Chapter 38

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Eli

Later that night, our house has turned into a high-functioning office with my dad's lawyers and my agent all sitting around the kitchen table, trying to come up with a plan.

I figured what's done is done, and this is why these guys get paid, so Liza and I have been curled on the couch all day, not wanting to watch TV and just listening to music.

"Eli," Dad yells out. "Come here, son."

I stand and hold Liza's hand, making sure she knows wherever I go, she goes. No secrets. We're in this together.

We enter the kitchen, holding hands, and Steve starts talking. "We're going to hold a press conference. I thought about what you said and agree; we need to make this more about what happened to Liza. If we tell your story about how you met before she was a teacher, I think we can get some people on our side. People love the hero of a story, and you definitely are one in this case."

Liza grips my arm with her other hand. "He is. What would have happened to me if he hadn't put up such a fight?"

Steve points at her. "Exactly. The only reason we are here is because he fought so hard for you that he got arrested."

"I still don't understand that. Why was I arrested once they knew what was going on?"

He lets out a breath. "We're trying to figure that out. The bartender is pressing charges."

Danny, one of the lawyers, speaks up. "We're working on getting the charges dropped. We've already spoken to the judge. Hoping it will all go away by Monday."

"You would think any guy in that situation would understand that I was just protecting my girl," I say in confusion.

"Have you guys spoken to the hospital?" Liza asks, and we all look at her, wondering what she means.

Danny shakes his head, looking at Tony, the other lawyer, for conformation, then back to us. "No. Why do we need to?"

"She told me she thinks something's going on in that bar. She said every weekend, they've had someone coming in with my same symptoms," Liza says.

Danny stands up with his phone. "I'm on it."

Steve gathers up all of his paperwork and stands. "I'm going to head back to the hotel to get everything situated. I'll be back here tomorrow morning around eight, and we'll set up the press conference for ten."

"Okay," I agree.

Dad stands to walk him out. "Thanks again for everything."

Liza and I head back to our spot on the couch while Dad continues to talk to the lawyers.

"Can I get you guys anything?" Mom asks as she walks into the room.

We both shake our heads. All we need is each other right now.

Thankfully, my parents didn't balk at the idea of Liza staying the night, and they even let her sleep in my bed. We didn't do anything but hold each other all night, as that was all either of us needed in that moment.

Now, we're getting ready to hold this press conference at the Leighton River police station, where news cameras are waiting outside. With us, we have my parents and Ava, Steve, Liza's aunt and uncle, as well as Dalton, Natalie, Ben, and Maya, who just arrived.

Maya walks right up to Liza, giving her a big hug that I know makes Liza feel a lot better.

"I'm glad everything is out in the open," Maya says, looking between the two of us. "It's horrible what happened to you guys. If you didn't have to hide your relationship, none of this would've happened."

"Thank you for keeping our secret," Liza says, placing her hand on Maya's arm to show just how grateful we are for her doing so.

"You knew?" Ben asks, his eyes opened wide.

Maya blows him off. "I ran into them at the mall in Billings months ago."

"And you didn't tell me?" He's shocked she kept our secret from him, and honestly, I am too. I thought they told each other everything with how close they have been all of their lives.

She places her head on his shoulder and looks at us, all googly-eyed. "It wasn't my story to tell. They were in love, and I didn't want anyone to stop them."

Dalton comes up and slaps my hand. "Despite all of this, I'm happy for you. Miss—" He pauses, and I close my eyes, wanting to smack him but knowing it's not the time or the place. "Liza seems perfect for you."

"Thank you all. Ben and Maya, you'll have a new Econ teacher when we get back," Liza says, surprisingly not seeming as sad as she was early about it.

We've both decided what will be will be, and from here on out, we're just along for the ride together.

"Man, you were my favorite teacher. This blows," Ben states with a huff.

I nudge her slightly. "You'll always be my favorite teacher."

She chuckles to herself as Steve approaches us.

"You guys ready?" Steve asks.

