Page 103 of Call the Shots
“There was this man who came to the house with a legal document.” Paisley sniffled. “You’d never do that to us?—”
I interrupted her. “It’s a cease-and-desist because Bear has the support of Marrs University. The letter states if you continue to engage in the illegal distribution?—”
“Illegal distribution,” Wade scoffed. “What are you, his fucking lawyer?”
I jabbed a finger to his chest. “I might as well be Saul fucking Goodman to you because this is harassment and intimidation. If the Marrs legal team catches you further distributing Bear’s personal pictures, wewilltake your asses to court!”
CHAPTER 38
BEAR
CRUSHES YOUR SKULL
Ten minutes ago,I was gaming in my bedroom, volume cranked up because I’d been trying to get June interested in this gardening video game, until I left to find June.
The plan was to grab Montoya for lunch but instead, my teammates circled around us, bristling with anger, Denali was on the phone with the cops, and my insides felt like marshmallow candy, stuck in the microwave for too long.
Wade’s eyes darted to me. “Bear?—”
“No!” June snapped. “He’s not talking to you without a lawyer!”
I’d witnessed June defending others, but I never expected her to defendme.My bones were mush, a feeling I’d never had before. I stopped gawking at her long enough to confirm it to Wade. “I don’t want to speak to you.”
My teammates elbowed each other and moved in, a looming mass that kept catching Wade’s attention.
“Beaaaar,” Paisley whispered. “This isn’tlikeyou.”
June put a hand on her hip. “You think you can be silent, like you’re not involved? Like you’re an innocent bystander? No! You don’t get to talk to him either!”
More of that boneless feeling. I couldn’t look away from June. “I don’t want to speak to you, Paisley.”
Silence settled until campus security walked through. Paisley tried to talk again but June overtook her, asking security to escort them out.
“Yeah!” Elijah shouted, in a weird East Coast accent. “Get thefawkoutta here!”
The rest of the Gladiators joined in or clapped me on the back. They couldn’t all know about my situation—there was no way. Montoya would’ve asked if I knew I had ‘inappropriate pictures’ online or whatever.
It didn’t matter that they didn’t know. I gazed around, stunned, as my teammates shouted them down, following security.
“Fuck off!” Montoya’s voice cracked. My head spun, that was the first time I heard him curse.
I watched June slip into our dorm, like nothing happened. Like this was a regular day. Ears ringing, I followed her in. “June?”
She dragged out a suitcase. “I’m sorry, that was my fault, I can book a hotel room?—”
“No—no, I’m okay?—”
“Are you sure?” She came up with a little tube of antibiotic cream. “I’m so sorry about your hands.”
Hands?
My knuckles were bruised to shit, and I didn’t even feel it. The fight with Wade had been such an instantaneous rush, I didn’t know whose ass I was beating until my teammates stopped the fight. The moment I saw someone with their hands on June, I lost it.
Oh…no.
“You know what, Bear?” June piled clothes into her suitcase. “Icouldbe a lawyer. Why not? I’m getting a political sciencedegree, I had a four-point-oh when I hosted tailgate parties. If Elle Woods could go to law school, so can I!” She paused. “Right? I could go to law school?”
“You’d be the best at it,” I managed.
