Watching Them Burn: My Rebirth Story novel · Chapter 19 of 24

Chapter 19: Not for Sale

Luka's POV

On Friday, the night before Homecoming, Dane's father sat in the bleachers and waited for me to finish the closing laps.

I saw him when I came up for air at the shallow end.

Gray suit, platinum watch, one leg crossed over the other, in a building that smelled of chlorine.

I got out of the water and picked up my towel.

"The pool's closed," I said.

"I'm a donor. I'm allowed to sit where I like." He patted the bench beside him. "Come and dry off, Mr. Hanlon. I'd like to talk about your future."

I stayed standing.

He opened a leather folder and held out a single sheet.

"The donor scholarship you were promised two years ago. Full tuition, room, a stipend. Reinstated, effective this term, with back pay for the semesters you covered yourself."

I read the number.

It was the exact amount I had paid for two years of double shifts and skipped meals.

"There is also a sponsorship," he said. "The Foundation will fund your training for the national trials. A coach, a travel budget, a name on the pool wall."

I looked at the page for a long time.

I had wanted every word of it, once.

At nineteen I had lain awake doing the math on that scholarship until the sun came up.

"What do you want for it?" I said.

"A small thing. You have a recording on your telephone. You obtained it improperly, from a minor's account on a platform my Foundation partially owns."

"My brother's account."

"His account." He smiled. "I would like the file, and every copy you've made. And I'd like Miss Aldrich to be elsewhere tomorrow evening."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Of course you do." He did not raise his voice. "The server archives are cleared every two years. Routine. As of Wednesday, your phone holds the only copy of that night in existence."

"So you're not here to buy me a scholarship. You're here to buy the evidence."

"I'm here to be generous."

"You took my scholarship once."

"A donor decides where his money goes."

"You gave it to a kid from your club. I never proved it." I folded the towel in half. "Now you've put it on a page and you're offering it back with a bow on it."

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