But she had never hit send. And, looking over the email one last time now, letting her anger and sadness flow through her, she finally deleted it and closed her laptop.
Princesses don’t always get the opportunity to say how they really feel. They’re supposed to be serene and dignified in every scenario, at all times. Even so, writing out the things she would never say had been a deeply cathartic experience. She just wished she could’ve told the scumbag himself.
Anyway, Marty wasn’t the man she needed to talk to presently. That man was the sweet, handsome Brit who knew how the situation felt better than anyone. She needed to be with David now.
Katy grabbed her phone and dialed. David answered quickly.
“Katy,” he said, sounding all at once relieved and strained. It was a strange combination of emotions. “I’m so glad that you called. Can I come over now?”
“Can we meet somewhere on campus?” Katy asked in return. Cassie would be back from her breakfast plans anytime now, and she wasn’t in the mood yet to be around more than one person.
“Of course,” David replied. “I’m actually already by the Old Yard. Meet me there?”
“I’m on my way,” Katy finished. She needed to be by David’s side, and the sooner the better.
Katy threw on a light jacket for her late-morning walk. It was a lovely, sunny day, the cheerful weather seeming completely at odds with the cold, dark feelings she’d suffered through over the past night. As she walked, she noticed small crowds of Harvard students out enjoying the warmer weather. Couples strolled by on the sidewalks, hand in hand. Friends laughed and talked loudly in groups on the grass. A few study groups had laid out blankets in the Yard to go over midterm notes and flashcards together.
Normally, it would’ve warmed Katy’s heart to be reminded of the unique, collaborative atmosphere of one of the world’s greatest institutions of higher learning. But today, she was feeling strangely agoraphobic. All she could think was: What if they all knew? What if the photos had been published, and every person here had seen her in a reserved, personal moment?
“Incontestable.” That was the word Rourke had used when describing Marty’s new legal obligations. And Katy had to trust that he knew best.
But what if Marty had been telling the truth? What if he didn’t actually have the photos, and they were still out there somewhere? Just waiting to be published for the world to see . . .
“Katy?”
She shook her head and pulled herself out of her thoughts to see that David was just a few yards ahead of her.
She smiled broadly and walked over to him, feeling her anxieties drift away. And when she reached him, David pulled Katy close to him for a long hug.
Katy closed her eyes and melted into David’s strong embrace, breathing in his scent and feeling her worries momentarily grow fainter. When David pulled away, he took both of Katy’s shoulders and faced her, his blue eyes peering intently into hers as though trying to find what she was really thinking and feeling.
“How are you?” he asked.
Katy forced a grin. “Probably as well as you expect.”
David chuckled softly in return, releasing Katy from his grasp. “I guess that was a stupid question.”
It was nice to see David smile, even if everything else was going to hell.
“Well, what about the call with your lawyer?” David went on. “How did that go?”
Katy nodded. “He seems to think that we’re in the clear now. The photographer can’t sell the photos anymore, even if he has them. And he can’t talk about it, either.”
David shook his head in indignation. “I still can’t believe that jackass had the nerve to reach out to you.”
“Yeah,” Katy replied thoughtfully. “But I’m glad that he did. It’s the only comfort I’ve really felt about the whole thing. Other than being with you.”
David reached forward and brushed a tendril of blonde hair out of Katy’s face, his fingertips grazing her temple. “I’m glad I can be here for you, then. And I think we’re in the clear with those photos.”
She reached up and touched his hand as it cupped her face, cradling her slender fingers over his larger ones. “Let’s hope you’re right.” Even if I’m not feeling so sure myself.
“There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.” David kept looking into her eyes, but something shifted in his face, as though he were unsure about it.
Katy furrowed her brow, trying not to worry. It sounded like David was going to say something important.
“What is it?” she asked, and this time she was the one searching his blue eyes for something.
“It’s Marcos,” David said, his voice sounding awed and somewhat unbelieving. “My father. He called me.”
Katy felt her mouth part into an O of surprise. “David! Wow. What happened? What did he say?” Immediately a million questions swarmed her brain. She knew that this was big news for him—which meant it was big news for her, too.
David shook his head; she guessed he was trying to collect his scrambled, excited thoughts into coherent words. “He said he didn’t even know that I existed. He wanted me to come to Brazil as soon as I can.”
Katy smiled, feeling David’s excitement bubbling up inside her own chest. It was nice to feel something positive again so soon after the horrible experience in the park. And David hearing from one of his estranged parents was currently probably the only thing that could’ve made either of them very excited. In fact, the timing was weirdly fortuitous. But Katy was too curious about David’s feelings at the moment to give that much thought.
“When do you think you’ll go?” Katy asked. “You’ll have to go before your internship starts, right? What about spring break, like we talked about?”
But her questions seemed to stir something else in David. His smile faded. “Honestly, I could go anytime. Spring or summer.”
Summer? “But what about the internship?”
