Scarlett
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Pheonix shouted at our unexpected guest.
Luke was standing with my dad at the doorway that was now occupied by none other than Chase.
My brows knitted together. "Chase?"
"Hey," He spoke in a quiet voice, trying to avoid the death stare that Pheonix was giving him.
Nix shook his head. "No, don't "hey" her. You need to go," He lashed out.
"Nix, calm the hell down," Luke took a step between them as my dad's face twisted in confusion, trying to figure out what was happening.
"Phoenix, who are you yelling at?" Aunt Sophie came into the entryway with my mom, Aunt Ava, Uncle T, and Uncle H behind her looking worried. "Oh, hello," She said awkwardly when her eyes fell to Chase.
Chase's face turned bright before raising his head towards our parents. "I'm sorry for stopping by unannounced, but," He paused, finally making eye contact with Phoenix. "We need to talk."
He scoffed loudly. "Talk about what? You being friends with someone that almost killed my fucking girlfriend? Yeah, ha, maybe we should have a chat."
Uncle T made his way beside Nix and me. "Son, you need to take a breath."
"Just listen to what he has to say," Luke insisted.
Phoenix cocked his head to the side. "How did you know we were here at Scarlett's house?" He asked Chase.
Luke and him shared a look. "I..um..I," Chase was having a hard time mustering up the words.
"I told him," Luke chimed in.
Our eyes were now glued on him in surprise.
Phoenix glared at Luke. "Why would you do that?"
"He said he was willing to testify," He tried to explain.
"Really? That's great news," My dad spoke up with a hint of relief in his eyes.
Nix shook his head, trying to comprehend what was going on. "I don't understand. Are you two friends now? You just randomly started opening up to someone that could very well be just as much of a piece of shit as that psychopath, Luke?"
Luke took another step forward. "Shut up. I already told you that Chase wasn't like that. He came here to help us, Phoenix."
"Boys, calm down. There is no need for anyone to get so heated up right now," Aunt Sophie said in a stern tone.
Chase walked up next to Luke. "I was the one that reached out to him. He didn't do anything wrong, okay? And I promise I am only trying to do what's right. If you would just listen to what I have to say, then maybe you will understand whose side I am on."
My hand softly grabbed Phoenix's arm. "Babe," I spoke up as his eyes found mine. "Give him a chance. I think he is being genuine. Luke has better judgment than all of us, and if he trusts him, then so do I."
He let out a loud sigh, closing his eyes before turning back to Chase. "Fine."
Luke looked at me gratefully, giving me an appreciative smile. The way he was so quick to defend Chase against Phoenix, who could most likely destroy him with one punch, nearly put me in shock. It was like a flip switched off in him, and he became protective. Kind of like when I felt no other choice but to jump between Phoenix and that brick because I wanted to protect the one I loved most at all costs. Wait...my eyes widened as I looked between Chase and Luke, who stood side by side. Could it be? No, I'm probably reading into things. My brain is obviously still fuzzy.
"Why don't you guys go talk with the others?" My dad suggested. "It might be easier and more comfortable to share with each other first, but we need to know if there is anything we should hear. Especially if it may help with the case against Alex," His voice was serious but lined with understanding.
Chase nodded. "Of course, sir."
"Okay," Nix acknowledged my dad's words.
"Everyone else is over in the movie room," Luke explained. "We can go talk there."
Chase gave him a half-smile. "Sounds good."
"Follow us," I said kindly, taking Nix's hand in mine.
As I pulled him along, Uncle T put his hand on Phoenix's shoulder. "Keep your cool in there. I don't want any fighting."
"I know, dad. It's fine," He assured him.
"Good, good."
Our parents watched us with concern in their eyes as we walked away down the hall.
Once we were out of sight, I glanced back to see Chase walking close to Luke with his hand behind Luke's back, but it quickly dropped down to his side when our eyes met. I cleared my throat and swung my head forward again, feeling awkward.
"You alright?" Nix questioned.
"Huh?" I looked up at him with flushed cheeks. "Yeah, I'm perfectly fine."
His brow raised. "Okay, but you're acting weird."
"Nope, all normal here."
He chuckled. "You are far from normal."
I rolled my eyes as he let my hand go and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "This is going to be a disaster. You know that, right?"
"Let's hope it won't be."
He let out a short laugh. "Mhm, sure."
