Chapter 24

twenty-four

. . .

Demi

My hand was wrappedin Romeo’s, and I could feel the tension radiating from his shoulders. But he’d agreed to come inside with me.

He could have said no, and I would have respected his wishes.

But he’d said yes.

I wouldn’t have asked him to come inside if I thought this would only benefit Slade. He’d lost the right to be my main concern, though I’d still show up for him. But this could potentially be helpful to Romeo, as well.

I didn’t explain anything further; I just led him inside to the room where Slade waited with Dr. Schwartz. I’d just spent the last ninety minutes in here talking to my brother. Getting everything off my chest because Dr. Schwartz said that keeping secrets made things worse, and our family had had a whole lot of secrets.

And she’d been right. Because my brother and I had had somewhat of a breakthrough today, as well.

I knocked on the door and led Romeo inside.

Both Slade and his therapist looked surprised that my boyfriend had agreed to join us. I’d told them that I doubted he would be willing to come inside but that I’d ask. I hadn’t even had to explain. I’d said I needed a favor, and he’d said yes without hesitation.

I walked over to the couch and motioned for my boyfriend to sit beside me.

“Thank you so much for joining us, Romeo. We wouldn’t normally request that someone who barely knows Slade be here, but after all that has been uncovered today, and with you being here for Demi, I think it’s appropriate.”

“Okay.” Romeo cleared his throat. “I’m here because Demi wants me here and for no other reason.”

Dr. Schwartz nodded. “That’s fair after everything that has been shared today. But regardless of your motivation, I want you to know that it’s appreciated.”

Slade looked up at me from the chair where he sat across from us before his gaze moved beside me. “I found out today that the truth has come to the surface, and I’ve got to tell you, it’s a fucking relief.”

My brother paused to take a sip from his water bottle. He looked good, actually. Sobriety had always looked good on Slade. It just had never lasted long. But maybe today, we’d made some progress.

At least I hoped so.

“I’ve carried this with me for a long time, Romeo. This horrible thing that I did all those years ago. Fuck,” he said, running his hands over his face.

“No holding back,” Dr. Schwartz said. “You have him here, and he’s willing to listen when he doesn’t have to give you the time of day. So, this is your chance to state your piece.”

“I was an idiot. Ronny had introduced me to some strong shit back then. It should have been a red flag that he never did a lot of the shit that he was offering me. Or at least he managed it better. But he’d come into town with his dad, who was meeting with my dad, and he’d convinced me to skip school. We’d gotten drunk, and I was high and just a total dumbass—” His words broke on a sob. “I can’t believe the shit that I did. I was too fucked-up to know what happened for a while after that. I started numbing myself more and more with each passing day. My dad had said that everything was fine and that he’d taken care of it. But I learned that Patrick and my dad had pinned it on you and River after Ronny told them that two kids ran back inside to help Walt.” Slade got up and walked to the desk to reach for some tissue.

He went on to explain what he’d shared with me over the last hour and a half. That when he found out that Romeo and River had been sent to juvenile detention, he went to my dad and lost his shit. He threatened to turn himself in and confess to everything. The guilt was eating him alive. My father had once again said he’d handle it, and he’d hired someone to get them released early. Romeo listened. He didn’t show a lot of emotion; he just nodded and let my brother speak.

“Romeo, I fucked up so much. And that was the beginning of a horrible spiral for me. The guilt really did consume my life. I was disgusted with myself, and I think I didn’t know how to handle it. So, I grew even more reckless, which led to the boating accident and hurting so many people who didn’t deserve it. And then I just needed to be numb. All. The. Time.” Slade shocked the hell out of me when he walked toward us, and then he dropped to his knees in front of Romeo and sobbed. “I’m so fucking sorry. I should have come clean. I should never have allowed that to happen. I don’t know how to undo all the mistakes I’ve made. I don’t know how to be sober and accept the person that I am. But at least I can finally tell you that I’m sorry.”

