“Papers?” Cap’s voice cracks and I move to grip his forearm.
His free hand comes up to rest on my side.
“It’s time she comes home, son.”
Cap’s grip tightens and I imagine his face is stricken with an overwhelming sense of uncertainty, but I don’t look. Something tells me he wouldn’t want me to see.
“Can it really happen?” Royce asks quietly, stepping toward his dad. “She can come home?”
There is nothing worse than false hope.
“It can and it will.” Rolland makes his way down, clapping Royce’s shoulders on his way but stopping beside Captain and me.
He glances at me a moment before turning to Cap. “It will take a little bit of time, few weeks maybe, but she will be here soon. I promise you.”
Cap starts shaking and his head drops to rest against mine.
“I have a designer ready as well, she’s simply waiting for your call to discuss setting up a room fit for her. I was hoping to talk to you about this tonight.”
Cap releases me, shifting to hug his dad, and his brothers move, patting his back.
They stand like that a minute, before stepping away.
Maddoc quickly grabs me and pulls me against him while Cap moves for the SUV.
Rolland nods at the four of us and heads back inside.
Together, we leave for school, the three of them seemingly a little lighter than before while I’m growing more heavy by the second.
The lunch bell rings and I stand from my seat but drop back down when Cap looks up at me with troubled eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“Got a call from Dad’s lawyers already,” he tells us.
“When?”
“About an hour ago.”
“And?”
“They want me to come down and do another paternity test for Zo.” He looks between us. “Says some shit about it needing to be done the legal way.”
“So do it.” I frown.
“Where the fuck was this guy when we needed him for this shit?” Royce mumbles.
Cap scoffs. “Maybe if I wasn’t such a scared bitch about it and talked to Dad from the get-go, he’d have helped me, and she’d have been here all along.”
“Cap—” Maddoc starts but he raises a hand.
“I know, I’m just ... can’t not think it, you know?” He looks away. “Perkins went through a shit ton of trouble to try and keep her a fucking secret. He was dead set on keeping her away from me, from us, called me out and cornered me on every little thing. It wasn’t easy to be Brayshaw with him lurking around.” He meets our eyes again. “Why go through the trouble and risk us putting him in a ditch? He knows if it wasn’t so risky at that point, we wouldn’t have hesitated to get rid of him.”
“Maybe it was because he cared about the mom?” I ask.
Cap shakes his head. “We hoped he did, but he kicked them both out the second he caught us fucking. He never cared about either of them.”
“I wanna know why Dad allowed Perkins to fucking stay at the school when he’s a slimy ass bitch,” Royce says.
“Exactly!” Cap throws his hands out, anger etched across his face. “What’s the fucking deal, man?”
What has him so edgy?
“Pac man.” I wait until he looks my way. “Are you worried about the test?” I ask point blank.
He reaches out gripping my hand. “Not in the slightest, but it makes me feel like a piece of shit,” he admits.
Are you sure?
He squeezes my hand.
“We’ll do some digging on Perkins, but stay sane, man. One thing at a time. Let’s focus on getting her fucking home,” Maddoc tells him and he nods. “You want us to come with you for the paternity test?”
He swallows, dropping his eyes. “Yeah.” He looks to me. “I want you all to come with me.”
“Then we will,” I tell him.
I wrap my arms around Raven as my brothers slip past us.
“Town’s news crew will be here later, they get first dibs on interviews after the champ game.”
“Interviews?” She frowns. “How long will that take?”
“‘Bout a half hour, they know to come to the three of us first if they want time from us, but they’ll wait until after Coach’s speech, let us get showered and changed, and then meet us in the locker room. We don’t talk with the school reporters and shit.”
“So what you’re saying is it’s gonna be a good minute before we get out of here tonight?”
I chuckle, sliding my lips across hers, and nip lightly. “Yup. You good with that?”
“I’m good with that.” Never one to surrender, she nips back.
“Now, Brayshaw!” Coach calls, and I growl against her lips, pulling away.
“Sit by our bench.”
“Yes, boss.”
After she slips into the gym, I enter the locker room and head right for my locker. I start stripping down right away, my brothers and the rest of the team already halfway dressed.
“You good, brothaman?” Royce asks Cap quietly, pulling his jersey over his head. “You been zoning out all day.”
I quickly pull my game jersey on and turn, leaning my shoulder against the locker to block us off from the others.
Cap laughs lightly, his eyes tightening. “Yeah. Hard to fucking focus right now.” He looks at us. “I was gonna wait, say something once we got out of here and Raven was with us, but fuck it.” He glances behind us seeing nobody near. “I couldn’t handle it, so I called that designer lady Dad mentioned, just to see if it was true, and she really did talk to him already.”
“That’s ... good news, right?” Royce asks warily, noticing the same brittle expression on Cap’s face.
“Cap?”
He tilts his head slightly. “I don’t know. She was talking ideas and I just sort of sat back and listened, in shock and shit, but then she started saying how she could run a wire across the hall that would allow us to talk with each other at night, some fun little kid toy thing or something.”
“And?”
