Chapter Fourteen
Wade
I didn't hear from Eryn for the rest of the weekend, which was probably a good thing. As much as that kiss had been occupying my thoughts, I understood that it wasn't meant to be. At least, most of me did. The logical part, anyway.
I couldn't be selfish here. This wasn’t about me. I reminded myself that if Eryn were to be with me, not only would she put her entire future at risk, but I'd be putting my own future at risk, as well…not to mention my job.
Florida was meant to be a fresh start for me, a chance to get over the mess my life had become on the West Coast. If I were to start a relationship with my star player, it would just throw me right back into a life of scandal and controversy – and that was the last thing I wanted.
Still, even though I knew all of this, it was almost impossible to get my mind off Eryn. After being drawn to her from the moment I saw her, that kiss had sealed the deal. It had been powerful, intense, and in that one moment, all of my repressed feelings for her – and it seemed her feelings for me – were released and then resolved themselves gloriously. I couldn't remember ever feeling so comfortable with a woman, so right.
Life sure could be cruel sometimes.
Despite that we both understood we couldn’t pursue this thing, in the back of my mind, I was still praying that there would be some way things could work out between us. Not that there was a chance in hell of that happening.
The best thing I could do would be to simply concentrate on my job – and even though that meant seeing what I wanted so badly on an almost daily basis, getting lost in coaching and the game was definitely something that would help distract me from this misery.
*****
Monday afternoon, I walked into practice with my head held high, my mind as focused on the game and training as it could be, and got to work.
The girls were all waiting as I stepped onto the court, warmed up and ready to go. Eryn was there, of course, but she and I both avoided eye contact. Neither of us wanted to make this any more awkward than it was already.
“Girls!” I said sharply. “Before we get started, I just want to say that you all rocked it on Saturday! That game was a killer start to the season. And for that reason, there's no way in hell I'm letting anyone slack off.
“We are going to work even harder than before. You're good, yes, but if you let that go to your heads, you'll get complacent, you'll get overconfident, and you won't be hungry anymore. And do you understand what that will lead to?”
“Losing!” they all replied in unison.
“Exactly. So, I hope you are all ready...ready to get broken down, and then rebuilt into pure, volleyball machines! Are you ready?!” I shouted.
“Yes, Coach!” they all replied.
“I can't hear you. Are you ready for this?!”
“YES, COACH!” they shouted in response.
“That's what I like to hear. All right, we're gonna start out with three laps around the whole area here! And I'm gonna make it interesting! The three girls that come in last get to do 20 push-ups! Got it?”
“YES, COACH!”
“The start is over by the door. And don't worry ladies, I'm not gonna sit here like a lazy asshole on the sidelines and watch you work; I'm gonna get right in there and run with you!”
I jogged over to the start area, and the girls all followed me. “All right, three, two, one, go!” I counted down.
I took off at a steady run and heard the footsteps of the girls pounding the floor close behind me. I started off pretty good; my mind was off Eryn. Well, it kind of was. After all, she was just a few paces behind me, and her presence was almost impossible to ignore.
But I was focused on the run, focused on my breathing and the way my muscles were working, and I was focused on the rhythm of the pace. It was hard to have scrambled thoughts when you were working out with intensity. I started pushing myself harder as the sound of one girl grew closer, getting right up behind me as if she was preparing to pass me. I felt a pleasant burn in my muscles as I pushed myself harder – but then, I wondered if the girl who had pushed until she was behind me was Eryn.
Dammit! Why was this so hard to shove to the back of my mind?
I pushed myself harder, surging forward and breathing hard as I began to out-pace whatever member of my team had caught up to me. I managed to get into a solid rhythm and began surging on ahead. Thoughts of Eryn were starting to fade from my mind as I focused on my rhythm and pacing and how my muscles and lungs were working in tandem.
I grinned to myself as I passed the door once more to mark the first lap down, and began to think that perhaps I should've made this run longer. It was a bit of a relief to be so intensely focused on the run that my mind was clear. I didn't want it to stop.
It did, though – and far more quickly and abruptly than I had imagined it would.
A loud thud sounded followed by shouts from behind me. Several of the girls were calling out, but Leena was the loudest, calling out my name. “Wade! Wade, come quickly!”
I slowed down and turned around, and saw that all the girls had gathered around someone on the floor. That was never a good sign.
“Coach, hurry up!” Leena shouted again.
I jogged quickly over to where they were. The circle of players parted to make a path to the player on the floor. The last person I’d wanted to see was revealed: it had been Eryn who had taken a fall.
