Running Home to You (The Running Series)

by Sweeney, Suzanne

  The glasses are exactly where Emmy said they would be. I gather them quickly, and then get out as fast as I can. While sitting in my car in the driveway, I pull out my phone and Google “Anadrol”. The first return clearly states that, “Anadrol is a synthetic anabolic steroid.” I scan down a few more returns and read, “Anadrol is one of the most powerful oral steroids on the market.” Damn. I wanted so badly to be wrong.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Smoke and Mirrors

  I arrive at work and give Emmy her glasses. I can’t look at her. I can’t talk to her. I feel too guilty for what I’ve done. I hide in the kitchen until Derek comes in to relieve her and she leaves for the night.

  Reese knows something is wrong. She can read it all over my face. “Jette, you don’t look well. Do you feel okay?”

  “Actually, no, I don’t. I have a terrible headache. It feels like my head’s going to explode.” It’s the truth. The moment I found the invoices, I could feel a migraine beginning. I don’t want to tell Evan what I’ve discovered, but I don’t know how to avoid it.

  “Honey, you should go home. We can handle this. It’s slow tonight.”

  I consider staying here and hiding in the kitchen all night until closing. Maybe when I get home Evan will be asleep in bed, and then I won’t have to talk to him, either. Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? He never goes to bed until I get home. He waits up for me every time, no matter what. “I can’t go home,” I notify Reese. “Please don’t make me go.”

  “Did you have a fight? Evan’s not acting weird again, is he?” I shake my head. “You could tell me, you know. Do you want to talk about it?”

  “No, Evan’s great. That’s the problem. When I get home, I have to tell him something that’s going to destroy him. I don’t know what to do. I wish I could say more, but I can’t.”

  “Well, it’s hard to help without all the facts. But I know you, Jette. You’re not going to be able to keep this inside for too long. Either you’re going to break down and tell him or he’s going to figure out pretty quickly that you’re hiding something from him.”

  “You’re right. If he didn’t have a big game on Friday, I’d talk to him now without wasting any time. I don’t know what to do.” He needs a clear head for the game. It’s his debut as starting quarterback and he could easily get bumped back down to back up if things don’t go well.

  Reese walks across the room and grabs the August calendar off the wall. I’ve written the dates of each of Evan’s preseason games on there. “Look, he’s got a game every week this month. Every single week. Do you want to wait until the regular season begins to tell him?”

  “No,” I reluctantly admit.

  “Go home. Tell him now. It’s only Sunday. He’s got nearly a week to deal with whatever is going on. The longer you wait, the less time you’re giving him to work it out. You know I’m right.”

  “Damn it, Reese. Why do you always have to be right?”

  Reese assigns one of her sous chefs to take over and I show him how I want my desserts plated. Most everything is prepared and just needs to be prepped. There are a few sauces that need to be made on order, and I’m fairly certain he can handle it.

  I send Evan a text to tell him I’m on my way home. I make up some lame excuse about it being slow at the restaurant. It’s a little before seven, so he asks me to bring home something for dinner. He’s probably had his nose buried in his playbook all day. That’s how he’s been spending his free time lately.

  When I get home, I’m first greeted by Maddy. Evan is waiting for me in the living room. His entire face lights up when he sees me. I take a moment to appreciate the sparkle in his eye as a broad smile curves his mouth. Once I show him what I’ve found, I won’t be seeing either one again for a while.

  I clear the table and pass out the sandwiches and salads I brought home. Evan slaps his binder closed and joins me. While we eat, we chat about our day. I was right, he did spend the whole day reading his playbook and watching tapes of the last game the Sentinels played against Detroit. He’s making sure that he’s completely prepared and that he knows his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as his team’s.

  Finally, as we finish our meals, he turns the conversation back on me. “And how was your day? Did you find what you were looking for this morning?”

  “How did you know? I didn’t realize ...” Evan cuts me off.

  “I gave you the house keys, remember? What did Emmy forget? Her wallet? Her phone?”

