Chapter Six

Darius

I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from snapping at Beck to get the fuck away from her. How can he forgive her so easily after what she did—tried to do to them but only succeeded in getting me and Saint benched. She could have done anything else and I would have forgiven her but not when it concerns drugs. I refuse to end up like my crack whore of a mother.

“Can you tell us what Gary did or said to get you to…” Beck lets his sentence trail off so she has a chance to back out if she doesn’t want to answer. She nods. They break apart and sit down leaving the only seat vacant next to Corvin. I grit my teeth and drop down beside him, ignoring how he flinches when my leg brushes his. Beck wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her into his side. Cody reaches over and places her hand on the top of Leah’s thigh offering her resilient support.

“I was waiting for Darius and you guys to arrive when Gary came to me and offered me a drink.” Her tone is flat and void of emotion as she speaks. “I refused the first time, I didn’t want Corvin to catch me drinking and piss him off before we could tell him about… us.” Corvin is grinding his teeth so hard I can hear it. “But as time dragged on and none of you guys showed up, my nerves got the better of me. When he offered me a drink again, I took it and downed the whole thing.” She chokes up and tries to take some deep breaths to calm herself enough to continue, I’m two seconds away from fleeing the room not wanting to hear any of this. “I just remember feeling dizzy and then…” She slowly lifts her gaze to mine and the duplicity in her gaze has me stiffening. I feel Corv burning holes into the side of my head but I’m trapped in the orbit of her green eyes as they hold me captive. “Calling out for you .” Tears flow faster down her cheeks, my breathing becomes unsteady. “I kept crying out for you, I couldn’t move, I didn’t even know what was happening.”

“I thought you couldn’t remember?” Beck asks tentatively. She nods and smiles sadly but never takes her eyes off me.

“I couldn’t. It wasn’t until Gary showed me the video that memories of that night came flooding back. I don’t remember all of it but I do remember him carrying me upstairs and telling him I was waiting for Darius. He laughed.” I clench my hands into fists, her eyes beg me to not look away or she’ll lose the nerve to continue, so I don’t. I hold her gaze the whole time offering her my strength. “He said ‘ by the time I’m through with you he won’t want you again. Breaking you will break him.’ I didn’t know what that meant but I knew it wasn’t good. I screamed for you!” she growls, the venom in which she says it tells me she blames me for not being there sooner and right now, I blame myself as well. “I woke up feeling sick and confused. I didn’t understand what happened or why I was naked but there was…” This time she drops her gaze, I brace myself for her next words to send me free falling over the edge. “So much blood, I never bled when… Darius and I had sex.” Corvin groans and scraps a hand down his face.

“What happened next?” Beck gently asks.

“I got changed, walked home expecting to find Darius in his room and ask him why he left me at the party. At that time I thought I had spent the night with him but then I couldn’t find him anywhere he just… vanished. Blocked my number and I didn’t see him until the following year at Thanksgiving.” My eyes narrow at the memory.

“Why the fuck did you bring Gary to thanksgiving then?” Corv grits out.

“I saw him in town when Mom and I went to get the plum sauce. He stopped me out the front of the store and made small talk, then said he was alone as his dad was away. I didn’t invite him, Mom did! You know what she’s like. She never wants anyone to be alone during the holidays, neither of you two gave me a chance to explain. As soon as dinner was done you both took off and I haven’t seen you until I transferred.”

“You transferred because of him.” It’s not a question but she nods anyway so I push on. “Did he tell you to drug us before or after you transferred?” She blows out a breath before speaking.

“After. I was still at DCU when he showed me the video. I heard him bragging to a couple of his friends as I was walking past. I stopped when I heard him mention my name. He proceeded to tell his buddies that he ruined Darius and made sure he would never look at me again. I hit him up and he showed me the video. I went into a dark hole. I dropped out of dance and school unable to stomach the thought of ever seeing him again knowing that he had… been inside me.” She chokes out a sob, I’m fucking powerless to stop myself. I’m out of my seat in the next second crossing the room, smack Beck’s hand away from her and lift her into my arms. She wraps her legs around my waist, wraps her arms around my neck and buries her face in the crook of my neck as she cries. “I’m so sorry,” she sobs.