My brother stayed down on his knees, crying, and Romeo leaned forward and squeezed his shoulder. “Get up, Slade. You don’t need to be on your knees for me. Hearing you own it, hearing the hell you’ve been through, it’s a start. But it’s what you do now that matters. We can’t change the past, but we can control our actions moving forward. You have a family who loves you and a sister who won’t give up on you. Put in the work, man. Demi loves you so fucking much. That’s why I’m here. And you have a long life ahead of you. There’s plenty of time to make things right.”

Slade moved to his feet and swiped at his face. “My sister is the best person I know.”

“Well, we have something in common, then,” Romeo said as he scrubbed a hand behind his neck. “She’s worth fighting for, Slade.”

He nodded, and I could barely see through all the tears streaming down my face.

My father had known all along that Slade had struggled with this secret. Slade had shared how he’d gone to him numerous times over the years about the guilt that he carried, and my father told him to keep his mouth shut.

But secrets had a way of coming to the surface.

“Thank you for hearing me out. I’m really grateful. I want you to know that I’ve been following all this stuff with Leo and your fight, and I really hope you kick his ass.”

Everyone chuckled, and Romeo glanced over at me, using his thumb to wipe away my tears. “Thanks. The odds are not in my favor, but I’m going to take it one round at a time and hope to leave in one piece.”

“I think you might surprise yourself by what Demi tells me about your training. And this Ronny shit… just be aware, he’s a devious dude. He’s threatened me many times over the years about talking. He has no remorse for anything he does. He’s a spoiled, entitled prick who is used to using his family name to get out of the shady shit that he does.” He held up his hands. “Trust me. I’m sure people have said the same about me. But I can promise you, I have been haunted by that day for nine years. There has never been one day that I didn’t think about it since I realized what had happened.”

“Okay. Well, let’s see what you do with this now.” Romeo raised a brow.

“Fair enough. Thanks for listening.” My brother’s eyes locked with mine, and I saw a flash of the boy I’d known my whole life. The brother that I’d looked up to and loved. He was still in there.

“Thank you,” I said, squeezing Romeo’s hand. “We’re going to go.”

Dr. Schwartz thanked Romeo, as did my brother, and we made our way outside. We didn’t say a word as he moved around the rental car and opened the door for me. But I didn’t get inside. Instead, I lunged at him, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

And I completely lost it.

“Thank you for being here. For going in there. For supporting me. No one has ever supported me the way that you have. You just went in there blindly because I asked you to.”

He held me there for the longest time before letting go and pulling back to look at me.

“I will always have your back. I love you.”

“And I will always have yours. I love you,” I said, as I moved into the car and buckled my seat belt as he slid into the driver’s side and started the car.

I now understood the tattoo on Romeo’s shoulder. The one that all the guys had.

Ride or die.

Because it may not be inked on my arm, but it was etched in my heart.

We’d returned home to Magnolia Falls and the whole trip had been a blur as it had been a quick turnaround. I was looking forward to spending some time with Romeo’s sister, as she’d come home from school to visit her family.

“Is it hard for you to watch him work this hard?” Tia asked, when we walked next door to the coffee shop. I had a door that connected to the empty space that Romeo was training in now with Joey and Butch.

River and Hayes were there cheering him on, and I could see that Tia was struggling. Romeo worked himself to the bone. He had his arms tied back while he took hits to his body over and over. He did endless drills, including one-handed push-ups with weight on his back and sit-ups where he took hits to the body every time he sat forward. He jumped rope faster than anyone I’d ever seen, and he spent a lot of time on the bag, in the weight room, and sparring. Not to mention starting most days running out at my grandparents’ ranch while I sat on Teacup and pushed his pace. The man was a machine. He was training all day now. Even in between workouts, he found a way to lift and to move.

“I’m so proud of him because I’ve never seen someone work so hard, you know?” I said, as I made us both hot tea and set the cup in front of her. “But yes, there are times that it’s difficult to watch.”

