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What? Was Hunter taking the fall? For me, or for Colton?
Maybe for all of us since his obsession started the whole thing.
“Hunter didn’t drug me,” I was quick to defend.
“We know that much,” Coach sighed. “But we need to know who did. Ms. O’Neil has documented every single thing in detail, except for whoever spiked your drinks and created this whole ordeal.”
Shaking my head, I was already refusing to give them Colton’s came. I hadn’t even had a chance to speak to Tatum since she revealed her hunch, and since she didn’t have his name in her report, I knew she wanted to protect him.
It wasn’t a lie, either. Telling them I didn’t know who did it was the truth. She protected my dignity by not adding the pictures to the file, and I was going to protect Colton for as long as possible.
“Well then,” Mr. Brent sighed. “If you don’t know who, then let's move on for now.”
Shit, I was going to pay for my denial, and I had to think long and hard, as quickly as possible, before I let my career end. Not knowing what to do, I started to stand up and leave, but Max cut a glance at me and shook his head, silently telling me to stay put.
“I love her,” I blurted, making them pause and look up at me.
“Who?” Coach asked.
When I didn’t answer, he smirked and shook his head at the lunatic I had become. Mr. Brent cleared his throat and turned another file my way, pointing down at the fine print. Max grabbed it first and read over everything while I waited.
Then he closed the folder and put it in front of me as he looked back at Mr. Brent. “He’ll do it.”
ChapterForty-Four
Tatum
My mom had so many flaws that she made the Ford Pinto look like a brilliant concept. And just like the Pinto, she burst into flames when no one even asked her to. She was complex and crazy, someone I didn't want to be and who I argued with most of my adult life.
But when I knocked on her door in tears at nearly midnight, and she opened the door and saw me, she pulled me into her arms, no questions asked. It made me regret even considering that she was behind everything. She'd never intentionally hurt or scare me.
I'd like to think Colton wouldn't either, but even without talking to him about it, I knew it was true. He had started calling my phone while I was talking to Hunter, and on the way to Mom's, I thought about calling him back, but I didn't.
Not yet.
"Your brother is worried about you. Should I tell him you're safe?"
Nodding, I let her text him instead, hoping that he would leave me alone for a bit.
While she did that, I grabbed my phone and forwarded the file I had compiled to the Inferno's public relations lead. She would give it to the right people, and it spoke for itself, but there was no way I could face them and lie about who was responsible. Colton messed up, but he was still my little brother.
"Now tell me what's going on," my mom insisted. "Tell me everything."
Treading carefully, I told her as much as I could without telling her the secrets about Colton that he had the right to tell her when he was ready. In true fashion, Mom took the story as dramatically as possible but eventually apologized for pushing me so hard toward Hunter.
"I just don't want you to be lonely," she cried.
"I'm okay being lonely, Mom. Don't push your own fears on Colton and me."
She set the couch up for me to sleep on, and I finally succumbed to exhaustion. When I woke up, she and Dad were in the kitchen acting like they were the world's sweetest love birds, and it made my stomach turn. I was glad she was my mom last night, but by morning, she was his wife again, and now that I knew what real love looked like firsthand, my mom and dad kissing in the kitchen made me sick.
Assuming Colton had left my apartment for his classes and having already told Sophia I wasn't working, I decided to go home. It took everything in my power to not go straight to Tripp, but I hoped he was at work again, reinstated with his team, and being taken care of the way he should have been from the beginning.
When I opened my door, Colton was sitting on my couch with his head in his hands. It made me hesitate, but I had to remember that he was my brother, and I wasn't scared of him.
"Oh my God," he stood up when the door clicked shut. "Are you okay?"
"Are you?"