  Oh, thank goodness. I thought he knew. “Glasses. She forgot her glasses. And yes, I found them. They were right where she said they were.” I reach into my purse to retrieve Adam’s spare key. “Here, you can have this back now.”

  Evan tosses the key onto the counter. While I clean up from dinner, Evan feeds Maddy. “You’ve been really quiet tonight, baby. Is something bothering you?” His tone is laced with concern.

  Knowing I can’t put it off for much longer, I decide it is time to confess it all. “Yes, there is something on my mind. Do you think we could talk?” The thought of what I am about to tell him hangs over me like a black cloud. I’m certain he can read the unease all over my face.

  His voice hesitant, he replies, “Of course. Did something happen?” Evan walks over and wraps his arms around me, nuzzling my neck. “You know you can tell me anything.”

  Inhaling deeply, I nod, breathing slowly in through my nose and out through my mouth. “I know. Let’s go sit down.” I lead him over to the couch. He follows, reluctantly.

  “What’s this all about?” Evan asks, the worry on his face clear as day to me.

  “I found something today at Adam’s house,” I confess, “I know it’s wrong, but I did a little snooping.” I grab my bag and retrieve the papers I found. “Here. Read it.”

  Evan looks at the papers quizzically. “I don’t understand.”

  “What does it say?” I ask, trying to get Evan to focus on the content of the form in his hand. “Read it to me. You’ll see.”

  “Well, it’s an invoice from Script Source. That’s our mail-in medication supplier. It’s got my name, but Adam’s address.” Evan hesitates, trying to process the meaning of that detail. “It must be a mistake,” he theorizes, looking up at me for confirmation.

  “Keep going,” I tell him.

  “Okay.” Evan returns his gaze to the paper in his hand. “It says the drug name is Anadrol. The drug strength is fifty milligrams. The physician is Dr. Jeffrey Katz.” He puts the invoice down and looks up at me, confused. “Who the fuck is Dr. Katz?” he asks aloud. I don’t think he fully understands. Not yet.

  “What about the dates?”

  “The what?” He’s in some sort of a fog, a daze of sorts.

  “When were they prescribed Evan? Read me the dates the prescriptions were filled,” I demand.

  “The first one is from May first.” He flips through the papers. “Then there’s one for June first and July first. What the hell is this? Where did you find these? And what the fuck is Anadrol?”

  “The only thing I know for sure is that Anadrol is an oral steroid. And a pretty powerful one, too.” I have to let him figure this all out. As much as I may want to tell him all my theories and hypotheses, it’s important that I not accidentally lead him towards my conclusions.

  “You said you found these?” I nod. “Where?” Evan’s mouth is now in a straight line and anger is burning in his expression.

  “Adam has a file with your name on it. It was in his office.” I know I’m leaving out details. I just don’t want to overwhelm him with too much information at once. “It had copies of contracts, receipts for security systems, and copies of CT scans. I found these on the bottom of the pile.” I look at him, his face contorted and confused.

  Evan pulls out his cell phone and looks up details about Anadrol. After he reads a little, he pulls up images to inspect. “Holy crap, Juliette. See this?” He shows me a picture of green tablets. “Those octagon shaped pills with the line down
the middle? I’ve taken them. They told me it was Ginseng, some kind of herbal supplement. They lied to me.” He takes a deep breath and swallows hard. “Adam lied.”

  I take his hands in mine and squeeze, “I’m so sorry, Evan. I’m so sorry. I wish it wasn’t true.”

  “It’s all right here, Juliette. I can’t pretend this didn’t happen anymore. My name, Adam’s address, and a prescription for pills I know I’ve been given and lied to about.” Evan gets up and begins to pace around the room.

  “So what do we do?” I ask, my eyes wide and fearful of what he may choose to do next.

  “Well, all of this is pretty damning, but I need to hear it from him. I’m calling Adam to come over. Right now.” He grabs his phone back and calls Adam, asking him to come over immediately. Adam must have asked him what’s going on because Evan tells him, “I’ll explain when you get here.” They talk for a moment more, and Evan ends the call. He walks over to the liquor cabinet and rustles through it, looking for something strong, no doubt. He stands up with a bottle of Bourbon. He pours a shot in a short glass and downs it, shaking off the shock of the strong liquor.

