The Player: Dark Enemies to Lovers Sports Romance

Chapter 11

Waking up knowing that you are going to your doom is a hard pill to swallow. I do it anyway. The professor may think he has the upper hand, but I believe he’s the one behind the pictures. I refuse to back down.

Getting into the lab, it’s eerily quiet. So quiet I can hear my heart beating and my mind racing.

“Mr. Lawerence?” I call out, making my way to the office that’s in the back of the lab.

Knocking on the door, I don’t hear anyone answer, but I push the door open. An ugly gasp leaves me as I stare at my professor, naked and tied to the desk.

His head is gone, and along the walls, the word “pedophile” is written in blood. I tremble as I try to get my phone out of my back pocket. This…this cannot be happening. Backing out of the office, I bump into school security.

“He… I…”

My words leave me as I faint.

* * *

“Is she going to be alright?”I hear someone talking, but nothing is coming to me. The voices sound so far away and unfamiliar.

“Yes. She fainted due to shock, but that’s not all. Her body is under a lot of stress right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s pregnant.”

Silence. There’s no more talking after those words. Who is pregnant? I have become nosy in my hopes of learning more about the person having a baby.

“Julie.”

I blink my eyes and look up to see Kaylee. A smile tries to form on my lips, but it hurts. Everything hurts.

“Shh.” She runs a hand over my hair and kisses my forehead. “Everything is going to be alright.”

No. Nothing is going to be alright. Kaylee shouldn’t be here, but she is, and someone is pregnant. Is it Kaylee? Why is she under a lot of stress, though?

Everything seems to be backward in my mind and I don’t understand why.

“Julie, honey, focus on me, please.” Kaylee shakes me a little, and I find myself blinking again.

“What?” I croak out and everyone laughs. Looking around, I see a doctor and a nurse staring at me.

“The campus security found you standing in Mr. Lawerence’s office but said that you had just arrived by the looks of the camera footage. Did you see anyone come out of the office?”

Another voice speaks, and I turn my head slowly toward the sound. A woman in a suit is sitting in the corner, notebook in hand. Her stern face causes me to cringe, and I shrug.

“No. I had lab today and then a one-on-one session with him. He was recruiting me for his teacher assistant position.”

That’s not a lie. He had asked me earlier in the semester if I would do it. I just didn’t think telling them he was blackmailing me was a good idea.

“We found pictures of you in precarious positions in your room. Do you know who sent them?”

A blush runs over me, and I shake my head too quickly and become dizzy again. “Oh.”

Kaylee glares at the detective. “That’s enough. Don’t you see how much this is hurting her?”

“I’d apologize, but I have a murder to solve and possibly something else going on here.”

Coughing, I try to clear my throat. “It was him. He didn’t like that I was having fun with James.”

Kaylee looks at me, her eyes sharp and discerning. “You don’t owe anyone an explanation. You’re the victim here.”

She squeezes my hand, and the detective gets up. “Your friend is right. You are the victim. However, Mr. Lawerence is also the victim. He’s the one that’s dead. Not you.”

Her words are like a slap of cold water down my spine. “I didn’t kill him.”

“Your fingerprints will determine that. There’s a handprint in the blood and in the middle of Mr. Lawerence’s back. We will see if you are as innocent as you are acting.”

With that, she walks out to a seething Kaylee and the nurse looking appalled at her. “How can she think she did this?”

I don’t know the nurse, but I like her. “Thank you.”

This seems to bring everyone’s gaze back toward me. “You have a lot to focus on right now. I’m prescribing a week of bed rest and then follow up with an OB-GYN.”

“For what?” Kaylee laughs a little and squeezes my hand again.

“Honey, you’re pregnant.”

“Yeah, right. You…” My words drift off as I realize I had unprotected sex. A lot of steamy, sexy… Oh God.

“Ah, there it is. Yes, you came back positive. It takes about ten to fourteen days for the hormones to shift and while the test has come back positive, I’d like for you to see your OB-GYN to confirm in about a week.”

A baby.

I’m having a baby.

“I…” Shaking my head, I close my eyes. “Right. OB-GYN. Got it.”

Thoughts of having a child have always been in the back of my mind, but I thought it would be with Aaron. I’m such a fool.

The doctor and nurse leave me after checking over me one more time. Kaylee stands there, looking at me and smirking.

“Miss ‘I’m never having a baby because I can’t have Aaron.’” She pulls the chair over to the bed and sits down. “You got it right on the first night and now have a mystery man’s baby in you.”

Her tone isn’t judging. Not in the least. But I feel judged. I feel like the world keeps swimming past me and I can’t get ahold of the boat to keep myself afloat.

“I’m keeping the baby.” The words are out of my mouth before I can process anything else.

Kaylee holds my hand and forces me to look at her with her next words. “Well, of course you are. You’re going to come home after the semester and move in with me. Online classes can be done via Zoom, and you can intern at the local hospital. They have a physical therapy floor. Besides, your smart ass is a senior after only two years.”

Laughing, I use my free hand to swipe away my tears. “Right.” It’s all I can say as the sob hits me.

“Promise me you won’t spiral, Julie. You’ve always been the glue. The wall. Let me help you, and we can get through this together.”

“I’m…I’m not even upset about the baby. If I’m truly pregnant, I’m going to keep the sweet one. But, I’m most upset that James will never know he has a child.”

Kaylee nods. “You’re always thinking of other people. It’s time to think of yourself.”

“I don’t know if I can leave, though. I am part of an ongoing investigation here at the school.”

Trying to sit up, I whimper. Why does everything hurt so much? “You fell against the bookcase and bruised your back. The guard was able to keep your head from hitting the floor, but you’re going to be hurting for a while.”

“Ah, alright. Thank you for coming here.”

She laughs at me. “I was already on my way to come get you because I didn’t believe you’d actually come home for Thanksgiving.”

A snort comes from me. “Oh geez. Way to have confidence in me.”

Her lips turn up in a smirk. “Were you going to tell me about the naughty pictures? Or the fact that your professor was blackmailing you?”

“I only got the pictures yesterday, and the professor made his threat last night to change my grades if I didn’t meet him today.”

“Serves the bastard right for getting his head cut off.”

“Kaylee!” I can’t believe she said that. She’s the most docile and sweet human being I know.

“I don’t regret saying it. He was trying to hurt you. Good riddance.”

Even if I agree, I won’t say it out loud. For some reason, it feels like this isn’t over. Something is brewing; I just know it.