“Oh shit,” I muttered under my breath.
I quickly moved the other girls out of the way. Eryn was lying on the ground, gripping her right ankle, her face was twisted with pain.
“What the hell happened here?” I asked.
“I...I tripped,” she stammered, looking around. Something about it seemed like she wasn't telling me something.
“Are you all right?” I questioned her, trying to examine the ankle she was holding.
“I’m going to have to go with not really. My ankle hurts like hell.”
I glanced up and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tammy and Kelly stifling amusement. Something definitely wasn't right here.
“Leena, lead the rest of the girls around the court to finish up those laps, and then do some serving drills. I'm gonna get Eryn over to the nurse's station to get this ankle checked out. I'll be back in 20 minutes or so.”
Leena nodded to me and gave a reassuring look to Eryn. “Come on, girls,” Leena called to the rest of the team, “you heard the coach. We have to keep running.”
They murmured words of sympathy and encouragement to Eryn before they all carried on running. I looked down at her and sighed, my face wearing an expression of worry.
“Can you walk?” I asked.
“I can try.”
“Here, let me help you up.”
I reached down and positioned one arm around her as she wrapped one arm over my shoulder for support. I couldn't deny that it felt amazing to touch her again, even though it was under these circumstances.
She tried to walk on the foot and was able to get along by limping, but she was relying heavily on the support she was getting from me. The last thing I wanted was to take a chance she might injure her ankle further, so I insisted on carrying her, instead.
She didn’t seem to be too keen on the idea, but she didn’t put up too much of a fight, either. She did make me wait until we got into the hallway, though, so none of the team would get the wrong idea, as she put it.
My heart raced a little having her in my arms and close to me. I wanted to kiss her again and tell her it was going to be okay. Instead, I fought the urge and focused on the situation from a coach’s point of view. “All right,” I said as we headed down the hallway, “now you can tell me what really happened back there.”
“Not so sure I want to say,” she admitted.
“Why’s that?”
“We’re a team. I don’t want to come across as stirring up more friction.”
“Look, Eryn, if anyone on my team is causing friction, I’m fairly certain you aren’t the culprit. And, if something’s going on, I need to know. I can’t coach effectively if I don’t. Now, tell me what happened, and be honest. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Fine. Someone tripped me from behind,” she said.
“What? Like, on purpose?”
“I felt a foot kick my ankles together as I was running. It was hard and sharp, and definitely not an accident.”
I nodded. “Any idea who it was?”
“I went straight down and tumbled. All I could see around me were legs.”
“But you have an idea of who might have done it?”
Up to that point, she’d been making a serious effort to look straight down the hall as we walked. I was certain it was because our faces would have been inches apart had she turned.
However, she paused for a moment, then swiveled her head to look at me, and I could see that she knew. The look on her face told me she didn’t want to rat anyone out, even if they had purposely caused her harm.
That look also set off an intense, protective instinct inside me. Seeing her suffer was not something I ever wanted to see again, and I desperately wished that there was some way I could take the pain for her.
“I think I have an idea of who it may have been,” she murmured reluctantly.
“And? Are you gonna tell me?”
She bit her lower lip and looked down. It made me want to kiss her even more.
“Tammy? You think it was Tammy, am I right?” I questioned.
“Yeah,” she replied uneasily.
“I figured so,” I replied. “Do you think anyone else saw it?”
“I don't know, but even if they did, they might be too scared to say anything about it. Tammy can be...vindictive, to say the least.”
“I see.”
We reached the nurse's office, and I knocked on the door. The nurse, an older, plump woman named Millie, came out and gave Eryn a motherly smile.
“Oh no, have you hurt yourself dear?” she asked softly.
Eryn nodded.
“See what's wrong, and let me know as soon as you can please, Millie,” I said to her as I placed Eryn on one of the exam tables in Millie’s office.
“I'll do that. I will take very good care of her,” she replied.
Eryn and I shared one last look before I left her in Millie’s capable hands – a look in which many things went unsaid. I closed the office door behind me and hurried back to the court, a storm of emotions beginning to rage inside me. I was going to get to the bottom of this – and if Tammy had indeed deliberately hurt Eryn, there was going to be hell to pay.
I went back to the court, trying to focus on the practice, but at the back of my mind trying to think of a way to find out what had happened. Close to the end of the practice, I had an idea. I called Leena aside while the girls had divided themselves into two teams and were playing a practice match.
“What's going on, Coach? Have you found out how bad Eryn's injury is?” she asked.
“No, not yet – but I do want to find out exactly how it happened. Because it seems it wasn't an accident.”