“They’re punching him in the stomach with his hands tied behind his back,” Tia said, her eyes welling with emotion.

“Joey is a really great trainer, Tia. And he’s preparing Romeo to fight the best way he can. Without the use of both hands, it forces him to move his feet and take the hits that come his way. Joey needs to know he’s going to be okay when he gets in that ring. Your brother stepped away from fighting for a long time, and now he’s getting into the ring for the first time with a guy who held the belt not that long ago. He has to be prepared, or he will get hurt. I think he knows that.”

A pit settled in my stomach just like it always did when I thought about it.

“Does he tell you that he’s scared?” she whispered.

“Never. I don’t think that’s his style. I don’t think fear drives him. I think he’s realistic. He knows that Leo has a world of experience and is one of the best in the world in their weight class. He’s studied Leo’s films for weeks. He wants to fight smart. He wants to go the distance. He wants to make himself and everyone he cares about proud. But I don’t think he thinks about winning. I think he thinks about being smart and leaving there proud of his performance while also being in one piece.”

She nodded. “I hate that he’s fighting. But Leo really taunted him, you know? And Romeo is such a proud man. He’s always been that way. Even when he went away for those months over that incident.” She winced as she looked up at me, and I swallowed hard. I could see the pain in her eyes as she spoke of it. “He was there, telling me and Mom and Mimi not to worry. That he’d be fine. And he had to be terrified, but he never let us see it. He’s so damn stoic.”

“He’s also very smart. He wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t think he could handle it. How about we watch it together so we can help each other through it?”

“I don’t know if I can be out there, Demi. I might stay back in the locker room. I don’t know if I can see him get hit over and over. I’ve never gone to one of his fights. Are you going to be able to watch?”

I nodded. I understood it. “I think you have to do what you’re comfortable with. If he sees that you’re upset, that will upset him, as well. I’m planning on being out there. I know it will suck, but I’m going to make myself do it.”

She studied me, eyes searching mine. “Wow. You really love him, don’t you?”

I chuckled. “How can you tell? Because I’m willing to watch his fight?”

“No. Because I saw you in there a few minutes ago. You put on a brave face, Demi. But your shoulders stiffened every single time they hit him. Your hands were in fists when he was doing those sit-ups and they were smacking him in the stomach. Your lip bled the slightest bit when he was sparring with his hand tied behind his back because you sank your teeth in so hard to keep from reacting. You don’t like watching it any more than I do, but you love him so much that you do it. I guess you both have that whole being stoic thing in common.”

My chest squeezed at her words. Because she was right. She’d seen right through me.

“We do have more in common than we thought we would.”

“I’ve got to tell you, I’ve never seen Romeo so happy. And that’s saying a lot with all the stress he’s been under with the media stuff being impossible to ignore and all this training he’s doing. He’s crazy about you, and I love it.”

“Thank you. I feel the same, and there’s been a lot of stress around us since the day we met. But honestly, when I’m with him”—I glanced away as I gathered my thoughts—“I forget about everything else. I just feel content and happy and loved. I know it sounds corny, but it’s the truth.”

She wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “I’m so happy he stopped being a stubborn ass with you and admitted how he felt. And I’m thrilled that I feel like I might have a new bestie.”

“Me, too.” I leaned my head against hers just as the door swung open.

“Hey. He’s about done. How about we go to Whiskey Falls and grab some appetizers and cocktails for those of us who are old enough?” River smirked before winking at Tia.

“My fake ID is not going to work because Lionel knows I’m not twenty-one.”

“Just bring the ID with you and don’t drink. I’ll take care of Lionel. Your brother is exhausted, and he needs food.”

I hopped off my chair and grabbed a protein shake from the refrigerator for Romeo to drink before we left.

River’s eyes landed on me when I turned around, and he smiled the slightest bit. He was this badass guy covered in tattoos, but I knew that beneath it all was a big teddy bear.

“Okay, let’s go get him some food,” Tia said.

We all loved Romeo fiercely. No doubt about it.