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His eyebrows shoot to his forehead. “I dunno, Elodie. Rome’s my brother and?—”
“Nothing too personal. I promise.” I look up, squinting a bit with the force of the sun as my head pounds harder.
Wilder shrugs, sliding his phone in his pocket and giving me his full attention. “I guess you can ask, and I’ll decide if it's worth being under his wrath by answering.”
I nod toward the patio table and chairs. “Mind if we sit?”
He agrees and we each make our way to a seat. The sun is on full blast today, so the shade from the umbrella helps ease some of the sweat already forming on my back. Once we’re sitting down, I take a deep breath and say, “I need you to tell me about the night Rome got in that fight last year.”
Wilder drags his fingers through his brunette hair as he looks away. It’s clear he doesn’t want to talk about this. But eventually, he lets out a long breath as he faces me. “You know he’ll be out for blood if he knows we’re even having this conversation.”
I nod. “I think I might be able to help him, but I need a few more details. Can you tell me exactly what happened?”
He goes silent for a second, likely contemplating the consequences of telling me, but to my surprise, he does anyway.
“According to Rome, and his statement to the police, he followed some girl he was simping on who pushed his ass in the pool. When he found her, he saw she was being harassed by some of the Bulldog team in Ravencrest Park.”
My mind flashes back to what he must have seen. I wonder how long he let it go on for, how long he watched Winton. The ghost of Winton’s fingers around my throat threatens to make me gag, but I hold it back as I listen to Wilder.
“After hanging back for a minute, things got intense, so he jumped in and defended her. That’s when he was ambushed by three guys.” Wilder closes his eyes, the pain he feels for his brother clear as day. I want so badly to fix this, not just for Rome, but all of them. I can’t imagine what it felt like to see their brother go through all of this, especially right after losing their mother.
“His only defense to fend them off was a broken pipe he had.”
I remember my reaction when I saw him holding that pipe. It felt like he actually had a chance, and for the first time since I saw the intent in Winton’s eyes, I believed I was going to be okay.
“Anyways, he said shit hit the fan and he cracked Winton Brooks over the head with the pipe. Apparently, the cops showed up shortly after that and Rome was arrested. He mentioned helping some girl, but he had no idea who she was.”
Well, he sure as hell knows who I am now.
“So, what happened next?” I need to know everything. How he got caught. What happened with his dad. If he had to serve any time.
“Winton was taken to the hospital with a compound skull fracture and Rome was charged with battery after Winton told them what went down, claiming he wasn’t trying to hurt the girl, only trying to help her find her way home, which seemed like a load of bullshit.”
I clench my jaw over that. Knowing Winton was able to use me in any way against Rome makes the blood in my veins turn to lava. I wasn’t planning on coming out against Winton; I just wanted to ignore it. But I can’t sit back and do nothing anymore.
Wilder sits forward, folding his hands together. “Our dad was able to get the charges dropped to assault and Rome had to do community service and probation with a hefty fine.”
Wilder cringes and I hate to know that there’s more. “About a week into community service, UCLA caught wind of the charges and they rescinded their offer for him to play ball there. We’re still waiting to see if they pull back his whole acceptance.”
“Jesus.” I sigh heavily. “Why didn’t anyone tell me any of this?”
Wilder cranes his neck, looking at me with confusion on his face. “Why do you care?”
“I…I just wish I could have helped in some way. That’s all.”
“He wouldn’t have let you anyways. Rome clammed the fuck up the minute he was arrested. He was pretty wasted that night and parts of the incident are still patchy to him. Not to mention, Winton got in a few good hits in the brawl as well. Rome had a minor concussion when they put him in the back of the police car.”
“Was Winton charged with anything?”
This time Wilder’s face flushes red with anger. “No.” He closes his eyes as if to try and gain his composure. “Aside from being suspended from his football team this season, he didn’t get jack shit. The court felt that his upbringing and the fact that he was left with a bunch of medical bills was enough of a punishment for him since he was from the less fortunate side of town.”
This right here is why I want to be a lawyer. So shit like this stops happening.
I could tell Rome was drinking that night, but I didn’t know him, so I had no way of knowing he was wasted. From his behavior, I just assumed he was an ass—which he is. But his behavior makes more sense now that I know his mother passed away six months prior and he was playing his first season without her there. I’m not excusing his behavior and he deserved to be pushed into the pool for the way he treated me. But he didn’t deserve what came after.
“I think there’s something I can do to help Rome,” I tell him. “But I can’t do it alone.”
Wilder shakes his head, a look of sympathy on his face. “That’s nice and all, Elodie. But it’s done. Rome has already been sentenced by the court.”
