Chapter Sixteen
Wade
I left Eryn's place the night before feeling weird. For more reasons than one.
On the one hand, of course, I'd been happy about the fact that my plan had worked and I'd managed to find out that Tammy and Kelly were behind her injury. I was still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that Tammy had deliberately tripped Eryn. It was just petty and childish. But, justice would be served. I had every intention of making sure that nothing like that ever happened again on my team.
On the other hand, it had been a little strange to be in Eryn's apartment like that: her home, her personal space, the place where she slept, ate, and went about her life.
I'd felt that familiar tension simmering between us the moment I walked in — that raw, burning desire that we were both trying so hard to suppress. It hadn't gone away on my end, and I felt like it hadn't gone away on hers, either.
There was nothing we could do about it, though. It was frustrating, exceedingly so. I couldn't help wondering if, and hoping, the feelings would resolve themselves over time, wondering if they'd go away. At the moment, it seemed as if they weren’t going anywhere.
All I could do was try not to think about it. I had needed a distraction. When I got home, I’d called the university’s athletic director and discussed the situation with him to make sure I was going about removing Tammy and Kelly from the team in a way that was in line with the school’s protocol.
Once we finished our discussion, I put on a movie and kicked back on my sofa, trying to keep myself distracted. But my mind didn’t stay on the movie. It was on Eryn and the interesting day I knew I had to look forward to. Eventually, I drifted off to sleep.
The first thing I did when I woke up was send Tammy and Kelly a message letting them know I needed to speak with them in my office that morning and coordinated a time they could both meet there. We were scheduled for ten o’clock.
They showed up a few minutes after ten and by the time they did, I had stewed over the situation all morning. I was already teetering on the edge of losing it when I saw them, especially Tammy, who showed up with a flirty, smug grin on her face.
All I could think about was that I was about to wipe that grin right off her overpainted lips. Just the thought of what she had done to Eryn had my blood boiling.
“Sit down,” I said, my eyes cold and my lips tight.
They each took a seat across from me. Dan, one of my assistant coaches, slipped into the back of my office, just as I had asked him to earlier that morning. I needed a witness to the meeting as suggested by the school’s athletic director. Dan stood quietly in the back.
“So, what's going on, Wade?” Tammy asked, glancing over her shoulder at Dan with a confused look on her face. “I hope you’ve called us in here to tell us you're going to be putting us back on the starting lineup.”
I chuckled, truly amused she would even think that was a possibility. “Um, no. That's not what this meeting is about, not at all. In fact, I'm gonna let you two do the talking,” I informed them.
“What?” Tammy asked.
“I don’t understand,” Kelly added. “What do you want us to talk about?”
I put my phone on the desk and played the audio recording for them. I watched coldly as their smug expressions quickly turned to expressions of horror, shock, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d have said even a little guilt.
“Do you two have anything to say for yourselves?” I asked.
Silence.
I continued. “Tammy, you deliberately tripped Eryn, which caused her to get injured. Kelly, you knew about it, encouraged it, and laughed about it. So, I’ll ask again: do you two have anything to say?”
They both sat silent for a moment; neither dared to make eye contact with me. Suddenly, though, Tammy looked up at me with defiant anger in her gaze.
“All right, Wade, so you think you caught us. Well, why don't you tell me, what are you gonna do about this?”
“You’re both being expelled from the team. That’s what I’m doing. Don't bother coming to practice this afternoon. You're out. Pick a new sport, or pick a new university.”
Kelly immediately started crying, but I had no sympathy for her. Tammy, however, remained resilient and defiant. “Ya know, I thought you were cool, Wade. I really did. But now I realize that you're nothing. You're just a washed-up has-been who's old and lame and long past his prime.”
I chuckled dryly. “I feel terribly hurt by your words, Tammy,” I retorted, my tone dripping with sarcasm. “Now leave. And don't come back.”
“I sure hope you’ve saved up plenty of money from your pro career, Wade, because you're going to need it,” Tammy threatened.
“Oh really? And why is that?” I asked, glancing back at Dan who was shaking his head at her behavior.
She grinned maliciously. “My dad is the most powerful lawyer in this county. And when I tell him about what's happened, your ass is gonna be sued for all its worth – and more. You'll be living on the street by the time he’s finished chewing you up.”