  Panic sets in. Adam is on his way. I’m going to have to explain how I found the file. I can’t lie. But it’s going to come up, I’m certain of that. “Evan, I have more to tell you, before Adam gets here.” I look him right in the eyes and tell him the truth, “Remember when I told you I was snooping in Adam’s house?”

  “I do, what about it?” he asks, obviously on edge.

  “I went through the filing cabinet in his office. He has files on everybody, you, Averee, Laci Keilani, and half the team.” I pause for a moment to try to gauge his reaction, but his expression does not change. “Are you mad?”

  “About the files? No. I would expect Adam to keep excellent records on everything.”

  “No, not that. Are you mad at me for going through Adam’s private files? The minute you show him the invoices, he’s going to know where they came from.”

  Evan opens up his arm for me to slip in beside him. He kisses me on the head and moves a stray hair away from my brow. “No baby, I’m not mad. You were right to suspect him. I’ll keep you out of it. This is about him and what he’s done. He’s the one who has to explain himself, not me, and not you. We’re a team, Juliette. It’s you and me against the world.”

  I place a light kiss on his lips, “I like the sound of that.” Evan eagerly returns my affection, pulling me closer. His tongue flashes over mine as his hands grasp my backside, giving a gentle squeeze. Our intimate moment is interrupted when Adam comes walking through the door with Emmy trotting merrily behind him.

  “Hey, guys!” Emmy announces as they enter the kitchen, chuckling when she sees us. “Sorry to interrupt.”

  “Well, we’re here. What’s so urgent that couldn’t wait until morning?” Adam puts his arm around Emmy and kisses her sweetly on the forehead. “We were on our way home, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to make this quick.”

  “This shouldn’t take too long,” Evan responds dryly. “Let’s go sit in the living room. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  Adam eyes Evan cautiously, but follows him into the other room. Dread bubbles in my stomach. I am feeling physically ill from all of this. I remain frozen in place, wishing to stay as far away from the confrontation as I can.

  “Juliette, come join us, please. This involves you, too.” Grudgingly, I join Evan beside him on the couch. Evan places a protective hand on my knee, reminding me that we are a team.

  “Mac, something’s obviously wrong. Tell me what it is and I’ll take care of it.” Adam sits back on the couch, puts an arm around Emmy, and crosses one leg. He really has no idea.

  “You fix things, right? You see things that need fixing and you find a way to make it right. Like when I almost got arrested for assault, you made that go away, didn’t you?” Evan’s voice is flat and it’s clear that he didn’t call Adam here just to reminisce.

  “You know I did. You asked for my help, and you got it. What’s going on? What happened now?” Adam asks confidently.

  “And when that greedy little coed tried to bleed me dry back in Houston, you found a way to get her to back off.” Evan has an accusatory tone that’s hard to mistake.

  “I’m sorry. Did I miss something?” Adam asks, frustrated and completely perplexed. “Why the third degree? Did I do something wrong?”

  “Is there anything else you’ve done to ‘help’ that I should know about?” Evan challenges.

  “I’ve done more things to help you and your career than you’ll ever fully know about. Let’s stop this cat and mouse shit. What, exactly, are you accusing me of, Mac?” Adam retorts.

  Emmy senses the growing tension and tries to break the mood, “Honey, I don’t think Evan is accusing you of anything.” She’s rubbing his arm, trying to get him to calm. “Isn’t that right, Evan?”

  “Actually, Emmy, I’d like to hear from Adam about how he fixed things after my hand injury. See, I had a prognosis that wasn’t very good. I had a few setbacks in my recovery. But all of a sudden, the muscles and tissue growth in my injured hand exploded. I was released to play in half the time they predicted. How is that possible?”