Her face registered a bit of surprise at this announcement. “It wasn't? Are you sure?” Leena asked.
“She says she was tripped. She seemed sure of it. Did you see anything?”
“No, I was right out front, just behind you. So, everything happened behind me.”
“That was you, huh?” I gave her a half smile. “All right, well tell me this: where are Kelly and Tammy's lockers in the changing room?”
She looked a bit perplexed by my question but answered me anyway. “They're both together, right at the back of the locker room, by the showers. Why?”
“Probably best for team cohesion if you don’t know. But, I have a hunch that they had something to do with this and I need to find out.”
She nodded as she considered this. “If this was deliberate, that wouldn’t surprise me even a little. So, what are you going to do?”
I grinned. “I have a little plan that I think might work perfectly.”
“What is it?” she asked, curiosity glowing in her eyes. “Can I help?”
“I’m not going to put you in that position. Again, best if you don’t know. But don't say anything; don't act like you suspect them or anything like that. Got it?”
She nodded.
“All right, get back on the court.” She did as I said and hurried back to the team.
“Girls, I'm going to take a quick bathroom break! Keep scrimmaging, I'll be right back!”
“All right, Coach!” several of them replied.
I hurried out, then ran to my office and got my gym bag. I took my phone out, opened the audio recorder app, started recording, and put it in my gym bag. I then took the gym bag, with the phone recording audio in it, out to the hallway where the cleaning lady Elma was mopping the floor.
I exchanged a greeting with Elma to see how her day was and then asked her for the favor I needed. “Elma,” I said, “this bag belongs to one of the girls from my team, she's gonna be leaving early today. Could you just put it on top of the lockers closest to the showers for me? It'll be safe for her there since nobody can see it unless they're looking for it. I’d do it, but, I uh, can't go into the girls' locker room myself, obviously.”
Elma smiled at me and chuckled as she put her mop down. “Sure, I'll do that for you. Have a good afternoon, Coach,” she said as she took the bag from me.
“Great. Thanks, Elma; you have a good one, too. I gotta run back to practice. Bye!”
I jogged back to the court, where the game was still underway. I called Leena over again and spoke to her while the others were busy playing.
“Leena, there's a red Adidas gym bag that's been placed in the girls' changing room, on top of the lockers nearest the showers, where you said Tammy and Kelly would be. Do me a favor and hang around until everyone has left, and then go back into the locker room, get that bag for me, and bring it to my office, all right?”
“I can do that,” she promised.
“Thanks. Get back on the court.”
The girls finished up their game, and then I sent them off to the showers just as Eryn came back into the gym, hobbling along with the aid of a pair of crutches. It wasn’t a sight I was happy about.
“What's the diagnosis?” I asked as she made her way toward me. I walked to meet her to keep her from having to go too far.
“It's a sprain,” she said with a sigh.
“How bad is it?” I asked, looking down and meeting her gaze. Immediately, the spark between us shot through me. She looked down at her ankle to break the connection.
“The nurse said I'd have to take a week off. She wants me to go get an X-ray just to be sure, but said she didn’t think it was too serious, luckily.”
“All right, I'm glad to hear that. Well, you'd better take her advice and take it easy. Are you good to drive home with your ankle like that?”
“Since it’s my left ankle, I should be good. I don't have to press on any pedals, so I'll be okay.”
I smiled what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Please rest, Eryn. Trying to do any kind of anything on that ankle before it's healed is just gonna make it worse and prolong the recovery period. I want you better.”
“I know,” she replied with a sigh, her head hanging low.
More than anything, I wanted to pull her to me, hug her tight, and tell her that it was all going to be okay, but I knew I couldn't.
“Chin up, Eryn. You'll be fine in a week or so. Just go home now and get some rest.”
She smiled up at me, our eyes meeting once more for a brief moment before she looked away again. “All right, Wade. Have a good evening.”
“You, too.” She was moving slowly on the crutches, and for some reason, it crossed my mind she might need help with her gym bag, so I called to her,
“Hey, Eryn! Do you need help getting your stuff to the car?”
She stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “No, but thanks. Leena is going to get it for me. I appreciate it though. I’ll see ya later, Coach.” She never looked directly at me.
“See ya later, Eryn. Take care of yourself.”
I watched her crutch off the court and felt more determined than ever to find out who was behind her fall. Then, I went to my office to wait for Leena to bring my gym bag by from where it had been stashed in the locker room. Hopefully, my secret audio recording would reveal who the guilty party was.
It was gonna be an interesting evening, that much I knew for sure.