Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

T he moment Colton gets home, I know something is wrong. I turned my phone off today and was trying to rest, but now I'm regretting it. Even if everyone is telling me to.

We have Regionals in a few weeks and I can't be injured.

My face is fucked up, but I'll heal, and we have heavy makeup that I can wear to hide the worst parts. I already use it to cover my tattoos.

The National Cheer Association has strict rules that we must follow, even for college teams.

It is a little less daunting than high school requirements, but nevertheless, piercings and tats aren't allowed.

"Hey, Colt, you okay?" I ask the moment he kicks his shoes off and throws his keys into the bowl by the door, missing it completely, then takes off into his room, slamming the door behind him.

Gently rolling off the side of the couch, I get to my feet, wrapping an arm around my bandaged ribs. They aren't broken, just bruised.

"Hey, baby, what happened?" I ask Ry as she enters the apartment.

Her face is pale and she looks exhausted.

"Um, Colton got some rough news today. He just needs some time to process. I texted you."

"My phone is off. Len ran to the store to grab some snacks, and Donny is at the park with Cobbler."

I wince as I reach for her and she raises her brow at me, pursing her lips. Damn, she's sexy.

"Mateo Russo, sit your ass down, right now!" she orders and I laugh.

"Let me use the bathroom before you go all dominatrix on me," I mutter, walking that way.

I want to find out what's going on with Colt and cuddle with my girl. She's been babying me the past few days, but I'm not made of glass.

I got my ass kicked because my uncle was a sadistic bastard, but karma got him in the end. A few more days of rest and I'll be good as new.

I quickly use the bathroom, then wash my hands and go back into the living room. Rylee is staring at the wall and doesn't notice me.

"How bad is it?" I ask, before taking a seat next to her on the couch.

Sighing, she turns, leaning against the arm of the sofa. "I need you to promise that if I tell you something, you won't jump up and freak out. You're still recovering."

"Damn, babe." I keep my mask in place, but now I'm starting to freak out. Colton hasn't had an easy life, but he is the most stable one of our group.

I take a deep breath and nod. Rylee stares at me for a few seconds, then whispers, "As part of her recovery, his mom has to make amends and talk about why she started using in the first place. It turns out, she's known who killed his sister all along… It was your uncle, Mateo. Alvero raped and murdered her."

"What?" I gasp. Not caring about my ribs, I stand then rush to Colt's door. I don't bother knocking.

I find him sitting on his bed, holding the photo of him and his sister, crying. Moving over to his side, I grab his arm and pull him into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry, Colt. I… I don't know what to say, except, if he was still alive, I'd kill him."

Rylee clears her throat in the doorway and she wipes her tears. "Yeah, about that… Why didn't anyone tell me that your uncle died? He was a shit person, but last I heard, Lennox was calling your cousin to sort everything, then nothing."

"Wasn't a secret, baby girl. We just didn't want to make you an accomplice. I hate that it took two phone calls to get the job done. Sadly, we're not the reason he's dead, though. I didn't get the details, but from what I've been told, he did some pretty fucked-up shit to his girl, and like me, that sort of shit doesn't fly with Link. He did us all a favor."

From my understanding, she's still alive. Link had been hesitant to end him for years now. Whatever he did to her had to be bad enough to force his hand sooner than Link planned. I wanted him dealt with a long time ago, and part of me can't help wondering if his girl would have been fine if Link had just ended him the first time I called.

Moving into the room, Rylee joins our group hug, kissing Colt on the back of his head.

"I think we need to find where he's buried and piss on his grave," she mutters, and even though the moment doesn't call for laughter, I burst out, chuckling until there's tears in my eyes.

"I'll call Link."

"Are we really about to do this?" Donny asks with a huge grin on his face. He hated my uncle as much as me.

"Yeah, the fucker deserves it," Len grunts. He hasn't said much, and I know he's struggling. One of us is hurting, so we all hurt.

It took us a few days, but now we're here, up in the mountains. Black Ridge is a bit of a drive from campus, so we decided to get a hotel for the weekend.

Colt is quiet, which is understandable, but I hope this helps, even if it's just in a small way. If it was up to me, I'd dig the bastard up and let the wolves have him.

But I won't do that to my cousin. With our family's luck, someone would find his carcass.

Angelo is already asking questions. We may need to deal with him next. If I find out he knew about Colton's sister, I will kill him.

That side of the Russo name is not my family anymore.

Rylee holds Colt's hand as they walk ahead of us up the mountain. My ribs are aching, but I'm fine.

When we get back to school, I have to start practice again, so I'm just counting this as my gym workout.

"Did Link say how far up the mountain he is?" Donny asks me, panting. I'm not the only one that's been slacking in the gym.

"No, just that it's in between the trees. He said we'd know when we saw it."

"That's not helpful at all," he whines and I laugh.

Len moves closer and hands me a water bottle. I give him a smirk. "Am I really that pathetic?" I ask him quietly, noticing I'm out of breath and he scoffs.

"If you'd listened to me, you would be back at the hotel. This isn't the best idea, Teo. You're still healing. What if you fall and end up adding more time to your healing?"

"I'm fine. Really. It looks worse than it is," I assure him, but he rolls his eyes.

