Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Mila dragged herself from bed and went into the bathroom. Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying. She had gotten very little sleep, lying awake and replaying everything she had said to Carson.
Had she made a mistake, telling him they needed to stop seeing each other?
She was torn. On one hand, it was the rational thing to do.
It had been foolish to think they could skate by, with no one questioning their involvement.
Even though they had reported their romance to HR and arranged for Jon Earl to complete her evaluations, the lingering appearance of her receiving favoritism—or him gaining some because of who her father was—had been bound to surface.
Marge questioning Carson’s decision to bench Drake had not been something quiet.
Instead, the principal had been very loud when she told Mila what had happened.
It had hurt, hearing these accusations out of the blue.
While she could understand why Carson had waited before he spoke to her, she wished he would have done so earlier.
That way, she wouldn’t have been hearing about them for the first time in a very public setting.
She might have been able to steer her conversation with Marge in a different direction, assuring the principal that Drake had only been told he was sitting out a single scrimmage.
Instead of getting ahead of it, Mila felt she had been at a disadvantage from the first word Marge uttered.
The rest of her, the part that thought with her heart and not her head, told her she needed to call Carson immediately.
Apologize for her knee-jerk reaction. Show a united front.
But it would be hard to unring the bell she had loudly sounded.
He might be having doubts about them now.
About her love for him. Her commitment to him.
That was the furthest thing from the truth.
Should she call Dad? Or go see him?
Before she could decide, her phone rang, something which rarely occurred. She texted everyone and hardly ever received any calls. When she saw it was Piper calling, her gut lurched. As she answered, worry filled her.
“Piper? Are you okay? Where are you?”
“I’m in Detroit. I’m fine. But I’m calling about you and that video that circulating online. Mom sent it to me.”
“What?”
“It’s you and Mrs. Duncan, our old algebra teacher. I never liked her. She was always so impatient and never explained things well. She’s in your face, complaining about her kid and saying mean things about Carson.”
A sick feeling washed over her. If Piper’s mom had seen it, how many others had? This was the kind of thing that could blow up and go viral.
“That was from last night. Just before the bonfire at Bayfest,” Mila said, her voice dull. “Carson benched her son, but Marge is on a mission of vengeance, thinking Drake got kicked off the team.”
“Carson didn’t tell you about this?” Piper asked. “Because you sure look surprised.”
“It just happened before my last district game Friday night. He didn’t want to tell me and have me thinking about that instead of my players,” she defended.
“I get that,” Piper said. “But man, you should’ve known. Benching a player is a huge deal, especially when his mom is a mover and shaker in the district.”
“I know. We broke up over it.”
“You what? No, that’s wrong, Mila. I can tell just from FaceTiming with you guys that you’re crazy about each other.”
“Well, it’s not a permanent breakup. At least I don’t think it is.” She choked up. “I just told him we needed to take a step back and let things cool off and play out.”
“What did your dad say?”
“I was about to go over and see him.”
“Then I’ll let you go. If it’s okay, I’ll call Layne and tell her about it. We’re supposed to FaceTime tomorrow morning. Maybe you’ll have some good news for us by then.”
“I hope so.”
Dejected, she hung up. Knowing she shouldn’t, Mila picked up her phone and found the video.
It hurt watching it, seeing it replayed again, knowing it was all over the internet.
There probably wasn’t a single person in Driftwood Bay who hadn’t seen it.
Then she saw more popping up and forced herself to put her phone down, telling herself not to go down that hellish rabbit hole.
Her phone rang again, and she jumped. Then she saw it was Dad calling.
“Hi, honey. I assume you’ve seen the videos.”
“I just did. Piper called and told me about it.”
“I’d like to talk with you and Carson about this situation. Could you two come over now?”
“I’m not with Carson. We… we sort of broke up.”
Her dad was quiet a moment. “I see. Well, I still need to talk with you both. Would you rather I do that separately?”
“No. Things are civil between us, Dad. And I’m hoping it’s not a permanent split.”
“Okay. Can you be here in half an hour?”
Since it was Sunday morning, that meant Dad was missing church over this, something he never did. That let her know just how serious things were.
