Three
Two
One...
“You aren’t paying for anything!” she yelled back at me.
She always had to get the last word in; her pride wouldn’t let it go otherwise.
“Okay,” I called back.
There was just no point in having this fight just yet, but there was no way in hell I was going to let her pay. On the other hand, our fights always left me turned on...
CHAPTER NINE
P R S E N T
THEA
“I’m really sorry about what happened to Esther and Hector. Yes, Esther and I broke up, but we never hated each other. And Hector… Hector was my best friend. No one in the world knew me like he did.
“To his parents, who were always like second parents to me, I…I’m so sorry. I never thought that anything like this could have happened, and if I could go back, I would have never had the party. I’m sorry,” Richard whispered in to my mic before stepping back.
He brushed the back of his hand across his face, wiping away his tears. Then, he crossed his hands over his chest and looked down.
Placing my hand on his shoulder, I smiled, trying my best to comfort him. I didn’t want to mess things up for him. For the first time—well, the second time since last night—I realized that this was someone’s life that we were fighting for. As I sat straight and squared my shoulders, I prepared to give my speech to the media.
“Richard Archibald threw a party, one of eighteen, thrown by students at his high school this year. In fact, Richard had thrown a party one week prior, to the incident in question, but no one attended because there wasn’t enough alcohol or drugs for their liking. And so, he made a mistake, all for the sake of fitting in.
“There’s no denying that this was a tragic loss of two young lives, but to lay the blame solely on a sixteen year old boy’s shoulders is not only injustice, but incompetence.
“Since this investigation started, not once has any member of the Boston PD asked for information on the drug dealer, who is, in my opinion, the real killer. He sold a bad batch of drugs to minors, God alone knows how many others fell ill and possibly died because of his distribution. There are still parties being thrown, even now, with kids just like Esther and Hector, who are only one pill away from overdosing. This isn’t a racial issue, this is not about another privileged teen getting away with something. This is about the DA, and the Boston police, trying to make it seem as though they are tough on crime, when in all honesty they are chasing their tails, searching for a scapegoat. That scapegoat will not be Richard Archibald.”
Standing up, I allowed Richard to get ahead of me so that I could whisper to him to ignore all the people and cameras and questions that were being hurled our way. When we entered the house, I took a deep breath as Mrs. Archibald hugged her son, and Levi spoke to his father. Then, I moved into the living room, where Logan and the rest of Levi’s associates were watching the news.
“A little emotional, but not bad,” one of them said.
As I looked around, I noticed Atticus sitting in the corner with his jaw clenched shut.
That was a first.
Looking at me, he shrugged as if to say ‘not bad’. I smiled, knowing he was planning to do everything in his power to regain his lead on me.
“So what happens now?” Mrs. Archibald asked.
Before Levi could answer, one of his associates’ cell phone rang.
“It’s the DA.”
Smirking, he took the phone— “Pete, how are you?” A pause, then, “A three-month stint in rehab? Have you lost your mind? He didn’t even take a pill.”
Everyone was on the edge of their seats, and so was I.
“What do I want? I want all charges dropped and no further action to be taken against my client. That’s the only deal I’
m making, and if not, I will take this matter to court, and you will be forever remembered as the guy who tried to shaft a kid.” He paused once more, and everyone in the room held their breaths.
I was sure that he was deliberately being dramatic, trying to freak us all out and give us heart attacks.