Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

T hings have been quiet lately, almost peaceful. Well, minus Cobbler's crying at night and Donny's nightmares. But besides that, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. My mom is in rehab and she seems to like it. It's a nice place with wide open spaces for her to walk and reflect.

She doesn't have access to her phone, but she writes to me. It's kinda fun. Reminds me of when I was little and I would go to football camp for three weeks during the summer. She would send me postcards from her trips abroad, and I would tell her all about my days and the friends I met.

I've missed these moments with my mom. I just wish my dad would fall off a cliff. But one step at a time.

"Lennox, Dean Adams is requesting you this morning," Colton tells me as I walk out of the kitchen. He's holding a note, which must have just been delivered. I thought I'd heard a knock on the door.

"I wonder why," I mutter, putting my shoes on and grabbing my backpack. I have class in an hour. "I hope it doesn't take long."

Donny walks in with Cobbler in his arms, and he smiles while carrying her to her food bowl.

I don't know what Teo was thinking by getting him a puppy, but it has helped his depression, so I'm not complaining, even though she likes to pee in people's shoes and chew the TV remote.

Colt hands me the note and I leave the apartment, moving up the stairs. The girls are laughing and I can smell fresh croissants. I don't stop to chat, though I hear Rylee having fun.

She's been happier since living here with us, and though it was a pain in the ass, I'm glad that Missi is finally gone. I wonder if that's why the Dean needs to see me. Everyone knows that my father was the one who convinced the school board to replace Dean Kondum, and revealed his secrets about Missi Kondum.

Walking along the quiet campus, I take in the smell of spring. Pretty soon, competition season is going to begin and we will all be so busy. We'll eat, sleep, and dream about cheer.

People find it weird that I love cheering as much as I do, but it's always been a part of me. I think we need to normalize more men being cheerleaders. Yes, I may be bi-sexual, but that has nothing to do with it.

The Black Widows are my family. Yes, we fight, and sometimes we won't talk to each other for a few days, but we love and trust one another. You need to when you have someone's life in your hand.

Tossing a flier ten feet in the air with only a basket catch to protect them is suicidal, some would say, but to us, it's the type of adrenaline we crave.

When I reach the Dean's office, I'm surprised to see my father there alongside a security guard.

My father smirks at me, and I instantly know this isn't going to be good.

"What's going on?" I ask, and the Dean gives me a frown.

"Mr. Crane, why don't you step into my office and we can have a little chat," she says, holding her hand out for me to enter first.

I take a seat in front of her desk, as she and my father whisper quietly. Looking over my shoulder, to make sure she's not coming, I grab my phone and text a 911 in the group chat.

The door shuts, and the click of her heels are the only thing I hear through the pounding in my ears.

My palms are sweaty and my heart is racing.

"Am I in trouble?" I blurt as soon as she's sitting, and she looks me over. My knee is bouncing and I feel like running away.

"Lennox, is there anything you wish to confess to me?" she asks and I shake my head.

"No. What is going on?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, can you please tell me what this is regarding?" I try to remain polite, but I know I'm getting snappy.

"I see." She sighs, standing and moving to take the seat beside me. She grabs a folder off her desk as she walks by.

"I'm going to be frank here. We found trace amounts of narcotics in your urine. As you know, we undertake mandatory urine tests before competitions. Yours failed. And after talking with your father, he's confessed to covering for you for the past few years."

"What?" I gasp, my eyes are wide open and I don't know what else to say. What the hell is she talking about?

"Frankly, Lennox, we're worried about you. Not to mention how dangerous it is for you to remain on the team while on drugs. As of right now, you are removed from the Black Widows, and I'm placing you on academic probation."

"You can't do this. It's not true. I didn't do anything. I don't take drugs!" Jumping to my feet, I turn to storm out of the office. Before I can take a breath, I smash my fist into my asshole father's face.

"Mr. Crane!" the Dean shouts, but I don't care.

My father wipes the blood from his lip with his thumb and gives me a smirk. I can see the rage in his eyes, but he's keeping his composure, for appearance's sake.

"It's fine," he says. "I have arranged for you to get the help you need, son. We only want what's best for you."

"No you fucking don't! All you want is to control me," I growl. "You know I don't take drugs. Drinking alcohol? Yeah, on occasion, but even that's stopped. This isn't about wanting to help me." I lean in so only he can hear me. "You're pissed that I beat you at something, and now you want to destroy me."

I look at the Dean, who seems confused, watching the show. "You're only enabling him. Giving him what he wants while ruining my future in the process. Anyone with eyes can see this man doesn't fucking care about me," I scoff, shaking my head.

I can't believe this is happening right now.

"I hope when you go to sleep tonight, your pillow feels like stone, and when you finally get to eat your favorite meal, it tastes like ash."

The security guard grabs my arm and starts tugging me toward the door.

"Let me fucking go!" I roar, fighting to get free. "I'm going to arrest your ass!"

Mateo and Donny are running up the hill to get to me, but it's too late.

"Lennox!" Mateo shouts, his eyes wide, furious and confused. "What the fuck is going on?"

"I don't know," I snarl, thrashing in the guard's hold.

