Chapter Seventeen – Bryn

“Are you sure this isn’t a bad idea?” I plead with Rebekah as she stands with me outside Coach’s office. I sure as hell didn’t expect to come back here so soon after being kicked out, but this woman has a true power over me. “Maybe I should call first to make an appointment or something? This is a bit out of the blue.”

“Bryn.” She squeezes my hand gently, reassuring me. “You need to get your point across before it becomes an official thing. We talked about this, didn’t we? Just have a try, it’s all that you can do.”

She instantly calms me down; her words have a powerful effect on me. “Are you sure you can’t come in with me? I think that I would feel so much better if you were sitting in there with me? It makes sense…”

Rebekah shakes her head. “I can’t, Bryn. You need to do this alone. I have to talk to Tia anyway.”

She’s right. It’ll be a million times better coming from me, but still I’m scared. It’s going to be hard to get all of this out in the right way, but I’m calmer now, I’m less of an emotional wreck, I think I can do it.

“Okay.” I lean down and place one small chaste kiss on her lips. “I better get on with it then.”

She waves a hand at me and walks backwards until she gets to the elevator. Then she slides inside, ready to have her own challenging conversation. The cheerleading team isn’t going to like this anymore than Coach does. I don’t know if they will be quite as cruel to her but I suppose only time will tell.

Right, I tell myself determinedly with a nod. It’s time to get this done. I can do this. I can…

I don’t know if the pep talk is working, but I find a way to knock on the door anyway. Then, as I wait for Coach to invite me in, I bounce nervously from foot to foot. I feel anxiety dancing all through my organs, touching every part of me, twisting and coiling as it goes. I barely feel like myself anymore, this is horrible.

“Yep, what is it?” Coach’s voice is just as pissed off as it was the last time I found myself here, which isn’t great. But I don’t let that put me off, I step inside and watch as his face falls. “What are you doing here?”

“I have just come to talk.” I hold my hands up in a surrendering gesture. “I want to straighten this out.”

I half expect Coach to kick me out, but after only a brief pause he invites me to sit down. “You know you aren’t really supposed to be here, I shouldn’t talk to you until the suspension process is over. I’m only going to let you in and speak to you because we have such a close relationship. We’ve always been friends.”

I nod sharply, knowing that this isn’t really a friendship talk. It’s probably because before all of this I was a good player. I don’t think my personality has absolutely anything to do with it. But I’ll take it.

“Yes, I get that. Erm, I want to talk to you about me and Rebekah. I think I should explain…”

“I don’t think telling me about your sordid sexual exploits will help either of us here.”

“No, but it isn’t like that.” I really need to make him understand now. “I love her.”

Woah… that shocks even me. I wasn’t expecting that to come out. I don’t even know if it’s true. I mean, I care about her a lot, I have a lot of very strong feelings for her, but we haven’t been together for long enough for us to be in love with one another. That just isn’t possible. Then again, we haven’t really been together for long enough to be having a baby either, but here we are, doing just that. Having a baby, possibly being in love…

“You love her?” Coach leans back in his chair while he regards me curiously. “Are you sure about that?”

Am I? I want to answer this honestly, and not just to save myself. “Yes,” I gasp. “Yes, I do.”

“Well that does make a difference if you’re in an actual relationship. There will be repercussions. You’ll have to be warned. It isn’t going to be a straightforward thing. You shouldn’t really do it…” He pauses and taps his finger against his lips. “But the thing is, we need your sorry ass on the team. And if it isn’t as sordid and scandalous as it seems, then there might be a way around it all. I might be able to help you.”

“Really?” I can’t stop my heart from lifting. A warm sensation of hope floods me. “Because the Pistons are my life. I absolutely love playing for them, and if you let me come back I’ll make some serious changes. I won’t get distracted anymore, I’ll do better. You and the team deserve me at my best and I will be.”

“I want to believe you, Bryn, I really do, but you’ve been so rubbish recently. I don’t know if I can trust you.”

I lean forward in my chair and look him dead in the eye. Rebekah has been right about a lot of things, together we do have strength. With her on my side, I can do it I’m sure of it. “I’ll be calmer,” I promise. “I won’t have to be distracted because I know where I stand now. Things will be much better, I promise you.”

My speech might be impassioned, but Coash isn’t moved and I suppose I can understand that. My word means nothing, it isn’t like I can one hundred percent make sure this happen, but I know I’ll try. I’ll give it my all.

