Chapter 23
GAbrIEL
“Everything good?” Julio asks.
“Yeah.” I shove my phone in my bag and tear off my sweat-soaked T-shirt. Julio does the same, stripping down to his boxer briefs and rifling through his locker for clean clothes. “I’m meeting her at the pool. Gonna get some laps in.”
“Since when do you know how to swim?” he asks.
“Since we were kids, asshole.” I jab him in the chest as he pulls a fresh shirt over his head.
“Is that what you call it? I didn’t realize the doggy paddle was an official stroke now.”
“Hilarious.” I close my locker, only to jerk back when I’m greeted to Felix’s face only inches away from mine. “What the hell? Where the fuck did you come from?”
“I’ve got the story.” He ignores the question, but after a response like that, I don’t even care. It’s been two weeks of trying to figure this shit out and my patience is thin.
Just then, Holt and a few of his lackies pass by, and both our groups go quiet.
Holt’s eyes lock with mine, flashing. Parker Benson, Logan Chambers, and Rion Pru follow alongside him, matching his I smell shit expression.
My beef with Austin has the team divided.
But the division is Holt’s own doing and when Coach called us into his office last week to sort this all out, I told him as much.
He’s the one with the problem. If you ask his buddies why he and I have issues, they’ll tell you it’s because I stole his girl.
It’s bullshit and everyone here knows it.
Cecilia was never his, not even for a second.
But that’s the story he shovels to Coach and anyone else who’ll listen.
He plays the role of heartbroken suitor.
Meanwhile, I know he’s getting his dick wet every chance he gets, and the fucker isn’t discreet about it.
He’s even hooking up with one of Cecilia’s former friends, so why anybody would believe his story is a mystery.
You don’t pine for a chick only to fuck her best friend.
“Herrera—” he bites out. “I hear you’ve been poking your nose in my business.”
Folding my arms over my chest, I lean back against my gym locker. “You heard wrong. What reason do I have for giving a shit about anything that has to do with you?”
His jaw tightens and a vein pulses in his forehead. Careful, pretty boy. Someone needs to get a tighter leash on those anger issues. Holt takes two steps forward, puffing out his chest.
Julio and Felix step in on either side of me. Austin’s eyes narrow. “You’re not the only one with friends,” I remind him. In case it wasn’t obvious.
Our team is split down the middle as far as taking sides is concerned, but only the boys with Zeta Pi are actively involved in our shit.
Holt doesn’t have as many allies as he thinks.
Anyone with a half a brain knows it’s not worth the risk just for this asshole’s approval.
A lot of the guys have scholarships to worry about. Futures to protect.
Austin steps into my space. “I don’t know what she told you—“
With two hands, I shove him away from me. “Back up, man.”
His nostrils flare. I can see it in his eyes.
He wants to hit me. I wish he would. It’d give me the excuse I need to beat some sense into him.
But Rion Pru has a firm grip on his arm and whatever he says, his voice low for only Austin to hear, does what it needs to.
Shaking Rion off, Austin storms out of the locker room, Benson and Chambers hot behind him.
Rion lingers, tracking his friends until they’re out of the room.
“Have something to say?” Julio asks.
Rion sighs. “Yeah. A warning.”
Felix scoffs. “We’re not worried about that asshole.”
“You should be,” he says. “I don’t know why he’s so worked up over you,” he dips his chin toward me, “but Holt is on a warpath. He already went to Coach and tried to get you kicked off the team.”
My eyes widen. “What the fuck?”
“It didn’t work.” Julio shrugs and I whirl on him.
“You knew about this?”
Does he have the decency to show at least a little remorse? Of course not. He’s too sure of himself for that.
“I’m team Captain. I see everything.” He toys with the leather wolf bracelet on his wrist. We all have one.
Allie bought them for us as an early graduation gift when we received our acceptance letters from PacNorth.
Fucking friendship bracelets is what they are, not that you’ll hear any of us complain about it.
Like it’s some unspoken rule, not a day goes by where we don’t wear them.
They come off for games and showers and that’s about it.
Julio claps my back. “You had other things to worry about.” He gives me a knowing look.
“And you know I’ve got your back. I’m not about to let Holt throw his weight around and fuck with my team. ”
“That might be true,” Rion says. “But, don’t think he’s done. His parents are pretty powerful people in town and his mom serves on the board. He’s not letting whatever is going on with you two go.”
Good to know. “Appreciate the heads up.” I hold out my hand and Rion accepts it.