I tapped my phone slowly with my forefinger. “I don't care how good a lawyer he is. He's gonna have a real hard time defending this evidence in front of any judge. The school’s athletic director and the athletic board will be receiving copies of the recording. I am following their protocols. So, good luck.”
“Fuck you, Wade,” she spat as she got up. She kicked her chair over and then yanked Kelly out of hers. “Stop crying, you stupid little shit,” she hissed at her. “Let's get the fuck out of this shithole of an office!”
“Have a nice day, girls,” I said flatly to them.
Tammy stormed out, dragging Kelly behind her. She huffed at the assistant coach as she pushed past him and slammed the door shut with violent force. After she was gone, I let out a long, slow sigh.
“That went well,” Dan joked from his position by the door.
“Yeah, about as well I expected, I suppose.”
“Could have been worse. She could have really showed herself,” he chuckled.
I laughed. “I can only imagine. Thanks for sitting in, Dan. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. I’m gonna get back to my office. Call me if you need me,” he said before stepping out into the hall and closing the door behind him.
The meeting had been pretty intense, but I was glad I had been able to deal with it, and that it was over. Next, I had to write up an official report about the incident and submit it along with the recording to the athletic board.
When I was finished, I saved my copy to the school’s cloud server in my folder, printed a copy, and headed out to the university's administration block, a 10-minute walk away, to turn in the report and let them copy the recording for the file.
As I left the sports building, I had the strange feeling someone was watching me. I couldn't quite explain it, but my senses were on edge. I looked around, but didn’t see anyone. Of course, the area between the sports building where the coaching offices were located and the next campus building was fairly secluded, so there wasn’t a lot of foot traffic during the morning hours, aside from a jogger here and there using the paths circling the entire campus.
I was making my way along the path through an area of greenery surrounded by a section of trees when I heard a jogger coming up behind me. Without looking back, I stepped aside to make room for him or her pass.
Then, out of nowhere, a blinding flash of light exploded inside my head with concussive force. My knees buckled beneath me as my senses began to reel. I dropped down as the world swam around me, but somehow, through my shock and confusion, I was aware that I was being attacked.
Another pounding impact smashed into the side of my head, and I saw a young, powerfully-built guy step out in front of me, cocking his fist for another punch. I couldn't see his face because he was wearing a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head and a bandanna wrapped like a mask around his face, covering everything below his eyes.
Even though I was dazed, I managed to duck his wild swing and counter with a sharp right cross that caught him in his right eye.
He howled in pain and jumped back, but the damage his two punches had done to me was significant, and I couldn't maintain my balance any longer. I crashed to the ground, and the last thing I saw was his foot rocketing toward my face. Next, there was a blinding flash of light behind my eyes, and then...nothing.
I didn’t know how long I was out, but when I woke up, there were a few students around me.
“He's waking up!” called a concerned-looking young guy with glasses and shoulder-length, brown hair.
“Just hang in there, Coach Vinson,” said a pretty girl with dreadlocks. “The nurse is on her way.”
“Wh-what the hell happened?” I asked, mumbling and confused.
The girl with dreads spoke. “You got mugged or something,” she said. “I was sitting by that tree over there and I saw the whole thing. Some guy in a white hoodie came running up behind you and sucker punched you from the back. He smacked you right in the side of the jaw, and then he hit you again on the side of your head.
“I saw that you tried to fight back, but I think that first sucker punch must’ve hit you hard. You went down pretty quick, and then he kicked you in the head and took your phone and wallet.
“My friends tried to chase him down, but he was too fast, and he got away. And we couldn't see who he was ‘cause he had this bandanna around his face. He was a young, white guy, though, real jacked, about six foot or so. His hood came off as he was sprinting away and we saw that he had short, blond hair, real stylish.
“I dunno if it'll help identify him, but we're willing to testify if the guy gets caught somehow,” the chatty girl finally finished.
“Thanks, I appreciate that,” I said as I got up slowly.
My head ached, and I was feeling groggy from being knocked out. The nurse arrived shortly after, and she asked me some questions and checked my eyes, looking for dilation of the pupils. Luckily, it seemed I didn't have a concussion or anything serious.
“You just give me a call if you need me, Coach. Got it?” she insisted.
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied. I thanked her for her help and continued on my way to the administration building.