The Lake (The Lake Trilogy, Book 1) (32 page)

My eyes find Tyler and he is beaming. Behind him I see Luke and Claire who look both pleased and nervous. There are several girls in the room who look disgusted, because
, I’m sure, they have had their sights set on Will, and probably believe they’re entitled to first dibs. Carrie appears to be the most appalled. I don’t even want to imagine what Will had to tell her or, at the very least, lead her to believe, last night. The deal between her father and Will’s father is sure to be destroyed now. Will stands next to me now with his arm firmly around my waist. I feel his hold tighten and turn to see the reason why.

Will’s father is walking slowly toward us. His gait is steady and purposeful. This can go one of several ways. There’s a good chance he’s going to disown Will right there, which would be fine with Will.
Then he’ll put a hit out on me for influencing his son to defect. I have a short vision of his two favorite hit men shuffling me out back of the law firm. Or, without any reason to believe this could actually happen, part of me hopes that Will’s passion inspired Mr. Meyer and softened his heart; that he sees how much I mean to Will and wants Will to be happy. The third, and more probable option, is exactly what begins to unfold.

“Well, well, well! Isn’t this wonderful! It appears my son has been bit by the love bug,” Mr. Meyer says, sauntering toward us, stopping to face us less than an
arm’s length away. Only after he gives his sign of approval does the rest of the room visibly react. Some applaud, and I hear some female voices saying, “That was so sweet.”

It’s creepy, really, the way they held their collective breath, waiting for his lead on how to respond. I guess that’s what happens when you drink Gregory Meyer’s Kool-Aid.

He puts a hand on each of our shoulders and quietly says, “You just made the biggest mistake of you lives.” His tone is eerie, and the look in his eye is evil and determined. I have messed with the wrong family and I’m going to pay for it. Then he smiles at the band and motions them to play. He turns and walks out into the courtyard with the band playing him out.

I look at Will and ask, “What does that mean?”

“It means he’s going to do his homework. He never enters a courtroom unprepared. He’s not prepared to argue his case now, so he won’t say anything,” Will speaks with the same seriousness as he did after dinner with his parents.

“That was a risky move there, Will,” Luke says approaching us. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing? Your father isn’t going to give up.”

“I love her, Luke, and I can’t live like this anymore. Do we have your support?” Will asks, extending his hand to Luke.

“Of course.” Luke shakes Will’s hand firmly, while Claire hugs me tightly.

“Will said his father would do his homework…on me. What does that mean?” I ask, puzzled.

“Layla, honey, Gregory Meyer is very good at what he does. Luke
and I will run through some scenarios of what he might try and…I’ll have something prepared if he comes at you too hard,” Claire says, trying hard to reassure me. “You’re not alone, Layla. Remember that.”

“Way to go, man!” Tyler says giving Will a strong, manly hug. Then he hugs me, picking me up
in the process. “I told you,” he whispers into my ear. He puts me down and I give him a smile of thanks.

“Ok, that’s enough, everyone. I’m going to take my
girlfriend
to get some fresh air.” Will takes my hand and leads me outside and down a short flight of steps that takes us to a trail through the vineyard. It’s peaceful…for now.

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you how beautiful you look tonight,” Will says. “You look amazing.”

“I can’t believe you just did that,” I say, still astonished.

“It was time, and you showed me that. He’s not going to control every minute detail of my life anymore. If we’re in this together, then we can take whatever he throws at us.”

“What do you think he’s going to do?” I’m concerned more about Luke and Claire than I am about me.

“He’s going to dig up anything he can on you, Luke, Claire, the rest of your family. He’ll first try to shame or embarrass
you
into leaving. Is there anything you think I should know about?” He looks at me intently, but reassuringly.

“No, there’s nothing.” I feel better after talking to Luke about my guilt over the accident. Now that he knows how I feel, I’m sure I can withstand any lashings on it.

“What about Luke and Claire?” he asks.

“I don’t know. I guess I should find out
, but they seemed pretty secure in the dirt they’ve got on your dad, no offense.”

“None taken,” Will replies with a smirk. “What about…” He stops himself short.

“What?”

“What about your parents?”

“No, nothing. They were peace-loving hippies.”

“Ok, then. If he doesn’t have anything on you or your family, he’ll have to work harder.
That’s going to frustrate him. He’s not used to it being difficult. Most people have skeletons in their closets that they want kept there,” he says.

“What about yo
u? Do you think he’ll pull out some of your skeletons? You know, to divide us.” I don’t really think there’s anything there, but want to know if there’s more to the demands of dating client’s daughters.

“Well…he might
, but the one I was most ashamed for you to know about already came to light.”

“I’m sorry about that. I was crass and shouldn’t have reacted that way.” I take his hand in both of mine. Knowing what I know about his father I should have been more understanding.

“It’s ok. I should have told you. I was embarrassed. I didn’t want you to think of me that way,” he says.

“I want to ask you something about that, and I hope it doesn’t hurt you,” I say.

Will nods, giving me permission and saying, “I’m an open book to you, Layla. There’s nothing you don’t have access to.”

“Have you…
been with
any of them?” I give him some privacy as I ask by not looking him in the eyes. If he needs a moment to think, I want to give it to him.

He lifts my chin up so our eyes me
et. “No,
never
. Call me old fashioned, but I’ve never seen the point in giving away to just anybody what was meant for just one.”

“How do you do that?” I ask smiling.

“I’m ridiculously charming, remember?” he says grinning.

“Oh, yes, that’s right,” I say mirroring his grin.

We stroll through the vineyard, enjoying our new freedom, however short-lived it might be.