I push all my anger away as I stand here holding her, not giving a fuck that her brother is behind me. Right now she needs me. “None of this is your fault,” I say quietly. Beck stands and offers me his seat, I take it with her still in my hold. I meet Corvin’s stare over her shoulder. I don’t see any of the anger from earlier—his eyes brim with tears as he watches his sister break down and tell her story. Last night none of what she said registered because we were both too angry and caught up in our own shit to process the fact that Leah was hurt by Gary because of us .

“I-I never meant to hurt you.” She hiccups. I rub my hand up and down her back trying to soothe her.

“Don’t worry about it, Goldie,” I say. She pulls back and stares down at me with doubt in her eyes.

“I don’t know how he found out I was transferring to CHU but he did and started calling me, texting me and telling me if I didn’t take you five out of the game, he was going to post the video. I… I couldn’t let that video get out. I didn’t want you to ever see it.” Her face contorts in pain as she cups my face with her hands. “I never wanted you to look at me like I was ruined. I was so scared to come to you or Corvin.”

“Why?” Corvin demands. She doesn’t take her eyes off me as she answers.

“I was scared neither of you would believe me. Gary told me no one would ever believe me if I went to the police. He said his father would make sure that everyone knew I was the one who wanted it. I never wanted it, Darius, you have to believe me.” She cries harder, I shift forward and grip her face between my hands and swipe her tears away with my thumbs.

“I would never have doubted you for a single second, Goldie.” My words seem to ease some of the tension in her body.

“I’m going to fucking kill that motherfucker!” Corvin announces. I grunt my agreement and so do the others. Her green eyes shine with an emotion a lot like hope, but if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t know if I’m ready to pick up what she’s putting down in regard to where we stand.

“We can have him done with the distribution of child pornography and link it back to Saint’s father.” I peer around Leah to stare at Katie. This girl is a fucking mystery, and by the looks of things, she has gained the attention of both Saint and Crue without even trying.

“How?” Beck asks.

“If I’m calculating things right, Leah was underage and Gary wasn’t so we can counter the arrest and charges. As far as Corvin and Darius go with the beating doled out to Gary, Corvin was enraged his sister was hurt and Darius was protecting his girlfriend.” I tense at the word girlfriend , Leah doesn’t miss it.

“How do we do this?” Crue asks, again Katie cuts in.

“Simple, you lay low until the press release tomorrow and explain that no one ran. You both decided to take Leah out of town so she could rest and get help to overcome the tragedy that she went through. You then apologize for your actions and accept any charges thrown at you.” The guys begin to protest but she raises her hand halting them. “Hear me out. If you both accept responsibility for your part and explain why you did it, no one is going to side with Gary. The press is going to eat him alive when you announce that your girlfriend slash sister was targeted by the Hayes family because of you being successful without using your rightful name, and them wanting to destroy you by using Leah to do that.” I mull over her words for a moment. What she says does ring true but it’s a fucking risk.

“If they do this, that means we all have to go public and announce that we are the owners of BCD’S which means everyone at CHU will also know we own the school.” Leah and Cody gasp, Crue frowns at them but continues. “You know there is a chance that the school board will vote us out of school, right?”

“Our football career will be over,” Saint whispers.

“No, it won’t,” I say as I lift Leah off my lap and place her on the seat beside me. “Victor is bluffing. At the press release I’m going to announce he is my father and my twin brother found out, in his rage he targeted my ex-girlfriend.” I feel Leah bristle next to me. “I’ll tell them that I snapped and had a mental breakdown, given the circumstances and my positions at CHU, I’ll announce I’m dropping out and… moving to Alaska to run our resort.” Everyone begins to shout and throw in their piece of how we should do things and I appreciate their efforts but they know this is the only way we can get out on top. If I stay, Victor will find a way to come after us and I can’t allow them to take the heat for me.

“What if I come forward and charge Gary?” Leah says quietly. She may have muttered the words but we all heard them loud and clear.

“You don’t have to do that,” Corvin says.

“If I do it, will it help?” she asks her brother. He cuts a glance at me. I nod, letting him know if Leah does this then it would take some of the heat off us and allow us to continue on the path we have paved.

“Yes, it would,” he says in an even tone.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” she says with conviction that has me feeling proud of her.