Chapter 36

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Liza

Not knowing what's going on with Eli is killing me more than the thought of what I just went through. As of right now, I know I'm going to be okay, but I need the same guarantee for him.

"Liza, you have a visitor," a nurse peeks around the curtain to say.

She opens it a little wider for Eli's mom and dad to walk through. A rush of emotions overcomes me, and I instantly start crying.

Heather is quick to rush to my side. "Oh, sweetie. We're here. Don't cry."

I hold on to her tighter. "I'm so sorry," I say through sobs.

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Heather rubs her hand down my hair. "I'm sorry this happened to you. Are you okay?"

I lean out of her hug, and she drops her hands to mine.

"I'm okay. Where's Eli?"

"We're working on getting him released right now," David says.

More tears fall. "I can't believe he was arrested while trying to protect me."

"Believe me, neither can I," David says in a stern manor. "Guy at the station said the bartender wanted to press charges. Said they do so to make a point to the people of this town that they don't tolerate fights. They should be pressing charges against the guys who did this. I wouldn't be surprised if they know exactly who they are too. They'll have my lawyers to answer to, for sure."

I chuckle to myself. This little town has no clue who they are messing with. I can only assume the lawyers Eli's family has are top-notch, and any person or business around here won't stand a chance against them.

But it all might be too late.

"How do we …" I pause, not sure how to ask about how we keep our story from getting out.

"Don't worry about anything right now. All we care about is that both of you are okay," Heather says, gripping my hand in a reassuring way.

I nod, wanting to agree with her, but knowing we're probably both royally screwed.

They release me from the hospital, and we drive straight to the jail where Eli is being held.

"I've been told he's good to go, but just in case, why don't you guys stay here, and I'll go inside to get him?" David says as he puts the car in park.

Heather and I sit in silence as I stare at the door, waiting for Eli to walk out. Time ticks by slower than I thought humanly possible as my eyes burn because I'm afraid even blinking will make me miss him.

The door finally opens, and when I see Eli walk out, I open the car door and race toward him. Not thinking twice, I jump up, wrap my arms and legs around him, and cry into his shoulder.

He catches me, just like I knew he would, and whispers into my ear, "Shh … don't cry. I got you. I'll always protect you."

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't you dare apologize. You did nothing wrong."

"I still don't even know what happened."

He stills and pulls his head back slightly, not letting go of me. "Look at me."

I do as he asked.

"You don't need to know. I know one thousand percent it was not you. All you need to know is, I was not going to let anything happen to you."

"But you were arrested."

"And I'd spend the rest of my life in jail if it meant that you were okay. You hear me?"

I nod while more tears fall.

He brings me to him again, holding me tightly. "I was so scared something had happened to you."

David places his hand on my shoulder. "Let's get your truck then go back to the cabins. I'm sure you both need to get some sleep."

Eli doesn't let me down. Instead, he walks us both to the car, guiding me to get in. When he enters on the other side, I slide over to him, needing to hold him more than ever right now.

After we arrive back at the restaurant, we exit the car, and I never leave his arms as he talks to his parents about them getting a room at the same place and getting back together in the morning. It's really all a blur to me as I just focus on holding him tightly. I know, tomorrow, our world will come collapsing down, so I want to be with him as long as I can until then.

We wake up to his dad calling.

"Hey, Dad," Eli says.

I wait in silence, as whatever he's saying has Eli not moving one bit until he lets out a loud, "Fuck!"

"What's wrong?"

He rubs his eyes, breathing in and out, not responding to me.

"How do they know?" he asks.

My stomach drops as I sit up. "Who knows? The school?"

He shakes his head, not looking at me, which makes me even more nervous. He pulls the phone back, checking for something on the screen, then bringing it back to his ear.

"Yeah. He called me. I put my phone on silent, but you and Mom come through, no matter what. That's why I got your call and not his."

"Whose?" I place my hand on his arm, dying to know who he's talking about.

Eli holds his finger up to me, and I grab it, not taking that for an answer.

"Tell me what's going on."

"Okay, Dad. We'll get ready and be right out." There's a pause in their conversation. "Okay. Bye." He throws the phone down and covers his face with his hands, whispering, "Fuck, fuck, fuck," under his breath.

"Eli! What is going on?"

"My agent called."

I jump up in shock. "Your agent? How does he know?"

"Since I'm one of the top prospects for the draft, my name is on a list of people-watching for everything, good and bad."

"I don't understand. How could they find out so fast?"

"When I was arrested, it goes into a national database that triggered whatever reporting system they have."

My eyes open wide. "What does that mean?"

He lets out a breath, keeping his eyes closed. "It means news cameras are on their way to the police station to try to figure out why I was arrested."

I cover my mouth as I gasp in air.

He instantly sits up and wraps his arms around me. "Don't panic."

"How can we not panic? People are going to know who I am. Eli, everyone is going to find out."

"We'll figure this out."

"I'm going to get fired. And …" I pause as realization really hits me. "Will this stop you from getting drafted?"

"We don't know. I did nothing wrong. I was only protecting you. The truth will come out."

I push him away from me. "Exactly. All of the truth will come out. I'm your teacher, remember? That will be a bigger story than you getting arrested once they know."

"And we'll deal with it." He tries to comfort me, but there's nothing he can do or say to help us now.

Here I was, worried the school would find out, but now, I need to worry that the entire world will find out. What have we done?