Chapter 39

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Eli

Thankfully, after our press conference, talk died down on me getting arrested, but unfortunately, Liza wasn't faring as well on the local front. This entire year, we wished we could be with each other in public, but now that everyone knows, the last thing we want to do is be seen in public.

I never want anyone to look at Liza any differently only for dating me, but I'm afraid there is no way around it now.

I hated seeing the tears in her eyes as I left for school today. It's absolutely killing her that she's been put on administrative leave. We all know that means she's getting fired, and it sucks that they are just stringing this along, giving her even a glimpse of hope.

I've grown up with people whispering about me as I walk by them. If it wasn't about who my dad was, it was about how big I was, so I should be used to it by now. But I feel like it's the first time I've ever experienced something like this as I enter our school.

Our story making national news took the small-town chatter and made it a crowded roar. I hate that even my mom can't really go anywhere in town without people stopping to talk or making it very obvious they don't approve.

I don't care what people think—I never have—but I want to fly off the handle again when I see the two women in my life being hurt by all of this.

I head straight to the couches, making sure to avoid even walking by Liza's old classroom.

As I walk by, a guy I'm on the football team with walks up with his hand out, expecting me to slap it. "My dog, Miss Hernandez is fine. How'd you?—"

My glare cuts his words short, and he's smart when he just keeps walking, acting like he didn't just say that.

"What's up?" Ben says, slapping my hand as I approach.

I just nod my hello and take a seat on the couch.

Maya is quick to hop off of Ben's lap and sit by my side. "How's Liza?"

I love that she calls her by her first name and not Miss Hernandez. "She's as good as she could be, I guess."

"I'd love to come hang out today after school. Give her some girl time while you're at practice."

God, I love Maya and her caring ways.

"I think she'd really like that. I drove to see her this morning because I knew today would be hard on her. I'll text her to make sure, then give her your number."

I pull out my phone to do so as the bell rings.

Countdown is officially on. Only a few more months of school, and I'm done.

Liza

When Eli asked if Maya could come hang out, I was a little shocked. Hanging out with my student felt kind of weird, but then I remembered how important she is in his life. How important all of his friends are.

It's a whole part of his life that I had to stay away from, so I guess it's time that I do get to know them on more of a personal level. Now that she's here though, I'm a little nervous. What if we have nothing to talk about? What if we have nothing in common?

I'm in the living room when she pulls up, and to my surprise, Natalie Spencer is sitting in her front seat. She and Dalton are together, so it makes sense that she's here, but it makes me even more nervous.

As I stand, I take a deep breath and push out all the weirdness that surrounds this. I'm Eli's girlfriend, and these are the girls who are dating his closest friends. If we end up together, these are the people who will be in our friend group. I need to stop looking at it any differently, especially because I'm not their teacher anymore.

I wait for them to knock on the door and timidly open it up, only to see both of them with huge smiles on their faces and their arms wide open.

"Welcome to our group!" Maya says with a huge, comforting smile.

The three of us hug at the same time, making my nerves lessen slightly. "Here, come in."

I invite them in, and we all sit on the couches together.

"So"—Maya slaps her knee with excitement—"I can't tell you how shocked I am that Eli actually has a girlfriend. We knew something was up, but his quiet ass doesn't tell us anything."

I laugh, raising my arms with a shrug. "Well, you can see why he didn't say anything."

"Yeah, but that's not anything different with Eli. He's always been super private, even with us," she says.

I nod. "I can see that about him."

"I'm just going to rip the Band-Aid off," Natalie says with a laugh. "How weird was it, being his teacher? I mean, I was in that class, and I never even saw you guys talk!"

I cover my face as I giggle. "So weird!" I move my hands, then raise my eyebrows at Natalie. "But I think you were a little preoccupied with Dalton."

She rolls her eyes. "Guilty. God, I hated having to sit next to him at first."

"Now, look at you two," I state with a smile.

"And look at you two." Natalie throws my words back at me. "Dating this entire time and keeping it from all of us. I'm actually kind of mad I didn't know."

I glance at Maya, and Natalie doesn't miss that I do.

"Hold up!" Natalie sits a little taller. "Did you know?" she asks Maya.

Maya grins from ear to ear and nods her head, covering her mouth like she's a little girl getting caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Natalie nudges her. "And you didn't tell me! When did you find out?"

"When we went to the mall in November, I think. When I was still dating Trevor. I saw them there," Maya replies.

Natalie wears a stunned expression. "I can't believe you were able to keep something like that and not even give us a hint that you just saw an absolute bombshell of gossip."

Maya shrugs, grinning my way. "I was happy for them. Who am I to tell their story?"

She holds her hand out to me, and I grip it for a few seconds.

"Thank you again for keeping our secret."

"Always." She smiles.

We spend the rest of the afternoon talking about our guys, sharing stories, and just having all-around girl time. I forgot how much I missed this, and by the time they're ready to head home, I feel like one of them. And being one of them feels damn good right now.

Eli

A week has gone by since our world imploded. Thankfully, people are slowly forgetting the drama surrounding us and moving on to the next town gossip.

With the hospital confirming the multiple accounts of women coming in with Liza's same symptoms, an investigation was initiated, and turns out, there were a few guys in on it, including the bartender. Three guys had bets going on who the girl would choose to go home with.

Once approached, one of them squealed like a pig, taking the whole group down.

It makes me sick to my stomach that Liza almost got taken advantage of that way, and I thank God every day that I was there to protect her. I guess everything does happen for a reason. I hate to say it, but if Liza losing her job and the controversy surrounding me helped protect just one female, then it was all worth it.

We still don't know exactly what's going on with the possible MLB draft or my college recruiting, but my agent thinks we should just let it be for a little while and hope that things blow over. So, until then, Liza and I are trying to live as normal of a life as possible.

We have a home baseball game today, and I had to beg her to attend. She didn't think it would be a good look, and I told her I didn't care one bit. This will be the first time we've been out in public together, and I want her there, cheering me on.

She was officially fired yesterday, so she's free to do as she pleases now. And what we both please is being together, so that's exactly what we should do. It is the only silver lining in all of this, so we want to take full advantage.

I shouldn't be surprised that they called to let her know during the school day, but it still made me angry that I wasn't there when it happened. She texted me right away, and I instantly stood up and walked out of class, knowing I needed to be by her side. She can pretend all she wants that she was prepared and okay with their decision, but I know it still stung, so I didn't want her to be alone.

A part of me didn't think she'd show up today, but when I see her, Maya, Natalie, as well as Natalie's friends Ashley and Susie, all walk up together, I couldn't be happier.

They've invited her into their world, and seeing her there is one of the most beautiful things.

As they take their seats, I don't miss the way parents look at her, but she holds her head high, and I love that about her.

When it's my turn to bat, knowing she's there gives me this sense of thrill that I haven't really experienced before. I take two balls that the pitcher was trying to get me to chase, but when he hangs the curveball over the center of the plate, I swing with all my might and hit it out of the park over the center fielder's head.

As I trot my way around the bases, I look for her in the crowd. When I see her standing and yelling at the top of her lungs, I blow her a kiss. Loving that I'm finally able to show the world she's mine.