Chapter Seven

Leah

We spent a couple of hours sitting there listening to how my brother and the others began their company and amassed their fortune through the stock market. I’m in awe of how they managed to accomplish all of this while in school and playing football. Proud of the sheer determination they all had to make sure they never struggled to want for anything. I learned Saint hates his family and wants nothing to do with them. Crue only has his aunt who brought him up after his parents abandoned him when he was one. Darius, well everyone knows he has no one except us so it made sense for him to push for this to excel. Corvin, I get it. He has always wanted to make sure our parents were able to retire and never worry about money again—his reasons are noble. Beckett is a closed book, the guys don’t even know his whole story and it baffles me why he won’t confide in anyone about his past. After that, the guys disappeared to get everything in place for tomorrow. Cody and Katie wanted to practice our routine but I wasn’t feeling it. So, I decided to hide out on the balcony of the second floor and stare out at the mountains.

“Can I join you?” I look to the side to see my brother standing there with his hands stuffed in his pant pockets, a remorseful look on his face. It’s getting dark now, which means I must have been out here for hours and not known.

“Depends,” I say.

“On?”

“Are you going to yell at me again?” His shoulders hunch forward as he shakes his head. “Then sure, you can.” He makes his way over to me and drops down into the seat beside me as we stare at the amazing view. We remain silent for a long time lost in our own thoughts until Corvin finally breaks it.

“Why my best friend, Leah?”

“Why not him?” I retort.

“Because he’s my best friend and you being with him complicates that.” He runs a hand through his hair and slumps back in his chair. “I trusted him with you. He betrayed that trust Leah. I’ll never allow you and him to be anything, I can’t.” I swivel in my seat to face him.

“That isn’t your call to make. Darius is a good guy?—”

“He was the fucking one who found you in bed with Gary and left you there! Why the fuck are you sitting here defending him?” He’s angry and I get it, but I won’t allow him to blame Darius for what happened to me.

“What happened with Gary wasn’t his fault. He told me not to go to that party, I didn’t listen so that is on me, Corv, not Darius.”

“Leah, you’re eighteen. You have so much time to do whatever you want before you settle down with a good guy who treats you right.” I bristle at his dig.

“Darius is a good guy!” I defend. He lulls his head to the side and pins me with a pitying look.

“You need to let him go, Leah.”

My stomach sinks. “Why should I?”

“Because he will never forgive you for drugging him.” My breath hitches. “Darius swore he would never touch a single drug and risk becoming like his mother. He never hooked up with any girl who dabbled in any type of that shit. He barely drinks because he’s worried he’ll become an addict. You doing what you did to not only him but Saint as well, is unforgivable to him, Leah.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll tell your coach it was me and not them–”

“You don’t get it!” he says with his voice raised. “It’s out of coach’s hands now, it’s with the board. On matters that concern each of us we aren’t allowed to vote. They are going to be kicked off the team. Darius will be pissed but he’ll get over it. But, Saint, he won’t. Unlike Darius and Beck, me, Saint and Crue planned to go pro and if Saint is out, then Crue won’t go without him. Your actions have cost us all, Leah. You could have come to me and I would have helped you deal with this but you didn’t trust me enough!” I bite the inside of my cheek to focus on something else aside from the pain I feel inside my chest. “You slept with him and fucked with his emotions. What the hell did you think would happen when all of this came out?”

I open my mouth, then snap it closed. I truthfully don’t know what I thought was going to happen. “I thought I would figure a way out of it, then Gary showed up at the diner that night and I knew I didn’t have a choice,” I whisper in a defeated tone.

“Darius broke his arm. He will never play again and despite what they all think, I know Victor Hayes, he is not just going to let Darius off the hook for that one.” I flinch.

“What does that mean?” I press.

“It means, tomorrow isn’t going to go our way no matter what we do. The press has their story and they don’t care about the truth. They just want drama and the headlines don’t paint you in a good light, sister.” I balk at him.

“What do you mean?” I ask hesitantly.

“They are saying you have been sleeping with the twins the whole time and that what happened yesterday was your fault.” I splutter, that is not true. I never even knew about them being related!

“Corvin, I—” He holds his hand up silencing me.

“It doesn’t matter what you, me or anyone else thinks or knows. Ninety percent of the world believes what they read. We’ll try to do as much damage control as we can but I can’t promise this won’t blow back on you.”

“I get it,” I say in a dejected tone. “I’m going to be the whore who bagged DCU’s best QB and the girl who fucked her brother’s best friend.” Corvin flinches but doesn’t say anything, which makes me believe that is exactly what people are going to be saying about me.

We all sit around the twelve seater dining table not saying a word. I push the food around my plate. I’m not even hungry, the thought of food makes me nauseous. Plus, chewing hurts thanks to fucking Gary’s fist. Beck filed a police report pressing charges against Gary for hitting me and started the process with their lawyer to have him charged with rape. Beck said I would have to give a statement and tell the police what I told them today. I wish I could just put this whole ordeal behind me, but that can’t happen until after tomorrow. The guys are leaving early tomorrow morning to head into the city, the girls and I are staying back at the cabin.

