Fallen Crest Forever

by Tijan

  That’s not my life. That’s not who I am—”

  “Your father is a multimillionaire, correct?” It was the first reporter again.

  I nodded.

  “Yet you and your brother chose to attend public high school when you could’ve chosen a private academy in your town?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your best friend’s brake lines were severed because of a high school rivalry, correct?”

  “He was in a car crash because of that.”

  “Your girlfriend was hospitalized because she was jumped in your high school’s bathroom. That’s right?”

  I nodded. Where was he going with this?

  “Did you do anything against anyone in high school or since you’ve attended Cain University?”

  “Yes.”

  His eyes widened.

  “But only to protect people I love.”

  “Did you set out to hurt this Adam Quinn?”

  “No.”

  The first reporter glanced around the room. They all seemed to be following his lead. He shrugged. “I guess I only have one other question. You stated before that your girlfriend was your ‘girlfriend at the time.’ Why is that? Did you two break up?”

  Oh. Fuck. Forgive me, Sam.

  But I couldn’t lie, not about this, not about something I was proud of.

  “No. She’s my fiancée now.”

  SAMANTHA

  An hour earlier.

  “Sam.”

  I was lacing up my sneakers. Mason had gone to tell his coaches what was going on. We’d slept super late, and half the day was gone already. I wanted to get a run in before he called to let us know their plan. I looked up from the back patio when Logan said my name, opening the back door. My heart sank at the look on his face.

  “What is it?” My hands were suddenly clammy. I rubbed them down my running pants and stood.

  He gestured behind him. “Just come in. You need to see this. It’s on the university’s cable channel.”

  I think I knew even before I stepped inside.

  Mason had been calm when he left, too calm. He’d been like that all night too, and the way he’d made love to me last night—I suppressed a shiver, one of the good kinds. He’d been tender, loving, giving. He’d worshiped my body, and then he’d taken us both on an almost-frenzied ride. It had been exhilarating, but now I knew why.

  I heard his voice from the television in the living room. “ . . . My father is James Kade. He owns and runs a multimillion—”

  Logan growled behind me, his arms crossed over his chest and his jaw clenching. “This is fucked up. He went alone.”

  “Did you expect anything different?”

  Nate came down the stairs. He wasn’t shocked like me, or furious like Logan. He was resigned, and a hint of fondness played over his features. He ran a hand over his face, then held it out toward the television. “This is what he does, Logan. You know that.”

  “This was all of our decision.”

  “No.” Nate shook his head. His voice was so calm, so understanding. “This is his career, his life. It was his decision. It was never really ours.”

  “Nate—” Logan whirled to him, his eyes blazing. He took a step like he was going to hit him. He stopped, and his jaw clenched again. “Shut up.”

  “No.” Nate was firm. He stepped in front of the television. He raised a finger in the air. “You need to give him this space.”

  “This affects all of us.”

  “It affects him the most,” Nate shot back. His eyes blazed right back at Logan, just not as much. He wasn’t as angry. “He won’t name us. He won’t put any of us in danger, and you know it. He’s taking the whole blame. I don’t even need to hear it to know I’m right.”

  Mason’s voice filled the silence in the room. “ . . . I found statements on the computer there that showed a discrepancy, and it also showed—”

  “You see that?” Nate turned and looked at the television. “I. He’s saying I. He’s not saying we or my name, your name. If you’re going to be angry, at least be angry for the real reason.”

  Logan had grown silent, but flicked his eyes to Nate.

  “You’re mad because he shut you out,” Nate murmured, almost too quietly for us to hear. He rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing. “But that’s his way of protecting you, and you know it.”

  Logan remained silent, his chest rising and falling as he breathed.

  I sank down on one of the couches, placing my hands in front of my mouth. I couldn’t listen, but I couldn’t leave. He was doing this all on his own. My stomach twisted. He must’ve been so scared, but Nate was right. He was protecting us in his way.

  I focused for a moment and finally realized the two reporters were helping him. They were flipping his story into something else, something where he was the victim, where Adam and his father were the bad guys.