David looked down, finally releasing his grip on Katy’s shoulders. She waited for him to speak, but the moments dragged out. He was silent, looking away.
“David?” Katy prompted, her heart clenching for him.
David took a deep breath and then looked back up at her, lines of worry etched upon her face. “I . . . I lost it.”
Katy waited for the words to start making sense. How do you lose an internship that you’ve already been selected for?
“What happened?” she asked gingerly, sensing that the subject wasn’t an easy one for David.
He looked around, as though checking to see if there was anybody nearby. When he saw that they were out of earshot of anyone else, he turned back to Katy, his face coloring, his eyes darting everywhere. “It’s embarrassing to talk about, honestly.”
Katy reached forward and grasped David’s hand. “David,” she said firmly. “You can talk to me about anything.”
She hoped he knew how much she meant that. Whatever David was currently going through, she wanted to be a part of it. She wanted to support him through it. And after all, how could it be worse than what they had just gone through together in the park?
“They thought I was . . . cheating,” David said, slowly and uncertainly. “Said my paper showed signs of plagiarism.”
“But you didn’t copy anything!” Katy replied, a wave of anger on David’s behalf surging up in her chest. She knew how David was. He was too smart to need to cheat! “Did you tell them that?”
“Of course I told them. But they had a source that shared some lines with my paper. I honestly don’t even know how it happened. Seems too strange to be a coincidence. But too random to be a personal attack on me. No one could’ve known what I had written.”
David’s body language had changed, from supportive and present to closed-off and defensive. Katy knew it wasn’t directed at her, but it still hurt her to see him like this. His posture showed the strain it was putting on him to talk about this.
“Surely you can go above them, then. Put in an ethi
cs complaint if they won’t listen. There’s no reason to give up if—”
“There’s no appeals process for the internship. Just for classroom grades. And Bonnar didn’t seem like he was going to change his mind. I don’t even know how to defend myself. I’m still trying to figure out if there’s anything I can do to fight it.”
Katy opened her mouth, on the verge of saying something like “There must be a way!” But then she shut it again, feeling David’s frustration inside her own chest. He was right. How would he be able to fight this?
Instead of offering him fake assurances that it would be all right, she took his hand in hers. “That’s not fair at all. I wouldn’t be able to think of anything either, if it were me. But if you get any ideas, I’ll be here to listen. If either of us can figure out a way to clear your name, we can work on it together, okay?”
David smiled, looking a bit heartened, then sighed. “Of course. Thank you, Katy. I’m sorry to even have to bring this up at all. It’s all still a bit fresh. Especially on the heels of what happened last night.” He kicked at the grass with his trainers. “But that’s why hearing from my father was such a welcome surprise. At least now I have something to look forward to.”
Katy nodded. She understood that his emotions were still raw and that everything all hitting him at once must’ve been confusing and upsetting. She was happy for David. But . . .
“Have you thought about it any more?” Katy asked him gently. “What Mia said? About the Moreno . . . business practices?”
She tried to phrase her question carefully. She didn’t want David to think that she was accusing his paternal family of anything. But Mia was good at her job. And if she was concerned, then Katy was too.
“Yeah,” David answered. “But at this point, it’s just conjecture. I want to meet my dad. Then I can ask him in person.”
* * *
“Cheating?” Cassie asked, her nose wrinkling up. “That doesn’t really seem like David. He’s so smart.”
“I know,” Katy replied, sitting at the kitchen bar. “But whatever evidence they have against him must’ve been really strong. David doesn’t even want to fight it.”
Cassie turned back to the stovetop where she was stirring a pot of stew for dinner. After spending a few hours with David, Katy was back in her house to do her readings before class the next day. But she was having a hard time focusing.
“It’d have to be pretty strong to lose an internship over. Like, hard to be mistaken about,” Cassie said.
Katy stared at the back of her cousin’s head. “Do you think David actually cheated?”
Cassie shrugged. “I mean, it really doesn’t seem like he’d need to cheat. But this is Harvard. The board’s gotta know what they’re doing, right? They don’t take those things away for nothing.”
Katy opened her mouth to argue, feeling distinctly uncomfortable with where this conversation was going, but Cassie went on, changing the subject.
“So, do you think you’ll still go with David to Brazil?”
Katy fidgeted in her seat, still feeling a bit on edge about what Cassie had just said. “We didn’t really talk about it, but I think so. I don’t want him to be alone for something so monumental.”
“Well,” Cassie said, still stirring, “you two have definitely had an eventful weekend.”
Katy scoffed. For better or for worse, that was true.
“And maybe this way you can come back to Lorria for the summer,” Cassie went on. “I guarantee the weather will be better than what they’ll get here in Cambridge.”
“I haven’t even thought about that,” Katy replied. It broke her heart to consider it, actually. David might be able to come with her to Lorria now, so they could still be together, but he had been so excited about the internship and then spending the summer together in Cambridge. And now things were so different.
