by Claire Adams
“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.
Chapter Fifteen
Eryn
Sitting in my car after practice with the crutches on the passenger seat next to me and my ankle bandaged and aching, I couldn't help but feel depressed.
I mean, this past weekend had been such a great game for me, and it had seemed as if things were starting to truly go right in my life. I'd finally made the starting lineup, and I'd played one of the best volleyball games of my life. And, of course, there had been the amazing kiss with Wade.
But first, I'd had to let Wade go and try to remove any thoughts of him from my mind. And now this: an injury that would keep me off the court for at least a week.
At le
ast there wasn't a game this weekend, so it wasn't like I would be missing something important. But for the game the following weekend, it would mean that I wouldn't be in top form. I'd lose fitness because of this forced week of rest, and my skills would deteriorate. Not by any kind of huge margin or anything, but they would, and that thought made me discouraged.
Another thought, though, made me angry: the fact that I had been tripped up. The fact that this injury had been a deliberate act of maliciousness.
And, I was almost certain I knew who had been behind it.
Tammy had been in a foul mood ever since she had been taken off the starting lineup, and her little sidekick, Kelly, had been in a similar mindset. And, of course, since I was the one who had replaced Tammy in the lineup, I'd had more than a few death stares and muttered insults from her.
For some reason I had never understood, she had never liked me, not from the moment we had first laid eyes on each other. I had to say, the feeling was mutual. I didn't know why she had such a dislike for me, or what I had ever done to her to warrant these feelings, but I couldn't deny that they were there.
I'd been content with simply keeping a distance between us. That's what normal people did, right? If there's someone you don't get along with for whatever reason, you just ignore them. Keep away from them. Not Tammy. She would do everything she could to try to get in my face or make me look bad.
There had been plenty of snide comments and muttered insults, and of course, the time I’d found the word “bitch” written on my locker in lipstick — her color, nonetheless – but this? This was the first time her aggression had turned physical.
Of course, like the lipstick graffiti, I had no proof that it had been her, but it seemed unlikely that anyone else on the team would have gone to so much trouble. I got along really well with all the other players. It was only Tammy and Kelly who seemed to have a problem with me.
The question now was what was I going to do about it?
Of course, at the moment, with pain throbbing through my leg starting at my ankle and the frustration and anger I felt at being forced to rest for at least a week, I couldn't deny feeling like I wanted a little revenge.
I knew it would pass. I wasn't one for vengeance, and certainly hadn't taken any for the lipstick incident. I was quick to forgive, even if I didn't forget. This time, however, she had crossed a line, and if I didn't stand up for myself, who knew what she would do next.
Not that I had any idea exactly what I could do. I mean, I could always take the guy route, and when I was all healed up, I could just go up to her and kick her ass in the locker rooms. But that wasn’t my style. Of course, I admit, punching her square in the eye wouldn’t have hurt my feelings any. I knew my best bet was to talk to Leena and see what she thought.
I took a detour through a drive-thru on my way home because there was no way I was standing in the kitchen to fix myself something to eat, and leaving myself at the mercy of Leena’s cooking was always hit and miss. Still, I couldn't help but smile as I saw Leena waiting for me at the entrance to our building. Gourmet chef or not, she was a great friend.
“Hey, Lee,” I said as I got out of the car, situating myself on the crutches.
“Hey, Eryn, how's your ankle feeling?”
I sighed and shook my head. “Not great.”
“Figured as much. That’s why I waited for you, to help you get up the stairs. I thought it might be tough for you, with your ankle and carrying your gym bag and books and stuff...”
“Aw, thanks. You're the bestest friend ever,” I told her.
“I know,” she chirped as she helped me with my bags and books. Thanks to her, we got upstairs without too much trouble. After I'd put my stuff away, we sat down on the sofa, and Leena brought me the food I’d picked up for us, along with a bottle of water.
“So you think you were tripped up, huh?” she asked.
I glared at her hard. “How did you know that?”
“Coach pulled me aside and asked if I’d seen anything.”
I acknowledged and continued. “Well, I don't think it – I know it. Someone kicked my ankles together hard from behind. It was a deliberate blow, I'm sure of it. It wasn't just someone running too close to me. There was a solid force behind that kick.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I suspected as much. And, I think I have a pretty good idea of who it might have been.”
“Let me guess,” I said. “Starts with a 'T' and ends with a 'Y.'”
“You got it,” she agreed.
I sighed and shook my head. “I think everyone knows it was her. The problem is, there's no way for me to prove it. So, without proof, what can I do about it?”
“Well, here's the thing, Eryn – I think there might actually be proof.”
She caught me a little off guard. “What? How?”
