Coastal Runaway (Coast to Coast #1)

Twenty-Three

twenty-three

Keegan

I felt numb. As soon as I got home I collapsed on my bed and let it all out. The frustration that I felt about Sinclair exposing private photos. The hurt that I felt about embarrassing my family. The fear that I felt regarding opening my heart up to Luke. The disappointment that I felt knowing that I let down those who looked up to me through my accounts.

A scandal like this threatened to ruin the business that I worked hard to build. It all crashed over me like a tidal wave threatening to pull me under.

I was sobbing into my pillow when my phone rang, “hello?” I sniffled.

“Hey, Keegs, it’s Joe.”

Joe was our family lawyer; my dad had him on retainer for as long as I could remember. He’s done his fair share of bailing my siblings out of sticky situations, but this was the first time I’ve ever had a call with him. Until now the only time we ever spoke was polite conversation at corporate events or a brief hello when he was leaving my father’s office.

“We’re going to take care of this,” Joe explained, and I nodded even though he couldn’t see me through the phone, “I already have the team scrubbing the internet to have the pictures taken down. Mr. Sinclair will be served with a restraining order and a lawsuit for non-consensual distribution of intimate images. The boy will be lucky if he isn’t expelled.”

I scoffed, “don’t worry, his daddy will pay to make this all go away.”

“Don’t be so sure. They may have money, but we have more.”

“Okay.” My voice sounded so small that I didn’t even recognize it

“If he continues to harass you then we can also file criminal charges for revenge porn. We might not have complete evidence, but a mark like that on his record would certainly cause some damage.”

“Hopefully it doesn’t come to that,” I sighed, “and Joe? Can we not tell my dad about this? At least not yet?”

“Let’s just get this handled, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks Joe.” I hung up and collapsed to cry into my pillow.

Once the tears dried, I dragged myself to the media room and locked the door. I curled myself into a ball with the intention to watch sappy rom-coms for the rest of the day. One, by one, Nolan, Aiden, and Maeve tried knocking, but I didn’t open the door. I couldn’t face them. No matter how hard I tried, I seemed to always find myself making the worst decisions possible.

Another knock sounded from the door. I ignored it.

“Keegan, let me in,” Luke pleaded in a gentle tone, “please, baby.”

I unwound myself from the couch and tentatively opened the door. I knew that he would be ashamed of me, but I also knew that I should face him. I opened the door and he surrounded me.

I crumpled into his chest, bursting into tears as we collapsed to the ground. He pulled me into his lap and tucked my head under his chin, rocking back and forth cradling me.

“Shhhhh, it’s okay. I’m right here,” he whispered, peppering kisses on the top of my head.

I choked on a sob. “I’m sorry.”

His brows furrowed, “you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I’m so stupid for sending the pictures in the first place.”

“No you’re not. You were in a committed relationship, and he took that and exploited it. That’s on him, not you.”

I nodded my head and let Luke scoop me up as he stood and headed for the couch. He placed me on his lap and grabbed the remote without letting me go.

He scrolled through all of the streaming apps before pressing play. At the sound of the familiar intro music I tipped my head up. I hadn’t dared watch this movie since the day that I walked out on my life in Connecticut.

“You remembered.”

“I could never forget.” He kissed my lips gently, “no matter how stupid it is.”

A laugh bubbled out of me. Being surrounded by Luke’s signature smell, I could feel the tension lifting. Luke always had the power to put me at ease. It was wonderful and terrifying at the same time. Pushing my fears farther down, I settled into him and we watched She’s All That just like we had so many times before.

We joked and laughed the entire time, taking a few breaks in the middle for him to stick his tongue down my throat, and as the credits rolled, Luke shook his head, “I forgot how cheesy this movie is.”

“Don’t act like you don’t love it,” I giggled.

“What now?” He asked.

I stood, stretching my arms above my head, “hmmmm, I’m starving.”

“Chinese is already on the way.” He always had a way of knowing exactly what I needed.

“Did you get crab rangoons?” I put my hands together and peered at him hopefully.

“I’m not new here. I got two orders.”

I squealed and launched myself into him. He laughed and put his hands under my knees positioning me to straddle him.

He peered down at the Hartford Prep Football hoodie that I was currently swimming in. He lifted the right arm looking for the small tear in the elbow, “This is mine… Wait, I haven’t seen this hoodie in years.”

That's because I took it. Well, I didn’t take it, but I found it in the trunk of Baby Blue when I unpacked the car after getting to Malibu. I would take the secret to my grave, but on some of my loneliest nights here, I would put it on and get lost in my memories.

I gave him a sheepish smile, “is this yours? I thought it was Nolan’s.” I lied.

He started tickling my ribs, causing me to squirm in his lap, “you're such a dirty liar! You know that I ripped that sleeve while chasing you through the backyard that time you ambushed me and Nolan with a water gun filled with fish oil.”

“Good times,” I laughed uncontrollably until he finally stopped. I was huffing deep breaths as he stared directly into my eyes.

“You had it all this time?” He whispered.

“It’s always been you,” I whispered back.

In this moment, hidden from the world in our little bubble, I meant it.

The doorbell rang declaring our food had arrived so we headed down to get it. I knew how terrible I looked: red rimmed eyes, puffy nose, and a rat’s nest for a bun on the top of my head. But, I didn’t care. Nolan spotted me and came running, scooping me up and spinning me in a hug.

“She’s alive!” He yelled dramatically. He placed me back on my feet and looked me over as if I just sustained life threatening injuries.

“You're literally so dramatic.” I rolled my eyes.

Luke came sauntering back into the kitchen with enough Chinese food that we could feed the entire football team. He started laying it out on the counter and called over his shoulder for Alexa to play my favorite playlist, Songs That Make College Girls Dance .

Nolan grabbed my hand and started twirling me to the sound of Teenage Dream by Katy Perry. We all laughed and sang our hearts out in the middle of the kitchen until we settled in with plates piled high with food. As I looked over at the two boys who I loved more than anything in the world, my distress felt like a distant memory.