Chapter 38 Big Brother
Thirty-Eight
Big Brother
I walked alone from the train stop to the courthouse. It wasn’t until I was inside the glass-covered atrium that I noticed the EDM juror again. She was in the security line to take the elevator up.
Instead of getting into the queue, I veered to a café kiosk for a bottle of water.
Best not to find myself near her. I wouldn’t want her to get in trouble or give anyone the wrong idea.
I took my time and started to people watch. A man in a suit running to the elevator bank. A security guard looking bored. A reporter and her camera operator setting up by the fountain, the camera painted with a local television station logo.
Hm.
Maybe that was it.
Maybe that was a way for me to efficiently let the world know who I was. And I didn’t have to give an interview. All I’d have to do was stand by my dad while Gray talked.
I glanced at my phone. Shoot. It was past the ten o’clock scheduled start time.
I rushed to get through security and up the elevator. When the doors slid open, they revealed an empty hall. Except there on a bench, sitting against the wall, was my brother, Eric.
My heart filled.
“Ade.” His thick brown hair was longer than I remembered. Light stubble covered his jaw.
“What are you doing here?” My voice cracked.
“My team has a short break, so I flew in last night.” He stood up. “Mom begged me to come.”
I hugged him, and my entire body relaxed into his folded embrace. Sometimes a girl just needed her big brother to take the weight of the world off her shoulders.
“You never called me back.” I stepped back.
“Sorry.” He grimaced. “I’ve been meaning to and never got the chance.”
“It’s okay.” I hugged him again. “I’m glad you’re here. But why are you not inside the courtroom?”
He looked at the door. “Plunkett is testifying.”
My shoulders sagged. I’d figured the district attorney would bring in people from the university to testify, but I was hoping one of them wouldn’t be George Plunkett, the athletic director. He’d always butted heads with my dad.
“I don’t have the stomach to listen to him. So I decided to wait for you.”
“I get it,” I said. “Plunkett…he’s…well…he’s…”
“He can be an asshole.” Eric raised an eyebrow.
I gave him a huge smile.
“He walked right past me earlier and pretended he didn’t know me,” Eric said.
“How rude.” Eric had been selected Minnesota Mr. Hockey, awarded to the most outstanding high school hockey player in the state. “Think about how much prestige you brought to the school.”
Eric shrugged and sat back down on the bench. He scooted over to make room for me.
I plopped down next to him, and my heart continued to burst. We hadn’t had any type of real togetherness for a long time.
“The thing is”—Eric leaned back against the wall—“Plunkett is the one person you should be nice to no matter how he treats you.”
“Even now, with your college career over?”
“Things have a way of circling back.”
I laid my head against the wall too. I guessed his theory made sense. But it didn’t mean I had to like Plunkett.
“And that goes for recruits too.”
I looked at Eric. “What?”
Eric sighed. “Ade, I know about you and Dallas Reynolds.”
I sat straight. My face turned hot. “Who told you?”
“Dallas.”
I almost slid off the seat. “What?”
“He called me.”
Dallas mentioning Eric earlier now made more sense, but still. “Dallas has your number?”
“Yeah. Dad had me meet with him back when he was being recruited.”
“Omigod.”
“Omigod, what?”
“Well, first, I wish I’d known that. Second, you didn’t…you didn’t know about the money, did you?”
Eric’s eyes widened. “No. I had no idea about any sort of financial transaction. Dad just wanted me to talk to recruits about my experience as a hockey player at the university and give them a tour. I did that sometimes.”
I exhaled. “That’s good.”
“Anyway, there’s something you need to know about Dallas.”
I sat still and didn’t move. Since seeing Dallas this morning, I’d erected a temporary dam, and I wasn’t sure how long it was going to hold.
I feared that thinking about him would cause tiny fissures, and I needed to keep myself together right now, not be susceptible to collapsing into a crumpled heap.
But who was I fooling? What was it that Eric thought I needed to know?
“Go ahead,” I said. “I’m listening.”
Eric sat still, not moving a muscle. “After he found out who you were, he told the prosecutor he was no longer willing to testify. The attorney then made a deal with him. She said that if he testified, she’d get him his NCAA eligibility back.”
I swallowed. Hard. “And?”
“And nothing. She’s done nothing. The school’s done nothing.
He couldn’t get a straight answer out of anyone, and he’s pretty pissed off about it.
Now the attorney is telling him that he misunderstood.
She never promised him his eligibility back, only that if he testified, it might make him look better to the NCAA. ”
A sinking feeling spread through my stomach.
