Page 79 of Ruined Rose

With that, he slips his helmet back on and rushes across the grass to the sideline to await his turn to take the field again, taking my heart right along with him.

Back at Beau’s place later that evening, the guys are ecstatic. They had an awesome win, and Beau, Micah, and Xander each pulled off amazing plays in front of the scouts. I wouldn’t be surprised if all three of them end up playing college ball somewhere, if that’s their decision.

There are plenty of people at the party tonight, but only the members of our little group sit around the firepit together, toasting marshmallows.

Beau grumbles. “Sorry we couldn’t help you guys move whatever was shoved in front of the door earlier.”

Max laughs. “That would have taken all of the fun out of it. You should have seen Daphne squeeze through and escape.”

“I wonder what poor Mrs. Traiger is going to think when she comes in on Tuesday morning to find a filing cabinet stuck in front of the door.” I wince.

Micah waves it off like it’s nothing. “We’ll go in and move it for her tomorrow morning. We have a weight room session scheduled. Hard to believe districts is next week.” He holds his roasting stick over the flame, browning the marshmallow on the end. “What I want to know is why those assholes thought listening to Alora again was a good idea.”

“Right?” Scarlett shakes her head. “Look what happened with the first stunt they helped her pull off. Why’d they do it again?”

Xander glances at her, raising his brows. “How much do you want to bet she’s screwing both of them?”

“Stop it.” Scarlett slaps at his arm.

“What? I bet it’s totally true.”

Max looks pointedly at Micah. “The real question is what are you going to do about the three of them? The shocked look on their faces when Daph showed up at the football field was priceless. I wonder when they’ll realize that they’ve officially gone too far. They have to know we aren’t going to let this slide.”

I link my arm through Micah’s, resting my head against his bicep. “It definitely felt good to show up on the field and show them they didn’t win. As far as what to do, I vote for letting the Rosehaven gossip mill do its work.” I shrug. “We tell a few key people what went down tonight and let the truth spread far and wide.”

Micah kisses the top of my forehead. “We’ll do whatever you want … but I have a recording of Alora admitting to blackmailing us with the video, showing it at the party, and distributing it to half the town. She mentions Shayne and Carter by name, too. I’m pretty sure what she did is a fucking felony. And I understand why you don’t want to go to the police …” He pauses and rubs his hand over his cheek. Huffing out a breath, he continues, “I think we should at least consider sharing it with the headmaster. They’ll get kicked out of school for the video alone. Trapping you in the library will look like child’s play in comparison, but we can tell him about that, too.”

I turn the idea over and over in my head. “You’re right. I need to do it. After all the shit they put me through, those assholes need to be punished. I can’t let them get away with this.”

Micah wraps his arm around me, releasing a pent-up breath. “Good. We’ll go see Gilmore first thing Tuesday morning.”

Beau shakes his marshmallow toasting stick in our direction. “I will say I’m glad to see the two of you finally together with no obstacles between you.” He winces, squinting one eye. “Although, I gotta admit I’m kinda terrified to walk in on you two boning somewhere.”

I smile. “Thanks for letting Micah stay with you, Beau.”

He laughs and waves it off, but I know he understands how much it means to Micah. “It’s cool. We’ve got a scholarship student transferring in for the next sports season, too. He’s supposed to arrive tomorrow. The house is fucking huge, plenty of room for everyone. To be fair, I’m not sure my parents will notice an extra body around, anyway. And they always have enough food for an army.”

“Is he a wrestler or basketball player? Do you know?” Micah hesitates, a curious look on his face. “Must be good if they are pulling him in mid-year.”

Beau shrugs. “No idea. I didn’t ask. We’ve been so preoccupied with the scouts coming today, I’d forgotten all about it until Mom reminded us this morning.”

Scarlett laughs. “It’s going to be party central around here.”

“As if it wasn’t already.” Max shakes his head, shooting me a wink.

Xander wiggles his brows at Beau. “Sounds like the parties are all at your place for the foreseeable future.”

I glance around the fire, taking in the faces of these people who are now my closest friends. I still can’t quite believe that this is me, Daphne Davis, hanging out with this crowd—heck, hanging out on a Friday night with anyone but my books.

The last few weeks have been rough, but they’ve really made it clear who I can count on. Since the day in the park all those years ago, trust has been an issue for me. But just like that day, I can count on this guy sitting at my side most of all. I tug on Micah’s arm. “Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?”

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