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And my knuckles.
They were still split and roughed up. I tried to hide them, but not fast enough.
The room saw, my mom saw. She covered her face, and my teeth dug into my lip.
“That was a misunderstanding.” I hadn’t felt it at the time, and though no one should be doing hazes, there were bigger factors going on here. I had new information.
There were things I couldn’t say in this moment now, my throat tight and constricted.
Greer, Thatcher’s mom, eyed in my direction. “And, Bow, you had nothing to do with this?”
She shook her head quick, and I didn’t blame her.
I almost wished I could shake my head.
I stood by what I’d done, though, but I hated it was hurting the people I cared about the most.
Thatcher came from behind his hand. “I told you, Ma. Bow had nothing to do with it. It was just the guys and me.”
Knight raised his fingers. “How about you not until we leave.”
“It’s true, though, sir.” Wells was brave enough to speak, which got more than an eye from his parents, his dad. “It is true. She didn’t do anything.”
Bow’s head turned in his direction, but Wells wasn’t trying to make eye contact with her. He broke it just as quick as he had it.
Jax braced his arms. “You kids are something else.”
I was happy LJ chose to come back in the room at that point. He broke up the tension a bit. He still had his phone in his hand, but it wasn’t to his ear.
“You’re all good,” he told the room. “Your children have managed to avoid scandal. The woman’s murder has basically covered this whole kidnapping thing up from the press, the police, and thank God for that. I’m glad you kids at least had the sense to not put any of your faces on camera.”
Yeah, sense.
Our parents didn’t look relieved at all. Just disappointed.
Especially mine.
My own mother couldn’t even look at me, my father’s gaze heated in my direction. He may have been worried that I might have run earlier, but that was all in the past. There was nothing but anger in his eyes now.
LJ pocketed his phone. “But with the press at your house here, buddy,” he said, causing my dad to face him. “You might want to get yourself and your family out of town for a little while. It’ll probably be unbearable here, and…” He sighed. “It’ll probably be like it was the first time. You know how those people are leeches.”
They were, point-blank. They’d harassed my family and me after Charlie died, stalking us for a news piece. They didn’t care about us. They just wanted the story.
And I noticed he said the first time.
LJ spoke of a time that I barely remembered.
I’d been too young.
Charlie’s murder hadn’t been the first time my family had gotten wrapped up in the press and scandal, and as bad as the media had been following what happened, my dad hadn’t been advised to leave town. No, only one event had caused my dad to actually uproot his family to relieve us from the burden of the press. Only one man had caused that.
This family still felt the burdens of my grandfather’s dirty deeds. His release from prison had caused a similar uproar, one I gratefully hardly remembered. I’d been spared.
I swallowed hard, then again when my mom left her chair.
“Mom?”
It was obviously too much, us having to leave again too much. The room watched her leave, and my dad and I followed her. He was too busy going after her to stop me this time.
