Page 85 of The Betrayal You Serve

"With Victor's blood money," Harley adds.

Silence falls over the table for a few agonizing minutes as Kyle accepts everything I assume he's been avoiding, and Kane drowns in the shame of admitting the truth.

"I've walked away and he's pulling everything he's organized for me. Come tomorrow morning, I won't have a place at MKU. It's done. Over.

"You can't just lie down and accept this, Kane. You deserve that place, this chance at a better life."

"Trust me, bro. After the shit I've done the past couple years, I really don't."

"Kane," I sigh, reaching over and squeezing his thigh.

"Mom can fix this, right?" Harley asks hopefully.

"I've asked her to look into it. We don't know just how questionable the scholarship and everything was. It could be a simple reinstatement, or it could be trying to find new funding which is going to take time."

"But the season," Kyle gasps.

"The Dunns already hate me. This is just more ammunition for them."

"They need you, Kane. I watched when you didn't play. They won't get where they need to be without you this year."

"What can I do?"

"Fight. Find the funding. Anything. You can't let this opportunity slip through your fingers."

My stomach knots as we sit here debating the college issue when the massive elephant in the room watches over us.

You don't just walk away from Victor Harris and the Hawks.

Kane is lucky to still be breathing right now, let alone worrying about the Panthers season.

Our food is placed on the table before us, cutting off the conversation as we all begin to eat. I pick at my food, my appetite suddenly vanished as I'm forced to face the reality of this situation.

"So when are you going back?" Harley asks me.

"Um…" I glance over at Kane.

"At the very last minute."

"I've got papers to write. I should probably go back tonight."

"Not happening. You can write them at home."

Home.

It's not my home though, is it?

"We need to make a plan," Kyle pipes up.

"Oh?" Kane asks, throwing a fry into his mouth.

"How much do we pay for our place? Could we find you something smaller in Maddison so you could be close to Letty and then I could find an apartment or something here? I can get a job—"

"Me too," Harley pipes up, which forces a smile onto my face.

"No," Kane states. "Neither of you are doing that. This isn't your problem to have to deal with."

"But it is, Kane. We're family. It's what we do."