“Yes. I’ll see you then.”
“I’ll call Carson and ask him to come over, as well.”
Mila stripped off her clothes and took a lightning-fast shower. She dressed quickly and downed a bottle of water, her stomach too queasy to eat anything. It only took her five minutes to reach her parents’ house. She didn’t see Carson’s car and wondered if Dad had gotten in touch with him.
At the door, Mom gave her a big hug. “Oh, baby. Come in. I know you’re upset. Dad told me that you and Carson aren’t together any more. Is it because of the videos? Marge?”
Mila came inside and walked straight to the kitchen, where Dad sat at the table, wearing a dress shirt and tie. His suit jacket hung on the chair behind him. She took a seat and then looked at her mom.
“I thought because of what was happening, it might be better if Carson and I didn’t see one another for a while. I’ve always been a little uncomfortable dating my boss. Now, with Marge’s accusations, I thought removing our relationship from the equation might help streamline things.”
Mom took her hand and squeezed it. “I know you’re hurting. That you love him.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I saw a future with him,” she admitted. “Now, I don’t know what he thinks of me. Of us.”
Dad spoke up. “The school board is convening at noon today. I wanted to speak to both you and Carson before that happens. They may want to talk to you both.”
She looked down at her sweatshirt and jeans. “I can’t go like this.”
“You can borrow something from me,” Mom volunteered.
The doorbell rang, and her stomach flipped over twice, knowing Carson had arrived. Mom left the kitchen to answer it.
Dad said, “It’s going to be okay, honey.”
Bleakly, she said, “I hope so,” doubt filling her.
Carson entered the kitchen and from the looks of it, he had slept even worse than she had. His gaze immediately went to her, and she gave him a weak smile. He took a seat and reached for her hand.
This time, Mila didn’t pull away.
Mom asked, “Would you like me to leave since this is official school business?”
“No, Laura. Stay. I think the kids could use a friendly face.”
Mom took a seat.
“Carson, you probably know that Marge Duncan came to see me late Friday afternoon. I need you to start at the beginning. Recap everything from the time practice started Friday. And if you don’t mind, I’ll record you.”
Dad placed his cell phone on the table and pressed the record button. He gave the time and date and noted everyone present before nodding at Carson.
“Actually, I’d like to speak about how things got started before yesterday’s practice, Dr. Perry,” Carson said formally. “Involving a conversation I had with Edith Smith, then my practice planning session with Jackson Rudd, who is my assistant.”
For the next quarter-hour, Carson walked them through the events of two days ago, first detailing his conversations with Drake’s English teacher and the team’s assistant coach.
Next, he talked about practice and how he had called Drake aside, speaking to him in private.
Mila was pleased at Carson’s recall of the details of their conversation.
He emphasized Drake was not asked to leave the team, voluntarily or otherwise.
“I told Drake that he needed to be more of a team player. That he had leadership potential, but he needed to behave as a leader and not a loner. I did inform him that he would be sitting on the bench for our first scrimmage this upcoming Tuesday. I wanted to give him time to process our conversation and what I’m asking of him.
I also wanted him to make some changes in his poor attitude.
I told him the only way he was off the team was if he left it of his own accord. ”
Dad, who hadn’t interrupted Carson once, nodded and asked, “What about the other players? What were they told regarding Drake’s absence from practice?”
“Drake voluntarily left practice. I never asked him to do that. I returned to the gym, having let Jackson run things during my short absence. We finished practice, and then I called the team together. I told them Drake was still on the team, but that I wanted him to think carefully of his role. I emphasized that every player, whether a starter or not, contributes to the team and that no one player is above the team or the rules. They’re a sharp group, Dr. Perry.
Already, I see how these players work hard and work well together.
They understood my decision about benching Drake for the opening scrimmage, and no one seemed to have a problem with that.
In fact, two players stayed after practice and thanked me for taking the action. ”
“Who are those players?”
Carson hesitated. “I’m not certain I want to mention them by name. They spoke to me in confidence.”
“I see,” Dad said. “Now, let’s move on to your conversation with Marge Duncan. I believe it occurred Friday after practice had ended.”