Page 123 of Losing the Rhythm

“Do you want to go to bed?” Paxon was ready to charge to my side to help me.

“I don’t think she means that kind of exhausted,” Bryan said.

“Sleep would probably help,” I admitted. “But quiet too. I worked hard to keep my head down. No one even knew about me until this year. I was just me, getting through school. I had this year planned out.” I frowned, looking at my drink. “Nothing is working out. I can’t even live on my own.”

“That’s probably an understatement,” Laura said. “But let me put this out there. Is it all bad? Do you want to go back to being Cadence of the past?”

“No.” It was the easiest question asked to me all night. “I’m so glad I met you all.”

I almost broke down crying right then and there. Toby was sitting next to me, so he grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

“I realized tonight that going through that all alone. I don’t think it would have turned out as well as it had.” I swallowed hard at the thought. If Laura hadn’t been looking for me. If the twins didn’t know to look there for me. Tonight would have been so different.

“I don’t want to be alone anymore.” Another sob was building up, trying to choke me.

“You aren’t,” Toby said vehemently. “Never alone.”

Everyone voiced their agreements.

Seth managed to sit next to me and he pulled me into his side. “I’m glad things aren’t working out for you. Because then I wouldn’t be one of the lucky ones to get to know you. I hate that you’re going through this, but we’re all here to fight with you through it all.”

Over and over they kept reminding me that I wasn’t alone. That they were there for me. That they were willing to burn down hell for me if they had to.

It was exactly what I needed. Usually people said I could go to them if I needed something. That they were there to help, but it only ever felt like the polite thing to say and not necessarily something they wanted me to do.

But with these people, it certainly felt like I could go to them. Including George and Laura.

I couldn’t keep ignoring the issues around me anymore, and they were willing to help me through them. Already were without me having to say anything.

“I’m going to talk with my lawyer. I need answers,” I finally said, my decision feeling like the most solid one I’d made since my emancipation.

“That’s a good move,” Laura said.

“Not just about tonight either, but about everything else. I need to know where I stand. With Lindie. With the Ryker gang. And what my options are against whoever set those boys up.”

“Whoever did that won’t get away,” Laura said.

“Do you really believe that?” I asked.

Laura’s mouth shut. She knew the truth. It’d be too easy for the girl to walk without solid proof.

“I had time to think about tonight. Yes, they were set up and with the evidence against them, they won’t walk away from this so easily. I will make sure they can’t either. But what about whoever helped them? Some girl did that, went to them, planted all those ideas in their head. Can she even get into trouble? What kind of charges can be made against her? And if she can’t get into trouble, then what can I do to make sure she doesn’t do it again?”

George spoke up. “Your lawyer will be able to help with all of that, no doubt. Setting up a meeting with her to get everything in order is a smart move. Hopefully, she’ll be able to give you answers that will put your mind at ease.”

“At ease, huh?” It felt like my mind hadn’t been at rest since Lindie put me in the hospital. It was one thing after another. “I’m going to do that then. The law is supposed to keep people like me safe, right? I’m going to make sure it does.”

“I’ll make sure it does.” Laura’s expression said she was ready to raise hell for me. My heart warmed at that. As far as I’d been concerned, I was practically a nobody to her.

“We all will,” Bryan said, the dark edge in his voice scaring me a little.

It raised a warning with Seth too with the way he frowned as he looked at Bryan.

“For now, get some rest,” George said, straightening from his position against the wall. “Tomorrow, you can start dealing with it all.”

“Call your dad tomorrow too,” Laura said. “I was able to talk him into waiting until then, but I have a sneaky suspicion that he will be on your doorstep before the sun even rises.”

“We’re staying here,” Toby said before Laura even had a chance to tell them it was time to leave.

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