The door opened and Lily padded into the room with Goldie in her hands. She looked sad as I gave her a tired smile, too exhausted to fake being all right, even for my baby sister’s sake.
“What’s up, Lily?” I asked her. “Is the wedding planner here yet? We should probably go downstairs and make sure we help out.”
Lily shook her head and gave me a thoughtful look, then climbed on the bed with me. I hugged her and the cat, snuggling them both close to my body. It felt good to have their warmth next to mine.
“Are you sick?” Lily asked me worriedly.
I turned her little head towards my face until our eyes met. “No, honey, I’m totally fine. Why do you ask?”
Lily sighed. “You seem strange. I was worried you were sick or something...”
Her eyes cast downwards, and I could see a small tear threatening to escape. Her lashes were dark, long and full. She was such a cutie pie, even when she looked sad.
“I thought you were sick like Daddy,” she finally confessed, and my heart almost broke to pieces. I held her even closer, inhaling her warm baby powder scent.
“No, honey,” I said in a calming voice. “I’ve just been super tired and stressed because of school stuff.”
It was a half-truth—I had been pretty busy at college with finals season quickly approaching, but I’d had a lot more on my plate than just that. Lily didn’t need to know about it, though.
“Are you sure?” Lily’s bottom lip trembled as she looked at me, and I did my best to smile widely. I thought for a second about what to tell her, and then decided to be honest after all, in a roundabout kind of way.
“I’ve just been feeling a little weird, sweetie. It’s nothing you need to worry about, and I’ll be back to normal soon. I promise I’m going to be A-okay, and so are you.”
“And Mommy?” Lily asked hopefully. I nodded in response. Lily responded with a solemn nod of her own and then climbed off the bed, kitten in tow. “I’m glad we talked.”
She looked so cute, all serious and grown-up, I had to giggle out loud. “Me too, Lily. Shall we go downstairs now?”
She nodded and gave me her hand, and we went to the living room downstairs to talk about the wedding details one last time. The date was fast approaching, and in only a few days, my mom wouldn’t be Nina Diaz any more. She’d be Nina Stryker, and Chase would officially be my brother.
My throat tightened at the thought, and once again I wondered what that would mean for my and Chase’s relationship. I didn’t want it to be over...it couldn’t be. I knew deep in my heart it wasn’t just about lust anymore. Chase had proven that in recent days with his support for me over the Tripp incident.
The living room had been transformed; every available surface covered with fabric swatches, cardboard cutouts and folders as far as the eye could see. I swear, that wedding planner had an unhealthy obsession with binders.
I located my Mom in the mess, sitting on a tiny spot of the couch that wasn’t covered with collages of weddings. I left Lily to shriek excitedly at her cute flower girl dress which had just arrived, and I approached Mom.
She flashed me a smile, making space for me on the couch and patting the fabric for me to sit down. I did just that, and she showed me some swatches for the napkins at the reception, of all things.
“So what do you think, ivory or champagne?” she asked thoughtfully. I did my best to think about the ridiculous question. Truth be told, I could barely tell between the two shades, but I could at least try to help.
“Maybe champagne, it will go nicely with the warm tone of your dress,” I said. Mom rewarded me with a big smile, which made it all worth it.
I was genuinely happy for her, and ever since I’d first seen her with Peter, I’d known that he was able to put a glow on her face that hadn’t been there before. I knew they would be happy together for a long time to come.
“So, we’ll need to choose another tux for you from the Armani line.” Peter’s voice cut into my thoughts and I looked up to see him walk into the living room with Chase and two other guys on his tail.
Our eyes met across the room and Chase grinned at me, which made me feel all warm inside. He still had such a strong impact on me... and I didn’t see that changing anytime soon. I returned the smile, my cheeks flushing ever so slightly.
Peter sat down at a table with his campaign team, and Chase joined my Mom and me as we flipped through fabric samples on the couch.
Lily paraded over in her cute outfit and made a curtsy like a real princess. She glared at us until she got the round of applause she expected, and then she suggested that Goldie could come to the wedding as well, stating that they obviously needed matching outfits.
The room was a buzzing cacophony of sound and energy, but for once, I felt myself relaxing. My shoulders eased back on the sofa, the pressure in my body slowly dissipating. I felt a hand on my back, and I looked over my shoulder to find Chase looking at me.
“Are you okay?” he mouthed at me, his eyes full of worry.
Truth be told, in that moment, I was totally, perfectly all right. After talking to Chase for hours and hours in the last week, I’d come to the conclusion that it would all work out eventually. All the crazy stuff with our forbidden relationship, him quitting fighting, and what Tripp did to me in the past—it would all go away soon, and leave only happiness in its wake…as long as we had each other to lean on.
“I’m okay,” I mouthed back at Chase. He rewarded me with a relieved smile, his fingers gently rubbing the back of my neck. It was such a small gesture, yet it meant the world to me.
The shrill sound of someone’s ringtone interrupted our little moment, and we broke eye contact. A guy on Peter’s campaign team smiled at us apologetically before taking the call out in the hallway. It gave us a rare moment to be together as a family, and within a few minutes, all five of us were laughing about something that had happened earlier.