As we got to the door of our theater room, we stopped and turned to Luke and Chase.
Phoenix spoke up. "I don't know if I really trust you at all right now, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you really are here to help us out. I just hope you prove us all right because what you're about to walk into is a room full of people that care deeply about Scarlett and want to protect her. You may have helped us keep Alex away that night, but we really don't know anything about you. All we know is that you are related to Ty, who associates with an asshole like that. Some of us may lean more on the understanding side, whereas Ryder? I can guarantee that he will be the exact opposite, so just be prepared. If there is anyone that can call out a liar...it would be him."
Chase swallowed nervously. "I believe you."
He didn't seem like he was scared because he was lying, but more like he was scared about confronting my brother. I don't blame him, though. Ryder can be terrifying when he's angry. For a goofy guy, he has one angry side to him you don't want to be on. I would say the same for Phoenix too. I think that's why they are such a powerful duo. I knew not one person who had the guts to mess with them or any of us in high school. They were and still are respected people around here. Phoenix and Ryder are two of the most genuine and strong people that I know. I trust them with my life.
"Chase is not a liar. Now, let's go," Luke said in an anxious tone.
Nix nodded once before he opened the door, and he and I walked in first.
"Finally, we thought you two were never going to come back," Mia said.
"They were definitely hooking up," Jackson chuckled, throwing a handful of m&ms in his mouth.
Lily and Ryder were the only ones to notice our awkward body language in the darkness of the room until I ran over to turn on the lights.
"Hey, what the hell?" Jackson yelled out at the sudden brightness.
That's when Luke appeared, and Chase close behind.
Ryder practically knocked Lily off the couch as he stood up with a serious furrow to his brows. "What the fuck? What is he doing in our house?"
Jackson stood up beside Ryder. "Woah, what is going on?"
Mia and Lily watched in shock.
"Ry, it's okay. Chase is only here to talk," I walked to the middle of the room, hoping to calm him.
His head tilted to the side with narrowed eyes. "To talk? You're literally friends with my little sister's attacker, and you brought him to that fucking party. Talking isn't what I have in mind."
"Ryder," Lily yelled, standing up by him. "Don't."
Chase shook his head. "You have it all wrong. I barely know that guy! I'm not friends with everyone Ty is friends with. I don't even fucking live around here."
Phoenix spoke up. "Your cousin needs better friends."
Chase looked back with a pained face. "I agree."
Ryder slightly relaxed at his words before his eyes were on Nix. "You trust him?"
"No, but Luke does," Phoenix explained.
Mia looked puzzled. "How? You literally only met like twice."
Luke glanced down to the floor before Chase chimed in. "I reached out to Luke a few weeks ago."
"Why would you do that?" Ryder asked angrily.
He paused for a moment, staring back into the eyes of my brother. "I just didn't think any of the rest of you would listen to what I had to say or want to hear anything from me. I had to make sure Scarlett would be okay and that at least one of you knew that I would never think what Alex did was okay. He is insane and needs to be locked away for what he did. I'm not going to stand by and watch a criminal like him walk freely," Chase spoke with frustration in his voice.
Luke piped in. "And that's why he's here. He wants to help us take him down. Chase is going to testify against Alex."
"You are?" Jackson asked, hopeful.
Chase nodded. "Yes, if you'll let me."
"But will that put you in any danger?" The thought suddenly occurred to me.
"Not as much as I think Ty is in," His forehead wrinkled.
Ryder grew concerned along with the rest of us. "What do you mean?"
Chase let out a deep breath. "We should sit down."
Phoenix and I shared a look before he sat down, pulling me down by him. Ryder didn't want to sit because he was still riled up and anxious to understand everything he was in the dark about, so Lily stood beside him in support.
"Go ahead, Chase," Mia softly encouraged him.
He was sitting between Jackson and Luke in the middle of the long couch. He turned to Luke, who nodded in support before he began to talk. "First, I just want to say that Ty knows what Alex did was horrible and that he needed to go to jail that night," He looked around at all of us as we listened intently. "But, the thing is Alex has been in Ty's life since they were kids from what I know. They went to different schools as kids but were on the same little league team, I guess. All that I know about him is that he grew up in foster care his whole life and liked baseball. He doesn't have money or any family around, but I think Ty has felt this need to be there for him because of that."