“I feel really bad for him,” Eric said. “His whole life, his whole career completely effed up because of all of this.”
“Me too.” My chest pulled taut. My ears grew hot with embarrassment. Me and my insomnia paled in comparison to that.
I’d been so mad at Dallas after he’d testified that I hadn’t bothered to listen, and then I’d avoided him after the test today even when all he wanted was to explain it to me.
Eric put an arm around me and squeezed. “Normally, the idea of a hockey player dating my little sister wouldn’t sit well with me. I know what they can be like. But this Dallas kid, he seems okay.”
I frowned. “Eric, I know you’re well intentioned, but whatever was going on between Dallas and me, and I’m not sure I’d call it dating, it’s…well…things are complicated, and it’s over.”
“Oh.” Eric flinched. “Sorry. I didn’t realize.”
The elevator popped open, and a tiny woman with long blonde hair dressed in a pantsuit came out, along with another woman with a court badge hanging around her neck. The tiny woman made eye contact with us and hesitated.
“Who’s that?” I whispered to my brother.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “But she looks familiar.”
The woman kept her distance from us.
“Do you think she’s testifying?” My voice was quiet.
“She must be,” Eric said.
The blonde kept eyeing us. She wrung her hands and glanced at the closed courtroom doors.
I couldn’t fathom what she was so nervous about. She wasn’t the one on trial.
The doors opened again and out strode Plunkett. He didn’t give us a sideways glance, not until Eric got up and intercepted him.
Abruptly, he stopped.
Eric shook his hand. “Nice to see you again, George.”
I got up from the bench and stood next to my brother.
“Hi, Eric, Adriana.” His voice sounded like he had a frog in his throat. “You two are looking well, considering the…circumstances.”
“Yep.” Eric stood straighter. “We’re here to support Dad.”
“Heard you signed with the AHL.”
Eric nodded.
“Always good to see our players continuing on with professional careers.”
Eric kept nodding.
“Well, if either of you need anything, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks,” Eric said.
Plunkett hurried away as fast as he could. Like if he lingered too long, he might catch something from us.
Mom appeared at the doors. “Are you two coming?”
We nodded and followed her in.
I took a seat between Mom and Eric.
Dad rolled back his chair and leaned over the guardrail. “Hey, kids.”
“Hi, Dad,” Eric and I said in unison.
“I just want to thank you two for coming. It means a lot.” He reached over and covered my hand with his. “I’m sorry for not being the kind of dad I should have been these past months. From now on, I’m going to do better.”
I gave him a weak smile. “Okay, Dad.”
The judge struck her gavel, and Dad rolled himself back to the table.
I whispered into my mom’s ear, “How are things going?”
According to her, Plunkett’s testimony went poorly for Dad. I was glad I hadn’t been here for that. Instead of just feeling sick, I would have gotten sick.
The blonde woman, whose name, I learned, was Melanie Burch, was called to the stand.
“Ms. Burch,” the prosecutor said, “please state your position at the university and explain your job description to us.”
“I’m the head hockey cheer coach.”
A sudden jolt of cold went through me.
“Each year, we recruit members to try out for our cheer squad, and then we hold a full season of workouts, performances, and cheer.”
“So, hockey cheer is a separate tryout from other cheerleading squads?”
“Yes. Hockey cheer is its own quite unique separate group because of the skating components involved. We have high standards for those on the squad in terms of technical skating abilities.”
The prosecutor stood. “Your Honor, may I have permission to approach the witness?”
The judge nodded. “Permission granted.”
The prosecutor came around the table and handed Melanie a piece of paper. “Do you recognize this?”
Melanie took it and looked it over. “Yes.”
“What is it?”
“An inquiry I received in February of last year.”
Oh no. It couldn’t be. This really was happening.
“Please read the message to us,” the prosecutor said.
Melanie scanned the page, and then she began.
“Dear Ms. Burch, I am reaching out to you regarding hockey cheerleading. My daughter is a figure skater, quite an accomplished one, having obtained her gold medal in Skating Skills and being close to completing her Free Skate tests. She has been accepted for enrollment at Minnesota University next year and is interested in information about how to try out for your team. Best regards, Coach Bianchini.”
The gazes of the jury slid my way, including the EDM juror.
My face turned hot. I’d known that my dad had contacted the head coach about me, and I’d been mad about it. But now, having heard what the email said, I couldn’t believe how innocent it was. He’d even used the correct figure-skating lingo.
I raised my chin. My lungs expanded with deep, satisfying breaths.