone to stop them.”

Dalton comes up and slaps my hand. “Despite all of this, I’m happy for you. Miss—” He pauses, and I close my eyes, wanting to smack him but knowing it’s not the time or the place. “Liza seems perfect for you.”

“Thank you all. Ben and Maya, you’ll have a new Econ teacher when we get back,” Liza says, surprisingly not seeming as sad as she was early about it.

We’ve both decided what will be will be, and from here on out, we’re just along for the ride together.

“Man, you were my favorite teacher. This blows,” Ben states with a huff.

I nudge her slightly. “You’ll always be my favorite teacher.”

She chuckles to herself as Steve approaches us.

“You guys ready?” Steve asks.

I grip Liza’s hand tighter. “We’re ready.”

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