by Aria Ford
I had gotten my way and was glad for it. Brittany was a bit obnoxious. It was her upbringing. She never treated me like that, but I had seen her be very rude to others.
“Thank God,” Adam muttered. “I cannot believe you two are still friends.”
I glared at him. “Don’t start talking shit about her. I can just as easily walk away.”
He nodded. “So, dating anyone or are you still wrapped up in training for the Olympics?”
The way he said it was meant to be friendly, but I knew he was being a dick. We had broken up because he said I was always too busy to spend time with him.
“I’m still training,” I said, ignoring his other question.
“You going to make it?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I hope so, but that’s impossible to say for sure. I have a new trainer, and I think he has what it takes to get me there.”
I left out his name on purpose. Adam knew Tanner. They had met a few times and neither one liked each other. Adam had thought Tanner was a dick, and Tanner referred to Adam as a pissant whenever he’d been talking about my boyfriend at the time. Back then I had been offended, but now I knew Tanner had been right.
The conversation came to a halt. I looked around the room, trying to find the best way to extricate myself from the situation. Adam and I had nothing in common, and I realized I truly didn’t like him. I didn’t want to be standing her chatting with him like we were old friends.
“How are classes?” he asked. It was a fail-safe conversation starter.
I nodded. “Good. You?”
He rambled on about a professor kicking him out, and I smiled and nodded. I was dying of boredom. I couldn’t believe I used to have sex with this guy. He was an asshole. A shallow asshole who thought way too highly of himself. I continued to smile and nod and make sounds of agreement while my mind drifted to Tanner. Tanner was arrogant and could be an ass but not to me. He knew he was hot, but he didn’t treat people like shit. Adam did.
“Wait, what?” I said, catching the last part of his sentence. “You posted a picture of her?” I clarified, not believing what I heard.
He grinned. “Yep. She told everyone I was obsessed with her, wouldn’t quit messaging her and so on. So I posted a few screenshots of her messages to me and the titty picture she sent.”
“Adam, you’re a dick. Really, that isn’t cool. You know there are laws against that, right?”
He shrugged. “Like anyone was going to believe that piece of trash anyway.”
I looked around the room. I had lost Brittany right when I was prepared to give her the signal to rescue me.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said a little too quickly. Anything to get him away from me. It would buy me a few minutes to come up with a good excuse to leave. We had a meet tomorrow, and I was too dedicated to my team to get wasted the night before a competition. Judging by the levels of intoxication I saw, these guys were going to be an easy victory.
“Here,” he said, returning with a brownie and a red Solo cup filled with beer. Odd combination.
I took the cup, looked inside for any signs of a pill dissolving, “Is it drugged, Adam?”
He rolled his eyes, “Yeah, right. I’ve already had you, Lindsey. If I wanted you again, I wouldn’t need to roofie you.”
“Ha! Yes, you would, and you know it.”
I took a drink of the warm beer, deciding it was safe, and took a bite of the brownie to help kill the taste of the awful beer. We stood there talking while I ate and drank the beer. He led me to a couch and told me to have a seat. I did. I wanted to. I sat down and leaned my head back.
“I’ll get you another beer. Do you want another brownie?” he asked.
I looked at him, not trusting him, but didn’t say no.
That was the last thing I remembered. There was nothing but blackness from that moment forward.
Chapter 13
Tanner
“Do you see her?” I asked Brian.
He was scanning the swimmers milling about at the USC pool. “Nope. She’s probably in the locker room still.”
I nodded, but something was off. She should be out by the pool, stretching and warming up with the rest of her teammates. It wasn’t like her to be late. When Brian called last night to say he would be coming into town, I’d suggested we go to Lindsey’s meet. He had hesitated at first but then quickly agreed, saying he should or she would be offended. He had yet to get to one since she’d made the college team.
Lindsey didn’t know I was coming. It had been a little spur of the moment. Sitting home on Friday night, I realized I wanted to see her. I missed her. I did what I could to convince Brian my desire to attend the meet was strictly professional. At least it kind of was.
“There she is,” Brian said, pointing to the coach who was currently surrounded by several members of the team. Lindsey was front and center. I watched her hands gesture wildly. Something had her worked up.
Brittany came to stand beside her. She, too, was visibly upset.
“What the hell is going on?” I mumbled.
Brian shook his head. “Beats me. Maybe they got in a squabble with the other team? The coach is pointing to the USC team. And now Lindsey and Brittany are looking that way.”
I watched and waited. The coach said something. I could see anger on his face, and the next moment Lindsey took off, fleeing toward the locker rooms.
Brian and I both stood and made our way down the bleachers. Something was clearly not right.
We waited outside the locker room, debating whether we could go in. “I’m not going in there. That will get me banned from every public pool, gym, and high school,” I said when he told me to open the door.
Brian nodded. “Probably better wait.”
It wasn’t long before Lindsey kicked open the door. She stopped when she saw us. “What are you two doing here?”
Tears were running down her face. Her eyes were red, and there were heavy circles under them. Her skin had a sickly pallor.