"Hey, I think I found it!" Donny shouts, his voice echoing around the clearing, sending a ton of birds flying over our heads.

We head over to where he is pointing and I can't stop myself from laughing. I don't know who did it, probably my other cousin, Hunter, but there is a sign staked into the ground that has us all chuckling.

Nothing to see here… This is just the perfect spot to pop a squat.

"Did they come back and put this sign here for us?" Donny asks, trying to catch his breath, and I shake my head, smirking.

"Probably. My cousins have always had a twisted sense of humor."

Rylee takes a photo of the sign, then leads Colt over to the disturbed ground. We all follow and stand alongside the rectangle shape.

Donny whips out his dick and begins pissing. Rylee pouts, then turns around and pulls her shorts down, squatting.

"I can't believe we are doing this," I mutter, but proceed with today's activities.

"I hope you rot in Hell, motherfucker," Colt shouts while pissing on his grave.

"I feel like we all need a shower now," Rylee suggests when we've all finished, and I nod.

"Yeah, this asshole doesn't deserve another moment of our time, but he was good for one thing in his disgusting life," Len says, then sighs. "I'm back on the team, and now we can kick ass at Regionals."

The last few weeks have been rough, and everyone is feeling it. Between the constant practices and little sleep, we are all ready to get this weekend over and done with. Not that I can blame them. It's been Hell on Earth.

Colton has had to, once again, redo his choreography. Hopefully, for the last time. Felicia sprained her pinky, of all things, and now can't do any of the stunts, so she is strictly dancing.

Yeah, it's been rough, but I also feel like it's made our little family stronger, and has brought us closer together.

Now if only I could stop looking over my shoulder for my dad or Missi to sneak attack me, that would be great.

So far, the restraining order seems to be working, but who knows how long that'll last.

Missi seems determined about marrying me. I don't see her giving up, despite having a restraining order. But right now, I need to focus on Regionals, so we'll have to deal with that later.

Moving around campus at this hour is quiet, there is no one around. The sun is just rising, and it's peaceful. The Cheer house is in chaos, so I volunteered to meet the bus driver.

I wait in the parking lot for the rest of our group. I'm early because I couldn't sleep. We have been practicing non-stop, and I know we are going to decimate the other teams, but I'm worried about Donny.

Speaking of, he's walking down the path, chugging a coffee while looking around as if someone is following him.

I don't care if I need to handcuff him, kidnap him, and drag him into Robin's office, a therapist we found, after Regionals. Win or lose, he is going to talk to her.

Colton, Teo, and I have done extensive research to find someone that specializes in child abuse, and honestly, after talking to her, I may start seeing her myself.

I know Donny's trauma isn't like mine, but the abuse I've gone through still weighs heavily on my shoulders.

Hell, even my mom is seeing someone. Therapy doesn't need to be some shameful thing. It helps people, and I know Donny needs it.

He won't open up to us or Rylee. The puppy helped for a few weeks, but even Cobbler isn't making him smile any more.

"Are you ready?" I ask him when he reaches the bus and shoves his duffle bag into the side compartment.

"Yeah," he mumbles, then climbs up the steps and disappears inside the bus. He doesn't have a blanket, pillow, or headphones… nothing.

Pulling my phone out, I text Colt, telling him to grab some of his stuff before he leaves.

We have a six hour bus ride, and that's if traffic is nice to us. It could be closer to eight with stops and getting gas.

Even I brought a sketch book and my iPad.

Rylee and Ren are the next to show up, and I'm surprised Teo isn't with them. He's been overprotective lately, since no one knows where Missi is, and this would be the perfect time for her to pull some shit.

"Hey, baby," Ry says, moving over to me for a hug. God, I love having her in my arms.

"Hey, are you excited? This is your first big competition."

"Excited, nervous, nauseous, all of the above," she says with a laugh.

"You will be great, and I'll be right beneath you to catch you if you fall."

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Teo says, panting. I glance at my watch and laugh.

"We have twenty minutes left still, and half the girls aren't even here yet."

Opening his bag, he hands Rylee a ziplock bag full of cookies, and I raise my eyebrows at him.

"You baked?" Ry asks and he nods. Her lips perk up into a smirk, and I know she's trying to rile him up.

These two love each other, but still can't stop themselves from trying to piss one another off.

"Teo used to bake with his mama all the time. Do I get some?" I ask with a pout and Teo laughs, grabbing another bag and handing it to me.

"I also have some brownies for Donny," he mumbles and I can't help myself. I have to kiss him. He's this big bad alpha most days, but when he loves someone, it's fierce with no apologies.

"I got everything you asked Colt to bring. He's talking to his mom."

Fuck, I hope that doesn't mess with his head. Since her revelation, he's been avoiding her, so I'm not sure why now, of all times, he's decided to chat with her.

I nod and turn to get on the bus. Donny is in the back, staring out of the window, and doesn't even notice when Rylee sits beside him, until she rests her head on his shoulder.

She presses a kiss to his cheek and he turns to look at her. He's a little bruised right now, but that's okay, we all are.

I think that's one of the reasons we work so well as a group, or harem, as Alex likes to call us. We all have trauma, and we are just trying to survive, but as long as we stick together, we will be okay.