I grip Liza's hand tighter. "We're ready."

I told them, no matter what, Liza was not going to leave my side. This isn't about me anymore. This is about us and what happened to her.

"Okay, let's go," Steve says to the attorneys, who walk out first.

We follow and are hit with the instant light of flashing cameras. I hold my head high as we approach the podium they have set up with all the different microphones.

We wait as our attorneys make their statement before moving to the side and letting me talk.

"Thank you for coming here today. Before rumors could spread even more, I wanted to stand here and tell our story. First, I want to be very clear when I say I am over eighteen, and I was over eighteen when I first met Liza. We met over the summer while hiking in the hills above Mason Creek. She was not a teacher at that time, though I knew she'd moved here to pursue a teaching career.

"We dated all summer as I traveled on the national circuit for baseball. I never tried to hide the fact that I was a senior in high school, but it never came up, and she thought I was in college. Her dream was to teach elementary school, and our age gap was never even brought up.

"It was not until what she thought was the happiest day of her life—the day she got hired to teach at Leighton River High—that we both realized what that really meant. We knew it was wrong, and we put our relationship on hold, but you can't fight true love. I love Liza Hernandez with all my heart, and I knew this before she became my teacher.

"All year, we have kept our distance, only talking on the phone and not being together in person. Spring break came, and I just wanted to be with the person I loved, so we planned a trip to be together a few hours away so no one would know who we were. Yes, we knew it was wrong, but I dare any of you to go day in and day out with the person you love right in front of you, but there isn't anything you can do about it.

"We just wanted to be together.

"We went to a restaurant that turned into a bar after hours. I did not drink. I did not try to drink, and I do not have a fake ID. We stayed in the restaurant section the entire night. Liza got up to get a drink and brought it back to our table. What we didn't know was someone had slipped a drug into her drink before she did so.

"Time went by, and when she didn't come back from the restroom, I went to look for her, only to find her on the lap of another guy. Yes, I did get into a fight, but only because I knew she wasn't okay.

"To any female who is listening, I want you to pay close attention here. This drug makes you act totally normal to anyone around you. She was not loopy or even coming off as drunk. She was very stable in her words and what she was saying, so everyone believed her when she said she was not with me.

"I don't blame the guys at the bar for wanting to fight me. She was making them believe that we were not together and they needed to get rid of me. They thought they were protecting her when, really, I was the one trying to protect her even more.

"Yes, I fought very hard for her and would do it a thousand times again. This is why I was arrested. This is the only reason why I was arrested.

"Thankfully, as she was leaving with one of the guys and I was handcuffed in the police car, the drug took a turn for the worse in her body, and she started violently throwing up. There was not a thing I could do while I watched the guy who was trying to take her home leave her there, not wanting to deal with a woman throwing up.

"I'm grateful for the police officers who knew she wasn't okay and called the paramedics to check her out.

"We don't know if the guy she was trying to leave with or someone else slipped it in her drink, but there is no doubt she was drugged. The hospital has confirmed with our lawyers that there have been multiple cases of women coming in with the same symptoms. Please watch out for your friends. Know if they plan to leave with a guy or not. I can't make this clear enough that she was acting totally normal. I see now why everyone there thought I was crazy.

"Above everything, I am very thankful that she was okay and that I was there to protect her as much as I could. Unfortunately, this is not the case for some of these women, and I hope our story helps protect anyone who is listening in the future.

"Thank you for your time."

I walk away from the podium, and Steve instantly steps up in my place as people start shouting from the crowd. "He will not be answering any questions. We did just get a call though, saying all charges have been dropped, so Eli will not have to face any further legal dates. Thank you all for coming."

We enter back inside the police station, where I pick up Liza and hug her, needing the relief she's giving me more than I need air right now. Hearing the charges were dropped was the last bit of news I needed.

We'll deal with the school and any colleges or pro teams that have issues with us dating later. As long as she's okay and I'm free of any legal trouble, I know we can get through anything else.