“Are you sick?” I asked, suddenly concerned for her health.
“No,” she said, walking past us and heading for the glass double doors that led outside.
Brian and I followed her. She flopped down on a bench and wiped her eyes. “I can’t compete.”
“Why?” we both asked in unison.
She looked at her lap and mumbled, “I failed a drug test.”
“What?” I said a little too loud.
“Dammit, Lindsey, how could you be so careless?” Brian said with irritation.
I looked at him. He clearly didn’t know his sister as well as I did. I knew there was no way she would use drugs, especially before a meet when she knew there was a good chance she would be tested.
“What kind of drugs?” I asked softly.
“Weed,” she muttered.
Now I knew something was off. There was no way she would smoke a bowl, joint, or suck on a weed lollipop. It wasn’t her style.
“Pot’s legal,” Brian said, relief evident on his face. “It’s not like you can get a ticket or go to jail for it.”
She looked up. “I don’t care about a ticket!” she wailed. “I can’t compete. I may get kicked off the team. And if this goes on my record, I’m automatically disqualified from competing in the Olympics!”
Brian stepped back as if he had been slapped. “No way.”
I looked at him, nodding my head. “She’s right.”
Brian squatted down, getting at eye level with Lindsey. “Why would you smoke pot, Lindsey? That isn’t like you.”
I watched a myriad of emotions cross her face and took a step back. She looked like she was about to beat the shit out of Brian, and I didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.
“I didn’t! Are you fucking kidding me, Brian? Do you actually think I would smoke weed, especially the day before my meet? Fuck you. Why are you here anyway?” she shouted, her face flush with anger.
I stepped cl
oser, put a hand on her shoulder. “Relax. I don’t think he meant it like that. We’ve all smoked a little here and there.”
Brian was nodding. “Sorry, sis. I wasn’t trying to say anything. I thought maybe it was one of those cries for help or you wanted off the team. You’ve been competing your whole life. I figured you were tired of it and looking for a way out.”
“You’re an idiot,” she said, but not in a hateful way. “I don’t want to quit. I haven’t reached my goal yet. I think I was drugged.”
I sat beside her on the bench, grabbed her hand and demanded she look at me. “Say what?”
I was doing my best to remain calm. Inside, I was raging.
“We went to a party last night. The USC team always throws a party when we’re in town,” she started to explain.
I nodded, having a very good idea where this was headed. They set her up. Someone had drugged her.
“Adam was there. We talked for a bit. He brought me a beer and a brownie. I asked him if he drugged me, but he said no,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “The beer tasted fine. I didn’t see any signs of discoloration or fizzing.”
“The fucker roofied you,” Brian said, spitting out the words. “I’m going to kill him.”
I could feel rage bubbling in my gut. I remembered Adam. I’d always thought he was a little shit, and now I knew for sure.
“We’ll get this figured out,” I assured her. “I’ll talk to your coach as your trainer, let him know you would never do drugs. Hopefully he’ll hear me out.”
“Lindsey,” Brian said in a voice filled with dread. “Do you remember what happened last night? After the beer?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Actually, no. I remember drinking the crappy beer that tasted flat and warm. I kept eating the brownie to kill the taste. I know I felt kind of tired, and he took me to a couch, told me to sit down.”
My heart raced. I would go to prison if I found out he raped her.
“And then what?” I asked, needing to know more.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I remember him saying he was going to get me another beer, but I don’t know if he did. I remember nothing beyond that point. When I woke up, I was back in my hotel room.”
“You don’t remember how you got there?” Brian asked.
“No. I assumed Brittany.”
I wanted to ask if she felt like she had sex or if her clothes were on when she awoke, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I wouldn’t embarrass her in front of her brother.
“You sit with her. I’ll be right back.” I stood, needing to walk away for a minute to regain my composure.
I went back inside and made my way over to Lindsey’s coach. I did my best to keep my cool, explaining the situation, but he didn’t want to hear me. Fucker.
I scanned the other team, trying to find Adam, but it had been a long time since I’d seen him. I never paid that much attention to him before and couldn’t pick him out of the crowd. That was probably a good thing because I know I would have beaten the shit out of him in front of a hundred witnesses.
I stalked back out to the courtyard where Brian and Lindsey were sitting on a bench and talking quietly.
“Well?” she asked.
I shook my head.
“I didn’t think it would do any good, but thank you for trying,” she said with a faint smile. “I’m sorry you guys drove over here to see me compete for nothing.”
I shrugged. “It was an easy drive. Do you want to head back?”
“No, I want to stay and watch, see how they do.”
Brian looked at her. “Are you sure?”
“My team already thinks I let them down. I want to be there to support them. You guys don’t have to stay. I can ride back on the bus.”
“No,” I said, more forcefully than I had intended. There was no way I was leaving her with these people. They couldn’t be trusted.
Brian agreed with me. “We’ll stay. If you want to go, we’ll go, but there is no way we are leaving you here. Someone drugged you. It could be anyone.”