It goes without saying that Will isn’t allowed to drive back to Davidson with us. It’s ok because it gives Luke, Claire, and me a chance to debrief. Claire tries to engage me in girly conversation about my sweet moments with Will, but Luke won’t have it. He begs us to wait
to gush until he isn’t present, and says we need us to be levelheaded. We still have no idea how this is going to play out.

There is a lot of silence on the ride home. My mind runs through everything I can think of that Mr. Meyer might try to
use to destroy me. I’m 17-years-old, what can he do?  Then my imagination begins to get the best of me and all I hear is Marcus’ warning about
unimaginable things
.

“What do you think he’s going to do?” I ask about the man who seems to hold my fate in his hands. “I mean
…he’s not going to…hurt me, like, physically, is he?”

“He’s more of a break-you-down-until-you-can’t-take-it-anymore kind of guy. He usually doesn’t have to get too nasty because the financial payoff is enough to make whatever, or whoever, go away,” Luke answers.

“Well…I’m not going anywhere. What does he expect me to do?” I’m annoyed.

“He expects you to leave,” Claire offers.

“Well…that’s just…I mean…that’s not going to happen,” I say flustered. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I will stand my ground and take whatever Gregory Meyer throws at me. I’ve been to hell and back in my life already, so I’m sure I can handle the Devil himself.

Luke and Claire carry a lot of hushed conversation on the drive home. I turn up the volume on my iPod, letting their conversation remain as private as possible. I don’t want to focus on the potential terror. I want to enjoy having Will and his love. I want to enjoy not having to pretend anymore. I want to enjoy the freedom…however fleeting it may be.
 

*****
 

It’s been months since Will and I took our usual seats at the end of the dock. It’s nice to sit here with him knowing that we aren’t hiding. The moon is full again, the way it had been so many times during our first evenings here
, but the mood is different. Will is distant, and deep in thought.

“He’s right, you know,” he says, breaking the silence.

“Who’s right?”

“Luke. He’s right about my father. He’s not going to give up, Layla. He’s never going to make this easy, and if it looks like it is, it’s a trap. We can’t be too careful,” he says putting his arm around me protectively. It makes the moment feel somewhat normal. Being close to Will always makes things feel better, but there’s something different about it this time.

“Well, we’ll just have to do what we can until graduation, right? I’ve already been accepted to Florida State, and with your grades I’m sure you can still get in. We’ll go to Tallahassee and start over.” I’m hopeful, thinking this is a good idea.

“That’s great idea, in theory, but he’ll never allow it. He’ll block my acceptance into every other college or university
except
Princeton. With his connections, I won’t be able to audit a class at community college. He’d rather see me dead than let me do anything that might taint the perfect picture he’s painted of himself.

“But I’ll figure this out, Layla. I promise. I’m not going to let him hurt you or your family. You are everything to me and I would lay down my life to protect you.” Will holds me tighter and I lay my head on his shoulder. We sit there in the moonlit glow and listen to the water ripple and the leaves of the trees rustle in the wind. This is my happy place, but it’s being tainted by Gregory Meyer. I hate him. I hate what he’s done to Will. I hate how he’s made my personal renaissance his personal fight.

By midweek word has gotten out at school about Will’s very public profession of his feelings for me. There are mixed reviews. Some don’t care any more or less about me than they did before. They happily ignore me as equally as they have from the start. Some are even more disgusted with me and make rude comments as Will and I pass by them. “Slumming it, Will?” some say as we walk through the halls hand-in-hand. But, shockingly enough, some are actually happy for us, although they never make it public knowledge. By the end of the day on Friday I have fifteen notes stuffed into my locker, all with sweet sentiments and praises for our bravery.

“So happy for you and Will. He’s a real catch!”

“I wish I was a brave as you. Well done!”

“You two make a perfect couple. I hope I have as much courage as you one day.”

I’m thrilled to know that my circle of supporters, however silent they may be, extends beyond Will and our four friends. It’s still a weird feeling, though. It doesn’t seem fair that it took an act of heroism for two people to be together. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that life isn’t fair.
 

*****
 

“I have a surprise for you,” Luke says as he knocks on the open door of my room.

“A surprise?” I ask.

“Today is your birthday, or did you forget?” he says.

“I didn’t forget. You just didn’t have to do anything,” I say sheepishly.

“It’s your eighteenth birthday and it’s a big deal. Just get over here!” Luke grins and takes me by the hand and leads me into the kitchen where Will and Claire are waiting.

“What’s going on?” They’re all smiling, indicating that I’m the only one out of the loop. Will pulls a sleep-mask out of his pocket and instructs me to put it on.

“Are we taking naps, because that actually sounds like a great idea,” I jest.

Will smirks and hands me the mask. I do as I’m told and Will takes me by the hand. Even without looking, I know the soft strength of Will’s hand. He leads me downstairs and I realize that today I will finally see the project he and Luke have been working on since I arrived in this life-changing town. I can’t imagine what they could have done down there that would be for me. Whatever it is, I’m already grateful because I know I certainly don’t deserve it.

We reach the bottom of the stairs and Will takes me five more steps ahead and turns me around. It smells fresh and new. The scent of fresh paint and new upholstery fills the room. I feel the tight weaving of Berber carpet under my bare feet. The room is silent except for the excited breaths of Will, Luke, and Claire.

“Before you take your blindfold off, I want you to know how much you mean to Claire and me. This room is just one small way that we can express how much we love you. We know it was a big adjustment coming to live here, and we couldn’t be happier that you did. We hope you love this room as much as we do,” Luke says, starting to get a little choked up near the end.