"Does he have a good-paying job now or something? How could he afford to bail himself out of jail?" Phoenix asked.
"He didn't bail himself out," Chase's words trailed off at the end, but we all heard what him.
Ryder crossed his arms. "Who bailed him out? I swear to god if you tell me who I fucking think it is," His jaw twitched.
"Ty only did it because he is being manipulated by him. He gave him this bullshit that he wanted to change and make a better life for himself."
Lily knitted her brows together. "And he believed him? That lunatic?"
Chase nodded. "Yeah, as I said, he has him thinking he is this person that has no one in life, so Ty feels obligated to be there for him. If he isn't there, then who else will be there to help him? That's what he told me, at least. I tried to fucking tell him he was crazy, but he won't believe me. That Alex Stockton is nothing but a pathological liar, and I don't trust him at all. And now he has my own cousin getting thrown into the mess he is making."
"I can't believe Ty fucking bailed his sorry ass out after what he saw. He watched Scar get knocked out cold to the damn ground by a brick. He knew what happened, and he still went to help him? Friends or not, that's not something I'm willing to forgive or forget," Nix spoke up, shaking his head. "That's betrayal."
Ryder agreed. "If anyone in this room did what he did, you wouldn't see me lifting a finger to bail them out of jail—family or not. Scarlett could have died. Does he know that? My sister could have been taken away from me...away from all of us! Just for protecting Pheonix, and now he's the one protecting a psychopath," Spit came flying out of his mouth as he began to get heated again.
"I know, and I don't think he realizes how dangerous Alex can be. The guy is obviously not right in the head," Chase said. "Ty is blinded by the guilt-trip he's putting him in. He won't even listen to me."
"What about his parents? Your aunt and uncle?" I asked.
Chase turned to me. "They are barely around. Last I knew, they were on some tropical island somewhere. They are never really home, to begin with. Ty has pretty much grown up with the people that work at their house, and that's it. I doubt they would even bat an eye if I told them about this whole mess."
Lily frowned. "That's true. I only met his mom, and that was right as she was headed out somewhere. He never even said a word about them ever."
"That's sad," Mia spoke in a sympathetic voice.
Jackson chimed in. "Damn, you wouldn't have really guessed that whenever you talked to Ty before. He always seemed happy, but that shit sounds hard to deal with."
"That's why I think Ty is having a difficult time opening his eyes. I think Alex was there for him when no one else was, so when he called him from jail, I think he gave him a guilt trip," Chase explained. "I think his head is clouded by the past even though he knows what is right."
Luke turned his head to Chase. "You should tell them what you found out today."
"What?" Ryder's voice became serious.
Chase sighed. "Ty set Alex up with that one lawyer. The man is his parent's lawyer, so he got him to take Alex's case. From what I know, he is fucking good at his job."
Nix sat up, putting his hands together in frustration. "He what? Are you serious?"
"Unfortunately," He said. "Alex came over to the house tonight, and when that lawyer showed up, that's when I knew what was going on. I had an argument with Ty about how stupid he was being, and then I left."
Luke nodded. "I sent him a message about testifying, and then he told me what happened. That's why I invited him here. He isn't lying, and he isn't against us."
Ryder paced across the front of the room, stopping to speak. "This is so fucked," He pushed his fingers through his hair.
Mia tilted her head to the side. "Now what? What are we supposed to do?"
Chase looked at each of us with worry written all over our faces. "I think if somehow we managed to talk Ty away from the ledge he is about to jump with Alex, then we might be able to get him to testify against him, and we would for sure be able to take him down then."
Jackson raised a brow. "How? Sounds like he is already in deep trying to help the asshole."
"Maybe he would listen to Lily?" I spoke up as Ryder shook his head instantly.
"No, not going to happen."
Lily walked up next to him. "Ry, we need to try whatever we can to put this fucker away. If that means talking to him, then maybe I should just try."
Nix piped in. "I think we should all go talk to him."
"And what? Start another fistfight?" Jackson shook his head. "You're crazy if you think he will listen to Ryder after all that."
Chase furrowed his brow. "I agree. He probably won't be too happy about Ryder showing up, but he would probably listen to the rest of you."
"Maybe if he saw Scar and heard about everything from her side that he might start to rethink his insanity?" Luke said.
Lily looked down at me. "Would you be okay with that?"
I nodded. "Of course."