“Wade. He was determined to get to the bottom of what happened, so he put his phone on audio record and had the cleaning lady hide it in the locker room where Tammy and Kelly's lockers are. So, if they said anything to each other about tripping you up, he'll have it as proof.”
A surge of something rushed through me. I didn’t know what to say or how to feel. I couldn't believe he'd done that. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
“Wow!” was all I could say. I was a little taken back. “Well, I hope he catches them, I really do...because I don't know what else to do.”
I was about to ask Leena what she thought I should do if Wade’s phone hadn’t picked up anything concrete when my own phone buzzed. Leena handed me my purse from the table and I rifled through it to see who had messaged me. It was from Wade.
Hi, Eryn. Hope your ankle’s doing okay. I have some information about who tripped you in practice. I was hoping I could come over and talk to you and Leena about it this evening?
I looked up at Leena. “He's found out something. Said he has some information.”
“Oh my God! He didn’t say what it is?”
“No, but he wants to come over here to talk to us about it.”
“Well, I want to know what the hell is going on. Tell him to come right now!” she said.
I typed out a quick reply.
Hey, Wade. Ankle is the same. I’m curious about the information. You can come over now, if that's all right. Leena will meet you downstairs.
I got a reply a few seconds later.
Sounds good; see you in about 20.
When he arrived, Leena met him outside and led him up to our apartment. It felt a little awkward having him in my home. Even if we wanted to pretend nothing had happened, it had and we both knew it. The tense glances back and forth were proof that it had definitely not been forgotten. And sitting there with Leena being totally clueless about the invisible tension crackling in the air made the situation all the more uneasy.
He said a friendly hello to me as he followed Leena into the living room.
“Hi, Wade,” I replied and tried to keep the heat I was feeling from showing in my cheeks. “Have a seat,” I added hastily, pointing at the easy chair opposite the sofa.
“Leena told me on the way up she explained to you about me hiding my phone in the locker room, right?”
“She did, yeah.”
“Okay. Well, this is what I picked up. I've cut the audio file down to just the conversation that matters. I'll play it for you. Just a warning: you're not going to like what you hear. Are you okay with that?”
“I don’t like the fact that I’m laid up with a sprained ankle – can it get worse than that? Whatever it is, I need to hear it.”
“Yes, I think you do,” he agreed.
He took his phone out and tapped the screen a few times, and then two, familiar female voices, soft and muffled — but definitely recognizable — started coming from the speaker: Tammy and Kelly.
First was Kelly’s voice. “Did you see that bitch go down like a sack of fucking potatoes!” Kelly laughed.
“Right? It was fucking hilarious,” Tammy replied.
“D
id anyone see you do it, Tams?”
“I think Eva might have seen me trip the slut up, but that stupid, fat bitch knows I'll break her fucking nose if she says anything about it.”
They both giggled. I felt my blood boiling with anger, and I could see that Leena was furious, too.
“Shhh,” Tammy said, “Here comes Leena. Don't say anything else about it. You know how close that dumb skank is to Eryn.”
“Yeah, what a pair of-”
Wade cut the recording off there and cleared his throat, obviously feeling a bit of awkwardness at the way the recorded conversation was going. “I, uh, I don't think the rest of it is necessary,” he said.
“No,” I replied, “what we heard was more than enough,” I assured him.
Leena drew in a deep breath. “If it wasn’t stooping to their level, I’d punch them both right in the mouth,” she huffed. We all sat in silence for a while, ruminating on what we'd just heard.
“So, what do we do now?” I asked eventually. “I mean, the evidence is right there. What happens next?”
“It is,” Wade replied. “And, they are definitely going to face the consequences. I’ll be removing them both from the team. I just wanted you two to hear the evidence first. I wanted you to know I wasn’t taking this lightly.” His gaze fixed on mine and rush of warmth spread through me.
“Thank you, Wade,” I said softly. “I really, really appreciate you making an effort to do something about this.”
“Yeah, Wade,” Leena added. “I'm glad you thought ahead and made a plan to catch those two-” She stopped herself before she said something ugly. “It's just so...so low, what they did to Eryn. All because they are jealous. Bitches,” she mumbled the last word and I couldn’t help the small smile that crept over my lips.
“It's malicious and inexcusable,” he agreed, his face grim with anger. “Nobody attacks my star player and gets away with it. Nobody.”
I was impressed at how intensely he wanted to defend me. His eyes caught mine again, and I couldn't ignore the sheer intensity that ripped through me at the look that passed between us. More than ever, I wanted him – and I knew that he wanted me, too. That made it even more painful, the fact that we both understood that we couldn't be together.