“I can’t believe the wedding planner forgot you need gluten-free cake.” I shook my head at my mother. “Can you imagine what would’ve happened once you had a slice of that chocolate monstrosity she ordered?”
“Mommy would go mental and barf everywhere,” Lily said, making the rest of us collapse in laughter and giggles.
“Peter?”
A voice interrupted us, and we all looked at Peter’s ashen-faced aide. He held his phone in his hand, covering the mouthpiece with his hand. I knew something was wrong right away, and my blood froze in my veins, expecting yet another awful thing to happen.
“Yes?” Peter was once again professional, the laughter from a few seconds ago only a distant memory. “Is something the matter, Rupert?”
“I’ve just had a call...” Rupert’s eyes found Chase, and he looked fearful as he turned back to face Peter. “There’s been a media leak concerning your campaign.”
“A leak of what?” Peter’s voice was thunderous. “There’s nothing for them to leak, nothing at all. Our investigators have checked everything.”
“Not closely enough, it seems. Perhaps we should speak about this in private for the time being, sir.”
Peter’s forehead crinkled in confusion, and he left the room with his aide.
“What? He did what?”
His voice thundered out of the other room a moment later, and I cast a worried gaze at Mom before focusing it on Chase. His face was pale. My heart began to race even faster, beating out of order, and my breathing was ragged as I awaited Peter’s return.
Finally he stormed back into the room, his face like thunder. His right hand clenched into a fist by his side, and he stared right at Chase.
“Is there something you’d like to tell me, Chase?” he said, voice dripping with anger. “Or should I call you…Score?”
Chapter 22
Chase
“Do you understand what you’ve done? You’ve fucking buried me. You’ve lost me this campaign. All this work me and my team have been doing for months…all for nothing!”
My fat
her paced back and forth in the living room, fury etched into his sharp features. Lina had been told to take Lily upstairs, and the campaign aides were elsewhere now. Only Nina remained in the room with us, watching with wide eyes as my father ranted at me.
Fucking Tripp.
He’d actually gone and done it. He’d gone to the media and told them what I’d been doing, and by now it was all over the internet; on local news sites, political blogs, Facebook…you name it, the leaked story was there.
I’d honestly thought Tripp wouldn’t do it, given that it affected him due to his direct relation to us, but I guess he just didn’t give a shit anymore. My discovery of what he’d done to Lina and the subsequent beating I’d given him had clearly set him on a path of vengeance, and he didn’t care if he tore our family apart. Fucking asshole. At least he hadn’t told anyone about me and Lina, though. Thank God for small miracles…
“What the hell were you thinking, Chase?” Dad continued. “Tell me, did I just waste my time and money ensuring you had a good education at the best schools? It certainly seems like it, considering you’ve apparently been participating in this low-life junk for the last year, like some sort of street urchin.”
“Dad, I—”
He cut me off. “Are you still doing it?”
“No,” I replied. “I quit recently.”
He snorted with derision. “Well, how convenient,” he said. “Too little, too late. Christ, how stupid could you possibly be? Did you honestly think you wouldn’t get caught? You obviously hid it quite well, considering that my own background checkers didn’t pick up on it, but you must have known that somewhere along the line, someone would find out.”
“That’s one of the main reasons I quit,” I said. “I didn’t want to screw things up for you and your campaign.”
It wasn’t enough. He was right. I should’ve known I’d get caught sooner or later, but I’d been too selfish to care.
“Well, you should’ve thought about that before you even started doing it in the first place, you selfish, ungrateful little shit! You should never have done this!”
Nina stood up, casting an angry stare at my father. “Peter! Don’t talk to Chase like that! He’s made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, and I think he’s sorry. Standing here berating him for hours isn’t going to fix anything. You need to be speaking to your campaign advisors instead, and trying to think of ways to get through this.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “Nina, please stay out of this. This is a lot more than a simple mistake. Why don’t you go upstairs and see if Lily and Lina are all right?”
Nina put her hands on her hips. “If you intend on marrying me in a week, then you damn well better treat me like an equal partner. I have a say in this just as much as you do. Chase might not be my son, but he’s going to be my stepson, and I want to know that he will be treated just as fairly as you treat my daughters. Unless you plan on one day speaking to my daughters in the same way as you are currently speaking to your son?”
It was nice of her to defend me, but I didn’t deserve it. No, I’d royally fucked up, and I deserved every bit of vitriol my father directed at me.
Dad sighed and ran his hands through his hair before taking a seat across from her. “All right. Sorry, Nina. Why don’t you talk to Chase for a minute? He doesn’t seem to give a damn about anything I have to say.”
“I’m right here, Dad,” I said, my eyes narrowing. “I can hear you. And I never said I don’t care.”
Nina held up a hand, signaling for us both to be quiet. “Chase, you know you’ve done the wrong thing,” she said softly. “You’ve likely caused a lot of damage to your father’s campaign.”
“I know.”
“Good. Now could you tell me what made you start doing this in the first place?”