"Then I will definitely be going," Nix added, placing his hand on my knee.
"So, when are we doing this?" Jackson smirked.
"Tomorrow? The sooner, the better," Chase said.
We all agreed on going over to Ty's house to talk to him, except Ryder and Mia. Mia wanted to stay behind with Ryder, so he didn't go insane by himself.
"I think we need to tell our parents," Ryder said. "Maybe they could help if they knew exactly what was going on."
Lily nodded. "Agreed."
Everyone started to get up and head for the living room. Ryder, Nix, and Jackson walked ahead of me as Chase stopped me for a second. I turned around to face him. "Is everything okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I just never had the chance to tell you that I'm sorry for what happened to you and what you had to go through to be back home. You're one strong a girl, Scarlett," He flashed me a sweet smile.
"Thank you, that means a lot," I spoke softly.
Chase squeezed my shoulder. "I'm going to make sure this is right, and you never have to worry about him again."
"I believe you."
"Hey, are you two coming?" Phoenix yelled at the door, playfully narrowing his eyes at us both.
The corners of my lips curved up. "Yes, Nixie."
Chase shook his head, smiling. "I wouldn't have ever stood a chance against him when it came to you, huh?"
"No one ever could."
~~
Ryder, Chase, and Phoenix were talking in my dad's office with my uncles about the situation with Ty and Alex. As they filled them in on what we knew, the rest of us were out in the kitchen snacking until my mom and aunts came back with food from the place I have been waiting to eat at once again with my favorite tacos. Agh, my mouth is salivating at the very thought of them.
Just as I was dreaming about dinner tonight, I saw that Luke wasn't around the kitchen anymore, so I went on a search for him. It didn't take long to spot him out in the backyard, dangling his feet in the pool.
I snuck out back without any of the other rowdy people knowing and joined him.
"Damn, you found me," Luke teased.
My brow raised as I plopped down beside him, dipping my toes in the water. "You were in plain sight. All I had to do was look out the window."
We both chuckled before all you could hear was the sound of noisy little crickets around us. I stared down at my feet, trying to think of what to say to him because something has been on my mind for a while. I just don't know how to even ask him about it. It isn't my place to make him talk about something that he may not want to talk about.
A small, frustrated sigh escaped my lips as Luke turned his head to me, and I looked up, meeting his stare. His face softened. "You know, don't you?"
My brows lifted. "What? I don't know anything!" I shook my head fast.
Luke started to laugh softly. "Scar, it's okay. You don't have to act like you don't know."
"Luke..." I spoke calmly and gently.
"Yeah?" He smiled.
I tilted my head. "Are you and Chase seeing each other?"
He slowly nodded as his face lit up, and almost like relief flushed through him. "Yeah, we kind of are...and I'm really fucking happy."
"So, you like boys and girls?"
"Scar, I have only ever liked guys," He admitted to me before tears started to form in his eyes. "I'm gay," He shook his head. "Wow, that felt good to finally say out loud."
"Lukey," I said as tears fell down my own cheeks, watching his, and I wrapped my arms around him. "I'm so proud of you."
He hugged me back as we just sat there. "You aren't weirded out by it? I was so scared you were going to look at me differently."
I pulled away with a knitted brow. "Luke, who you choose to love, could never change how I see you. You are still the same sarcastic, hilarious, and annoying pain in the ass you have always been. Never fucking hide who you are. You deserve every ounce of happiness in this world. I can't believe you held it in this long."
"I just don't want to disappoint all of them," Luke looked back at the house. "Especially my parents."
My hand rested on top of his as he looked at me. "Your parents love the hell out of you, and when you decide to tell them, they will love you just the same. Don't be afraid to be who you are because of what anyone else may think. When you are ready to tell them, I will be right by your side if you want me to. No matter what."
He wiped a tear from under his eye. "I love you, Scar."
"I love you always, Lukey. Nothing will ever change that."
"I'm actually kind of glad you found out first."
"Me too," I said with a soft smile. "So...tell me about Chase," I wiggled my brows as he chuckled.
The grin on his face at that moment was the brightest and happiest one I had ever seen on Luke in all the years I have known him. He was finally free to be himself...to be genuine. The look I was seeing on him was the one that I wanted to stick around until we were old, gray, and still the grumpiest of best friends. A look I hoped would never in a million years be wiped away.