Page 116 of Don't Make Me Beg
“Yeah, what? Like a speed dating booth or something?” Guy jokes as he shovels a forkful of mashed potatoes and gravy into his mouth.
Roman rolls his eyes. “You really think we believe you’re working on the festival?” He glares at me and crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m still getting hate emails from that stupid dating profile. I had to change my phone number because one of those crazy women leaked it.”
“Not this again.” I shake my head, and my fork hits my plate with a loud clang. “What do you want me to do, Rome? I told you I’m working on wiping everything, but people talk. I can’t track them down and erase their memories.”
“Now, boys, let’s not do this right now. At least wait until we’ve finished dessert before you bite each other’s heads off,” my dad says, but we ignore him.
Roman leans forward and lowers his voice. “I’m just saying, since you’re so smart with computers, if you wanted to wipe it, I think you’d have done it by now.”
I narrow my eyes. “Yeah. You’re right, Rome. I’ve got so much time on my hands, I’ve got nothing better to do than to ruin your reputation.”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past you,” Roman says with a shrug. “You’ve always been jealous of me, always wished people took you seriously and respected you.”
“Just say what you really want to say to me,” I interrupt, throwing my napkin down on the table. “Tell everyone you think I’m a fuck up and I’ll never change.”
“Fine. I think you’re a fuck up, okay?” Roman leans back in his chair and gestures to me. “I just wish for one fucking second you’d take accountability and stop making excuses…”
Scout stares at her hands in her lap, her shoulders completely stiff. She’s clearly uncomfortable with the argument. Fuck, I can’t imagine how triggering this must be for her.
I open my mouth to end the conversation, but Scout clears her throat and says, “Respectfully, Roman, I think you should watch the way you’re speaking to my husband right now.”
Everyone’s eyes go wide, and the silence that follows is almost deafening.
“I think there’s something I need to confess. Something I should’ve told you all a long time ago.”
I lock eyes with Jett, who seems almost as shocked by her outburst as I feel.
“I know Luka seems like he doesn’t care about anything, that he doesn’t take anything seriously… But I’m the one responsible for giving him that reputation...” She wipes her mouth and folds her napkin in her lap. “I was the one who vandalized the building on graduation night, not Luka.” Her eyes are glassy as she looks to me, and I squeeze her hand beneath the table. “He was covering for me. He took the fall for my actions, and I just let him.” She shakes her head, as angry tears roll down her cheeks. “I got off scot-free, while Luka served jail time for my mistakes, never even bringing my name up, despite my father being the judge who sentenced him.” Her words echo throughout the room as I watch Roman’s face shift from defensive to shocked.
Her eyes are trained on Roman as she delivers her final punch. “So if there’s anyone at this table who’s a fuck up, it damn sure isn’t Luka.”
Roman’s eyes are wide as saucers as he looks between us, like he’s putting all the pieces together. Guy looks more entertained than anything, as he helps himself to seconds. Meanwhile, Jetthasn’t even looked in my direction since Scout opened her mouth to speak.
“Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley, I’m so sorry,” Scout says, her voice cracking through her tears. “I put you and your family through hell, and I completely understand if you want nothing to do with me.”
My mom waves her off, getting up to give her a hug. “Oh, honey, thank you for your apology, but that’s in the past. It was an unfortunate mistake.” My mom wipes her tears with a napkin.
“A mistake your son paid the price for,” she adds. “I can’t imagine how you must be feeling right now, knowing all this time Luka was innocent?—”
“Now, Scout, do you really think we’re that out of touch with our own son?” my dad interrupts.
“We’ve always known he was covering for you,” my mom says, wiping Scout’s tears. “He’s been in love with you since as long as I can remember. He’d have found a way to take the blame whether he’d been there or not.”
Now I’m the one who’s surprised. I look between my parents, who both nod. “You really knew? All this time? Why didn’t you say anything?”
My mom shrugs. “It seemed like something you needed to work out for yourself. Besides, it didn’t matter to us whether you did it or not; it was always your character that mattered to us.”
“You’ve always been loyal, Luka; we knew it wouldn’t have changed your mind. You’d never rat Scout out anyway. Besides, we knew you’d be all right on the other side,” my dad says with a wink.
“I’m just happy to see you two found your way back to each other,” my mom says, wrapping her arms around both of us. “I don’t think I could’ve written a better love story if I tried.”
The relief I feel is like a boulder lifted off my chest. I didn’t even realize how much weight I was carrying around with me until Scout just cleared the air. I sneak a glance over at her, seeing how relieved she looks, too. And I’m so grateful to her for doing that. Not only because I needed it, but because she clearly needed it too.
I find her hand under the table, interlacing our fingers. “Thank you,” I mouth, feeling my throat tighten with emotion.
She shakes her head, placing a hand on my cheek. “No, Luka, thank you. For everything.”
“Now that we’ve got that cleared up, I’ve been thinking…” my mom’s voice slices through the moment as she places Scout’s plate of cookies on the table, as well as a pitcher of milk. “I figured out how you two can make it up to me.”