  Good! A part of me growled.

  “You were never charged,” a reporter said to Mason.

  Mason frowned at him. “What?”

  The reporter’s voice sounded from behind the camera, “They can’t do an investigation if you were wrongfully picked up by your local police. It seems to me they did the right thing.”

  Logan swore, sitting in the chair closest to the television. “They’re helping him.”

  “That’s my fault.”

  I closed my eyes. I knew Taylor’s voice, and it all started to make sense. She was wringing her hands together when I looked at her.

  She flashed an apologetic smile. “I couldn’t not say anything.”

  She turned to Logan, but I knew what she was going to say.

  “You disappeared last night after we got here,” I said. “You called your dad, didn’t you?”

  She jerked her head in an unsteady nod. “I had to.”

  Logan was quiet again. She kept skirting her gaze to him, then back to me.

  “This isn’t the first time an athlete has been in trouble,” she said. “My dad knows guys. They can pull some strings and get favors. I had to let him know ahead of time. He needed a chance to see if he could help. Mason deserved that.”

  Logan pointed to the screen. “It’s working.”

  She nodded, sitting down across from him. She was on the edge of her seat, her hands pressed together on her knees. “Are you mad at me?”

  His eyes softened. “No, baby. Never.”

  She sighed, her shoulders relaxing.

  One of the reporters was speaking again. “Did they arrest him?”

  Taylor nodded toward the television. “That reporter and the other one you guys heard talking, those are heavy-hitter sports reporters. They’ve always tried to help my dad, if they can. Sometimes they can, sometimes they can’t, but they’re going over and above in this press conference. My guess is that they don’t like Steven Quinn for some reason.” She lifted a shoulder. “Or they just really like Mason.”

  We all looked at each other.

  “Nah.” That came from Nate.

  Logan shook his head. “No way. Who likes Mason?”

  I only laughed, content to hear the jokes from them. My stomach had stopped twisting, and the press conference seemed to be coming to an end. I stood. I needed to be there for Mason now, and I moved to grab a sweatshirt and my purse when I heard, “. . . You stated before that your girlfriend was your ‘girlfriend at the time.’ Why is that? Did you two break up?”

  No.

  I froze, my hand in mid-air, and then I heard Mason answer, almost too quickly.

  “—she’s my fiancée now.”

  I gulped.

  He hadn’t.

  He had.

  I turned swiftly. Everyone in the room stared at me with varying expressions of surprise. Nate’s eyes were wide, Taylor had the beginning of a smile, and Logan—he was the one I was most afraid to look at—his eyes were hooded, his face unreadable.

  I started for him. “Logan.”

  He held up a hand, stopping me in my tracks. He didn’t say a wor
d, just stood and walked outside.

  Taylor stood too. Her eyebrows pulled together. “Sam, I—”

  “Go after him.” I stepped back.

  She rushed past me, but squeezed my arm on the way and whispered, “Congratulations!” Then she was gone, slamming the door behind her.

  It was just Nate and me.

  His hand moved from his neck to the side of his face. He held it there a second before letting it fall. Then he lifted his arms. “Congratulations, Sam. Come here.”

  I stepped into his hug, but I was tense. He was tense. Logan was pissed, and I needed to get to Mason’s side.

  I hugged him, though. “Thank you, Nate.”

  He squeezed me once more before letting me go. “Logan’s just hurt. You know that.”

  I nodded. “Doesn’t make it hurt less.”

  I started for the door, but Nate said my name again, and I looked over.

  “You know we’re going to have an epic party now, don’t you?” He gave me a half-grin.

  I felt myself smile, but my stomach twisted back up. “First things first.”

  “Right.” He pointed to the door. “Go be with your man. Oh, hey—”

  I paused once more.

  “He doesn’t lie about you,” Nate said. “You’re something in his life that he is beyond proud of. He never wants to make you feel that he isn’t. That’s why he said it.”

  My smile grew sad, but I still felt a flutter in my chest.

