12. Chapter 12
Bram
Gene Thackery still thinks he can make me back down.
It's two in the afternoon on the longest Thursday of my life. Dismissal is half an hour out. Across Patricia Oakes's conference table, Gene holds my gaze while she reads my request to remove Cole from the roster.
I let him glare. He knows what I saw. He knows why we're here.
Her office smells of radiator dust and old oak, and the radiator under the window knocks while we sit.
Eight mismatched chairs surround the table.
Gene and I are facing each other across the wood.
Cole sits beside Gene on another chair, wings furled tight behind him, his knees together and his hands in his lap.
He tries his best to look like a perfectly behaved young gargoyle. He could fool me again if I hadn’t seen what he did with my own eyes. Going over Gene’s head felt strange after eight years of taking my problems to him, but I didn't hesitate.
Now we all sit in front of Principal Oakes, and Gene has brought Cole here to tell her I got it wrong.
"So your account is horseplay," Patricia says to Cole, over the top of her reading glasses, her pen poised above her pad.
"We were messing around, ma'am." Cole sits a little straighter, giving her the respectful attention I've seen him give college recruiters.
"Eli and I go back and forth like that all the time.
It's a locker room. I'd never actually hurt him.
He's basically part of the team." He smiles at her.
"Honestly, I think Coach Stryge walked in on the wrong thirty seconds and read it wrong. No disrespect, Coach."
I've heard that easy voice for four years. He fooled me this long, but not anymore. That kid needs to learn that his behavior has consequences. I keep my hands on my knees and wait for Patricia to finish with him.
"Coach Thackery, what do you want to add to this?"
"Patricia, I've run this program half my life," Gene says, settling back in his chair. "If there was a problem in my locker room, I'd know. If Cole says he was just horseplaying with Eli and Eli isn’t even here to back the complaint, I don’t even know why we’re here. There’s nothing to support this request to remove Cole from the roster, much less ruin a young man’s entire football career. "
"Noted." Patricia makes a mark on the pad. "Continue."
A brisk knock comes before anyone can reply. The admin secretary opens the door and starts to announce someone, but Athena Braddock walks in before she can finish.
Cole's mother is six foot four of slate-gray gargoyle in a tailored back-vented coat, her black hair streaked with white and swept into a low knot. Her dark wings are folded neatly behind her. She pauses inside the doorway, takes in the people around the table, and fixes her eyes on her son.
"Mom." Cole's voice cracks on the word. "What are you doing here?"
Cole pulls his hands into his lap again, but his confidence has leached away in a split second. Gargoyles don’t play when it comes to honor, and I’ve known Athena for years. I knew she would believe me, which is why I called her earlier this morning.
Gene gets halfway up. "Athena. You didn't need to come all this way for such a silly matter."
"Mrs. Braddock," Patricia interrupts, "take a chair. Parents are always welcome during an inquiry."
Athena takes the chair at the end of the table and folds her polished talons together on the wood. Her eyes are the same pale amber as her son's, and she keeps them on him until he looks down, which doesn’t take long. She hasn't said a word.
Cole turns to me. "You called my parents."
He sounds younger than he did a minute ago. I hold his eyes and keep my voice low.
"They need to know what their son is up to, Cole."
Athena gives me a small nod. Gene sits down again and turns toward her, spreading his big green hands on the table. I've seen him reassure worried parents this way, taking his time, making sure they know how much he cares about their kid. I used to be proud to work beside him.
"Athena. You know me. You know what I've built here and what your son means to me.
Recruiters are driving up tomorrow with offer sheets in their glove boxes.
That's his future sitting in this room, and one piece of paper is about to burn it down over a scuffle nobody can even prove.
I protect my players. Kids like Cole matter. "
"And kids like Eli don't?"
She says it quietly. She isn't even looking at Gene; she's still looking at her son. Gene opens his mouth, then closes it. I've stood on his sideline for eight years. I can't remember the last time he failed to find an answer.
Athena turns toward him. "What have you been teaching my son, exactly, Coach Gene?"
The radiator knocks twice into the silence. Gene's hands draw back from the table. I want to hear his answer too, but he doesn't give her one. Cole stares down at his knees, leaving his coach to face her alone.
Warmth spreads through my chest and out along both wings.
I know what this means. It means Rory is close.
A moment later I hear her heels in the corridor, coming fast, and I turn toward the door before she knocks.
I've spent all day wondering whether she'll ever willingly come near me again.
Now she's just outside, and I have no idea why.
Rory comes in with her chin up and a phone in her hand and a terrified-looking Eli Navarro at her shoulder.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," she says, her voice clear and firm. "But this can't wait."
Her gaze catches on me, and she stops for a moment before looking toward Patricia. She wasn't expecting to find me here. I want to get up and go to her, but I stay in my chair.
"Ms. Hale, Eli," Patricia says. "You have the floor."
Eli plants himself in front of the whole table. His hoodie collar is still stretched, his taped glasses crooked. He looks at Cole, then at the principal, and stays where he is. I'm glad Rory is close enough for him to reach.
"Eli has been recording what Cole did to him in secret," Rory says, setting a phone flat on the table. "There are weeks of clips, proving everything Eli said. I'll wait while you watch."
She draws a chair beside Patricia and opens the folder. Athena moves closer, and Gene leans forward. I shift in my seat to see the screen. Eli stays beside Rory, looking toward the window.
The first clip starts with Eli working and Cole coming into view.
I recognize the angle. The phone must have been behind the ball bags in the equipment cage, where Eli puts everything away after practice.
