CHAPTER 19
By the time Saturday rolled around, Tessa and Tristan were both crawling out of their skin with the anticipation of the truth coming out and Tristan’s reputation in the NFL being restored.
The stadium that night was dark and quiet, as it usually is the night before a home game.
The only sound that could be heard was the quiet click of Coach Rice’s shoes as he walked heavily down the long corridor, pausing briefly before barreling into Tessa’s office and being greeted by the apprehensive faces of Tristan, Tessa, and an unknown man.
“What is this?” Coach Rice said, huffing an annoyed breath and crossing his arms. “What on earth did you drag me here on a Saturday night for? You’re an hour out from curfew, Kelly.”
“Listen, Coach,” Tristan stepped forward with hands held up in surrender. “We have something we need to tell you. Did you see Brett on your way in?”
“Why would I-”
“What’s the drama, Kelly?” The general manager of the Titans said as he walked into the office, eye scanning all of the people in the small room. “And who the fuck is that?”
“This is my lawyer,” Tristan said, motioning over his shoulder at Steven.
“Nice to meet you guys,” Steven said with a confident nod of his head. “I believe my client has something very important he’d like to show you.”
“Are the theatrics really necessary?” Coach Rice asked.
“For this, yes,” Tristan said, green eyes meeting Tessa’s blues in the tense moment, looking for comfort.
She stood in the corner, quiet and stoic but very present.
She tried to insist that Tristan should handle this for himself, but he insisted right back that he needed her there, even just as a comfort to fall back on.
“Well, spit it out, Kelly,” Brett said. “You’re supposed to be on curfew anyway, the game is early tomorrow.”
“Oh, by the way,” Tristan said with a sly smile. “I will be playing tomorrow.”
Coach Rice rears his head back and holds intense eye contact with Tristan before tilting his head curiously.
“And what makes you say that?”
“I was adamant that I’ve never touched a steroid or any kind of drug that would pop on any test during the season. You said I needed proof of my innocence, and I have that.”
Brett and Rice both look at each other with raised eyebrows, clearly intrigued.
“I’d love nothing more for that test to be wrong, Trist,” Rice says. “But do you understand how solid your evidence has to be?”
Tristan simply nods his head before turning back towards Tessa’s desk and picking up a thin manilla envelope.
“Here,” He says. “This is part one.”
Coach Rice clears his throat before turning towards Brett and opening the envelope, the silence in the room deafening and almost too much for Tessa to bare.
Her heart felt like it was pounding against her ribs so hard she was sure everyone in the room could hear it.
She had discovered most of this on her own before giving it to the lawyer for confirmation, and she wasn’t sure how they were going to take it.
“This is basically a foreign language to me,” Rice says, trying to adjust his glasses.
“What does it mean?” Brett asks impatiently, and Tessa takes a tiny step forward.
“It’s the official transcript from the lab,” she says in a small, unsure voice, but Tristan’s smile gives her a quick confidence boost.
“It shows that the original test sample was recalled back to the facility and then returned. If you look at the original test, it shows the result as negative. But the recalled test that was returned shows positive. It has Dr. Hines’ signature on it, so it was him who authorized the return of the sample.
Me and Dennis, the IT guy, combed through company emails to find anything indicating that this was ever discussed, and we couldn’t find anything.
Were you two aware that Dr. Hines had recalled Tristan’s original test and resubmitted it? ”
They both shake their heads immediately and look towards Tristan with wide eyes.
“What are you implying?” Rice asks, and the lawyer steps forward.
“She’s not implying anything,” Steven says. “She’s showing you evidence that Dr. Hines knows that the test was originally negative, and that he alone was in possession of the test that was returned positive.”
“Why didn’t he bring this up?” Brett asks, and Steven has to stop himself from rolling his eyes.
“Because he tampered with it. He caused a false positive. How are you not picking that up?”
“I’m just trying to wrap my head around this,” Brett barks back. “Hines has been our head doctor for almost 10 years. What would his motivation for doing this even be?”
“And there’s our part 2,” Tristan says with a sarcastic smile. “Do you boys mind following me?”
“Trist,” Coach Rice groans. “I’m not into the games, alright? Just tell us what’s going on so we can get you back on the fucking field.”
“Trust me, Andy,” Tristan slaps a heavy hand on Coach Rice’s shoulder and nods his head towards the door. “You’re going to want to see this.”
“I don’t know if anybody really wants to see this, babe,” Tessa says.