I shrugged. “Tripp introduced me to it. I liked it. I thought if I was careful enough, no one would realize who I was. But as soon as this campaign started heating up, I quit. I knew people would be looking more closely into my life, and honestly, I wasn’t enjoying it as much anymore.”
Dad muttered under his breath. “Tripp. Of course. That little bastard. I always thought he was a bad influence.”
“It was my decision in the end,” I replied, as much as I hated to even remotely defend Tripp.
“But why?” Nina said. “Why did you like it so much?”
“Because it made me feel…something. Something good. Something I don’t get from my regular life,” I said. Except for Lina, I silently added. “I’ve never been happy with all the crap you’ve wanted me to do, Dad. The politics degree, the plans for law school after that…I never wanted any of it. I only did it to keep you happy, because I know how hard you’ve worked to pay for my education and everything else.”
“So I’ve failed as a father as well as a politician. Fantastic.”
Nina reached over and squeezed his hand. “I don’t think that’s what he’s saying. And the campaign isn’t over yet. You can still come back from this.”
There was silence for a moment, and Dad finally looked up at me. For a second, I thought there might be peace, but then rage flickered in his eyes again.
“No, that’s exactly what he’s saying,” he said, his voice icy. “Well, son…if you’re so unhappy with the life I’ve supposedly forced on you…then so be it. I’ll freeze your trust, and you can get a job. You can move out, like you’ve been wanting to do for so long. You can drop out of college too, if you want. If not, then your tuition will be your responsibility.”
Nina gasped. “Peter, no…that’s not what—"
He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Sorry, Nina, but this is the only way he’ll learn. He needs to go out into the real world and figure things out himself.”
He was right. I needed to experience life on my own if I ever wanted to be truly independent. I didn’t really give a shit about the trust fund, anyway. I still had some money left over from my winnings from the fights, and I could use that for a while. Most of it had been donated, but I’d kept about ten percent of it. Not for myself; I’d been saving it up to donate to a charity of my choosing later on, after it had been invested and tripled in size. But I suppose I could dip into it, if it was the only means I had to support myself for a while until I found a proper job.
“And what about your campaign?” I said, folding my arms across my chest. “Do you want me out of that too?”
“You will be seen with me at political and media events as per usual. No one needs to know what’s really happening. If anyone does find out and asks why you aren’t living with us anymore, we’ll say you decided to move out to gain some more independence. At the wedding, you’ll attend as expected, and you won’t speak to any members of the media between now and then. Even then, you’ll only say what I tell you to. If you can do that, then I might consider revisiting my decision to cut you off from your trust.”
“Fine,” I replied with a curt nod. “I’ll pack my things.”
Tears brimmed in Nina’s eyes. “Peter…I really don’t think this is a good idea.”
“No, he’s right,” I said, looking over at her. “I need to do this on my own. I should’ve been honest about this months ago. Hell, I should’ve been honest about what I wanted out of life years ago.”
With that, I strode upstairs and into my room. A soft knock at my door drew my attention a second later, and I looked over my shoulder.
“Hey,” Lina said, lingering by the doorway. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “But I have to leave.”
She gasped. “You’re…you’re going?”
“Yep.”
She quietly closed the door, then walked over and grabbed my arm, tears filling her eyes. “Chase, please don’t leave. I don’t want you to.”
“It’s not my decision,” I said. “Dad wants me to go. I deserve it anyway. I probably ruined his campaign. I’m a fucking idiot.”
She sighed, and her shoulders slumped. She knew I was right. I’d w
recked everything with my selfish stupidity, and now my family was paying the price.
“Where will you go?” she asked.
“I’ll go stay with a friend for now, until I figure out what I’m doing. Maybe Brett. He has heaps of spare rooms at his place, and he actually asked me if I wanted to move in a while ago. I’m sure the offer still stands.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “What does this mean for…for us?”
I looked down at her gorgeous face and grabbed the sides of it, tilting it up to mine as I leaned down and planted a kiss on her plump lips.
“Nothing,” I said as I broke away. “Nothing changes for you and me. Unless you want it to.”
She shook her head. “Of course not. I’m just worried…you said that Tripp knew about you and me.”
“Yeah. He guessed.”
“Well, if he went to the media about your fights, then what’s stopping him from telling the world about us as well?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he will. Maybe he won’t. He’s probably keeping it as a trump card in case this fighting scandal doesn’t end up wrecking Dad’s campaign.”
Her lips trembled, and she nodded. “That’s what I’m worried about. Do you think…do you think we should stop seeing each other for a while? Just for a little bit, until this has all blown over.”
I sighed. “Fuck, Lina, I don’t want to do that. You know that.”
“Neither.”
“Then let’s just take each day one at a time. Like you said, this whole fighting scandal will blow over soon. Maybe Dad will ask me to come home. Who knows? Either way, we’ll be fine. We’ll try to see each other as much as we can. Okay?”
She nodded and wrapped her arms around me, and I closed my eyes and breathed in her sweet scent. I wasn’t lying to her or myself. No matter what happened, we’d be all right. We had each other, and no matter what kind of shit happened to us, it would all work out in the end.
I just wished I didn’t have to leave her here.
Score - A Stepbrother Romance Page 15