He's been setting it there, going back to work, and waiting to see what Cole would do to him.
My stomach turns as Cole approaches him on the screen.
The little speaker carries the sound of Eli hitting the lockers. Rory goes rigid. Athena leans closer to the phone, and I look across the table at Cole. He won't look at any of us. His entire cocky demeanor is gone.
The dates change as Rory opens more clips. I keep seeing places I've walked past, towels I've handed to that boy, work he's done for us without a word of complaint. How many times did he help me after Cole hurt him? How many times did I thank him and walk away?
Athena watches every clip Rory plays, all the way through. When the last one ends, she sits back and rests both hands flat on the table. She turns to me.
"Coach Stryge." Her voice is quiet. "You filed to remove my son from the team roster. Based on what I saw, I’m inclined to think this is an appropriate punishment for my son."
Her eyes hold mine. "Actions have consequences, and a young gargoyle such as my son knows better than to act like an honorless bully."
I stand up. Rory turns in her chair to face me.
"Sadly, Cole is not the only one who has been acting dishonorably in this matter.
" I look at Patricia, then at Gene. "Ms. Hale believed Eli from the start, and she’s the one who came to me with those concerns.
This morning, Gene threatened her contract unless she withdrew her complaint. I was there during this exchange."
Gene glares at me, but I ignore him. I turn toward Rory. She's looking up at me without moving, and I can see how tired she is. I want to take her hand, but first I need to finish clearing her name.
"You were right. Whatever you put your name to, mine goes next to it. You are an excellent counselor."
Her lips part. She draws a breath and holds my gaze, and the hum beneath my skin sharpens until I can feel it in my fingertips. I don't know what she's thinking. But she's looking at me, and I let myself hope.
"Then I've heard enough." Patricia takes off her reading glasses and sets them beside her pad. "Cole, the removal request is granted. You're off the team, effective now. Tomorrow's roster posts at three without your name on it."
"Yes, ma'am." He can barely get it out. Athena remains beside Patricia, making no move to go to him.
"Gene." Patricia waits until he looks at her. "You tried to stop two members of staff from reporting a student being hurt. You've had twenty years to teach these boys better than that. You're fired as head coach of Saltford High. Effective today."
Gene doesn't argue.
I wait for it anyway. I've heard him argue with referees, parents, school boards. He sits with his hands on his knees and his eyes on Patricia's pad. His whistle is still around his neck. After a moment he takes it off and closes his fist around it, then drops it to the ground, where it stays.
"Coach Stryge." Patricia looks toward me. "The team is yours. Make us all proud."
"Yes, ma'am."
I thought I'd be happy the day I got my own team.
Gene was supposed to shake my hand and tell me I was ready.
Now I can't look at him without remembering how proud I was when he hired me, and how he spoke to Rory this morning.
I don't know what to do with eight years of respect for a man who clearly didn’t deserve it.
"Ms. Hale, this will not affect your contract renewal negatively," Patricia says. "But more than that, I will personally put in a request to have your position become permanent this June."
Rory closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them, she's looking at Eli. He has moved closer to her chair, and she reaches back to touch his arm. Whatever else happens between us, she gets to keep being here for him. My shoulders ease for the first time all day.
The dismissal buzzer goes off up the corridor.
Outside the office, classroom doors open and voices rise as kids head for their buses.
Athena gets up and holds the door for Cole.
He walks past her with his head down. Before following him, she stops beside Eli and gives him a small nod. He straightens a little and nods back.
Gene leaves without looking at anyone. There’s a small part of me that feels sorry for him.
Rory picks up Eli’s phone and gives it back to him.
"Go catch your bus," she tells him gently. "Text me when you're home."
He pushes his glasses straight with one knuckle. His sneakers squeak down the corridor, and Rory watches until he turns out of sight.
A moment later, Principal Oakes leaves the room.
We're alone in the office. The radiator knocks beneath the window, and beyond it the buses are pulling into line on the drive. Rory reaches for her bag. I step away from my chair.
"Rory."
She stops. Her fingers tighten on the strap, but she turns toward me.
"I'm sorry I didn't speak up earlier." I stay beside my chair. "I was afraid Gene would realize how I felt about you and use it to undermine your complaint. I thought keeping quiet would protect your job."
She looks down at her bag, then back at me. "I needed you beside me."
"I know. I'm sorry I left you standing there alone."
Her eyes shine, and she sets the bag down. I want to cross the room so badly my hands ache with it. I don't know whether she'll let me hold her. I don't know what she'll say to what I need to tell her, either, but I've kept quiet long enough.
"I love you."
Her breath catches. She grips the back of the chair, and I keep going.
"I don't expect you to say it back. Not yet. Maybe not for a long time, and I'm not asking you to. I had to say it once, out loud, if only for myself."
I stop there. She heard me. I want an answer, of course I do, but I won't ask her to give me one just because I'm desperate to have her close again. I stay where she can see me and wait.
She looks at me for a long moment, then laughs. It breaks in the middle. One tear runs down her cheek, and she swipes it with the heel of her hand, still laughing.
"I must have lost my mind," she says. "But I love you, too."
She comes around the table and catches the front of my shirt in both hands. I gather her against me, bending until I can rest my forehead against hers. She's warm and crying, and when she laughs again, I feel it through my chest. I hold her closer.
Outside, the buses pull out. There's a playoff tomorrow night and loads of work that awaits me. In a minute I'll have to think about all of it. Right now Rory is in my arms, and she loves me.
That’s all that truly matters.