Cap’s eyes lift to mine. “And across the hall is Raven’s room. Turns out she’s under the impression the room across from mine is the one she’s decorating.”
“It makes sense she’d need to be closest to you. She doesn’t know us yet and that’s where she’d be most comfortable.” Royce shrugs, looking my way. “Maybe he figures RaeRae will move into your room?”
My face tightens.
“Maybe he didn’t stop to consider it?” Cap asks, hopeful.
“Maybe he plans on her not being there,” I say, and they frown. “That just means we need to set him straight. She’s an area we won’t budge on. He’ll understand.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Cap sighs, his shoulders relaxing. “So, do I trust that all this won’t make it worse with Zo? I mean all the shit Perkins threatened, the group home assholes being on the property, all the shit we’ve pulled ... I can’t lose the little time I have with her.”
“With him home, things are different, the threat is higher,” I tell him.
We all know it’s true, that’s why he says, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Coach comes in right then, smacking his hand against the row of lockers as he makes his way to the center, and everyone faces forward.
“This is it, gentlemen. Last fucking game of your high school careers. Some of you will move on to play in college, some of you will never play again, so make tonight count. Go out there, give every ounce of yourself, and walk away tonight as district champions.” Everyone cheers, and he nods. “Graven Prep will not make this easy on you, make them wish they had.”
He lifts his hand and it starts, wolf calls surround us until each and every one are in sync. He starts clapping and everyone follows. “Let’s go boys!” more howls. “Let’s fucking go boys!”
We jog from the locker room, through the hall and burst into the gym.
The crowd stands and starts screaming, my baby right there, f
ront and fucking center just behind our bench as we take our lap around the gym, stopping once we make it back to our court.
“No sign of Collins or Donley,” Cap whispers, and I nod.
I’d looked, too.
“This is our game, brothers.” Royce smacks both our backs as he jogs past, moving in to his warm-up drills.
Damn fucking straight it is.
There’s nothing like home court advantage for a champ game.
This is our school, our fucking people.
They will not beat us in our own house tonight.
They might just fucking lose.
Down by eleven, they can’t get their shit together. For every shot they make, Graven Prep makes a three-pointer. For every three-pointer Maddoc makes, they get free shots from a fucking bullshit foul.
I’d like to know what’s up the referees’ asses tonight again, they’ve only called on us, even when Cap clearly took an elbow to the chin.
He held back, knowing what it would cost if he reacted, but too bad for the dude, Royce saw and has no chill, so the guy caught one back to the spine in the next move. He’s whining on the bench now.
Maddoc charges across the court and into position in perfect time for Mac to pass him the ball for a perfect shot.
It’s neck and neck, every person in this gym is on their feet, but all that can be heard is the squeak of sneakers across freshly polished flooring and the dribble of the ball.
They rally, and suddenly we’re only down by two, and everyone knows the ball is going to Big Man. The defenders flock him.
He manages to jump up and catch the pass, but when he pops up to shoot, he’s shoved by a Graven asshole and he falls to the ground, sliding across the floor.
Royce rushes forward, ready to lay him out, but Cap blocks him chest to chest while Mac helps Maddoc stand.
And now this is it, the refs can’t avoid it or turn a blind eye this time, and three free throws are given to Brayshaw’s all-star.
A slow smirk stretches across my lips and the crowd starts flipping out in excitement. They know their boy won’t miss.
Like nothing, one, two, three, Brayshaw now leads by a point with two seconds left on the game clock.
The ball is turned over and a lame attempt at a full court shot is thrown and missed right after the buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the final game, Brayshaw High now district champs for the first time.
They jump up giving bro hugs and chest bumps, and each of my boys’ eyes flies to mine with pride shining through their game faces.
Good job, guys.
Maddoc winks and the three turn back around.
Refusing to shake hands with Grave Prep, the Wolves trample, with heads held high, toward their locker room. Graven slowly exits after them.
The stands quickly thin, everyone from Brayshaw ready to get their party on, the rest not wanting to be in here when the losing team re-emerges.
Vienna pops over to me with a grin. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Miss me?” she asks.
I frown. “You been gone?”
She shrugs, her lips thinning. “Went home for a bit, came back, went home again, thought maybe you noticed.”
“You know what, Victoria did mention it.” I nod.
Her nose scrunches a bit. “Yeah, so my dad fucked up his liver real good and was looking bad. Surprisingly he asked for me and social services thought it would be good. Said I’d benefit from spending some time with him sober and in case he croaked.” She rolls her eyes, speaking a little too quickly. “Little did they know he got his skanky girlfriend to bring those mini shots here and there when they docs weren’t watching. But whatever, he’s pathetic.” She glances around.
I eye her. “You good? You seem a little on edge.”
“Huh?” She looks back then smiles. “Oh, yeah, I’m good. Hey, you wanna take a quick smoke break? I’ve got one rolled.”
I glance at the locker room doors. The coach for sure will give a solid you fucking rock speech and Maddoc said they had to do interviews.
“They’ll be a while.” She laughs lightly.
I shrug. “Sure, why not.”
I rise from my seat, nodding at Bass on my way out.
