“I was upset,” Connor continued, swallowing the mush of chips. “Afterwards, when I got the gist of the story and got to the sentencing and the whole hate crime thing came up, it just pissed me off even more when none of my friends said anything about Austin and I dating. We weren’t going out in secret—my friends knew about us. But when it came to witness statements, the only thing that got to court was that I walked in on the two of them and attacked Peter.”
Trevor watched Connor thoughtfully as Connor returned to tearing at his food to distract himself from his uncomfortable feelings.
“I’m sorry that happened,” Trevor eventually said, his voice deep with sympathy.
Connor grunted, chewing on his burger.
“We can appeal your charge,” Trevor said. “Put together a case and try to get your prosecution overturned.”
“I still assaulted Peter, even if I can’t remember it. All I have to do is read a few books. I’d rather stick with that punishment than whatever they’d give me next.”
“It sounds like you were drugged, Connor. Courts look at things like that in investigations. And I think the fact that they didn’t do any sobriety tests says a lot about how the investigation was conducted.”
Connor quelled the defensive feeling rising inside. Trevor was looking out for him. He was trying to help. “I remember up until midnight. I don’t know exactly what happened with their timeline, but I remember my night up until then. And according to the report, the assault happened at ten thirty when I was seventeen. There’s no way that’s possible. I’m worried that if we open things back up, I’ll come out the other side worse off.” He sighed. “There’s evidence that I beat up Peter, and it’s too late to get any evidence that I was drugged.”
“The world is set against you, Connor.” Trevor said. “I think it would do some good to get some of that hate off your back, don’t you? You don’t want to spend your life getting turned away from restaurants over something you can solve now.”
“I don’t much care for the world, so it can hate me all it wants,” Connor grumbled.
“You’ll care when Laurence picks a fight with it to defend you.”
Connor met his eyes, his mind churning. He considered how to voice his feelings. “I realise something needs to be done. From what’s coming out about bribes, and what those reporters said, the case will come under investigation whether I take action or not. I’m just worried that the outcome won’t be what I’m hoping for.”
“We’ll be smart about it,” Trevor promised. “I already have a talented lawyer getting familiar with the sentencing, and we’ll investigate everything start to finish to put together a strong case.”
Connor narrowed his eyes. “And how long has this lawyer been working for you?”
Trevor cleared his throat and looked away. “We can talk about it more tomorrow,” he deflected. “How about that? When you aren’t ready to keel over from exhaustion.”
Connor was mentally and physically tired, and the idea of some sleep appealed to him. He could think all of this through tomorrow.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Connor passed out in the backseat, only grunting when Laurence climbed in with him and lifted his legs onto his lap. When Laurence rubbed his calves and started saying how “cute” Connor was while sleeping like a little “angel,” Connor found the energy to open his eyes and glare.
In the front seat, Trevor laughed.
“Feck sake, Laurence,” Nick muttered, obviously deeply perturbed. For once, Connor agreed with Nick.
“If you say anything else, next time we’re swimming, I’ll drown you,” Connor warned him. His voice came out hoarse. It itched, and he suspected he had a cold starting up. Perhaps all his time spent in the water with Adonis was having an effect on him… that wouldn’t stop him from sneaking out tonight, though. So long as he stayed awake.
“Dad, he can’t say stuff like that,” Nick said angrily.
“I’m more concerned by what’s coming out of Laurence’s mouth, to be honest,” Trevor said. “Of all the ways I could describe Connor… no offence, but ‘angel’ isn’t high on the list.”
“I would be offended if it was,” Connor said back.
Laurence poked Connor’s calves. “Connor won’t drown me, Nick,” he said, unconcerned. “He might drown you, though. If you don’t learn to be nice.”
“I’ll be nice to people who deserve it.”
“And maybe you should be worried about whether or not you arealsodeserving, no?” Laurence said, kicking the back of Nick’s chair.
“Okay, boys.” Trevor stepped in as Nick swung around. Connor peeked through his lashes to see Nick scowling at Laurence.
“Don’t kick my chair,” Nick warned, pissed.
“I didn’t,” Laurence said and kicked it again.
