Chapter 37

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Eli

My mom was nice enough to offer to drive Liza's car back for her so we could be together. We drove home, not saying a word, just clasping each other's hands, having no clue what our lives will be once we arrive back home.

When we get to her house, we spend a few minutes in her driveway, just holding each other, not caring one bit who sees us.

"I don't want to leave," I whisper, holding her tighter.

"I don't want you to go," she whispers back.

Tears prick my eyes as I inhale her scent one more time, then kiss the top of her head. "I love you. Don't ever forget that."

Now, it's her turn to hold me tighter. "I love you more."

I find the strength within me to let her go and watch her walk up to the house. She waves to my parents, who were giving us our moment while sitting in their car.

Once she's inside, I walk to my dad's window. "I don't think I'll head home. I need to go for a drive."

"Well, son, I don't think that's a good idea. Tim's been trying to contact you."

I close my eyes, inhaling, then letting it out slowly to mentally prepare for what's to come. "I turned off my phone. I just wanted to be with Liza."

"We get it, but it's time to get back to reality."

He holds up his phone, showing me a news story on ESPN with a headline that reads:

Top MLB draft pick arrested for protecting his teacher, who he was secretly dating.

My stomach drops, as I know everything is going to change from that one little sentence flashing across the screen.

I want to scream, punch the car, and lose my shit altogether, but I know Liza can still see me, and the last thing I want is for her to see me freaking out.

My eyes pop up to her house when it hits me.

Does she know yet?

I rush toward her house.

"Where are you going?" Dad yells out.

"If everyone knows, then our secret is out, and we don't need to be apart," I yell over my shoulder. "I'm not letting her go through this alone." I don't bother knocking as I open the door and step through. "Liza?"

Her aunt and uncle aren't home, and she's standing in the kitchen with her phone in her hand, giving me a blank stare.

She knows …

I run to her and pick her up. "We'll figure this out. Don't panic."

She starts to sob against my chest. "All because I wanted a drink. Our lives are over because I decided to order that drink. We could have been?—"

I push her back so I can see her face. "Don't you dare do that. This is not your fault. This is all because some asshole tried to hurt you. I'd get arrested a thousand times more to protect you."

"But …"

"No. There are no buts. We will deal with this. Together. Come home with me."

She shakes her head. "No. We need to keep our distance."

"Fuck that. If the world already knows, then we'll tell our story. I don't care what they think of you or me." I wipe away a tear that's falling on her cheek with my thumb. "We're in this together. No matter what. Will you stand by my side?"

She nods. "Yes, I'll stand by your side."

We hug, and I pick her up as she wraps her legs around me, and we walk back to my truck.

Her bag is still in her car, so I grab it and put it in my truck. "Do you need anything else from the house?"

She shakes her head as she steps in and shuts the door.

After I've started the truck and pulled away from the curb, I turn on my phone and say to her, "I have to call my agent. I want you to hear everything. No secrets, okay? Whatever happens, we'll figure it out together."

She nods as tears cover her eyes again.

I reach for her hand. "Don't cry. It's going to be okay."

She inhales a deep breath as I hit the Call button to ring Steve.

"Where have you been?" he answers on the second ring.

"I needed some time alone. I have Liza here with me."

He lets out a breath into the phone. "Start explaining."

I tell him about how we met and how we spent the entire summer together with her not knowing I was in high school and her not getting hired at the school until a few weeks before it started.

"Then, why didn't you guys end it?" he asks like it's as simple as shutting the door, not closing out the one person you love the most.

I look at her. "I was already too far gone."

She grins, and then I look at the road.

"So, you guys have been secretly dating this entire year?"

"Yes," I state with zero hesitation, then remember why we got here in the first place. "But we need to turn the focus on what happened, not on us dating."

"But you dating is a huge deal." His voice rises.

"Yes, but so is her getting drugged." My voice cracks as I say, "She could have seriously been hurt."

"Yeah …" He sighs into the phone. "And I'm sorry that happened, but that won't matter. The bigger story is who she is. People are going to sink their teeth into that."

"Let them run with that story. I'll stand on my soapbox and make them see the other side too."

"Okay. Just let me think this all through. I have a flight that leaves in two hours. We'll figure this all out when I get there. In the meantime, do not talk to a single soul about anything. You got me?"

"Got it."

"See you soon."

"Bye."

I release her hand to click the End button and reach for her hand again, making sure she knows I'm never letting her go—no matter what.

We're almost back home when my text messages go off with a thread between Dalton, Ben, and Maya.

Ben:

You're fucking Miss Hernandez? You dog! I knew you had some secret chick, but, brO! She's hot! How could you hold out on us like that?

Dalton:

You know we need ALL THE DETAILS. Where are you?

Maya:

Stop being so crude, Ben! Are you okay, Eli? Is she okay?

I glance her way and show her my phone, making her close her eyes and shake her head from side to side.

"Everyone knows," she whispers to herself more than to me.

"Don't worry."

"Are you going to respond?"

I make sure the steering wheel is secure with my knee and snap a picture of me holding Liza's hand, then hit Send without saying anything.

Ben:

Typical fucking Eli. No words. Just a picture, like a fucking tease.

Dalton:

You know we got your back. Name it, and we're there if you need us.

Maya:

I love that you have each other. Don't let anyone take that away.

I show Liza what Maya said, and she smiles.

"I love that we have each other too," I say, bringing her hand to my lips to kiss it.

She laughs to herself. "You might not say that in a day or two."

"Hey." I laugh back. "You're making jokes about it. That's a good thing."

She lowers her eyebrows at me.

"Right now, all we can do is be together and laugh our way through this mess."

She gives me a blank stare as I pull into my driveway. "Don't you dare say we'll look back at this and think it's funny."

I laugh out loud. "No. I won't do that. But we need to not be so stressed about it. What's done is done. Let's just figure out the damage and move on. The only thing that matters is you're okay. Everything else is just static noise."

I put the truck in park when we hear her phone ring. I don't recognize the name on the screen, but by her expression, it can't be good.

She swipes the call, inhaling a big breath and bringing it to her ear. "Hi, Susan."

Tears spill from her face, and I open the truck door to race to her side, needing to hold her.

"Uh-huh. Yeah. Okay," Liza says as I wrap my arms around her. "Yeah, I understand." There's another pause. "Okay. Bye." The phone drops to the floor, and she buries herself into my chest. "I've been put on administrative leave until further notice."

I hold her tighter, not sure what to say. Teaching was her dream, and because of me, that dream was just ripped away from her, right in front of me.