Chapter 47 The price
Chapter 47: The Price of a Seat (Liam’s POV)
The weight of the silver flash drive in my pocket felt like a stone pulling me down. I sat in the cafeteria, staring at a tray of food I hadn't touched. Across from me, Jax was loud, as usual, recounting some play from practice. But for the first time in three years, I wasn't listening. I was looking at the empty chair next to me where Chloe usually sat.
She had moved to a different table. She was surrounded by her girls, her head held high, but the silence between us was like a physical wall. The school knew. The "King and Queen" were over.
"Earth to Liam," Jax said, snapping his fingers in front of my face. "You okay, man? You look like you’re waiting for a funeral."
"Just thinking about the History test," I lied.
"Forget the test," Jax laughed. "Chloe told me she’s already got the answers. She said if you just go over there and apologize, she might share. Don't be an idiot, Liam. That scholarship girl isn't going to help you win a championship."
I looked at Jax. I looked at his expensive watch and his smug smile. I realized that if I followed his lead, I’d just be another version of him—a guy who cheated his way through life because he was too scared to fail.
"I don't want the answers, Jax," I said. I stood up, picking up my tray.
"Where are you going? The library is the other way!" Jax called out, but I didn't stop.
I walked toward the teacher’s lounge. My heart was thumping. I knew if my father found out I was doing this, he’d go ballistic. But I couldn't keep the drive. If I kept it, it meant I was still part of Chloe’s world.
Mr. Henderson was sitting at his desk, grading papers with a red pen that looked like it was bleeding. He looked up when I knocked.
"Vance," he grunted. "Come to tell me your father bought a new wing for the school so you don't have to study?"
"No, sir," I said. I walked forward and placed the silver flash drive on his desk. "I found this. I think someone dropped it near your office. I haven't opened it, but I have a feeling it’s the midterm."
Henderson stopped grading. He picked up the drive, turning it over in his fingers. He looked at me for a long time, his sharp eyes searching my face for the trick.
"You’re turning this in?" he asked. "You realize if I change the test now, it’ll be twice as hard? And if you’re the one who 'found' it, people might think you’re the one who took it."
"I know," I said. "But I’d rather fail a hard test than pass a stolen one."
Henderson actually smiled. It was a terrifying sight. "Get to class, Vance. And tell your tutor she has her work cut out for her. I’m rewriting the exam tonight."
I walked out of the office feeling five pounds lighter. But the feeling didn't last long. As I turned the corner toward the lockers, I saw Chloe. She was waiting for me.
"You gave it back," she said. It wasn't a question. She looked at me with a mix of pity and anger. "I saw you go into his office. You really are a fool, Liam."
"I'm done with the shortcuts, Chloe," I said.
"It’s not a shortcut, it’s survival!" she hissed, stepping closer. "My father is already calling your dad. They’re talking about the merger. If you fail this test and lose hockey, your father is going to pull you out of this school so fast your head will spin. You think Elena is going to wait for you when you’re at some strict military school in another state?"
"Is that why you did it? To keep me here?"
"I did it for us!" she cried. "But you’re too busy playing 'hero' for a girl who doesn't even trust you. Look at her, Liam."
She pointed down the hall. Elena was walking with Maya. They were laughing about something. Elena looked different. She looked lighter. She wasn't looking over her shoulder for once.
"She looks happy," I said.
"She looks like she’s winning," Chloe corrected. "And you’re losing. Enjoy the library, Liam. I hope the dust is worth the fall."
She brushed past me, and I felt the cold chill of her perfume. She was right about one thing—my father was going to be a problem.
I met Elena in the library an hour later. Maya was there too, sitting at a nearby table like a bodyguard. I didn't mind. I deserved the scrutiny.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Elena said, opening her heavy History book.
"I gave the drive to Henderson," I said, sitting across from her.
She froze. She looked at me, her eyes wide. "You actually did it? You didn't just hide it?"
"I turned it in. He’s rewriting the test. It’s going to be harder now."
Elena stared at me for a long time. The silence between us wasn't like the silence in the hallway. This one felt like a bridge. I saw her throat move as she swallowed.
"Why?" she whispered. "You could have just kept it as insurance."
"Because I wanted you to know I was serious," I said. I leaned forward, my voice dropping. "I don't want to be the guy you have to hide from. I want to be the guy you’re proud to be seen with."
"Liam..." She stopped, her fingers tracing the edge of a page. "I still don't think this is a good idea. We come from different worlds. My mom is the help in your house. Every time we get close, someone gets hurt."
"Then we'll be careful," I said. I reached out, my hand inches from hers on the table. "One week. Just you and me and these books. No Chloe. No Jax. Just... this."
"And Maya," she added, nodding toward her friend.
I laughed. "And Maya. She’s scary, by the way."
"She’s protective," Elena corrected, a small smile finally breaking through. "She’s the first person in this school who didn't look at my leg first."
"I don't look at your leg first either," I said softly.
Elena looked up, her gaze meeting mine. The chemistry was there again, that electric pull that made the rest of the library disappear. I wanted to reach across the table and kiss her, but I remembered her words from yesterday. I had to earn it.
"Focus, Vance," she said, her voice a bit shaky. "Chapter six. The Industrial Revolution. If you can't tell me three major inventions by the end of the hour, I’m leaving."
"Yes, ma'am," I said, pulling my book closer.
We spent the next three hours working. It was the hardest I’d ever pushed my brain. Every time I wanted to give up, I’d look at Elena. I’d see the way she bit her lip when she was concentrating, or the way she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. I wanted to be better for her.
By the time the sun started to set, my head was spinning with dates and names. Maya stood up and stretched.
"Okay, Vance. You survived day one," Maya said, walking over. She looked at my notes. "Your handwriting is terrible, but at least you actually wrote something."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I joked.
Elena packed her bag. She looked tired, but she didn't look sad. "Same time tomorrow, Liam. Don't be late."
"I'll be early," I promised.
I watched them walk out together. I felt a strange sense of peace. I didn't have the answers to the test, and I didn't have my girlfriend, but for the first time in my life, I felt like I was heading in the right direction.
I walked to my car, humming a song I’d heard on the radio. I pulled out my keys, but as I reached for the door handle, I noticed something tucked under my windshield wiper.
It was an envelope. A plain, white envelope with my name written on it in my father’s sharp, elegant handwriting.
I opened it, expecting a lecture. Instead, there was a single photo.
It was a picture of me and Elena in the library, taken just thirty minutes ago. We were leaning close together, smiling. But the photo wasn't the point. On the back, my father had written four words that made my heart stop.