“It’ll be a great bonding experience!” he says with a laugh and opening the door before motioning to the dark, empty hallway before them. “After you all.”
They all step out into the hallway, Coach Rice still clutching the papers in his hand, as Tristan moves to the front of the group and leads them down towards the medical offices.
“Where are we going?” Brett asks.
“We’re going to pay Dr. Hines a little visit for ourselves,” Tristan answers casually.
“Trist, he’s not here,” Brett says back. “It’s a Saturday night. He’s probably at home with his wife.”
Tessa’s gut sinks and she has to shake off the knowledge that someone’s marriage is involved in this.
“You would think,” Tristan says with a heavy sigh before stopping in front of Dr. Hines’ door and placing his large hand on the doorknob.
“You all remember Kiana, right?” Tristan asks, watching as Rice and Brett look at him through squinted eyes.
“Uh…yeah?”
“And you remember how many times I tried to break it off with her, only to back out because she threatened some kind of crazy shit? Usually it was her own life but, occasionally she would threaten my family or…my career.”
“Uh huh…” Rice grunts, still staring at Tristan.
“Well, may I present to you that motivation you were just asking about.”
Tristan quickly opens the door and flicks on the light, revealing a very startled Dr. Hines sitting behind his desk and the very top of what is clearly a woman’s head.
“What the fuck!” Hines spits out, quickly jerking away from the figure and pulling his pants clumsily back up his legs.
Kiana’s head suddenly spins around and she peaks over the top of the desk, her eyes widening with fury when her and Tristan make eye contact.
“What in the fuck is going on here, Hines,” Rice spits out angrily, stepping into the room.
“None of your goddamn business!” he yells, and Kiana pulls herself from the floor, dusting off her knees and trying her best to appear dignified.
“It is my business,” Tristan says, grabbing the papers from Rice’s hands. “You wanna explain this shit? Why my test was originally clean but then you called it back for some reason, and then it magically popping hot for Test?”
Hines’ clearly begins to panic when he sees Tristan angrily waving around the evidence of his malpractice and his eyes quickly dart over to Kiana.
“It was her idea!” he points directly at Kiana, who hangs her mouth open in mock offense.
Tristan scoffs at Hines, put-off by his instant cowardice.
“Damn, you folded quick,” he says. “You’re a real bitch, aren’t you?”
“Fuck off, Kelly. If your crazy ex here didn’t force me into this-”
“Force you?” Kiana speaks up, cocking an arrogant eyebrow his way. “Honey you didn’t seem like you were being forced when I was-”
“You realize this is a jailable offense?” Steven pipes up, effectively rendering Kiana speechless. “This is a crime, tampering with a test like this, falsifying records. You could very well lose your license over this.”
Dr. Hines immediately starts sputtering out apologies and excuses, holding his hands up in a prayer.
“Shut up,” Tristan says, “You look pathetic right now. Grow a fucking pair and own up to your shit like a man.”
“I told you, it wasn’t my idea!”
Tristan takes a deep breath and turns towards Kiana who is standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed and stiletto tapping against the tile floor impatiently.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how badly I never wanted to see you again,” he breathes out, reluctantly bringing his eyes to Kiana.
“You wasted years of my life,” Kiana retorts, taking a step forward.
“No Kiana, you wasted years of your life,” he says with a headshake. “I tried to break it off multiple times.”
“Yet you could never do it,” she says with an arrogant expression on her face.
“Guess I was just that good, huh?” Kiana’s eyes dart over to Tessa who is standing in the corner, scowling harder than she ever has in her life.
Tessa stands up taller and maintains eye contact, refusing to let Kiana believe she’s intimidated.
“Oh please,” Tristan says with a snort. “If you think you’re any different from any other jersey chaser around here, you’re mistaken. I knew you would do some crazy shit like this, that’s why I let you hang around for so long.”
“Four years, Tristan!” she screams. “Four years and no ring? That would make any woman go crazy!”
Tessa winces and looks at her shoes at the mention of Tristan getting another woman a ring, even if it is a figment of Kiana’s imagination.
“I never promised you shit,” he says with a laugh. “You made that up in your head. I never once led you on or made you believe that’s where my mind was at all.”
“And you think this skinny little blonde bitch is gonna satisfy you?” Kiana points an accusatory finger at Tessa, and Tristan immediately steps in front of her, blocking her from Kiana’s view.