Chapter 28 Ava #2
“You done staring at my ass?” he asked when he stopped outside another door.
“I don’t think so,” I admitted without thought. My eyes flew to his, and I saw his pleased look as he laughed. It softened him, and I drank in this version of Jett hungrily.
“Coach is waiting,” he said, sobering as he knocked, and when the call to enter came, he gave me a questioning look.
“I’m ready,” I told him.
“Let’s get it over with.”
We walked into an office, which I think was bigger than it appeared. It was just so cluttered that I immediately felt claustrophobic. I recognized Coach Bowers, of course. I didn’t recognize the woman beside him, but I did falter when I saw Ash and Gray.
“Hi,” I greeted weakly.
Coach Bowers stood up and offered me his hand, and I shook it as he told me who he was.
“She’s a football fan,” Jett told him as he rested against a wall. It seemed to be the only spare piece of wall that wasn’t covered, and I knew I should have been looking at Coach, but I was drinking in the pictures on the wall.
“Holy shit, this is Devonte Carlson,” I said, whirling to look at Coach Bowers.
He looked at me in confusion before he nodded. “Yeah, good player.”
“Good player? Are you joking?” I moved to the wall. “He’s the GOAT! Over a thousand passing and rushing yards three seasons in a row, the guy moves like a hot knife through butter.”
“As I said,” Jett said dryly, “she likes football.”
Aware that all eyes were on me, I flushed. “I’m sorry,” I rushed out. “I’m not here to stare at your wall.” My eyes darted back to it, and I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders as Jett pushed me down into a chair.
“Focus,” he said quietly into my ear.
“Sorry.”
Coach was looking between the two of us, his eyes curious, but his lips were pressed together tightly.
“You know why you’re here?” he asked me.
“I think so,” I told him.
“This is the team’s doctor, Isabell Sanchez. She was the one who tested the sample from Santo that Saturday morning.” Coach pointed toward Ash and Gray. “These two are here because it seems private meeting means shit to them.”
Looking at the two of them, I saw Ash grin and Gray stare impassively back at me.
“My understanding is they come as a package.” I opted for light and cheerful.
Coach snorted and leaned back in his seat, his hands clasped in front of him. “I’ve had your school records looked at.”
“Why?” I asked. He now had my full attention.
“You’re one of three people in this school on a full ride.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “My understanding was that this school didn’t discriminate against the scholarship kids.
” It was true. Sure, you could spot the money kids, but that was true in any walk of life.
In some colleges, they gave you a card that declared to all whenever you used it what your college payment plan was.
Cardinal Saints didn’t. When I handed my card over to pay for books, food, hell, even a coffee, it was the same card as anyone else’s.
“We don’t.” Coach watched me. “But I also know you got pulled into the dean’s office last week for making a side profit.”
I glanced at the silent observers to my right. “Yes,” I answered.
“Which tells me you’re either stupid to throw away a full scholarship or desperate.” Coach didn’t break my eye contact. “You don’t strike me as stupid.”
“That’s what Dean Porter said,” I muttered as I fidgeted in my seat. “I’ll tell you what I told him, which is the truth, and trust me, if you’d received the call I got from my mom afterward, you’d feel bad for me.”
“Explain.”
Looking at Jett again, I flinched at his hard stare before I turned to look at Coach and the doctor.
She looked nice. “I’m a fully funded scholarship recipient,” I began.
“I applied here on a whim, and the school must have liked what I had to offer, because as you rightly said, I got the whole shebang.” My finger rubbed over my eyebrow.
“But . . .” I sighed, “I get my tuition paid, my books, my housing and my food.”
“Nice,” Ash murmured.
“Yeah, well, have you eaten in the cafeteria?” I asked him. When he nodded, I turned back to Coach. “It’s the same food every week. For a seventy-five grand tuition cost per student, the food could be better. I got a side income so I could buy and make my own food.”
I sat in the silence and waited. Dean Porter had also been silent, but the doctor leaned forward.
“You risked it all so you could eat in your apartment?”
I nodded. “Look, my mom sends me an allowance, and I know I sound like a whiny shit, but I wasn’t asking her to break the bank so I can eat fresh pasta.
My friend offered me cash if I provided a service for him, and it meant I earned fifty bucks at a time and my mom didn’t have to waste any more money on me. ”
“You risked a full ride for fifty bucks?” Ash asked me in disbelief.
“What kind of service?” the doctor asked at the same time, and it was she whom as I saw she had made an entirely wrong assumption.
“I draw.” I hastily pulled out my phone and opened my photo gallery. “I make posters and flyers for his band.”
“Oh.” She looked entirely too relieved. “You’re very talented,” she said as she passed me the phone back.
“So, you’re stupid after all,” Coach Bowers commented.
I grimaced as I looked at him. “Guess so,” I admitted. “My mom definitely called me that several times when she got hold of me.”
“What did Dean Porter say?” Gray asked me. It was the first time he had spoken to me.
“Um, I have to stop, obviously. I’m on probation so I have to behave even when I want to smack someone,” I said as I glared at him, and he actually grinned.
“And he’s making me spend Saturday mornings teaching art to underprivileged kids as penance.
” I sat on my hands to stop from fidgeting.
“‘Making me’ sounds harsh; it’s been fun so far. ”
“And the incident with my quarterback?” Coach asked me.
“I was really drunk,” I admitted. “I don’t remember meeting him, I don’t remember being with him, but I do remember the hangover.”
The coach studied me, and then he stood. “We’ve been looking into the drug that was administered to Jett. I need to go coach my team. Doctor Sanchez wishes to talk you through everything. It’s entirely possible you were also under the influence.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but Jett’s hard look made me stop. “Okay.”
“Before I leave, I have one more question for Ms. Bryant.”
“Okay,” I said as I swallowed.
“Should it be found that you were also drugged, will you be seeking damages against my quarterback?”
My eyes widened, and I shook my head. “No, sir.”
“The team?”
“No.”
“The school?”
“No.”
He considered me, and I realized this is why he was so sought after as a coach. It was as if he could pull the truth from me. I saw him nod once.
“I hope you were only drunk, Ava,” Coach said quietly. “Thank you for your time today.”
He left without a backward glance, and then Gray and Ash followed him. Jett hesitated, his eyes on mine.
“Santo! Move it!” Coach’s voice bellowed down the hall, and Jett rolled his eyes before he left the office, closing the door behind me.
I turned back to the doctor. “He’s intense.”
“He’s my dad.”
Oh. “Um . . .”
She smiled at me. “Let’s get this over with. Do you want someone here with you?”
“No,” I answered, and then I looked at her. “Do I need someone?”
“This is unofficial,” she admitted. “You’re here under your own choice. You can answer or you can decline, it’s entirely your call.”
I rested my elbows on the desk. “I have nothing to hide,” I told her honestly.
“Then let’s begin.”