“I am afraid to give you this chance,” Coach admits. “But I don’t know what else I can do. I need to do something to bring the team back up. Everything is fucking falling apart here. Do you know that?” I don’t want to admit that I do because it might seem like I’m pushing my luck, so I remain silent. “Yeah, do you know what? I’ll hold off from making all of this suspension stuff official…” A tight knot loosens in my chest as I realize that there is still hope. “Just for now, just to see how things are better. This is only a tentative agreement.”

I nod eagerly, glad to have that change. “I won’t let you down, I promise you that much.”

Coach rises and he extends his hand out for me to shake it. I do so with a giant smile on my face. Rebekah was right, her words were so damn correct, this has worked out as I want to. Of course, there is still a lot of work to put into it all, but I’m definitely going to listen to her a whole lot more.

I also need to tell her that I love her too at some point. Now that I’ve realized that’s the case, I want her to know. I don’t want Coach to know and not the woman that I’ve fallen for, that’s utterly insane. I don’t know how I’m going to get that message out yet, but I’ll find a way. I’ll make her know that she’s special.

“Thank you, Coach. I won’t let you down,” I tell him determinedly. “You won’t regret this.”

He gives me a look but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he indicates towards the door and hints for me to leave. “You can leave now, Whitting, and get back here tomorrow for training. I’m going to let the guys know that you’re coming back. While most of them, well, probably all of them, know about what’s going on, I want that to be left off the court. I don’t want there to be any chance of you not concentrating. Do you understand?”

I nod seriously. “I do understand. I promise you that won’t happen.”

“Good. I really hope that I don’t go on to regret this decision because I don’t know where we’ll turn if that happens.” He doesn’t need to finish that threat because I understand it fully. I’ll be gone completely. “Now, you get out of here, okay? I don’t want to see your face again until you’re playing.”

I almost want to fist pump with excitement as I get outside of Coach’s office, but I just about manage to maintain my composure. I can celebrate later on when it’s just me and Rebekah. For now, I just need to find her and get us both out of here while the going is good. If Coach can forgive me, then I’m sure the cheerleaders will be fine. A lot of them are friends with Rebekah anyway, so they might even be happy for her.

“…you can’t bring your sluttiness in here again!” The harsh tone makes me stop where I am. “You have been nothing but trouble from the start and now you’re having a baby? How are you going to cheerlead?”

Shit, I feel all weird inside as I listen to what’s going on just around the corner. It has to be to do with me and Rebekah and it seems that it isn’t going well. I speed up, needing to help.

“Tia, I don’t want to argue with you about this,” I hear Rebekah reply coldly. “This isn’t something that’s up for discussion or that I need to hear your opinion about. I’m simply telling you what’s happening.”

“Oh, don’t be so fucking childish!” Tia’s shrill voice comes back. “This affects all of us.”

I peer my head around the corner just as I see Rebekah pulling back away from Tia. “If you can’t handle this, then maybe I should leave the squad. Things aren’t going to change because you aren’t happy.”

There’s no way I’m going to let that happen! Rebekah fought for my dream, she wouldn’t let me give up, and I intend to do the same for her too. She loves cheerleading, I don’t want her to give that up. I’ve been so self-involved with my problems that I didn’t think about her. Well, that’s going to change now!

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” I interject loudly, making my presence known. “Because whatever is going on in Rebekah’s personal life doesn’t affect the cheerleading squad, does it?”

Tia’s eyes flash angrily, she doesn’t like me getting involved. “What about when she’s all fat?”

“Do you know anything about a biology?” I snap back. I’m done with her bullshit already. “She won’t have a baby bump until long after the end of the season. If Rebekah wants to remain on the squad then she should.”

I can feel Tia’s façade slipping. She might be good at bullying people beneath her, but I suppose she doesn’t understand what I could do to her. She might fear that I can get her kicked off the team.

“I don’t… I don’t know…” she stammers awkwardly. “It seems a bit…”

“Look, Tia, Rebekah will decide whether or not she wants to be on the team. Then she’ll let you know, okay? This isn’t a choice for you to make, it’s her.”

Tia’s face flames and she lets out a snort. Then she turns on her heels and she stalks away. Rebekah bursts into a state of laughter as she watches her go. I don’t suppose she’s ever seen Tia taken down before.

“I can’t believe that you did that!” she chuckles. “That was insane.”

“Yeah well, I have to protect you, don’t I?” I sling an arm over her shoulder. “We need to face this together.”

Everything that comes at us from here on out we will tackle together because it’s the right way for us all.