Page 12 of Raise 'Em Up

“You’re one to talk,” she sasses him, earning a growl. “Oh, don’t growl at me, buddy. You're the last one of this group to pull his head out of his ass.”

“She has a point.” Donny laughs.

“Fuck you.”

“Nope, that's his job.” Donny hitches a thumb toward Lennox.

“Fucking hell.” Lennox sighs.

I can’t help but grin. Rylee sees me and smiles too.

“Hi.” I pull her into my arms.

“Hi.”

“I’ve missed you.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “I’m so damn glad that note was bullshit.”

“I’m a little hurt that you believed it.” She bites her lower lip, looking like she’s about to cry.

“I didn't,” Donny says.

“Yeah right.” Mateo throws a pillow at him. “You were the one who lost his shit.”

“Well, after I had some time to think, I knew she would never do that!”

“Enough!” Lennox shouts. “Look, now that we know the truth.” He turns to Rylee. “You need to come back to school. He can’t kick you out over that.”

“Nope.” Rylee steps back, shaking her head. “Not happening. Sorry, but that man and his daughter are fucking nuts. I’m not going back there.”

“So what, you're just going to give up everything you’ve worked so hard for?” Lennox asks.

“That's not the Rylee we know,” Mateo adds. “The Rylee who, no matter what was thrown at her, never let it drag her down. The Rylee who kept coming back swinging.”

“Well, that Rylee is tired!” she shouts. “I’m so damn tired.” Her voice breaks right along with my heart. “All I ever wanted to do was go to school and get a good education. To cheer, the one thing I love the most in the world. But none of it has ever been easy. And I know life isn’t going to be a cake walk, but it’s not supposed to be this hard. I shouldn’t have had to deal with any of the bullshit that's been thrown my way. But I kept going, because I knew what I wanted, and wasn’t going to let anyone get in my way. But this isn’t just about me anymore. Those videos will hurt all of you. I will not be the one to ruin your future.”

Mateo steps forward, surprising me. He puts his hands on her shoulders, making her look at him. “We were assholes. We were beyond stupid. The shit we did, we were wrong. You didn’t deserve any of that, and we will forever be doing whatever we can to make up for it. But you are not alone, Rylee. You have us. And we will fight for you. For us.”

“Starting with getting you back into school. I don’t know how yet, but by the end of this break, you will be back at Solidarity Academy, your name cleared, and that fucking Dean gone,” Lennox says, with so much confidence in his voice, Rylee’s eyes widen.

“And that bitch of a daughter of his will be gone from the Cheer house. Because if you’re going to be living with us, we don’t want her there. Not that we wanted her there anyway.” Donny shudders.

“Wait, what? Live with you guys, since when?” Rylee looks at the group of us.

“Well, you're on the team. You deserve to live there. No one except Missi really has an issue with you. Once she’s gone, the other girls will let it go,” I tell her. “And the fact is, I think I speak for all of us when I say, we mostly just want you close by.” I smile.

“And you're not allowed cats in the dorm. We’re allowed pets in the Cheer house. You don’t want to risk losing Peaches now, do you?” Donny adds.

“Oh, that's playing dirty.” She sighs. “Fine. Fine. I’ll come back, but only if you can guarantee me that the Dean will no longer be an issue, and that crazy bitch isn’t in the house, or on the team, anymore. If you can’t give me that, I’m not coming back.”

“Done,” Lennox says.

“You can’t promise me that.”

“I can, and I will.” He stares her down.

I look at Donny and we both grin. I don’t know what Lennox has planned, but if he’s so confident in his words, then he must have something up his sleeve.

“But for now, we enjoy Christmas,” Mateo says. “Let’s go see what my mom is up to.”

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