Chapter 49 Colton
FORTY-NINE
COLTON
NOVEMBER | DENVER, COLORADO
Breakfast on our last road day was quieter than usual, every face buried in a phone. I accidentally overslept because I stayed up late talking to Vi. I regretted nothing, but it did make me the last to arrive at breakfast.
“And in shocking news to no one,” Royce said, scrolling to the bottom of some article.
“Fuckin’ figures,” Leroy grumbled.
“The patriarchy strikes again,” Owen said, but he only got one stray “shut up, rookie!”
“Wait, what’s up?”
Sorrento sat up and took a deep breath, giving me a quick look. My phone buzzed in my pocket. “Dropped you the link.”
“Thanks.” I filled a plate at the buffet and slid into his table. When I opened his text, my blood halted in my veins.
Then, my heart took off at the headline.
Dallas Goalie Doyle Arrested for Sexual Harrassment and Assault
“Holy shit.”
My thumb quivered as I paged to the link. Did Violet come forward? I was pretty sure she didn’t want to, a choice I fully supported. Did she change her mind without telling me? I wasn’t sure whether to call her first or read the article first.
I chose the latter. A nurse from the hospital in Columbus filed a complaint for sexual harassment and sexual assault. Apparently he made inappropriate comments and advances on her while he was in the hospital, shortly before he was released.
“That’s really what happened to Vi, isn’t it?” Sorrento asked, voice low.
I bobbed my head. “Yes. But . . . everything.”
“That fucker.” He patted me on the shoulder. “Sorry, man. You okay?”
“I need to talk to her.”
He nodded briskly. “I’ll pack up your food and bring it to your room.”
“Thanks,” I said, but over my shoulder because I was already halfway out the door, dialing Violet.
“Hey,” she said.
“Did you read the news?”
“Margot just told me,” she said. “Do you think I need to come forward?”
“No, not if you don’t want to. Honestly, it’s probably better this way. It’s a felony to assault medical staff. Doesn’t bode well for his career.” A soft sob came through the line, and I couldn’t imagine how hard this must be for her. “How are you?”
“Confused. Relieved? Guilty.”
“Why guilty?” I asked.
“Maybe if I had come forward, this wouldn’t have happened to her.”
I hummed. “That’s a valid way to feel, but who knows? You know a lot of things go wrong when you report stuff like this.”
“I know. I just wish it didn’t happen at all.”
“Me either, baby. I wish I could hug you.”
“Me too.” Her voice broke.
“I will give you the biggest hug ever known to man when I get home.”
She gave a wet laugh. “I know you will. Even Margot hugged me. That’s twice in a few days.”
“Wow. Soak it up, right? She’s anti-hug?”
“Very much so.” She sniffled and sobbed a little more. “I wish I could do something, but it all makes my stomach hurt.”
“Maybe when you’ve taken some time, you could reach out to the nurse. I bet she’d like to talk to you. You know how lonely it feels.”
“I do. That’s a good idea.”
“What are you doing the rest of the day?” I asked.
“Margot told me to go home, but I’d rather bug her all day,” she said, and a little chuckle came from the background. “She told me if I stay, I have to reorganize the storage closet.”
“Ooh, well at least that’s a fun place,” I said, and Violet giggled. “Can you see your therapist? Can I set something up for you?”
“Already on it. And I had plans to hang out with Jeanine after work anyway.”
“You gonna go?”
“Yeah. I think it’ll be good to see people.”
“Good.” I paused, afraid to make her cry again. “You’re not alone, baby. We’ve all got you.”
She did cry again, but it didn’t feel wrong. She probably needed to cry. “I love you, Colt.”
“I love you too.” A tear snuck out of my eye and I wiped it away. “Killing me not to be there to hold you.”
I could hear the smile in her voice. “Just hold me extra when you get home.”
“Consider it done.”
Coach and I sat in front of two microphones after the game. Another great win, so now we were high on a winning streak rather than a losing streak.
“Jonesy, I wondered if you had any thoughts on the allegations against Doyle.”
Coach looked my way and held my gaze. He gave a slight nod. I was free to say what I wanted.
“I’d say that . . . I’m sorry for what happened to that nurse and that I appreciate her bravery.”
A follow-up question came from the back of the room. “So you’re saying you believe the allegations?”
My throat tightened. How could I phrase it so that I didn’t compromise Violet’s privacy? Her wishes?
“I’m saying, it’s important that we believe survivors and support them in whatever way works best for them.”
“Coach? Any comment?” the reporter went on.
“Couldn’t say it any better than Colt just did. I think this stuff happens more often than we’ll ever know and I’m sorry that someone in our league would behave this way.”
I knew this would have backlash. I knew people would keep talking online, read into it unfairly. But for the first time, I couldn’t have cared less.
And I couldn’t wait to get home to Violet.