  “I know.” Then I left.

  Mason was shaking hands with two men when I got there.

  His coaches were next to them, and I overheard one of the men saying, “There are a lot of ways we could’ve spun your story, but we’re not idiots. All of us, or most of us, have covered Steven Quinn. The guy’s a prick. Finding out he hired someone to attack and harass you? Not shocking to us. Trust me. I think you’ll be shocked at the reception you’ll get after our articles come out. I wouldn’t be surprised if the article retracts and issues an apology.”

  The guy who’d been speaking clasped a hand on Mason’s head coach’s arm. “It’s been real, Hank. Thanks for the heads-up.”

  He and the second guy took off.

  Mason said to his coach, “You knew?”

  “Taylor called me as soon as Logan told her. You’re going to be family one day, Mason. And the truth was on your side this time. You and your brother might do asinine things, but this time you didn’t. You really were just protecting your loved ones.”

  Broozer glanced over, saw me, and nodded in my direction. “And I hear congratulations are in order. Congratulations, Samantha. I know Taylor’s really grown fond of you.”

  He held his hand out, and I shook it, feeling dazed.

  He patted Mason on the shoulder. “I can’t say anything official to you, but if you still want a career in the NFL, I’m pretty sure it’ll be there waiting.”

  Mason let out a breath. “Thank you.” He looked to his other coach. “Thank you both.”

  “This is part of our job. We don’t like to let our kids hang out to dry. We’ll protect you as much as we can, every goddamn time.”

  They left, and Mason turned to me. His eyes were haunted, and he seemed to brace himself. “I couldn’t lie. Not about you. I can never lie about you.”

  But I knew a time he had lied about me. He’d sent another girl to take the assault that should’ve been for me. He was protecting me then, like he was protecting me now.

  I nodded. “I know. We can talk about it later.”

  I rested a hand on the side of his face, and he leaned into it, his eyes closing for a moment.

  My throat grew thick. “How are you?”

  He pulled me in for a hug and held me so tightly. He buried his face in my neck. “Better. I’m so much better.”

  I hugged him back, just as tight, and we stayed like that for a long time.

  “So, how pissed is Logan?” Mason asked.

  We’d gone back to our spot, and we were once again submerged in the pool underneath the butterfly statue. Mason treaded water in front of me while I sat on the edge, dipping my legs.

  “He was hurt that you did the press conference without us, but Nate took up for you, and Logan got over it.” I looked away, feeling a knot in my chest. “Then you announced our engagement. He left after that.”

  He cursed under his breath and narrowed his eyes at me. “Why aren’t you mad?”

  “Nate reminded me that you said it because you’re proud of me, and that you probably couldn’t lie about me.” I wasn’t mad, but I was hurt. That was what I was.

  “Oh.” He was moving his arms under the water in small circles, and he looked down at them now. “But you’re hurt, aren’t you?”

  My shoulders sagged. Why did I even try to keep something from him? He looked back up to me, and I let him see the truth.

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  I lifted a shoulder, holding it pressed against my cheek. “It is what it is. We can’t go backwards now.”

  “Meaning?” He swam closer to me, his hands resting on my legs.

  “I am hurt.”

  His hands dropped from my legs, and he flinched, but he kept looking at me. He didn’t drop his gaze.

  “That was our news to announce together, and you said you were going to ask again.” He had to know the truth.

  His voice grew hoarse. “That’s what you want? You still want me to ask again?”

  I nodded. “With the ring, and I want it to be romantic again.”

  He watched me, studying, and I saw a lingering question lurking in his depths.

  “You’ll be ready this time?”

  Was I ready? I had to look down. My insides trembled.

  “I’m scared.”

  He looked back down to the water.

  I saw how his shoulders went rigid, and just like that, I knew my fears were garbage. That’s all they were. Just excess trash I needed to expunge. I slid into the water, and Mason’s head lifted in surprise as I wrapped my legs around his waist. He was going to give me space. I knew it instinctively, and I didn’t want it right now. So I went to him before he could move away. I could feel him