Page 106 of His Virgin Romance Series

“That is what I’m trying to explain to you,” I said. “If you’ll hear me out, you’ll know where Brent is.”

That shut both of them up. I started my explanation from the very beginning, but when I got to the part about Brent dealing drugs, that inspired an interruption.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Rachel,” Mom cut in. “My Brent doesn’t do drugs.”

I sighed inwardly. “He wasn’t just doing drugs, Mom,” I said as gently as I could manage. “He was dealing them, as well.”

“No, he wasn’t,” Dad said with absolute confidence.

“There was proof,” I said, as my heart beat rapidly against my chest. “A huge amount of proof, actually. Brent even tried to frame Jared so that he wouldn’t be caught with drugs.”

“Jared… Is he the boy you’ve been dating?” Mom asked.

“Yes.”

“The policeman?”

“The firefighter,” I corrected.

“I’m sure it was him,” she said, without any information. “Police officers are always mixed up in shady affairs. And they meet criminals on a daily basis; he must have set Brent up.”

“What are you talking about?” I said, in annoyance. “Jared is a firefighter! He is not a police officer. And even if he were, it wouldn’t have made a difference. He doesn’t do or deal drugs. The drug dealer here is your son!”

“How can you say that, Rachel?” Mom asked tearfully.

“Because it’s true.”

“This is all just a crazy misunderstanding,” Dad said with certainty. “I’m sure they’ll clear him of all charges in a trial.”

“Brent’s trial took place three days ago, Dad,” I said, deciding to pull off the bandage. “He was sentenced to ten years in prison.”

There was dead silence on the other end of the phone, and then suddenly, I noise erupted. Mom was screaming, and Dad was yelling at her to be quiet because I was obviously joking.

“I’m not joking, Dad,” I said, as loud as I could. “I wouldn’t joke about this. Brent is in prison, and he will be for a long time.”

“Caitlin,” Dad practically had to scream. “Get off the phone so I can speak to Rachel…now!”

Mom’s response was to keep wailing into the phone. I heard some static on the other line and then a click as Dad hung up. Less than a minute later, I heard him wrestle the phone away from her and then the wailing became background noise.

“Rachel, is this a joke?” he asked harshly.

“Not even a little bit.”

“Is it true?”

“Is Brent really guilty?” I said. “Yes, he is without a doubt a hundred percent guilty. The evidence against him was overwhelming and his ‘business partner’ outed him.”

“He could have been lying?”

“But he’s not,” I said. “He had texts to prove that he and Brent were in it together.”

“This is crazy… I…”

“I have the name and number of the officer who handled Brent’s arrest and case. I can pass his number on to you if you have any questions.”

“I definitely have questions—and not all of them for him.”

“What—”

---