I had a bad feeling about today. I've been having a bad feeling ever since Friday night after the meet at OHSU when I asked Everest what it was that she needed to tell me. By the look on her face, I wasn't supposed to overhear the conversation she was having with Peyton. Everest is good at almost everything but the thing she's definitely not good at is lying. I know her a little too well by now to know, that there was something behind that little white lie and I needed to know what it was.
At the moment I didn't want to press for details, Ev very guarded and it takes time for her to open about everything, even the little things. It didn't take much time for me to confirm my suspicions, the whole bus ride back to campus Ev's mood had completely changed. She was very distracted and the beautiful smile she always had plastered across her face was missing.
I was busy training all weekend, the qualifiers are only weeks away had plans to go out with Peyton and Dant but she ignored all of my texts and calls. When Peyton came over last night I asked her about it but she wasn't much help either.
I was getting ready for Emerson's class when my phone buzzed, I picked it up from my nightstand, it was a message from Ev. We need to talk. Let's meet after Emerson's class near Webster Hall. It read. Instead of replying to her text, I called her but before the phone rang for the third time she had hung up on me. I won't deny that this is frustrating as fuck. I just wish Ev would just come and talk to me. Ghosting me isn't going to resolve anything if there is something that actually needs solving.
Shrugging some of the frustration I grabbed all my things and I headed downstairs. O'Connor and Dant were playing FIFA in the living room. "Are you headed off to class already?" Dant asks and I nod.
"Yeah," I reply. "I want to see if I can catch Ev before class."
"Is she still ignoring your texts and calls?" O'Connor asks and I nod. "Do you think Inez has something to do with it?"
I instantly shake my head. Inez is not that type of girl. We ended on good terms. "You sound positive that she wouldn't do anything, you did leave her for Everest after all. I would be bitter if I were her."
"Dant has a point Connery, bitterness, and jealousy can make anyone do anything," O'Connor adds.
"I'm pretty sure Inez had nothing to do with it," I repeat myself. "The glimpse I caught off of that conversation had nothing to do with her and everything to do with Ev."
"She'll come around then if you're right," O'Connor says. "Just give her time."
I shrugged. "I'll see you guys later in class then."
I walked out of the house and as I was making my way to my car, my phone began to ring. Tommy was calling. What is it that he wants now? Whenever he calls it usually is nothing good. "What do you want?"
"What's up with the attitude?" Tommy asks. "Did you wake up from the wrong side of the bed this morning?"
"I'm not in a good mood Tommy, don't try me," I warn. "You never call and when you do, all you do is ask for favors. I'm busy."
"You're the last person I would ever call given the situation I'm in, but I'm desperate."
In what kind of trouble did he get himself into this time? "What the fuck did you do this time Tommy?"
"I got picked up last night for drinking while driving," I heavily sigh. "Maddox called in a favor and they released me, but I need you to pick me up."
"I told you I'm busy Tommy," I say getting into my car. "I have class and I can't bail."
"C'mon man," Tommy complains. "I've already used my one phone call on you, trust me, I wouldn't be asking if I had someone else that could come to pick me up."
"Fine, but let it be clear that you owe me, Tommy Scott," I say turning on the ignition. "What precinct?"
"Bowling Park Precinct," Tommy replies.
"I'll be there in fifteen."
Before driving off to the precinct I texted Everest that I wasn't going to be able to make it. Can we talk after practice? Something came up. I can't make it to Emerson's class. The precinct wasn't that far from campus so I was parked in front of the precinct waiting for Tommy to walk out of the police station. It wasn't a long wait, thankfully, because in just a few minutes Tommy walked out and was walking towards my car.
"Thank you for picking me up," Tommy says getting into my car. "The boys were busy today and I would rather be buried alive before I ever ask my dad to come to pick me up. I'm in enough trouble with him as it is."
"I wonder why," I tell Tommy giving him a look. There's a reason why Conrad threw Tommy out of the house and it definitely wasn't for drinking. "I would've loved to see the look on your face if I had called Conrad to come to pick you up instead."
"That's real funny Connery," Tommy glares. "I would've loved to see you try though, you would've been a dead man just for pulling that kind of stunt."
I laugh. "Where do you want me to drop you off?"
"You want to get rid of me so soon?" Tommy asks and I nod.
"Unlike you, I actually have places to be Tommy. Important places, to be more specific, I don't spend my days fucking around as you do."
"You mean that you have to go back to your boring life," Tommy says and I roll my eyes. "I may fuck around, but my life is way more interesting than yours, that's for sure."
"I wouldn't call being high and drunk almost every day an interesting life," I tell Tommy. "You better start getting your life together, your buddies aren't going to bail you out every time you get into trouble. And the more favors you ask Maddox, the more you owe him. You know what happens when you don't pay up."