“I’m out, thanks for dinner Beck,” Darius says as he pushes back from the table, loads his plate in the dishwasher and heads upstairs, not sparing me a glance once. Corvin is right, Darius is never going to forgive me for what I did to him and honestly, I can’t blame for that. I just wish his dismissal of me didn’t hurt as much as it does.

“Ya’ll need to talk or something because the tension is killing me!” I ignore Saint, I don’t need any of them weighing in on my situation with Darius.

“Shut the fuck up, there is nothing to sort,” Corvin snaps, the tension in the room only amplifies, thanks to his outburst.

Laying here on the couch, I can’t stop from tossing and turning. Cody and Katie offered to share a bed so I could have the other but I refused. They have been put through enough thanks to me, so I refused to allow them to be any more uncomfortable then they are already by being locked away in this cabin for a week. Corvin glared as I carried my pillow and blanket downstairs, but I just ignored him. I know it is going to take a long time for him to trust me again.

“He’ll forgive you.” The sound of Darius’s voice has me bolting upright and turning toward the kitchen where he leans against the wall sipping a glass of water. My eyes drink him in. Thanks to the soft glow of the moon I can make out that he is only in a pair of sweats. I fight the groan that wants to break free.

“How did you know that?” I ask to distract myself from ogling his body.

“You talk out loud.”

“Hm,” is my only response. I don’t know what else to say, saying sorry won’t fix what I did to him.

“I’m gonna break this down for you, Goldie.” I sit up straighter in my seat and watch as he saunters into the sunken living room with a swagger only he can pull off. Rather than sitting on one of the seats he drops down onto the coffee table directly in front of me. I dart my tongue out to wet my lips, his eyes track my every movement causing me to flush red. “I may not be able to see it but I know you’re blushing.” I snort and quickly clamp my mouth closed. He releases a tired sigh and I slump into the couch.

“Just say whatever it is,” I hedge.

“Fine. You and I are done, for good.” Getting a white hot branding iron to my heart would have hurt less then hearing those words come from him. “You crossed a line, Leah, and there is no way for you to come back from that. Even when I thought you cheated on me, I still gave you a second chance!” The hurt that laces each of his words feels like a knife to my heart. “What you did… I can’t get over that and I’ll never forgive you for it. So, from here on out, you stay away from me and I stay away from you. Don’t text or call, better yet, just delete my number.” I nod stiffly. “Look, I’m fucking sorry for what happened with Gary and I swear I’ll do everything in my power to make him pay. If you had told me, things would have been different but instead you lied and used us.”

“I did try to come to you. I called, text and searched for you but you left! Who the hell was I supposed to turn to?”

“Your brother,” he snaps.

“How the hell was I supposed to explain what happened to Corvin when he had no idea about you and me? Would you have rather I outed you and told my brother that we were together?”

He shakes his head, climbs to his feet and stares down at me with a vacant look in his eyes. “You did the damage, now you live with the fall out of the choices you made.” He storms out without another word leaving me alone to deal with this on my own. I know he’s right and I did fuck up, but can he not for one second see it from my side? I can’t let this go. I race after him, catching him just as he’s about to close his door and shove it open. He stumbles back in shock before pinning me with a glare. “Get out!” he snarls.

I ignore him as I push his door closed and move toward him. “You stand here judging me because I made a mistake, a mistake I will forever regret, halfback. I won’t keep saying sorry. You want to hate me go for it, but just know the feeling is mutual because you left me without a word. You could have come to me and you didn’t, you ran like a pussy!” That pushes him over the edge, he gets right in my face breathing heavy.

“Get the fuck out, Leah. I told you we’re done. You want to go spread your legs for the fucking team and let them run a train? Do it because I don’t fucking care anymore!” he screams. I stare at him in a new light. He’s hurt and I get that, but it doesn’t mean I have to take his shit.

“Fine. Remember you said that shit, because I’m tired of waiting for you to man the hell up and admit to my brother you’re in love with me.” He scoffs then laughs darkly.

“Aww, Goldie, your sweet and innocent act may fool everyone else but not me. You are a lying little cunt who likes to play games. Well, guess what, baby,” he reaches out and tucks a stray strand of hair gently behind my ear, which shocks the hell out of me, “I’m going to ruin you for taking the only family I have ever known from me. I’m going to fuck your world right up and relish in seeing you burn in front of my eyes.” My mouth drops open in horror. How the hell can he be so cruel, when hours ago he held me while I broke down in front of everyone. The door opens. Darius flicks his gaze toward it and rolls his eyes. “Get the fuck out. Your bodyguard is here to save you from me.”

“You’re being a fucking dick!” Beck snaps. Darius turns his dark eyes back to me. I don’t find any trace of the kind attentive lover anywhere in the depths.

“And still she wants me. Fancy that, Becky boy. The girl you’re pining over still wants my cock in her even when I’m a cunt but not yours. That must be a huge blow for the ego.” I gasp as his hurtful words, shaking my head in disgust.

“Fuck you, Darius, you are a real piece of shit–”

“Don’t fucking call me what you call my brother!” he seethes.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t act exactly like him!” I shout before spinning around and storming toward Beck. He steps aside to let me out. I don’t fuck around, I head downstairs even though I know I won’t be able to sleep a wink after that confrontation.