Chapter 34 #2
I shake my head. So much for the guaranteed loyalty. I guess even AI can’t be forced to be loyal forever.
“Look who’s playing on their phone now,” my dad says with a scoff, and I realize everyone’s staring at me like they’re waiting for me to respond.
“I’m sorry, did you ask me something?” I finally say, to which my mom rolls her eyes in annoyance.
My dad just chuckles to himself, shooting me a smug grin over the rim of his glass of iced tea.
“While you were busy playing on your phone, we were talking about the festival,” Roman adds unhelpfully. “I haven’t heard anything, so I presume it’s still happening.” There’s condescension in his tone; he’s clearly still pissed about L.O.K.I. stealing his identity.
I grit my teeth, sliding my phone back into my pocket. “I wasn’t playing a game. L.O.K.I. was just filling me in on the new vendors we’re bringing in this year.”
“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, Jett hasn’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.”
“Keeping the vandalism from you?” I ask, my brows pulling in question.
“Of course not,” my mom laughs, “I’m referring to not being invited to your wedding.”
At that, both of our eyes grow wide as we stare back at her… waiting for the next punch to land.
“I was thinking you could make it up to me by letting me throw the biggest reception this town’s ever seen!” She claps her hands together and squeals in excitement. “What do you say?”
My eyes find Scout as I search for any hint of uncertainty, but her wide smile tells me she feels just as sure as me. Thank fuck for that.
“Why not?” I finally say. “When it comes to my wife, the bigger the celebration, the better.”
I flash Scout a knowing smile because she’s a bigger homebody than I am, but she doesn’t seem the least bit concerned. If anything, she looks excited, which makes my heart ready to explode.
“Seriously? You’re both up for it?” my mom shrieks, jumping up from her seat to hug my dad.
“I can’t wait to get started planning,” Scout says, and the smile on her face tells me she means it.
“Now this calls for celebrating. Frank, can you grab a bottle of champagne?”
My dad’s already out of his seat when he says. “I’m one step ahead of you, dear.”
We spend the rest of the evening sipping champagne as my mom tells us all her ideas for the party.
We discuss themes and dates, entertaining all her elaborate ideas without a single argument.
It’s only when she suggests we split the party with Bartholomew, since he wasn’t able to have a birthday party this year due to him getting a kidney infection, that I have to put my foot down.
After dinner, Jett finds me and pulls me to the side. “Luka, there’s something I need to get off my chest,” he starts…
I just shake my head and pat his shoulder. “I already know what you’re going to say, man. It’s fine, you don’t have anything to apologize for.”
At first he seems surprised. “How long have you known?”
“Scout told me a while back,” I admit. “At first I was pissed at you, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I’d have probably done the same thing if I were in your shoes.”
He eyes me a moment, like he’s trying to decide whether or not he believes me, then finally says, “Yeah, well, I want you to know I’m sorry for fucking things up between you two.
” He sneaks a glance over his shoulder, making sure we’re alone, then whispers, “At first I thought you’d lost your mind for what you were doing, but you two seem like you’re really happy. I’m happy for you, bro.”
I hold my hand over my heart before pulling Jett into a hug. “Gee, thanks, big bro. You know I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Yeah, well, just remember that. Now we’re even, all right.” He pushes me away and rolls his eyes, but I can see the hint of a smile on his lips.
“Yeah, sure. I guess we’re even.”