“Thanks, guys. I appreciate the support. I can’t imagine someone did this to me on purpose. I don’t have any enemies that I know of. I can’t imagine Adam drugging me. What does he have to gain? We have been friends. It wasn’t an ugly breakup,” she explained.
The thought of Adam and her together pissed me off too. I didn’t want her talking to the guy ever again. I planned on telling her that as soon as we were alone. I’m not the jealous type, but I don’t share. Lindsey was mine. I would deal with what that statement meant to me later. Right now I was going to make sure no one fucked with her again.
Chapter 14
Lindsey
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. I know the coach was only doing his job, covering his own ass as well as protecting the team. Having a druggie on the team didn’t do anyone any good. I understood it, even if I hated it.
“Coach,” I started, doing my best to keep my voice even. “I swear to you, I didn’t willingly do drugs. I’ve explained to you what happened. I never smoked weed. I didn’t smell it in the house at all. I drank a little warm beer and that’s it.”
He shook his head. “Lindsey, I would like to believe you, but the evidence says otherwise. You failed a drug test,” he reiterated. “That test doesn’t lie. You had pot in your system.”
“I know what the test showed, but I didn’t do it!”
“It clearly states in our athlete code of conduct that any failed drug tests are grounds for dismissal from the team. I can’t let you set a bad example for the current members and those looking to make the team next year. My hands are tied here, and you did that,” he said, pointing a finger at me.
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t. I’m telling you, I would never do that. I did not do drugs of any kind. Period,” I said vehemently. Now he was pissing me off. I was trying to control my anger, but I did not appreciate being called a druggie and a liar. “Coach, I have been training for the Olympics for more than ten years. Do you really think I would risk it all for a hit of weed?”
“I don’t know what you would do. You kids these days think pot is cool, and it’s okay to use it because it’s legal. Rules are rules,” he said, slamming a hand on top of the file folder with my name on it.
There was a knock on the door, his assistant popped her head in. “What?” he grumbled. “I’m in the middle of something.”
“There are a couple of people here who say they need to talk to you about this particular case,” she said.
Tanner pushed open the door, strolling in without waiting to be invited. Brittany was right behind him.
“You need to listen to her,” Tanner said, sitting in the chair next to me. Brittany remained standing, her hand on my shoulder.
“I’ve told him, many times, but he isn’t listening,” I said with frustration.
“Did you tell him those USC people drugged you?” Brittany asked.
I nodded. “I did. I told him I was served beer and a brownie and blacked out shortly afterward. He doesn’t believe me.”
Tanner leaned forward. “I suggest you listen to her, coach. You know she’s the only one on your team who takes swimming seriously. You lost on Saturday because you didn’t have her. Do you really want your team, your career, and the reputation of the school to suffer because you refused to look at all the facts?”
The coach looked uneasy. Brittany stepped forward, placed both hands on his desk and leaned down. “I was there, coach. We all were. We were all drinking. She,” she looked at me, pointed, and then stared down the coach, “wasn’t drinking. You need to question the USC team. They set us up. They took out our best swimmer on purpose.”
Tanner was glaring at the man. I had never realized how intimidating Tanner could be. He was a big guy and solid as a rock. He had that surfer look, but he was not one of those easygoing, laid back kind of guys.
“Sir,” I started, seeing a small crack in his resolve with Brittan
y’s and Tanner’s testimonies. “I promise you, I care far too much about my training to ever do anything like that. I have only been drunk twice since I turned twenty-one. I don’t drink, except for on rare occasions. I never do drugs. I can’t afford to feel like crap. I train six days a week.”
Tanner and Brittany were both nodding their heads, agreeing with my every word.
The coach sighed, looked down at his desk, and shook his head before looking up at me. “This is one hell of a mess.”
I nodded. “Yes, it is, but you have to know I would never risk getting kicked off the team here and throwing away my chance to make the Olympic team.”
“I do know that, but the facts are there. Maybe you didn’t do the drugs, but you put yourself in a position to be drugged,” he said, as if it was my fault.
Brittany had stepped away from the desk, but his words practically made her head spin around like something out of the Exorcist movie.
“No! Don’t you dare blame the victim. What kind of backassward bullshit is that?” she screeched.
Tanner was up and out of his seat in the same moment, barreling down on the coach, who was clearly very surprised by their responses.
I stood, grabbed Tanner’s shoulder with one hand and Brittany’s with the other. “Relax, guys. This isn’t solving anything.”
Coach’s face turned red, and I could see he was getting flustered. “Come on. We’re done here. We’ve said what we could,” I told them both, hoping to diffuse the situation before things got really ugly.
“I’ll think about it. Give me a couple days. I want to do some digging, and I’ll let you know,” he said. “But, in the meantime, you cannot practice with the team. I don’t want you anywhere near my facility. Do you hear me?” he said, pointing his finger at me.
I nodded. “Yes, I do and thank you for at least thinking about it. Please, coach. You know me. You know how hard I work. Keep that in mind when you are making your decision.”
