Falling for the Opposition: An New Adult Enemies to Lovers Romance

by Lola West

  “What can we do for you, Katie?” I asked, my voice tight with the tension that was tightening my chest.

  She sighed and then poised but clearly emotional, she said, “I’m sorry that happened to you, Chrystal. Some of us girls, we knew he was bad. We knew. And we didn’t stop it. We protected our own. But…” Her voice trembled. “If I’d known he’d set his sights on you, I would have warned you. And I promise you, we’re not gonna let him get away with it. He’s never gonna hurt another woman. We got you now.” She glanced away, composing herself again. Steeling up her emotions like a warrior. “I know it’s too little too late but watch the news conference today and if there is anything else we can do, then let us know and we’ll be there, standing on your side of the aisle, taking Carrington down.”

  Her words poked holes in the armor around my heart. I wanted to break down and cry, but I didn’t. I just stared at her perfect face, shocked. I knew Drew did this. I just knew it, but it didn’t really matter. Even if he came to his senses, we would always be worlds apart.

  Katie turned, looking right at me. “I hope you watch too, Lua. He won’t tell you himself, but you should see the man he’s become because even if you two never come together, you made him better. So much better.”

  As she started to turn and walk away, Joe called after her, “Breck Girl, she’ll be watching. Tell him Joe’ll make sure of it.”

  Chrystal wanted to watch the press conference. I didn’t. I tried to leave the room, but Joe literally sat on top of me.

  “You’re gonna watch, Lu,” he reprimanded.

  “I don’t have to. I don’t want to. It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does,” Joe said. “Because life is not so fucking black and white, Lua. It’s gray. It’s so much gray. Watch him be better or maybe not, but figure it the fuck out, rather than standing on ceremony. Yes, he made a mistake. Maybe he’s sorry.”

  Splayed on my bed beneath Joe’s weight, I whined. “He never even called or texted an apology.”

  “He thought you didn’t want him to,” Chrystal said from across the room.

  I looked up at her. I figured she’d be on my side in this argument. Afterall, the person he’d offended was her, wasn’t it?

  She smiled at me. Then she walked over and laid her face down on my bed so that our noses were just inches apart and whispered, “My therapist says it wasn’t my fault and it wasn’t his fault either, Lu. Watch him, maybe he’s better than you think.”

  Joe eased off my back. Relenting, I sat up, shifting my weight back so that I was sitting cross-legged on my comforter with my back pressed against the wall. Before turning on the television with the clicker, Chrystal climbed up and mimicked my position on my left side and Joe did the same on my right.

  The press conference was on the local news station, but also on the major networks. If I had to guess, I’d say the whole thing had Senator Scott’s signature on it. Seemingly impromptu press conferences to sway public opinion seemed to be his M.O. There were a handful of young men standing off to the side on the podium, all in suits with their hair combed and their ties straightened. I didn’t know all of them, but I could guess that they were brothers in Drew’s fraternity. Conner was standing in the middle of the line. When the camera panned to his face, I felt Chrystal tense up next to me.

  Reaching out to take her hand, I asked, “Are you sure you want to watch this?”

  She gave an almost imperceptible nod. I could see she was committed to the moment, but her eyes were unblinking, and her shoulders were tight.

  “You don’t have to. Or we could tape it and watch it later.” My suggestion was genuinely about concern for her but still a part of me was hoping she’d back out so I could too.

  She turned to me. “I got this. If he’s really going down, I want to be watching.”

  I squeezed her hand and Joe took mine and did the same.

  Drew appeared. Like he had over the summer, he looked like a starched version of himself and he was holding a white index card. He approached the mic with a somber expression and his voice was low and thoughtful when he spoke.

  “Good afternoon, ladies, gentlemen, and members of the Associated Press. I am Drew Scott, son of Senator Scott. I’m sure many of you remember me from earlier this year, when my father took up the mantel of disbanding all music festivals everywhere because I had the unfortunate experience of getting doped by a stranger.” He looked up and out at the sea of people listening to him speak, including us huddled on my dorm bed. On the screen in front of me, Drew smirked. “My bad.”