“Well, I hope you’ll be there,” Cassie continued. “It just won’t be the same without you. And now it doesn’t really seem like there’s anything holding you back here in Cambridge.”
Katy bristled again. What’s that supposed to mean?
24
David
“Now let’s open the class up to discussion, if you will,” Bell droned on.
Normally, David would never consider Bell’s lecturing monotonous or boring in any way. He’d loved the class, and the discussion was his favorite part of all. But now . . .
David rested his chin in his hand as the other students took turns talking about hedge fund analysis. For once, he didn’t find himself participating. In fact, he was barely even listening. He looked down at his notebook instead, pretending to take notes.
It was difficult to feel involved or even wanted in class anymore. Even if Bell had seemed sympathetic during the meeting with Bonnar, David couldn’t help but feel like he had lost the respect of his favorite professor. And, though he hated to admit it, that made him want to take a break from the subject matter.
David added another bullet point to his notes: Quit being so dramatic, mate.
“Mr. Rosen?”
David looked up to see Bell hovering over him. “Yes, Professor?” Oh, no. How long has he been trying to get my attention?
“Was just hoping to get your insight on the subject of hedge funds,” Bell went on.
“Um,” David replied. He looked around the classroom. “I agree with everyone else.”
It was quite a cop-out, and David knew that Bell was smart enough to see right through it. But David didn’t have anything that he wanted to add to the discussion today. And maybe he wouldn’t for a while.
Bell inhaled and looked down at David with a mix of sympathy and disappointment. But then he moved on, targeting another student for their amateur opinion instead.
David turned back to his notebook and tuned the sound of the discussion out again. He thought about Katy instead. Anxious, worried Katy, after the experience with the photographer. Was she doing better today? As much as she had tried to put on a brave face after her conversation with their lawyer, David knew that Katy was still terribly nervous about the photos somehow resurfacing. And while he didn’t personally think publication was still a threat, he hated seeing the girl he loved struggle with fear and trepidation. Worse, he wasn’t sure how much he could help now. It seemed like only time would begin to heal that wound.
David’s thoughts wandered on from Katy, landing on Marcos Moreno. He hadn’t reached out to his father yet. It still felt so surreal that he even had the man’s phone number. His father. And while he definitely wanted to meet him in person as soon as possible, David was also a bit apprehensive.
What if not meeting Marcos was somehow for the best?
The students around David began to stand and gather their things, leading David to believe that Bell had excused the class. But he certainly hadn’t heard a word from deep within his own thoughts. Slowly and methodically, he replaced his notes and textbook in his backpack, then stood to leave.
But Bell had other plans for him.
“Mr. Rosen?”
David sighed. He had been so close to making it out without speaking to Bell alone. But as students filed past him, he knew that he had been caught. Soon it would be just David and his professor.
David turned to face Bell sitting at his desk. “Yes, Professor Bell?”
“I just wanted to check on one of my star pupils. I noticed that you weren’t as active in discussion today as you normally are,” Bell said, looking at David with concern.
Yeah, well, what’s the point? “I’m sorry, sir. Long weekend.”
Bell nodded slowly, surely seeing right past David’s excuse. “Sometimes that happens. ‘Long weekends.’ Bad days. I had a few myself, in my long college career.”
David nodded along, knowing where the conversation was going.
“But remember, David,” Bell went on. “We must always press on in the face of adversity. Especially with a passion and a talent like yours. You’re a great student. Don’t let
this ruin the rest of your time here at Harvard.”
David exhaled. Bell hadn’t given up hope for him yet, and that made all of this a little more bearable. He shouldn’t let a false claim against him ruin his favorite class, even if he never found a way to defend himself.
“Anyway,” Bell went on, “I have faith that you’ll be right back in the fray with the next class discussion. And I look forward to hearing what you’ll have to say. Until then, David.”
“Thanks, Professor,” David said, and he meant it this time. “Goodbye.”
David walked out of the room with just a little bit less worry than he’d walked into it with. He knew that Bell was giving him the right advice, even if his chest still constricted every time he thought of that horrible meeting. Like Katy, he just needed a little time before the wound of being accused would heal over. For both of their sakes, he hoped that there was no more drama coming up.
* * *
“Thought you’d forgotten about us already, cuz.”
David breathed out and smiled to himself at the sound of his cousin Joseph’s voice. It was a welcome relief after a stressful day.
“How could I forget about you guys so soon?” David joked.
“Good point,” Joseph replied. “What’s going on? Just calling to catch up?”
David took a deep breath in. How do I say this? “Actually, I was calling with news. About my family. Well, specifically . . . my dad.”
His cousin was quiet for a beat on the other end. “Your dad?”
I know. That was my reaction, too.
Joseph went on, the excitement in his voice seeming to overcome the shock. “Wow, David. What did you find out?”
“I know his name now. Marcos Moreno. He’s Brazilian. We’ve spoken on the phone. Actually, I’m probably going to meet him in person sometime soon.”
A Love that Endures 2 Page 18
