Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
JAX
It had been a long night. Riley wanted to go look for her mother, but we told her that wasn't a good idea. Her mother might have been sane months ago, but it was clear she'd snapped.
"My dad is coming to the swim meet today." I hadn't bothered mentioning that detail the night before because Riley already had enough going through her head.
She pushed some potatoes around on her plate. "I'm not going anyway." She put her fork down.
Blake, Morgan, and I exchanged a look. After she had finally fallen asleep, we had decided to keep her within our sights until we figured out what was going on with her mom and the water monster.
In our world, there were no such things as sea monsters. There was Poseidon and the tritons. There might be other gods out there, but our worlds had never collided according to what we were taught.
"We don't want you to stay here alone." I was going to have to be the bad guy. "Not with everything that's been happening."
"So now I can't even have a life without you three breathing down my neck?" She finally looked up. "You can't protect me all the time."
"We can try." Blake stacked some plates and took them to the kitchen. "Ivy will be there, won't she?"
"Yes. Then we're having some girl time at her house. Is there going to be a problem with that?" She looked ready to lash out at us, but was holding it inside.
Had her mom been holding everything inside too until she finally snapped? The three of us should be able to restrain Riley if things went south, but the thought of her turning vicious made me sick.
"As long as you keep your phone on, it'll be fine." Morgan stood and shrugged when Blake glared at him. "If you keep a dog on too tight of a leash, when they eventually get free, they'll run away."
Riley pressed her lips together as if she was trying to suppress a smile. "Did you just call me a dog?"
"I believe the proper term is a bitch." Morgan ran for the stairs as Riley chased after him.
I chuckled and helped Blake clean the dining room and kitchen. It was nice having a female in the house, even if none of us knew exactly where we stood with her.
The locker room was buzzing with talk of the homecoming game and the swim meet against the same school. They were our biggest rival, and we already beat their football team. We were pumped for victory in the pool.
"Gentlemen!" Coach Gale appeared with the principal and campus security. "We hate to do this right before a swim meet, but we have to take all accusations of drug use seriously. We're going to need you to wait outside while we search lockers."
My stomach dropped, and I filed out after Blake and Morgan, who looked just as nervous as I did. I quickly handed them the pills I already had in the small pocket of my jammers and we waited.
It was stupid of me to carry that pill bottle around, but we’d had too many close calls. We could control ourselves to an extent, but when the right conditions were present, it was virtually impossible to fight the shift without a little pharmaceutical help.
"What are you going to do?" Blake asked under his breath.
"Maybe they won't find them." Morgan crossed his arms and looked around at the other swimmers. A few others looked nervous. "I bet a few have weed in their lockers."
"Do you think Riley..." I didn't want to think she'd go that far, since she knew the pills weren't just regular pills, but it was possible.
"She said she was done with revenge." Morgan sighed. "But if she said something last week before she decided she was done..."
"Fuck." I needed to find my dad. He would take care of it in a heartbeat.
The door to the locker room opened and Coach Gale and Mr. Lee walked out carrying my pill bottle. I felt helpless as they stopped in front of us.
"Mr. West, if you'll come with us." They walked past the group and toward the coaching office.
My teammates began talking shit as I followed the coach and principal to my reckoning. I knew what they were all thinking, and I couldn't blame them. I needed to think quickly.
I shut the office door behind me and Coach Gale put the pill bottle down in the center of the desk. "Care to explain what these are?"
"They're medicine."
"You expect us to believe that?" Mr. Lee crossed his arms over his chest. "Your athletic ability is unnatural."
"I can have my doctor fill out the appropriate paperwork. I know I should have done that already, but it's a new prescription."
"What are they for?" Coach Gale took the bottle and examined them through the plastic. "They have tridents on them. Are they drugs or performance enhancers?"
There was a solid knock on the door and then it crashed open, hitting the wall behind it. My dad stood there looking pissed as hell, and I smiled.
"What is this?" He walked into the office and snatched the pill bottle away from Coach Gale. "How dare you search his locker and bring him in for questioning without a parent present."
"With all due respect, sir, Jax is eighteen, and if we have probable cause, we can search student lockers and belongings." Mr. Lee's voice shook a bit, and I was surprised he said anything at all.
My dad pinned him with a glare and then looked back to Coach Gale. "Who the hell are you?"
The coach sat down in his chair and leaned back. "Dylan Gale, interim coach. Have a seat, Mr. West. We were just about to discuss the next steps."
"I'll stand." My dad pocketed the pill bottle. "There will be no next steps."
"Your son needs to be drug tested, which will take some time to be arranged. He will sit out of the meet today." Mr. Lee stood. "The meet starts soon. Is this going to be an issue, Mr. West?"
My dad's face was red with anger, and I hoped he didn't decide to start a punching match. I couldn't blame him. Mr. Lee was usually a pushover when it came to those that had deep pockets.
"Need I remind you who built this facility and continues to fund its upkeep?"
While Mr. Lee and my dad went back and forth, I kept my eyes locked on Coach Gale, who was enjoying everything a little too much. Finally, he stood, and everyone's attention turned to him.
"The decision is final. Jax will sit out.
Even if they are prescription, as he says, he broke school protocol.
The school handbook gives clear instructions about taking prescriptions on school grounds.
" He moved around the desk and put his hand on my shoulder, which I immediately shrugged off.
"Let's hope this all gets cleared up. I'd hate to lose the best swimmer on the team. "
Coach Gale lived up to his name. He blew in and knocked me off my feet.