  A smattering of laughter came through the speakers. He was so charming, always so charming. My stomach tightened. I missed him.

  Drew continued. “My father asked me to speak to you today, to voice my support for the Carrington name.” Drew paused, looked down at the index card in his hand, and then placing it on the podium, he stood a little taller before speaking again. “As many of you know, Conner Carrington has been accused of sexually assaulting a young woman here at Hamilton. What you may not know is that because of the videos released earlier this year, where I was in a clearly inebriated state, I spent the year assigned to an organization here at Hamilton called S.A.F.E., which is an acronym for Safety and Acceptance for Everyone. At S.A.F.E. I learned a lot of things. I learned about privilege and justice. I learned about racism and homophobia. And of course, I also learned about predators and sexual assault.”

  Behind Drew, Conner started to shift on his feet, and even on the screen I could see the color leaving his face. Drew had obviously strayed from the prescribed script and it was making Conner nervous. A little giddy next to me, Chrystal started to bounce her knee. I squeezed her hand again.

  Quietly, almost to herself, Chrystal said, “Eat shit, asshole.”

  Drew continued. “What I am trying to say is that getting to know the people at S.A.F.E. and seeing the world through their eyes changed me. It helped me see everything more clearly, and contrary to what my father wants of me, I am standing here today because I want to remind you to trust women.”

  Behind Drew, Conner started to rage. He took a step forward toward the podium, but the others standing next to him seemed prepared for that. I didn’t know most of them, but I recognized Drew’s friend Pete. They grabbed him and held him back. From what I knew, Pete and Conner were close, but maybe not so much anymore.

  Drew looked straight into the camera as he said, “Conner Carrington is not a good guy. Women aren’t safe around him. This current accuser is not the only woman he has hurt. There are others and they are willing to come forward.” Drew shifted his gaze, looking down and then back up again. I thought he was finished, but he steeled his shoulders one more time before adding, “My father, Senator Scott, wanted me to stand before you today and lift up the Carrington name because William Carrington is the kind of man than keeps politicians in business. But I am no longer willing to be a man controlled by power and greed, a man who says anything and believes in nothing.” His face grew wistful, and he smiled briefly. Then he picked up the index card and tore it in half before brazenly stating, “Someone good taught me we make the choice to do what’s right. I’m making that choice. No one but Conner Carrington is dragging the Carrington name through the mud. And he shouldn’t be allowed to hide behind his father’s influence. I won’t let him, and neither should you.”

  He paused and the reporters at his feet started to clamor, shouting out questions, but quickly quieted because behind Drew, Conner was seething. Trying to break free from the men holding him back by throwing his body in Drew’s direction, he started to scream, “You think you’re untouchable, you righteous fuck? You think I can’t take you down?”

  Drew remained calm. He didn’t flinch or simmer. He just shook his head in scorn.

  Conner’s tone narrowed and shifted from rage to sinister. “Don’t you dare look down your nose at me, asshole. I know your weak spot. You think we don’t all see you slumming it with that dirty little hippie?”

&nbs
p; That was me. Conner was talking about me. And he was right, I was Drew’s hot button. When I became the topic of conversation, Drew started to lose control. His nostrils flared and his stance changed so that his weight was balanced. He was preparing to fight.

  Conner laughed. Then he chided, “That must be some sweet-ass pussy. Maybe I should invite her over for drinks, see if she wants to come up to my room too.”

  Drew lost it. He punched Conner square in the nose. Next to me Chrystal laughed. Her joy bounced off the walls of the room like the little soccer ball smacking around a foosball table. I wanted to join her, to laugh and feel the little tinge of freedom she was feeling, but instead my lungs felt heavy, like I was drowning.

  Joe reached over and took my hand, squeezing it like I’d been squeezing Chrystal’s. Quiet, so as not to interrupt her joy, Joe said, “There’s no gray here, Lu. This is black and white.”

  I knew Joe was right. Drew stood before the world and declared that he wasn’t his father’s son. And clearly, he loved me.

  But more importantly, I loved him. Warts and all.

