Page 9 of Because of the Dar

"Just…no." I emphasized my refusal by pushing myself upright, leaning forward on the table.

"But—"

"Leave it, McGuire," Den barked at Rhys.

He glanced at Lilly, ready to push more, but she shook her head.

No one talkedabout the topic for two days. Not until I received another call. I didn't recognize the number and therefore let it go to voice mail. When I later listened to the message, my mouth went dry. The longer the caller spoke, the faster my pulse thrashed in my veins.

"Mr. Sheats, this is Harrison Brown. I am on the admissions board of Pine Hill University in Texas. We would like to offer you a spot on our football team with a full scholarship to attend our institution. Please give me a call back so we can discuss our offer further. You can reach me at—" I pulled my phone away from my ear and gaped at the screen.

Pine Hill? They were a private university known for their athletic programs. You couldn't even apply to the school; it was by invite only. They scouted their prospects for years before offering them a spot. My initial excitement turned to suspicion. Something wasn't right.

With my phone in hand, I headed toward the basement. Lilly and Rhys, with the help of her new security shadow, Marcus, had converted the lower level into a state-of-the-art gym. It was the time of day they would be down there, and I heard the punches before I reached the bottom step.

With George, her family's head of security, being out of town, Marcus was in charge of her safety and training. Not that he normally wasn't. Marcus was in his early thirties and had been working for George for years. A couple of weeks ago, he fully took over for G as Lilly's personal bodyguard. George's focus had shifted to the Babysitter case and overseeing the legalities. That was when Marcus moved in. He was around twenty-four seven since Lilly, thanks to the media harassment, couldn't go out on her own anywhere—hence his nickname, Shadow.

Marcus held the large rectangular pads strapped to his forearms while Rhys kept punching and kicking. Lilly was nowhere in sight. Neither was Den.

"Hey!" I called out, and Rhys halted.

"Yo. What's up?" He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his taped hand.

I held up my phone as if that would explain everything. "Did you have anything to do with this?"

Rhys clapped Marcus on the shoulder. "Give us a sec," he said before walking toward me. "To do with what?" He was breathing heavily.

"Pine Hill offered me a spot on their team." I kept my tone unemotional, assessing his reaction in explicit detail.

"Dude, that's awesome! How did that happen?" Rhys's face lit up, and I cocked my head, trying to gauge the sincerity.

"No clue, man." I was not convinced that a university like Pine Hill would just offer me a full ride after a regular college dropped me for potential bad press.

Rhys hooked his arm over my shoulder. "Either way, we need to celebrate. Plus, Texas is way closer than UG. We can hang all the time."

"I guess," I replied, staring at my feet as he led me up the stairs. My gut was telling me that something wasn't right.

Den was ecstatic when she heard the news. Lilly smiled and gave me a hug, but I knew her too well. The girl couldn't act or lie for shit, and the way she fidgeted next to Rhys told me more than words. I kept watching her throughout the night. We got takeout, and Den talked us into opening one of the ancient bottles from the wine cellar. Not that I particularly like red wine, but that was what we had on hand. And according to D, the bottle was worth more than my 4Runner.

I returned Mr. Brown's call the next day, and we spoke for forty-five minutes. He assured me that they had been following me for a long time but could not move forward, as I had signed with UG during the early signing period. He would be emailing me all the paperwork to finalize my spot at Pine Hill.

Whenever the four of us were in the same room, Rhys would beüberhappy, as if overcompensating for his girlfriend's lack of participation. Lilly was keeping something from me, and I was a hundred percent certain she was keeping it from Den as well. D would've told me otherwise, no matter her loyalty to her best friend.

A few days later, Den and I were headed to the airport. Marcus was driving, with Rhys in the passenger seat, Lilly and Den in the middle, and me in the third row. My phone rang, and recognizing the number, I answered. "Mr. Brown. Did I forget to fill something out?"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Sheats. No, no. We have everything we need. I was just wondering if you could provide me with the financial adviser's number for Miss—"

My entire body tensed atfinancial adviser, and I interrupted him without thinking. "Excuse me?"

Brown coughed. "I seem to have misplaced the number. He asked me to provide him with a receipt once the funds for your scholarship were received."

"My scholarship," I repeated slowly and zeroed in on Rhys as he turned around.

I fucking knew it.

I hung up the phone without waiting for another reply. They went behind my back. My spot at Pine Hill was bought. The school was never interested in me. My friends fucking lied to me—afterI told them that I didn't want the money. It had to have been Rhys's idea, and Lilly went along with it. Did he think I was an idiot? This would've come out eventually. And then what? Rhys didn't care about anything but himself. He'd been using me for years, and now he was using his girlfriend's money to easehis guilt.

We were about ten minutes out from the airfield, and with every passing minute, the rage building in my core grew. I could feel the muscles in my jaw tic. Digging my nails into the palms of my hands, I needed something to keep my temper subdued. Unfortunately—or maybe not— the sting was not able to outweigh the betrayal. The girls missed the entire exchange, engrossed in some type of Westbridge High drama that had been unfolding over the summer.

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