Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Lesser evils, he thought tiredly, and he turned his phone off for the rest of the evening.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jeremy
June felt like a bated breath. After two suicides and one near miss, the Ravens’ parents and school board put the rest of the lineup on suicide watch. What they were dealing with was no one else’s business, but of course the press made nuisances of themselves as they tried to track the Ravens’ downfall. At last guess at least sixteen of the remaining Ravens had been committed to full-time inpatient care, and Lucas confirmed Grayson was one of them.
The conversation finally shifted away from the Foxes and Trojans back to the Ravens’ spiraling issues. The chances of the Ravens recovering in time for summer practices were looking slim, but that was such a heartless topic to linger over Jeremy felt ill. Edgar Allan’s Exy staff was also under investigation, but no one could locate Tetsuji Moriyama for comment. The last time anyone remembered seeing him was at the press conference following Riko’s death. Rumor had it he’d returned to Japan, but where he’d gone from there was anyone’s guess.
For the first time ever, someone managed to get a microphone in Ichirou Moriyama’s face. Jeremy had almost forgotten Riko was survived by an older brother. There’d been a short piece about him back when Kengo Moriyama died, but Ichirou was generally good about staying as far away from the press and public eye as possible. Jeremy studied his young face as he regarded the press with calm contempt. He was jarringly handsome and perfectly dressed in a suit that screamed obscene wealth. Seemed business was good despite the recent tragic loss of the company’s CEO.
Movement in the corner of his eye warned him Jean had entered the room at some point. He stared at the TV now like he’d seen a ghost, and Jeremy wondered if it was easier for him to see Riko in Ichirou’s features than Jeremy could.
Jeremy meant to say something, but he was trying to hear. Ichirou himself didn’t address any of the questions thrown his way; the woman at his side handled everything on his behalf. No matter how many ways it was approached, the answer was the same: Tetsuji’s current whereabouts were not Ichirou’s business or concern. Ichirou had no insights that could assist the ongoing investigations and no interest in helping. All he wanted to do was run his company and focus on his recent engagement. Jean gave a hollow laugh at that last bit and left the room.
Kevin hadn’t been a Raven in over a year, but Jeremy still checked in with him to see how he was holding up as his former team fell apart. Kevin was less interested in their problems than he was his own: the Ravens’ fans had been making his life a living hell so far this summer. Now that they were fretting over the Ravens’ issues he could finally get to work in peace.
His single-mindedness was familiar enough to be reassuring, but Jeremy wondered if he ought to push for a more honest answer. There had to be more to it if Kevin was still refusing all requests for an interview. Kevin knew how much influence and power he held, but he didn’t have the stomach or the strength to put on his public-friendly face right now. Jeremy ached for him, but there was only so much he could do from the other side of the country. In the end he decided to trust Kevin to the Foxes’ care.
It was a necessary sacrifice, because Jean required significantly more of his attention. Jean wasn’t the liveliest of personalities on a good day, but he was noticeably more withdrawn in the weeks following Colleen’s death. Jeremy was glad the coaches had forced him into therapy, even if Jean had picked a long-distance psychiatrist, but there was no quick fix for what Jean was dealing with.
Jeremy wondered if he’d ever really understand Jean’s relationship with the Ravens, but every time he thought of the fallen team he felt ill to his stomach. It was too much to work through, with too many missing pieces still.
Jeremy, Cat, and Laila did what they could to keep Jean out of his head, but their grip felt slippery at best. The most present Jean felt was when they were able to haul out Jillian’s old queen bed and replace it with two twins. Jean was so satisfied by the new setup he even tolerated another shopping trip to replace his bedding without hesitation or complaint.
Jeremy was less sure of the arrangement, since he wasn’t used to sharing a room for more than a quick hookup, but the bed was a step up from the couch and Jean was eerily quiet at rest. Silent, but not restful. It wasn’t until Jeremy moved into his room that he realized how often Jean jerked awake from nightmares. The first time it happened he slurred a sleepy query that Jean immediately dismissed. After that Jeremy resigned himself to simply watching as Jean balled up in bed and relearned how to breathe.