  Adam leans forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”

  “I’m asking questions I already know the answers to. But I want to hear it from you. I think it’s time to pull back the curtains and see for once how the wizard works his magic.”

  “We made a deal a long time ago, Mac. You got to screw around, behave recklessly, and live without restraint, and I cleaned up after you. Taking off like you did with Averee is no different. You knew she was dangerous. You knew she was armed, and yet you left with her. What the hell did you think was going to happen? I did what I always do; I fixed another one of your messes. You should be thanking me, not interrogating me.”

  “Thanking you? Seriously? For what?” Evan snarls.

  “You’re starting quarterback for the New Jersey Sentinels, in case you forgot. I got you back on the field better than you were before. If it wasn’t for me constantly cleaning up after you and erasing your mistakes, you’d be teaching Physical Education at some hick high school telling teenagers pathetic stories about how you played in the NFL for a season back in ‘09.” Adam’s face is snarling with anger.

  “I didn’t realize that’s how you felt, Adam. It’s good we’re getting everything out in the open. So tell me, how did you do it this time? If I’m going to thank you, I want to know what I’m thanking you for.” Evan barks back.

  “You said you already know the answer, so why don’t you tell me,” Adam snaps snidely.

  Evan gives my knee a supportive squeeze. Here goes.

  “During my little break from practice a few weeks ago, I had some private testing done. Imagine my shock when it came back positive for steroids.” Emmy gasps in shock. “Thank you, Emmy. That’s exactly how I felt. But once I got over the initial surprise, I thought long and hard about how this may have happened. Who has the kind of connections that could get a doctor to prescribe prohibited drugs to an NFL player? Who can get the team trainer to add an extra supplement to my daily regimen? Who seems to know when it’s safe to take a drug-screening test? Who has the most to gain monetarily from my recovery?”

  “And this is the thanks I get? I found you the best doctors, the best therapists, and the best trainers. With my help, you’re stronger than ever, faster than ever, and better than you were before.” Adam stands up, takes Emmy by the hand and takes a few steps towards the door. “Everything I did was to make you better and you damn well know it.”

  “Better?” Evan howls. “You call what I did to Juliette making me better? I was a monster, Adam. You fucking did that to me, my friend. How could you do it?”

  Adam stops and turns to look at Evan. “When I saw what it was doing to you, I stopped it immediately. Katz told me what to watch out for and I did. I stuck close
by your side and made sure things didn’t get too far out of control. When you lost it with Ryker, who was there to stop you? Me, that’s who. When you got piss drunk and wanted to drive to see Jette, who took your keys away? Me.”

  “And that’s why I won’t be pressing charges, but your ass belongs in jail, Adam. You went too far, and you know it.” Evan’s voice is calming as he speaks. I can tell his temper is changing from angry to hurt.

  Emmy grabs a hold of Adam’s arm. “Come on, Adam, let’s go,” she begs. “You’re both upset. Things will be better in the morning.”

  “Just a minute,” Adam tells her, gently peeling her off his arm. “You may be able to fool these two, but don’t try to pull that crap with me, Mac. Keeping your mouth shut isn’t for my benefit, it’s for yours. The last thing you need is for word of this to get out. You’ll lose your lucrative spokesperson contracts, your starting position, and your own reputation.”

  Evan is standing now, too. He walks over to the kitchen counter, grabs Adam’s house keys and throws them at him. “These belong to you. I don’t want them anymore.” He grabs the invoices off the coffee table and throws them in his face. “Take all of your crap and get the hell out of here. Keep your nose out of my shit from now on. We’re done.”

  Adam bends down to pick up the papers and the keys. He furrows his eyebrows as he reads the invoices. “These,” he waves them in the air, “where did you get them?”

  Evan takes a few steps closer to Adam, nearly closing the gap between them. “None of your fucking business. Take them and get the hell out, Adam. I’m serious.”

  Adam is not backing down. He takes a step closer to Evan, openly challenging him. “These papers were in my office, my home office, Mac. You didn’t have to break into my house to find it. If you asked, I would have given them to you.”