He frowns, looking from me to Vienna but I keep walking.
“It’s crazy how you and Victoria are cool now.”
“Why do you say that?” I glance around, following her lead and stepping around the corner where no one can see.
She doesn’t respond, instead pulling out a joint and lighter, but fumbles with it. She drops the joint twice, her thumb slipping from the clip of the lighter.
I study her, taking in the way she keeps fidgeting. “Are you on one?”
Her head pops up, eyes widening. “What?”
“You know what, I’m good.” I change my mind, lifting my hands in my jacket pockets while backing up. “I’m going to wait inside.”
I turn and walk back, but she shouts out.
“I’m sorry!”
I let out a deep sigh.
This is why having friends is low on my list!
I turn back but she’s right there, and when my arm burns with a prick, my eyes fall to the spot just in time to see her jerk a needle away.
My other arm shoots up, gripping her neck and tears instantly fall from her eyes. “What the hell was that?!”
“I’m sorry,” she gasps, her hand shooting up to grip mine.
I squeeze, but my hold doesn’t grow tighter.
I shove, but she remains standing.
I move to swing, but nothing happens.
My knees give, and I fall forward, a fog taking over my vision as dark shadows bounce in and out of focus. Feet pounding against pavement echoes in my ears and I try to speak, but nothing comes out.
I squeeze my eyes shut, and when I open them, a flash of blue appears before darkness takes over.
“It’s okay, Rae,” Vienna whispers. “It’s just a little Special K. And he promised not to hurt you.”
“She’s stirring, should I inject her again?”
I frown, my eyes slowly fluttering open. It takes a few moments for me to regain focus and when I do, my eyes land on a window at first.
I blink a few times, but it doesn’t do much to help.
My head starts pounding and I move to lift my hand to it in reflex, but it doesn’t budge.
Right then, a deep chuckle hits my ears, and my eyes dart around, spotting a silver-haired man sitting opposite of me, a Stepford wife look-alike at his side, but when I blink she becomes clearer.
Collins’ maid?
I try to tilt my head, that’s when I realize I’m lying flat, my back parallel with the seat as they sit right side up.
I move to shoot upward, but my limbs won’t work.
“Where the hell am I? Who the hell are you?”
The man grins, his age showing in the crow’s feet framing his eyes. He tips his head. “Well, hello to you, too.”
“Sir, shall I inject her again?”
That has my eyes snapping down, looking over my body I spot someone sitting by my feet – another man.
“Was I unclear?” the silver-haired man asks in a firm voice. “I told you, bare minimum, I need her speaking.”
“Where the hell am I?!” I shout, but it comes out muffled and sluggish.
He speaks to the man again but keeps his eyes on me. “Continue, Doc.” He grins, folding his hands in front of him. “You’re in the back of my limo, of course. A bit cliché, if you ask me, I prefer a town car, but I needed the space for today’s adventure.”
The man, who’s maybe mid-fifties, leans closer. “Do you know who I am?”
“A piece of shit.”
He lifts his hands as if he agrees. “My name is Donley Graven, and this is the less than spectacular and of no importance or strength, Estella Graven.” He motions to the woman at his side who doesn’t speak. He sits back in his seat and lights a cigar while the man pulls the needle from my arm and
situates himself.
“Collins’ maid,” I rasp.
Donley nods. “Yes, and his mother.”
“He got less than he deserved.”
The woman says nothing but Donley chuckles. “I bet.”
“What do you ...” I swallow past the dryness in my throat. “What do you want from me?”
“Confirmation,” he says flatly.
The thin man by my feet drops down to his knees beside me and I stare as he pushes up my sleeve, ties a knot just above my elbow, and slides a needle into my arm with ease.
My breathing speeds up as blood spills into the tube at the end.
“Don’t panic,” Donley tells me. “It’s just a little blood, Brayshaw. If what I heard is correct, you are quite fond of it on a normal day.”
I don’t take my eyes off the man’s movements. “What kind of confirmation are you looking for?” I ask, knowing he won’t answer me.
“I must say.” My eyes fly to his when the squish of leather sounds. He moves closer. “You are quite beautiful. Exquisite, really, though you don’t seem to know it.” His voice lowers. “Perhaps that’s the key though, hm? A quiet beauty so loud it seizes every soul on sight. That is what’s happened here, isn’t it? All those around you have fallen for the allure.” His eyes trace over me and my stomach turns. “I bet she hates you for it, your beauty...” He trails off and I frown. “Likely even told you otherwise your entire life?”
“You know her.”
He ignores me again. “Shame really, when you could have been loved and fawned over, reminded of your perfection every day. Raised like the princess you were meant to be.”
I frown at the fascination he boldly shows.
“Tell me, sweet Raven. Has he told you yet?” He tilts his head. “Rolland, I mean.”
Shit. He knows.
“Last night.” Donley’s eyes harden. “When he got home, did he tell you I’d be paying you a visit?”
I open my mouth but nothing comes out and he clicks his tongue, sitting back.
“Shame, I told him patience wasn’t on the menu.”
Trouble at Brayshaw High Page 24
