I know Tommy is his brother so naturally he wants to defend him, but everyone knows what Tommy did.

The part he played in Liam’s death.

Stone points to the door. “That family is what’s wrong with me. I’m tired of them acting like they own this town. They barged in here like animals and started with me for no reason.” He gestures to Mr. Gonzales. “Accused him of sleeping with a teenage girl and then assaulted him.” He balls his hands. “His bitch sister even admitted she lied about the whole thing and he still beat me up. That guy is a damn quarterback. Do you know how his punches feel? I probably have permanent brain damage.”

Despite the two black eyes and split lip Stone’s sporting, that doesn’t sound like Cole…well, not exactly.

Something must have triggered him.

He doesn’t just lash out at people for no reason.

Okay, he does. But still. Something doesn’t feel right.

“You didn’t say anything to provoke him?”

“Nope.” Stone crosses his arms. “Nothing he didn’t deserve to hear.”

Well, that’s reassuring. Not.

Mr. Gonzales waves his hands around. “No pay off. He pays in jail.”

Oakley and I exchange a nervous glance.

“Please, Mr. Gonzales, Cole isn’t like that.” I gesture to myself. “I was the one who lied and told him I was here. He was defending my honor.”

Well, sort of. I might have lied about being Izzy, but I definitely didn’t make him believe I was fooling around with my boss. Gross.

Mr. G narrows his eyes. “You, late girl. Now you fired girl.”

Holy shit. “What? That’s not fair.”

Stone comes to my defense. “Sawyer had nothing to do with this. Don’t fire her because of some douchebag. She’s the hardest worker you have, and you know it. This place will fall apart without her.”

He mulls this over for a minute. “Suspended for one week.” His eyes flick back to me. “Without pay.”

I’ll take it.

He waves his arms again. “But no boyfriend here. Ever.”

“I will make sure he never steps foot inside here again. You have my word.”

Oakley’s dad clears his throat. “Now that we’ve got that resolved, can we talk about the issue of pressing charges?”

“Yes.”

“Great. So you accept Mr. Covington’s deal?”

He shakes his head profusely. “No.”

Stone smiles and the three of us groan.

Oakley steps forward. “Look, I’m not defending what he did, but you’ve been our age before, you know how it is. Sometimes we do shit without thinking it through. But, Cole isn’t some hoodlum who came in here to cause trouble. He was concerned about his girlfriend. He thought someone was taking advantage of her. He shouldn’t have punched you, but he’s far from a bad guy.”

Mr. Gonzales makes a face. “She’s the bad one.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. I’ll never understand why this man hates me so much.

“That may be true,” Oakley says, shooting me a warning look not to argue. “But Cole was trying to protect her. Like any good man would do for his woman. Like I’m sure you would do for yours.”

“Was that before or after he turned my face into ground meat for no reason?” Stone argues.

Oakley snaps his fingers. “Pipe down, little man.”

“Little man? I’m a sophomore. Hell, I probably have more hair on my balls than you.”

Oakley crinkles his nose. “Given those pictures of you that got leaked, I seriously doubt it.”

“That was because that stupid cunt—”

Oakley claps his hands. “Hey. That is enough out of you, little boy. Go home. It’s past your bedtime.” He turns back to my boss. “Don’t punish Cole for a mistake he made with good intentions. He’s a stand-up kid. Goes to a good school. Works his ass off playing football. Gets good…well, he gets grades. But most importantly, he’s never been in trouble before. Does that really sound like some menace who deserves to be put in jail over a misunderstanding?”

Damn. Oakley’s good.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see his dad beam with pride.

After what feels like an eternity, Mr. G speaks. “No jail.” He looks at Oakley’s dad. “Five-hundred thousand. I want to open a second store.”

He holds out his hand. “Consider it done. I’ll let my client know and he’ll wire the money to you.” Grinning, he juts his chin at the cops. “Go home, boys.” He looks at Oakley. “Got a minute to talk?”

“Sorry, can’t. I have—” Oakley turns to me. His eyes are pleading with me to bail him out.

“Cole’s at Christian’s and needs us to come pick him up. Oakley drove me here, otherwise I’d do it.”

Mr. Zelenka’s jaw tightens. “You have two more weeks with that car, Oak…unless you come home.”

“You said that two weeks ago.”

“Oakley,” I hiss.

This is not the way to win an argument.

Not to mention, I really want to see how Cole’s doing.

“Bianca said Cole’s not feeling well. We should get going.”

Oakley whips out his keys. “Let’s go.”

I scan the party for Cole the second we walk through the door.

I don’t find him, but I do spot Bianca dancing with Hayley.

“Hey. Where’s your brother?”

Her eyes become saucers. “You’re here. Why? I told you not to come.”

“I need to see Cole.”

She laughs nervously. “Not tonight you don’t. Trust me.”

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out something is seriously wrong.

“What’s going on?”

“He’s…having a bit of a rough night. And if he was sober—which he most definitely is not—I really don’t think he’d want you to see him like this.”

My chest tightens. “Why?”

Grabbing my wrist, she drags me off the makeshift dance floor. “Please don’t put me in a position where I have to choose between my brother and my friend, because it won’t end well for you.”

“I don’t understand—”

“Go home, Sawyer. Trust me.” She looks down. “And when you get to school on Monday, try to ignore the rumors.”

My stomach flips. “What rumors?”

She holds my gaze. “My brother has feelings for you. But right now, he’s drunk and hurting. Being a stupid boy—”

The queasy feeling in my stomach gets worse. “Where is he?”

She shakes her head. “No. I won’t—”

“He’s out back in the hot tub,” Cortland interjects with a smile. “You should probably go check on him before he drowns.”

“What?”

Pushing past them, I rush out the patio doors.

The organ in my chest shatters like glass when I see him.

Or rather…them.

Cole’s eyes are closed and his head is resting against the ledge. There is a large cup in his hand and a few empty bottles scattered around the outside of the tub.