Chapter 17 #2
“I’ve known you forever. I’m not going anywhere,” he tells me. “But you’re going to do something about this, though, right? Maya has to have something up her sleeve to get them back.”
“She does. Don’t worry. We have it all planned out.
By the end of this, his stepdad and his mom won’t look like the good guys.
We may never be able to prove anything truly nefarious, but they will lose favor with the public after this.
I guarantee it. The entire family is creepy.
The footage Maya has assures me that’s how it makes them look. ”
“Have you seen it?”
“Not yet, but I will.”
Paulie nods and then claps me on the shoulder. “Doesn’t matter, really. Just know I’ll always support you. You make me proud to be your friend. I’m standing with you through this.”
My eyes tear up at his loyalty. “Thanks, Paulie.”
He nods and then gestures to the bedroom. “Better go back in there. Don’t want him waking up and worrying about where you’ve gone.”
I stand up and then hesitate, turning back toward him. “You know, Hailey would be stupid not to pick you.”
“We’ll see. I can’t make someone like me, you know?”
“I wish I could.”
He huffs a laugh and then waves me away.
Fuck, I want my twin to wake up and see what’s right in front of her, but I don’t know if she will. Sometimes, these things take time. What I wouldn’t give to have this guy as my brother-in-law. Not many people are that lucky.
I know what I have, or more like who I have in my corner, and I refuse to give any of them up. Being at Colton’s this weekend showed me that.
Moving silently back into the bedroom, I slip in next to Colton and hold on to him, unable to sleep, until the sun comes up. And when we both finally emerge from the bedroom, Paulie is sitting on the stool in the kitchen, his head down, his cheeks pink. Anger emanates from his tense body.
I know what that means.
The photos are out there. Erick actually did it. He published what he had. I called his bluff, and I lost.
But I’m prepared for it.
“What? What is it? Oh shit. He did it, didn’t he?”
Colton rushes forward and grabs Paulie’s phone from his hand, clicking the link and scrolling through pages of me and him.
They’re vulgar and private. A part of me feels like running from it all, but I stand strong, my arm slipping around Colton’s waist as I bury my face in his neck.
“I know it sucks it’s out there, but we look hot, don’t we?”
He freezes for a moment, but then I feel him relax.
“Fuck yeah, we do. If anything, there’s that.”
I pull him further into me, comforting him as much as I am comforting myself.
“Should we make a public appearance? Give them something to really look at? To really talk about?”
Colton turns toward me, and his lips twitch.
“You sure about this? No going back now.”
“Selfish, remember?”
He grins and then presses his forehead to mine.
“Yeah. Fucking selfish. But before we go, I need to sneak back to my place and get changed. But I promise I’ll be there.”
His reassurance has me pulling him in for a long kiss. So long, in fact, that Paulie clears his throat to tell us it’s time to part.
“Sorry about that,” I murmur to my friend.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Colton runs a hand through his hair before grabbing his car keys.
“Meet me at the Cove at 12:30?” I ask.
“I’ll be there. Give them something to look at.”
That makes my heart swell. I should be more nervous about this, but I’m not. Not when he’s going to be there with me. We’re going to face this scandal together. And we’re going to win.
So, I watch him leave, and then I sink onto the couch, my head going into my hands. The adrenaline of the weekend and this morning is fading, and I’m starting to crash a little.
“You gonna be okay?” Paulie asks, coming to sit down next to me.
“I don’t know. As long as he shows up for lunch, I will be.”
“I’ll go with you. I’ll take a seat a little ways away and come to your rescue if he doesn’t appear.”
I meet his stare. “He’ll show up, right?”
“Yeah, he will. He’s so gone for you. But this is all so crazy. I can’t believe his stepdad would do that.”
“Yeah, well, now I do. They’re super shitty.
I mean, the whole house gave me weird vibes, but his stepdad is dangerous.
Seeing him in Colton’s room the other night, standing over him.
He did it to gaslight him into thinking he was crazy, I’m sure of it.
He wants control of the company so badly.
He wants to force Colton into giving it all up to him. ”
“But now you have proof of his actions.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have the videos Maya sent you?”
I nod and pull them up on my phone, going through them for the first time with Paulie by my side. I watch the video from that night, Erick in Colton’s room, dropping him on the bed and standing over him, staring at him. Him threatening and trying to blackmail me.