  51

  Drew

  I felt like I should have been packing. I felt like my father was going to show up and throw me out of my own fraternity house, start pitching my things out the window of my room like a scorned woman. Instead, I sat at the end of my bed and just tried to breathe. I curled and uncurled my hand, feeling the soft texture of my comforter against the pads of my fingers. My knuckles were sore, bruised from connecting with Conner’s face. I felt pain with every curl of my fist, but I liked it. It was helping to keep my mind from running away with fear. Because even when you want to blow up your life, the actual act of doing it can be terrifying.

  I reminded myself that Kate, Pete, and I had presented enough evidence of Conner’s lasciviousness to my fraternity brothers that one by one they turned on him. He was a rapist. And while the guys I called brothers might be blinded by their privilege in many ways, they weren’t ready to tolerate that behavior when the writing was on the wall. I wondered, though, what it would have meant if I couldn’t bring forward multiple women who could speak to his brutality. What if it was just my gut? What if it was just Chrystal’s word against his?

  I knew the truth. Without the pile of voices condemning Conner, no one could have stopped him or believed Chrystal. Honestly, we might not even be able to stop him now. He would have the best lawyers and his father’s influence might garner him a lenient judge. Even if he did go to jail, when he got out, he would return to the fold. He would still be rich and being rich would mean that his punishment was only temporary. Unless his father disowned him, but that seemed unlikely. There would be a company waiting for him to run it and there would be people willing to believe he wasn’t what he was because of the access he offered.

  Also, I’d punched Conner Carrington on national television. That was gonna have repercussions, for sure. First of all, that jab was single-handedly the end of my future political career, which was honestly sort of fantastic. Politics was the senator’s gig, not mine. Secondly, there would be a financial fallout for my father. This was obviously deserved, but he was also going to be fuming mad. Conner might not get disowned, but I most certainly would be, and then what would happen to my siblings? Could they protect themselves? Was it my job to protect them all or at some point did I have to save me? Would I be able to finish college? Where would I live?

  Besides making my father insane, Mr. Carrington was probably going to try to have me arrested. I should have controlled myself. How many times was I going to have to learn the lesson that violence wasn’t the answer? But fuck, he threatened Lu. I was pretty certain that I was never going to outgrow punching people who threatened Lua Steinbeck. Even if we weren’t together, attacking her was always going to bring out my beast. Lua was good and pure. She was a light in the world. And I was okay with being the dark that defended and protected her honor.

  I tried not to wonder if she watched. Katie had mentioned that she might, but I didn’t take down Conner for Lu or Chrystal. I did it because it was the right thing to do. I did it because I had finally learned that life isn’t meaningless. You can stand for something and you can stand up to bad things. Sure, when you do, it’s possible that nothing will change, but you’ll know that you did everything you could to make it right. And that’s valuable. That’s what makes you valuable. That what makes you like you.

  Damn, I was terrified.

  There was a tiny tap at the door, and then before I could answer, the knob turned, and Katie came in, carrying a bag of frozen peas. She was wearing a navy-blue dress, prim and proper as usual. She sat down on the edge of the bed next to me, picked up my fist, and pressed the cold bag against my sore knuckles.

  “You did good today,” she said, her eyes on the hand she was nursing. “Your brothers are downstairs being impressed.”

  “I shouldn’t have punched him,” I said.

  She let out a little laugh, the stunted kind. “Maybe not, but he deserved it. No one here is going to slight you for that.”

  “No, but…”

  She interrupted me. “It’ll be fine. The Carringtons have a lot on their plate right now. I think a broken nose is the least of their worries.”

  “You think I broke it?” I smirked.

  “Oh yeah.” Her voice was loaded with both snide and pride. “You got him good.”

  “He’s a bad guy.” I snarled, thinking of him implying that he was going to rape Lua.

  “No doubt,” Katie agreed. Then she sighed before saying, “Come downstairs. Come be surrounded by people who care about you, people who are going to make absolutely sure that you are protected and praised for today.”

