Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

Adrian

I stand outside the fraternity house and hold my hands up. "I will give you an exclusive story that will blow this one out of the water. Because you've got your facts wrong. Abigail is lying." The reporter holds her phone to me so she can record me. "It wasn't Noah who did this, it was me. I just used Noah as a scapegoat."

"Are you saying the allegations are actually about you?" she asks.

"Yes, I am. I paid the girls good money as well."

"Girls, as in plural?" she asks. "Can you name a few of the others?"

"I won't, I want to protect their identities. But I can tell you now that Abigail is a huge cokehead, so she has her wires crossed," I say calmly. "But as much as I wanted to use Noah as a scapegoat, I can't bring myself to do it. My conscience won't let me."

"Why did you pay the girls?" she asks. "What are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything," I say, looking at her. "What I've been hiding is out in the open now."

"Would you be willing to say this in a livestream?" she asks, flipping her phone around.

"Yes," I answer hesitantly.

My stepfather would kill Noah, but he won't kill me. I'm the golden boy. I see that now. The sports star. The stud. I'm everything he wanted ina son. Noah isn't what he wanted.

It's dawned on me what a disappointment Noah is to his father. Honestly, he's a hardass, and if he finds out Noah is gay, there will be an absolute war. Noah would be completely cast out. I don't believe that will happen with me. I'm too well liked, too good at football, great at my classes. I'm the golden boy, even if I'm gay.

She starts what must be a live feed. "This is Maria Agriette at the Alpha Omega Phi Fraternity with this exclusive update on the Noah Bennett story. We are here with Adrian Carter, Noah's stepbrother, who has something to say to everyone." She presses something on her screen and then says, "Adrian, tell the viewers what you've just told me."

"It wasn't Noah blackmailing those girls. It was me," I say looking at the camera. "He wasn't paying them off, I was. I just used Noah's name, used him as a scapegoat. This is all my fault."

She presses something on her screen. "You heard it first from Campus News." She presses another button and smiles at me. "Thanks Adrian, you've made my day."

"At least I've made someone happy today," I mutter.

I turn and go back into the house. All my frat brothers are gathered in the living room. Declan steps out and gives me a disdainful look. "Being the star quarterback doesn't give you the right to be a shitty person," he says. "We can't be associated with you. You've dragged our fraternity through the mud enough. Pack your shit and get out."

I look at Kyle. "Kyle... you can't honestly be on board with this." I look at my other ‘brothers' and say, 'You're my friends. You're my brothers."

"You are not an Alpha Omega Phi brother anymore," Declan says. "Get your shit and get out. I'm not asking again."

I go upstairs and grab my bags, packing them slowly. No one comes to check on me, no one comes to offer an apology. They've all just turned on me. This is what Noah was afraid of.

Fine, I don't fucking need them anyway.

I finish packing and head downstairs. I'll crash in Noah's room until I figure out where I can stay. He owes me that at least.

I look around one last time, but no one looks at me, everyone just talks quietly. I leave and slam the door behind me. Good riddance to that shit. I won't lie, it hurts, it stings like hell to think that the people who were supposed to have my back are in fact little flakes. I don't know what the reception is going to be like at Noah's house, but hopefully they'll be kind enough to let me sleep there a couple of days.

I walk down the road, and I'm almost at his house when a young girl comes up to me. "Mr. Carter?"

I nod. "Yes, that's me."

She hands me an envelope. "The dean wants to see you in his office in half an hour."

"Okay..." I watch her stride off, and I hurry to Noah's house. I knock on the door, and Richard opens it.

"You really are something. What do you think you're doing here?"

"I need a place to crash for a few days. My bro... the Alphas kicked me out because..."

"I understand why they did it. They don't want to be associated with someone who blackmails girls for sex, and to be honest, neither do we, but you're Noah's brother, and he's ours. So you can crash in his room, but only for a few days."

"Thank you."

He reaches for one of my bags and helps me take them inside and upstairs. We put them down in Noah's room, but he's nowhere to be found. I look at Richard. "I need to go see the dean."

"Good luck," he says. "He's pissed as hell."

I nod and hurry out. I race to the quad and through the administration building before I reach the dean's office and slow down. I walk in and look at his secretary. "The dean asked to see me."

"You must be Mr. Carter," she says. "You can go through. He's waiting for you."

I look at the nameplate on the door: Dean Theodore Rochester.

I know that family, they're really rich and really popular. Their son went to the same high school as me. I wouldn't be surprised if he came to school here. I knock.

"Enter."

I open the door and walk in. Dean Rochester is sitting at his desk and he looks up, looking at me over his spectacles. He takes them off and sets them down. "Mr. Carter. Thank you for coming in."

He motions for me to sit in the armchair opposite his table. I do so, already uncomfortable. He turns his laptop around and presses play. My voice plays back to me on the video that Maria recorded. He pauses it.

"Mr. Carter, this is a very serious issue to announce on media. Your stepfather is most displeased, he doesn't even want to come here to speak about the repercussions of your actions."

"The repercussions, sir? This has nothing to do with the university," I say.

"Unfortunately, it does. Campus News is broadcast not only to our university, but to other schools in the country. A slight like this could affect the name of the university. Action must be taken to show that the university does not tolerate or condone these kinds of infractions. Until further notice, you are suspended, pending a university investigation into what is going on with you and your stepbrother. Incest is a crime. I can't let this fly if that's what's actually happening."

"He has nothing to do with this," I say quickly. "That was why I broadcast that video. Because I didn't want him to take the fall for me. And he's my stepbrother, it's not incest."

"I wouldn't admit guilt when you're facing the panel of investigators Mr. Carter, they will not look favorably on this. Now, I don't want to see you expelled and barred from this institution, but I will do whatever is best for the school. I am hoping for your sake this is an overblown prank gone wrong."

I nod. "Yes, sir."

"You're also banned from playing football. You will not represent this institution until the investigation is complete. You may continue to live on campus grounds as the panel will need to speak to you, your frat brothers, the girls, and Mr. Bennett."

I nod again, swallowing.

"That is all, Mr. Carter, and I am really disappointed in you."