"You end up just like Fai, buried six feet underground." I flinched at the mention of Fai's name. My mind instantly traveled to that night. "But don't worry about me, I can take care of myself and Maddox knows he can't touch me."
"I find that hard to believe," I tell Tommy. I don't know who the hell he thinks he is. Maddox can touch whoever the fuck he wants, period. That's one of the many reasons why I keep going back to Laguna Seca. "What could you possibly have on him?"
"Information, valuable information," Tommy replies. "And don't ask, it's none of your business little bro. You're in enough trouble with Maddox as it is."
"I wasn't going to ask anything," I reply. "As you said, it's not of my business, and I would love to stay out of the mess you're in. Especially if it involves Maddox."
"He's not that untouchable Connery, if you knew what he hides you would've walked away a long time ago. Fai was just stupid." Tommy says. "What I would like to know is if you're still going out with that chick."
"You mean the chick that broke your nose?" I ask.
"Yes, your mom said you brought a girl home so I imagined it was her." Tommy pauses. "I would've loved to see the look on her face when she found out we're brothers. Too bad I had to miss out."
"Stepbrothers and she would've probably broken your nose again," I say and Tommy rolls his eyes. "You were being a dick to your side piece of the week, you had that one coming."
"She's a real piece of meat, that girl." Tommy pauses. "The things I would do to her if you didn't already have dibs on her. It's too bad, I'm pretty sure she would enjoy herself more with me. She lacks taste that's for sure."
"Stop talking shit Tommy," I roll my eyes. "And please keep her out of your little fantasies. They're fantasies for a reason."
Tommy laughs as we pull up to the house. " I will give you one piece of wise advice before I leave. Keep your precious little girlfriend on a tight leash, Connery," Tommy warns. "She's messing with the wrong people and they won't hesitate to teach her a lesson or two."
I looked at him confused. "What do you mean by that Tommy?"
"You're asking the wrong person Connery," Tommy replies. "Ask her."
What the actual fuck was going on?
.
For the rest of the day, my mind kept repeating the last conversation I had with Tommy. I was more confused than ever before and I needed answers. Answers that I hoped Ev would give once we met after practice. If it had anything to do with Tommy, that would explain why she was acting so weird. But then again, what would Ev had to do with him or any of the people he associates himself with for that matter?
I was walking out of my Organic Chemistry Lab when all I could hear were whispers about an article. It surely had to be something truly interesting if the people on campus were so invested in it. No shade thrown, but the school paper isn't that interesting, to begin with.
As I made my way through campus I spotted a very familiar figure standing near a bench on the campus square. Inez. Once she spotted me she waved at me and gave me a sweet smile. If she hadn't noticed me I would've just walked past her, but now it would just be rude if I didn't stop to at least say hi. We did end on amicable terms, so there was no reason for me to just be on my way.
"Hey there eagle, you seem to be in a rather strange mood." Inez greets with a smile. Eagle has been Inez's nickname ever since we first met. She never liked calling me by my last name and she considers my first name to be very basic so she started calling me eagle because of the swim team. The Bowling Green University Eagles.
"I just got out of my Organic Chemistry Lab," I reply.
"Ah, I get it." Inez chuckles. "I thought that you were upset because of the article that came out this morning."
I gave her a strange look. "What are you talking about? Why would I be upset over some stupid article? The school paper isn't that interesting."
"You don't know?" Inez gives me a look and I shook my head. "I thought you knew considering Everest played a role in this alongside Peyton of course."
"What does Everest have to do with the school paper?" I ask and Inez hands me her phone. My eyes instantly widened when I read the title. The Macy Kingsley and Emily Cohen Case: Betrayed by the Administration.
Macy Kingsley and Emily Cohen were victims of rape on campus and when such incidents were reported, Chancellor Scott's response was that their traumatic experience was just a hook up gone wrong. With two incidents reported and many more that remain hidden by our administration, why is Chancellor Scott protecting Tommy Scott and the other four unidentified aggressors?
As I continued to read the article I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. This was all bullshit, I've known Tommy since we were twelve. He may be fucked up, but he's no rapist. What the fuck was happening?
Detective Olivia Porter is leading the investigation alongside DA Jared Baron and his intern Everest Green.
As soon as I read Everest Green everything started to make sense, was this her hidden agenda all along? I couldn't believe I actually fell for it. Alongside the article, there was a video attached of the night Everest broke Tommy's nose. I trusted her and she was just lying to my fucking face all this time.
"I'm surprised you didn't know, I never liked her, not for a second." Inez chimes in as I hand her back her phone. "Turns out she was just exactly what I thought she was, a lying backstabbing bitch."