"We will find you, Lennox. We won't let them get away with this!" Donny shouts as I'm dragged toward the parking lot.

Mateo is fighting a few guards as he struggles to get to me. We lock eyes and I see true fear reflected in them. I'm yanked around until I'm in the parking lot, where there's a white van that has a rainbow painted on the side with a large X through it. What the fuck kind of van is this?

The vehicle is idling.

"No," I gasp, shaking my head frantically, still trying to break away from the people holding me. "No, stop! Please, don't do this!" I yell and shout, looking over my shoulder at Mateo.

He's screaming at my father, while Colt and Donny are trying to restrain him.

I'm tossed into the van, and the door closes behind me. It's locked and I can't break free.

I start banging on the window, hoping someone, anyone, will help me. I'm being fucking kidnapped, and no one is fucking doing anything about it!

"This can't be happening," I whisper to myself in disbelief. If this is what the side of that van looked like, I'm not being sent to rehab. This is a fucking conversion camp van.

When someone speaks from the front seat, my blood chills. "Welcome, Lennox Crane," the voice purrs happily.

My head shoots to the side and my eyes widen in surprise, then narrow in anger.

"You," I growl. She doesn't turn to look at me, but she begins to cackle like the witch she is.

Fucking hell. How is this happening right now? I'm so over all the damn dramatics with this crazy bitch. Can't we just catch a break?

"What the hell just happened?" I ask, panting.

I'm out of breath as I come to a stop. I look over and see a rainbow van disappearing from the parking lot. When we got the 911 text from Lennox, Donny and Mateo took off running. Colt was a little bit behind them, and I was trying to catch up. "What is going on?!"

"That fucking monster!" Donny growls, running an angry hand through his hair.

I look over to see that Mr. Crane has a nasty smirk on his face and pep in his step as he thanks the Dean, shakes her hand, then walks off to his car.

Once his vehicle is gone, the security guards let a murderous Mateo go. "You all fucking suck!" he roars. "Can't even do your job. You should be arrested. You just let a student get kidnapped!"

"Wait, what?!" I shout, my eyes widening as I look back in the direction the van went. My stomach sinks in dread. "Please tell me that van didn't have Lennox in it,"

"That fucking bastard did it," Donny shouts, waving his hand in the air. "This is his fucking payback for being blackmailed a few months ago."

Teo is shaking. He's quiet. His eyes are bright with murder. Whatever he's silently plotting, it's going to be vengeful and bloody.

And I'm not mad about it.

I hope he makes everyone fucking pay.

"What do we do? Where did they take him?" I ask, looking between the guys.

"I don't fucking know!" Mateo shouts. I know he's not mad at me, so I let it go.

"The van. It's not a typical one," Colton says. "Was that a rainbow with a damn X through it?"

Donny pulls out his phone and starts typing. "Oh, fucking hell," he groans.

"What?" Mateo snatches the phone from his hand. "You have got to be fucking kidding me!" he fumes. "I'm gonna kill him. I'm going to go to his house, wrap my hands around his fucking neck, and kill him!"

"What?" I shout, needing to know what the hell is going on.

"The van is for a camp. A religiousconversion camp," Colton says in a whisper as he looks at the phone.

"You're telling me that asshole of a father of his had him fucking kidnapped and taken to a damn conversion camp?!" I shout. "Is he fucking crazy? That man should be locked up. Oh, God." I feel like I'm going to be sick as I start to pace. I've seen documentaries about places like that, and none of them are good. If anything, it's a pure horror story.

The shit they do to them. You can't pray the gay away, you can't beat it out of them either. I can't believe shit like that is even allowed in this day and age.

"We have to get him back. He's over eighteen. This can't be legal. He didn't consent!"

"I found out what organization it's through," Colt says. "But the nearest camp is about two hours away from here."

"Then we get in the fucking car and drive," Mateo seethes.

"And what? I'm sure they have some kind of security. We can't just walk in there, take him by the hand and walk out," Colt tells him.

"If I have to go in there, guns blazing, I will. I won't leave my man in that fucking hellhole any longer than he needs to. If I have to be the one to get locked up to get him out, then so fucking be it. If I have to kill someone to get him out, then So. Fucking. Be. It." Mateo growls in Colton's face.

"Hey." I pull him back by the arm. "I'm just as terrified and pissed off as you are." My eyes well with tears as I try to hold back my panic attack. "But we're just trying to help, okay? We can't turn on each other right now. Lennox needs us to hold our shit together and get him back where he belongs. With us. Then we can worry about making sure his monster of a father isn't an issue anymore."

"You're right." Mateo sighs heavily, running a hand over his face before he pulls me into a bone-crushing hug. I give him one back, knowing he needs me right now.

"We need to call his mom," Colton says. "She helped us before, she's going to want to know what her fucked up husband is doing. Maybe she can help too."

"She doesn't have her phone, but I'll call the rehab. This has to count as an emergency," I tell him, grabbing my phone and finding the number with shaking hands.

It's one thing after the fucking other. Just when we think life is good, another bomb goes off. And I have a feeling, until the two people who seem to find joy in our misery are out of our lives for good, it's not going to stop.