High Horse (Arcadia High Anarchists Book 0) by Max Henry

Author:Max Henry [Henry, Max]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance
Publisher: Max Henry
Published: 2020-06-09T18:30:00+00:00

“The case is going to court.”

Six words from my mother that shake me to my core.

“Why the hell for?” Colt booms beside me. “He was cleared of culpability, wasn’t he?”

“Not officially.” My mother strides before us, back and forth, her gaze never once settling on her children. “Our lawyer will negotiate a plea bargain.”

“A plea bargain?” I echo. “Doesn’t that mean he accepts guilt for what happened?”

“It means he doesn’t position himself either way.”

“It’s bullshit.” Colt erupts from the seat, causing my end of the sofa to shudder. “If he didn’t do anything, then it shouldn’t need to go to court.”

“Colt Matthias,” Mum warns. “Watch your tongue.”

“What is he charged with?” I ask quietly, hands shaking uncontrollably on my lap.

All I want to know is if he’ll come home after the judgement is handed down or be locked up in a place he doesn’t belong.

Mum sighs; her golden chains glimmer around her neck with the movement. “The official charges don’t matter. What matters is that you hold your heads high throughout this case.” She eyes each of us in turn; Colt refuses to show any interest in what she has to say. “People will talk. Assumptions will be made, and it’s your place to carry the Williams name with pride and honour so that none of these people have reason to be proven right.”

Colt spins from where he’d been at the window. “It won’t matter if he’s proven innocent or guilty; the damage would be done.”

Our mother pins him with a hard stare. “We can recover from this.”

“Unlikely.” My brother returns to staring petulantly out the window. “People don’t forget easily around here.”

“When?” I murmur.

Our mother shifts her attention to me. “When, what?” The look I find in her eyes isn’t an emotion I like one little bit: burden.

“When will Dad’s case be heard in court?”

“I’m not sure as yet. It will depend on how long the prosecution feels they require to put forward their best argument.”

“In other words,” Colt mumbles. “How long it’ll take them to go through our records and find what they need.”

“What are they looking for?” I scoot to the front of the seat, eager for an explanation around this.

Neither Mum nor Colt seems willing to oblige.

“Who knows about this already?” Colt strides toward Mum. I can damn near feel the frustration radiating off him where he stands an arm’s length from me.

“I only know of the Mayberry’s and the Fellows.” Mum settles a hand to her throat. “I’m unsure how far the whispers have spread from there. If you’d like Monday off school—”

“No.” I won’t hide away in fear of what others think of me. “We need the routine.”

“Maybe you do,” Colt mutters.

“We both do,” I stress, holding his angry gaze. “The more normal our day is, the better we’re equipped to handle this disruption.”

“Exactly.” My mother seems proud. “That is exactly how a lady handles such affairs.”

Is that why she remains so steadfast in the face of upheaval?

“And what will be the outcome of the plea bargain?” Colt asks quietly, his back to the room.

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