"I have to go." I pause in disbelief. Inez kept talking but I shut her off, I just walked away. I wasn't hurt, I was angry. My blood was boiling. Does she even know what she has done? Putting two people's reputation on the fucking line. She was messing with my family and blood is definitely thicker than fucking water. Everest Green was going to hear me whether she liked it or not.
While I was on my way to the pavilion I had a lengthy conversation with Tommy. I was going to have to do damage control when I got home. My mom was a fucking mess and Conrad was about to lose it. It was all my fault. I was the one that brought her into our home.
Tommy definitely had some interesting details to share. Turns out Detective Olivia Porter and Everest aren't that great at their jobs. Why would a girl who sends explicit pictures call rape the next morning? She was a fucking liar with an agenda. And don't get me started on the girl locked up in a psych ward. She is locked up for a reason.
"What the actual fuck Everest?" I shouted angrily at Everest as I walked towards her.
From the looks of it, she wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from me. By the time she could make the words come out everyone was already staring at us. "I can explain, let me just explain."
"You can explain?" I ask with a sarcastic laugh. "I had to find out about your little fucking article through Inez when it should've come from you in the first place."
"Connery, calm down," O'Connor warns grabbing my arm. "You will end up regretting it if you don't. This is not the time or place to talk about this."
"Fuck off O'Connor," I spit angrily at my best friend. I wasn't going to drop it, she wanted to talk about it. We're talking about it. "Why did you do it? Was this your hidden agenda all along? I trusted you, Everest. I took you to that place because I trusted you and you pull that shit by filming him? Do you even know what you just did?"
"How can you say that? Of course, it wasn't Connery. I would never use you like that. It was never my intention, I found out about Chancellor Scott the night of the charity ball. I swear." She paused. "I was just doing my job." Fucking liar.
"Your job?" I sarcastically laugh again. She was doing her job she says, what a pathetic excuse. "It's sad to see that you call that a job and from the looks of it you don't do yours very well."
I shoved my phone in her face showing her the explicit pictures Tommy had sent me. Her mouth dropped. I bet she wasn't expecting that.
"Look who turned out to be a lying whore Everest, she was asking for it the minute she walked through the fucking door." I spit in anger. In a matter of seconds her right hand connected with my cheek. Fuck.
"Have a little more respect," She spits. "If we were talking about your sister we would be having a different conversation and you know it."
"How would you feel if someone was pinning me down against my will, ripping my clothes off, running his dirty hands all over my naked body while he waits for his buddies to join in on the fun and laugh it off taking turns while I'm sobbing on the bed?" She said raising her voice. "How would you fucking feel Connery? Tell me!"
I cringed at the thought, I couldn't imagine someone touching her like that. I would kill the little fucker for putting his hands on her. But the reality was that we weren't talking about her or my sister.
"Well, we aren't talking about my sister and this isn't about you either." I pause. "Aside from destroying someone's reputation and tearing down a family without knowing the whole truth, you've done nothing."
"You know what, I was so wrong about you Matthew Connery." She pauses. "You're starting to sound a lot like the sorry of an excuse you have for a stepfather. It's pathetic. You're not half the man that you think that you are."
"Everest, just please walk away," O'Connor warns as he grabs her hand but she yanked it away. I could tell that I hurt her, she was on the verge of breaking down and I hated myself for it. But my pride and anger were greater than what I felt for her. "Walk away."
"Mark my words Matthew Connery, I will do everything in my power to get those girls the justice your stepfather fell short of," She spit in anger as she walked up closer to my face. "And if you're waiting for me to apologize for destroying your picture-perfect family, you'll be waiting for the rest of your pathetic life for an apology that will never come, because I won't apologize for doing what's right."
Without looking at me twice she walked away. And I hated myself even more for not going after her. Everyone had watched what had just happened, especially Coach Jennings, he was not pleased. "The show is over, get in the water, now!" Coach shouted and everybody did as they were instructed.
"And you, cool off." Coach said pointing at me. "I suggest you think about it twice before you pull a stunt like this one again Connery, you're in my house."
I had so many emotions controlling me that I didn't know what to do with them. As I walked into the locker room I needed to let my anger somehow so before I knew it my right fist connected with the mirror. "Fuck!" I shouted in frustration.
I sat on the locker room floor for about twenty minutes before I walked out and got in the water. The practice was shorter than it usually was today and after we were done, I was in need of a distraction. I needed to forget about everything for a little bit. So after practice was over I drove over to the one place I usually ran to when I needed to blow off some steam.
The one place I promised myself I wouldn't come back to. I knocked on the white wooden door in front of me and after a few seconds of waiting for an answer, Inez opened the door. "Can I come in?"