Chapter 13
Tanner
“Do you see her?” I asked Brian.
He was scanning the swimmers milling about at the USC pool. “Nope. She’s probably in the locker room still.”
I nodded, but something was off. She should be out by the pool, stretching and warming up with the rest of her teammates. It wasn’t like her to be late. When Brian called last night to say he would be coming into town, I’d suggested we go to Lindsey’s meet. He had hesitated at first but then quickly agreed, saying he should or she would be offended. He had yet to get to one since she’d made the college team.
Lindsey didn’t know I was coming. It had been a little spur of the moment. Sitting home on Friday night, I realized I wanted to see her. I missed her. I did what I could to convince Brian my desire to attend the meet was strictly professional. At least it kind of was.
“There she is,” Brian said, pointing to the coach who was currently surrounded by several members of the team. Lindsey was front and center. I watched her hands gesture wildly. Something had her worked up.
Brittany came to stand beside her. She, too, was visibly upset.
“What the hell is going on?” I mumbled.
Brian shook his head. “Beats me. Maybe they got in a squabble with the other team? The coach is pointing to the USC team. And now Lindsey and Brittany are looking that way.”
I watched and waited. The coach said something. I could see anger on his face, and the next moment Lindsey took off, fleeing toward the locker rooms.
Brian and I both stood and made our way down the bleachers. Something was clearly not right.
We waited outside the locker room, debating whether we could go in. “I’m not going in there. That will get me banned from every public pool, gym, and high school,” I said when he told me to open the door.
Brian nodded. “Probably better wait.”
It wasn’t long before Lindsey kicked open the door. She stopped when she saw us. “What are you two doing here?”
Tears were running down her face. Her eyes were red, and there were heavy circles under them. Her skin had a sickly pallor.
“Are you sick?” I asked, suddenly concerned for her health.
“No,” she said, walking past us and heading for the glass double doors that led outside.
Brian and I followed her. She flopped down on a bench and wiped her eyes. “I can’t compete.”
“Why?” we both asked in unison.
She looked at her lap and mumbled, “I failed a drug test.”
“What?” I said a little too loud.
“Dammit, Lindsey, how could you be so careless?” Brian said with irritation.
I looked at him. He clearly didn’t know his sister as well as I did. I knew there was no way she would use drugs, especially before a meet when she knew there was a good chance she would be tested.
“What kind of drugs?” I asked softly.
“Weed,” she muttered.
Now I knew something was off. There was no way she would smoke a bowl, joint, or suck on a weed lollipop. It wasn’t her style.
“Pot’s legal,” Brian said, relief evident on his face. “It’s not like you can get a ticket or go to jail for it.”
She looked up. “I don’t care about a ticket!” she wailed. “I can’t compete. I may get kicked off the team. And if this goes on my record, I’m automatically disqualified from competing in the Olympics!”
Brian stepped back as if he had been slapped. “No way.”
I looked at him, nodding my head. “She’s right.”
Brian squatted down, getting at eye level with Lindsey. “Why would you smoke pot, Lindsey? That isn’t like you.”
I watched a myriad of emotions cross her face and took a step back. She looked like she was about to beat the shit out of Brian, and I didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.
“I didn’t! Are you fucking kidding me, Brian? Do you actually think I would smoke weed, especially the day before my meet? Fuck you. Why are you here anyway?” she shouted, her face flush with anger.
I stepped closer, put a hand on her shoulder. “Relax. I don’t think he meant it like that. We’ve all smoked a little here and there.”
Brian was nodding. “Sorry, sis. I wasn’t trying to say anything. I thought maybe it was one of those cries for help or you wanted off the team. You’ve been competing your whole life. I figured you were tired of it and looking for a way out.”
“You’re an idiot,” she said, but not in a hateful way. “I don’t want to quit. I haven’t reached my goal yet. I think I was drugged.”
I sat beside her on the bench, grabbed her hand and demanded she look at me. “Say what?”
I was doing my best to remain calm. Inside, I was raging.
“We went to a party last night. The USC team always throws a party when we’re in town,” she started to explain.
I nodded, having a very good idea where this was headed. They set her up. Someone had drugged her.
“Adam was there. We talked for a bit. He brought me a beer and a brownie. I asked him if he drugged me, but he said no,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “The beer tasted fine. I didn’t see any signs of discoloration or fizzing.”
“The fucker roofied you,” Brian said, spitting out the words. “I’m going to kill him.”
I could feel rage bubbling in my gut. I remembered Adam. I’d always thought he was a little shit, and now I knew for sure.
“We’ll get this figured out,” I assured her. “I’ll talk to your coach as your trainer, let him know you would never do drugs. Hopefully he’ll hear me out.”
“Lindsey,” Brian said in a voice filled with dread. “Do you remember what happened last night? After the beer?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Actually, no. I remember drinking the crappy beer that tasted flat and warm. I kept eating the brownie to kill the taste. I know I felt kind of tired, and he took me to a couch, told me to sit down.”
My heart raced. I would go to prison if I found out he raped her.
“And then what?” I asked, needing to know more.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I remember him saying he was going to get me another beer, but I don’t know if he did. I remember nothing beyond that point. When I woke up, I was back in my hotel room.”
“You don’t remember how you got there?” Brian asked.
“No. I assumed Brittany.”
I wanted to ask if she felt like she had sex or if her clothes were on when she awoke, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I wouldn’t embarrass her in front of her brother.
“You sit with her. I’ll be right back.” I stood, needing to walk away for a minute to regain my composure.
I went back inside and made my way over to Lindsey’s coach. I did my best to keep my cool, explaining the situation, but he didn’t want to hear me. Fucker.
I scanned the other team, trying to find Adam, but it had been a long time since I’d seen him. I never paid that much attention to him before and couldn’t pick him out of the crowd. That was probably a good thing because I know I would have beaten the shit out of him in front of a hundred witnesses.
I stalked back out to the courtyard where Brian and Lindsey were sitting on a bench and talking quietly.
“Well?” she asked.
I shook my head.
“I didn’t think it would do any good, but thank you for trying,” she said with a faint smile. “I’m sorry you guys drove over here to see me compete for nothing.”
I shrugged. “It was an easy drive. Do you want to head back?”
“No, I want to stay and watch, see how they do.”
Brian looked at her. “Are you sure?”
“My team already thinks I let them down. I want to be there to support them. You guys don’t have to stay. I can ride back on the bus.”
“No,” I said, more forcefully than I had intended. There was no way I was leaving her with these people. They couldn’t be trusted.
Brian agreed with me. “We’ll stay. If you want to go, we’ll go, but there is no way we are leaving you here. Someone drugged you. It could be anyone.”
“Thanks, guys. I appreciate the support. I can’t imagine someone did this to me on purpose. I don’t have any enemies that I know of. I can’t imagine Adam drugging me. What does he have to gain? We have been friends. It wasn’t an ugly breakup,” she explained.
The thought of Adam and her together pissed me off too. I didn’t want her talking to the guy ever again. I planned on telling her that as soon as we were alone. I’m not the jealous type, but I don’t share. Lindsey was mine. I would deal with what that statement meant to me later. Right now I was going to make sure no one fucked with her again.