Page 42 of Keeping Score

“I would never have doubted you for a single second, Goldie.” My words seem to ease some of the tension in her body.

“I’m going to fucking kill that motherfucker!” Corvin announces. I grunt my agreement and so do the others. Her green eyes shine with an emotion a lot like hope, but if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t know if I’m ready to pick up what she’s putting down in regard to where we stand.

“We can have him done with the distribution of child pornography and link it back to Saint’s father.” I peer around Leah to stare at Katie. This girl is a fucking mystery, and by the looks of things, she has gained the attention of both Saint and Crue without even trying.

“How?” Beck asks.

“If I’m calculating things right, Leah was underage and Gary wasn’t so we can counter the arrest and charges. As far as Corvin and Darius go with the beating doled out to Gary, Corvin was enraged his sister was hurt and Darius was protecting his girlfriend.” I tense at the wordgirlfriend, Leah doesn’t miss it.

“How do we do this?” Crue asks, again Katie cuts in.

“Simple, you lay low until the press release tomorrow and explain that no one ran. You both decided to take Leah out of town so she could rest and get help to overcome the tragedy that she went through. You then apologize for your actions and accept any charges thrown at you.” The guys begin to protest but she raises her hand halting them. “Hear me out. If you both accept responsibility for your part and explain why you did it, no one is going to side with Gary. The press is going to eat him alive when you announce that your girlfriend slash sister was targeted by the Hayes family because of you being successful without using your rightful name, and them wanting to destroy you by using Leah to do that.” I mull over her words for a moment. What she says does ring true but it’s a fucking risk.

“If they do this, that means we all have to go public and announce that we are the owners of BCD’S which means everyone at CHU will also know we own the school.” Leah and Cody gasp, Crue frowns at them but continues. “You know there is a chance that the school board will vote us out of school, right?”

“Our football career will be over,” Saint whispers.

“No, it won’t,” I say as I lift Leah off my lap and place her on the seat beside me. “Victor is bluffing. At the press release I’m going to announce he is my father and my twin brother found out, in his rage he targeted my ex-girlfriend.” I feel Leah bristle next to me. “I’ll tell them that I snapped and had a mental breakdown, given the circumstances and my positions at CHU, I’ll announce I’m dropping out and… moving to Alaska to run our resort.” Everyone begins to shout and throw in their piece of how we should do things and I appreciate their efforts but they know this is the only way we can get out on top. If I stay, Victor will find a way to come after us and I can’t allow them to take the heat for me.

“What if I come forward and charge Gary?” Leah says quietly. She may have muttered the words but we all heard them loud and clear.

“You don’t have to do that,” Corvin says.

“If I do it, will it help?” she asks her brother. He cuts a glance at me. I nod, letting him know if Leah does this then it would take some of the heat off us and allow us to continue on the path we have paved.

“Yes, it would,” he says in an even tone.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” she says with conviction that has me feeling proud of her.

Leah

We spent a couple of hours sitting there listening to how my brother and the others began their company and amassed their fortune through the stock market. I’m in awe of how they managed to accomplish all of this while in school and playing football. Proud of the sheer determination they all had to make sure they never struggled to want for anything. I learned Saint hates his family and wants nothing to do with them. Crue only has his aunt who brought him up after his parents abandoned him when he was one. Darius, well everyone knows he has no one except us so it made sense for him to push for this to excel. Corvin, I get it. He has always wanted to make sure our parents were able to retire and never worry about money again—his reasons are noble. Beckett is a closed book, the guys don’t even know his whole story and it baffles me why he won’t confide in anyone about his past. After that, the guys disappeared to get everything in place for tomorrow. Cody and Katie wantedto practice our routine but I wasn’t feeling it. So, I decided to hide out on the balcony of the second floor and stare out at the mountains.

“Can I join you?” I look to the side to see my brother standing there with his hands stuffed in his pant pockets, a remorseful look on his face. It’s getting dark now, which means I must have been out here for hours and not known.

“Depends,” I say.

“On?”

“Are you going to yell at me again?” His shoulders hunch forward as he shakes his head. “Then sure, you can.” He makes his way over to me and drops down into the seat beside me as we stare at the amazing view. We remain silent for a long time lost in our own thoughts until Corvin finally breaks it.

“Why my best friend, Leah?”

“Why not him?” I retort.

“Because he’s my best friend and you being with him complicates that.” He runs a hand through his hair and slumps back in his chair. “I trusted him with you. He betrayed that trust Leah. I’ll never allow you and him to be anything, I can’t.” I swivel in my seat to face him.

“That isn’t your call to make. Darius is a good guy?—”

“He was the fucking one who found you in bed with Gary and left you there! Why the fuck are you sitting here defending him?” He’s angry and I get it, but I won’t allow him to blame Darius for what happened to me.

“What happened with Gary wasn’t his fault. He told me not to go to that party, I didn’t listen so that is on me, Corv, not Darius.”

“Leah, you’re eighteen. You have so much time to do whatever you want before you settle down with a good guy who treats you right.” I bristle at his dig.

“Darius is a good guy!” I defend. He lulls his head to the side and pins me with a pitying look.

“You need to let him go, Leah.”

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