And then I pull up articles from other witnesses Maya gathered, ex-girlfriends who say Erick’s malicious and predatory, how he’s money-focused and power-hungry.
It all corroborates the picture Colton painted of this man.
Colton’s mother isn’t any better off either.
Maya managed to dig up an insurance policy she had out on her dead husband, which leaves her under suspicion.
And don’t get me started on the one she has on Colton.
A million dollars.
He’s worth more than that.
Even though we have all of that, nothing proves their guilt, but it’s enough to get the public talking about it, to let the conspiracies spread.
“This is a lot,” Paulie says.
“It is. Fuck. I had no idea Maya had so much.”
“She must have been tenacious.”
“Didn’t expect anything less,” I tell him, and he nods.
“All right, you better shower and look your best when we head out. Don’t want people thinking Colton traded down when he met you.”
“Fuck you,” I reply with a laugh. “We both know I’m hotter.”
Paulie scoffs and then elbows me. “Dunno, man. There’s just something about him.”
I hit him with a pillow and we wrestle for a few minutes until I’m pinned beneath him, his red hair falling into his face, his cheeks pink from exertion.
“Seriously, though,” Paulie says. “I got your back.”
“I know.”
“Okay, enough horsing around. It’s time to make an appearance.”
“Yeah,” I say, pushing up onto my elbows and closing my eyes. “I’m scared.”
“So am I, but that’s okay. We push through. We make this mean something.” He hops up and holds out his hand. “You’ll always have me.”
I let him lift me to my feet, and I pull him in for a hug.
“Thanks. You know you always have me as well.”
“Yeah, but now it’s getting a little too sappy, so we better get on with it before things get weird.”
That gets me moving, and within thirty minutes, I’m showered and dressed and shaking out my hands by my front door. I’m preparing for the onslaught I’m going to face while I make my way to the Cove, but it will all be worth it when I meet Colton there.
I know it will all be worth it.
“Come on. I’ll drive,” Paulie tells me, moving up next to me and opening the door.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but there’s no one outside, no cameras in my face.
Not that I thought anyone would be that interested in me and my sex life, but still.
It’s almost like an ordinary day. Even the fall weather is nice.
But when we make it to campus and walk to the Cove from the parking lot, I can feel the stares following me.
Paulie seems to stand a little taller, almost as if he’s trying to shield me from this, but he can’t.
I made my choice. And my choice was Colton.
I’ll take this and more if it means he’s there at the end of the day.
“Almost there,” Paulie says as we walk past a few girls who are fanning their faces as we pass.
“Wonder if they’re sleeping together, too,” I hear one say to the other.
That makes my skin flame. I knew Paulie would be dragged into this, but I never thought his sexuality would come into question.
“I don’t care what they think,” Paulie tells me. “I really don’t. I know who I am, and that’s all that matters.”
“I’ve never thought you were sexy until today.”
That makes him laugh as he pulls the doors open to the Cove.
It’s crowded in here, and as we stand in line, the stares from students make me squirm.
But I manage a steady voice while ordering food, and when I take a seat away from Paulie, who is chatting with a few guys from one of his classes, I pull up my phone, waiting for Colton to text me that he’s on his way.
He still has a few minutes to get here, and I hope he’s not fucking late. This is already bad enough.
A few teammates of mine walk into the Cove, and they turn to look at me, one nodding in my direction and the other giving me a thumbs up.
A silent gesture of support, I guess. I’m thankful for it.
It could so easily go the other way, but the person I want the most support from isn’t here. I glance down at my phone.
One more minute until he arrives.
He’d better fucking be here, I think.
As I stare at my phone, Maya messages me, telling me everything is ready to go. That must mean that not only does she have all the stuff she needs to publish, but she has contacts in the media as well. Someone just needs to give her the go-ahead.
It’s up to us to put an end to Colton’s misery, to set him free from his family.
The clock ticks forward, and I glance toward the doors, but the man I’m waiting for doesn’t show up. Paulie must notice my growing panic because he stares at me, worry in his gaze. But he doesn’t break away from his friends, just continues to chat with them while we both wait. We’ll give him time.
But fifteen minutes later, my food growing cold in front of me, I realize he may not show up.
I shoot him a text, asking where he is.
He reads it immediately but takes his time responding, almost as if he’s coming up with a good excuse.