He’s a sophomore and a Greek, so our paths don’t cross off the field, but I won’t forget the warning.
I appreciate the solid he’s doing me, putting his neck out for me when we both know Holt can just as quickly turn on him.
In Holt’s eyes, Pru warning me is a betrayal.
Rion heads for the exit and I turn back to grab my things when Felix calls after him. “You need to find new friends,” he tells him.
“I like the ones I have.”
Felix tsks. “You seem like a decent guy, so I’m gonna let you in on something. Do with it what you will.”
Pru hesitates, his palm on the door.
“Over break, Holt, Benson, and Chambers raped a girl at a party.” My head snaps toward him. The fuck? He’s dead serious. I look at Julio, seeing the same surprise and anger reflected on his face. Pru, on the other hand, looks a little green.
“You need to ask yourself what kind of person you want to be,” Felix tells him. “Because if it’s anything like Holt— “
“It isn’t,” he assures us. “I’m not close with the guy, but he’s in my fraternity. I can’t do anything about that.”
“You could clean house,” Julio deadpans.
“I’m a sophomore. I don’t have that kind of power.”
“Then get it. You don’t look surprised by what Felix said. Did you know?” I ask.
He violently shakes his head. “I didn’t. I swear.” For his sake, I hope he’s not lying. To us or himself.
“What is it, then?” Felix pries. “If you know something, you need to tell us.”
Pru’s shoulders slump, and he hangs his head. “I didn’t know,” he begins. “But I’m not surprised. Holt and the guys he’s close with, they brag a lot about the girls they hook up with. They pass around a lot of videos. Make a lot of jokes that aren’t really jokes, if you know what I mean?”
Videos? My mind catches on that single word and a red haze drops over my vision. Rage threatens to drown me. I lunge forward, grabbing Rion by the neck and slamming him into the wall at his back. “He has videos and you’re just now saying something about it?” I seethe.
Eyes wide, he doesn’t even try to fight me off as he swallows hard, struggling to speak. “I’ve never watched them,” he wheezes. “I swear. They were just sex tapes the guys liked to pass around. I assumed the girls were in on it.”
I shove away from him in disgust.
Felix leans beside him, his expression casual, but I know him better than that. He’s as pissed as I am. He’s just better at hiding it. “Where do Holt and his buddies keep these videos?” he asks.
Rion rubs his neck. “I don’t want to get involved in— “
“Too late,” I snap.
“Here’s what you’re gonna do—“ I walk away, leaving Felix to map out whatever plan he’s got cooked up in that head of his.
I don’t care how crazy it is. If there’s video footage of Holt or anyone else fucking Cecilia, we’ll do whatever it takes to find it and destroy it.
Making sure it never sees the light of day again.
Something I plan to do to Holt.
I take a seat on a bench, head in my hands, and try to wrap my head around this shit. Holt, Benson, and Chambers raped her. It wasn’t just one of them. They all had a go at her. My chest heaves, rage building inside of me. I fist my hands in my hair. I need to do something. Hit something.
Fuck.
“Take a breath.” Julio drops a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t think up worst-case scenarios just yet. Let’s hear what Felix has to say.”
“You heard what he said.” I look up at my best friend, an ache blooming in my chest. “Three of them, Julio. Three!” I hold up three fingers.
A muscle ticks in his jaw. “I know. We’ll take care of it.”
The room gets quiet and I look over my shoulder to see Rion’s left the room, leaving just Julio, Felix, and I. ”Tell me,” I demand.
He nods once and claims the bench across from me. “How much do you want to know?”
“All of it.”
Felix winces. “I don’t think— “
“All of it, Felix. I’m dead serious. I need to know what those fuckers did to my girl.”
“Aren’t you meeting up with her?” Julio asks.
We all turn to the clock above the door. “I’ve got ten minutes. Give me the quick version. You can tell me the rest back at the house.”
Taking a deep breath, Felix fills the two of us in on what he’s discovered. A fresh stab of pain arrows into me with every word he says. “They didn’t believe her?”
Julio was right. She tried to get help, but the school turned their fucking backs on her.
“I think they did,” Felix says. “I spoke with this chick who works in the title nine building. She felt for Cecilia. Acted like she cared.”
“Then what happened?”
He shrugs. “Money. Politics. Power. Take your pick. The Holts leveraged all three. They came in on their high horses, threw enough money and threats around to scare the school into backing off.”
“What about the police?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t think it ever came to that.”
I frown. “Why the hell not?”