Chapter 12
Carson Hudson
Carson sat with his friend Ben on the bleachers near the practice field, waiting for their turn in the batting cage. It was one of those rare breaks in JV practice where the head coach was late, leaving the rest of them to warm up on their own.
Robbie dropped down beside them, his usual goofy grin not plastered across his face. Instead, something in his expression made Carson look at him a little closer.
“Man,” Robbie said, glancing around to make sure no one else was within earshot, “I gotta tell you guys something.”
Ben straightened up. “What?”
Robbie leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You know that stupid freshman stunt they made us do? The one where I had to hide in a locker in the boys’ locker room for fifteen minutes?”
Carson nodded. He'd drawn a different stunt where he had to carry the coach's equipment bag for a week. But he knew all the freshmen had been assigned something silly, and while none were harmful to themselves or others, they had the right to refuse to participate if they wanted.
“I saw something,” Robbie continued. His face scrunched, his expression uneasy. “And I don't know what to do about it.”
“What did you see?” Carson asked, his stomach already tightening with a bad feeling. Robbie was usually fun-loving and rarely serious about anything. To see him concerned was unsettling.
Robbie glanced around again, then started talking.
He described wedging himself into the locker.
“Fuck, those things are narrow. And the smell of old gym socks and jock straps made me gag. But I had the timer on my phone and wasn’t spending one second beyond my fifteen minutes stuck in there.
” He lowered his voice. “The little slits in the locker let me breathe but cut my view down. I could hardly see anything.”
“What happened?” Ben asked.
Robbie leaned closer. “I saw a varsity wrestler sit down on the bench. Couldn’t see him, but I could tell by his shoes.”
A bead of sweat dripped down Robbie’s face, and he swiped at it with his sleeve. “A guy walked over. Not a kid… his voice sounded like an adult. But he had his hoodie up with his back to me the whole time.”
Carson's pulse kicked up. “What did they do?”
“The guy handed the wrestler something.” Robbie's voice dropped even lower.
“And the wrestler asked if they were supplements.
The guy said, yeah, that they'd improve his performance and that they were perfectly legal. But he also said to keep quiet because not everyone would get them. Only the ones who could take them to state.”
Ben's eyes widened. “What else did they say?”
Robbie continued, describing how the student must have been nervous because he dropped the pills. “Nothing… I mean, he just gave them to the wrestler.”
Carson felt cold settling in his stomach. This didn't sound right. None of it sounded right. “You didn’t recognize either of them?”
“No. I couldn't see faces. I was too scared to be caught in the fucking locker.” Robbie looked between Carson and Ben, his expression troubled. “It's probably nothing, right? The guy said they were supplements. Said they were legal.”
But Carson could hear the doubt in Robbie's voice. Could see it in the way his hands fidgeted with his glove.
“Are you worried?” Carson asked.
Robbie was quiet for a moment. “It's been bothering me. Like, if it was really supplements and everything was legal, why all the secrecy? Why the 'keep your mouth shut' stuff?”
“That's a good question,” Ben said.
“But you guys can't tell anyone,” Robbie said quickly, his voice rising slightly with panic. “Seriously. I don't want anyone knowing it was me who saw this. What if I'm wrong? What if it really was just vitamins or whatever? I'd look like an idiot. Or worse, I'd get labeled a snitch.”
Carson felt the weight of that settle on his shoulders. Robbie was scared. And he was asking them to keep a secret that might be important. That might be dangerous.
“Robbie—” Carson started.
“Promise me.” Robbie interrupted, his voice strident. “Both of you. Shit, Carson… your dad is the sheriff. Promise you won't say anything.”
Ben looked at Carson, uncertainty written all over his face. Carson felt torn. On the one hand, Robbie was his friend, and friends kept their promises. On the other hand, what if this was something bad? What if someone got hurt because they stayed quiet?
“Robbie, if someone's doing something dangerous—” Carson tried again.
“We don't know that,” Robbie said. “We don't know anything for sure. Maybe it really was just supplements. Maybe I'm making a big deal out of nothing.”
Carson could see the desperation in Robbie's eyes. He wanted to believe it was nothing. Wanted to believe he hadn't witnessed something he'd regret not reporting.
“Promise,” Robbie said again. “Please.”
Carson exchanged another look with Ben. Reluctantly, he nodded. “Okay. I promise.”
“Me too,” Ben said quietly.
Robbie's shoulders sagged with relief. “Thanks, guys. Seriously. I just needed to tell someone, you know? Needed to get it off my chest.”
“Yeah,” Carson said. But the weight hadn't left his shoulders. If anything, it felt heavier now.
Practice resumed, and Carson tried to focus on batting drills. But his mind kept circling back to what Robbie had told them. Supplements. A man in a hoodie. Promises of improved performance and championships. Keep your mouth shut.
Carson thought about Jack. His brother was coming home tomorrow and would be a detective.
His mom also said he would be their assistant coach.
Jack and his dad always told Carson that if something didn't feel right, it probably wasn't. That Carson should trust his gut and come to him if he ever needed help.
But Carson had made a promise to Robbie. And breaking promises wasn't something he took lightly.
That night at dinner, Carson was quiet. His mom asked if everything was okay, and he just nodded and said practice had been tough. His dad looked at him a little closer, like he could sense something was off, but he didn't push.
Later, lying in bed, Carson stared at the ceiling and tried to figure out what to do.
Carson thought about the wrestler Robbie had described.
Some kid on the varsity team who was probably just trying to get stronger, trying to earn a scholarship, trying to make his family proud.
What if he was taking something that could hurt him because some guy in a hoodie had told him it was safe?
Carson's stomach churned. He rolled over and grabbed his phone, pulling up Jack’s contact information. He was still in Norfolk, but would be coming home tomorrow. His fingers hovered over the keyboard. I need to talk to you about something.
But he didn't send it. Because sending it would mean breaking his promise to Robbie. And Carson didn't know if he could do that. He deleted the text and set his phone down.
Tomorrow, he told himself. Tomorrow, he'd figure out what to do. Maybe Robbie was right, and it was nothing. Maybe the pills really were just vitamins, and he was worrying over nothing.
But as he finally drifted off to sleep, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong. And that by staying quiet, he might be making the biggest mistake of his life.