  That, being praised not scorned and punished, felt so sadly unfamiliar. I didn’t really need to be celebrated, but I also thought that maybe she was right. Maybe sitting in my room trying to carry the weight of the day alone in my head wasn’t the best way to process this moment. Maybe it was time to let go, to just accept that I’d finally become this crazy liberal guy and no matter what my father thought, I had my friends, and they didn’t hate me for it.

  I stood, forcing Katie to stand by taking the peas and her hand with me and said, “Come on, my fan club is waiting.”

  Katie rolled her eyes at me before striding ahead and leading the way downstairs into the game room where my brothers were celebrating. When I entered the room, there was a lot of back slapping and bro hugs and comments like, “Balls of steel, man, balls of steel.” But in the end, their affections, although genuine, didn’t ease my unrest. The truth was I felt on the outside around my brothers. Katie and Pete were still really my friends, but the people who I needed affirmation from in this moment were the people of S.A.F.E. I needed Raina, Isaac, and of course, Lu.

  The thing was old habits died hard. Somehow on the day when I finally shucked off the burden of being the senator’s son and learned to do what was right, I also found myself plastering a fake smile on my face, holding a warm beer, and pretending to enjoy the company of people who were acquaintances more than friends. And then, suddenly Pete was calling my name.

  He was standing at the bottom of the stairs. “Drew, dude, there’s something on the front lawn that you have to see.”

  I was standing with a new brother named Alonso, who was a little too drunk and very earnestly confessing to me that my actions made him feel more accepted. Apparently, being new money and of Italian descent made him fell a little like an outcast even though he was a brother. And seeing how the others supported me had lifted the pressure to try to conform. Sadly, I knew for a fact that there were a handful of brothers that saw him as less classy than them. But I thought it better he should believe otherwise.

  I held a finger up, telling Pete to give me a minute, but he hollered again, “No, dude. You need to see this now.” There was something in his tone that made me move. Pete wasn’t anxious exactly. It was almost jittery, like a nervous excitement. Wearing a big shit-eating grin, he wait
ed at the bottom of the stairs till I crossed the room and was next to him before he spun on his feet and headed up. Katie was standing at the top of the stairs, also smiling. Their giddy looks made my heart start to pound and briefly I wondered why other people’s happiness made me nervous Then a muffled cacophony of noise caught my attention.

  I was stymied, standing in the main hall of the house next to a heavy round cherrywood table with a big ostentatious floral arrangement. My ears percolated. The sound was almost like a chorus, a clamoring of voices, a crowd. I couldn’t exactly discern what was being said. There was a terrified little boy in me that flashed to an image of a mob with pitchforks, come to torture the turncoat, but Katie’s continued smiles kept that in check. Unlike me, Pete kept moving, striding with sure steps until he reached the door and pulled the handle.

  The clarity of the sound rushed through the open door. It was a mob, a happy one, and in perfect unity they were chanting, “Ho-ho, hey-hey, Drew Scott is here to stay! Ho-ho, hey-hey, Drew Scott is here to stay!”

  I still couldn’t move. The sound was like a key, unlocking a cage around my heart. You know that scene in The Grinch who Stole Christmas, the one where the grinch’s heart grows to three times the size—that’s what was happening in my chest. Beneath my pectoral muscle, my heart was growing, bursting free, letting the love they were offering permeate and radiate, like pinpricks all over my skin. I couldn’t see any of them, but I knew who was out there, the men and women of S.A.F.E., the ones who shunned me on the day of the orientation. They were all standing on my front lawn, telling me I was one of them.

  Katie backtracked, stepping toward me and giving my hand a little pull, forcing me to shift my weight toward motion. Gently as she dragged, she said, “I promise, it’s even better than you think.”

  She dropped my hand when I relented, slowly making my way to the open door. On the lawn, with candles and picket signs, were all the faces I expected to see, glowing and chanting and cheering at my arrival. Raina’s grin caught my attention first; her eyes were bright, and she was giving me a thumbs-up. Her pink and black picket sign read, Drew Scott is for pussies. I laughed. Seeing that I read it, she winked at me. Next to her, Issacs’s sign read, Drew Scott is for Fundamental Human Rights, including mine. Catching my gaze, his face filled with kindness, and he saluted me before tilting his head to the right, signaling that I should look that way.