Swim Coach: A Novel

by Sam E. Kraemer

  I walked to my bag and pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a strap undershirt, slipping them on. I picked up my beer from the dresser and climbed on the bed to face him. "I'm sorry, baby. I know I shouldn't have teased you, and as soon as the blood begins to circulate to your brain, we can talk." I nodded toward his impressive erection hidden under his jeans and watched as he palmed it a little.

  He took a deep breath and let it out, looking into my eyes. "Why did you lie to me?"

  It was my turn for a deep breath which I slowly released, not taking my eyes off his. "Okay. When Herb showed up on Christmas Eve and told me about the possibility I wasn't the only person who Turner had attacked, I got really, really angry.

  “Apparently, there's a young woman here in Vicksburg who's your age by now. She's in a mental institution right now, but she claims that three years ago, she was raped by Jameson Turner. At the time, nobody believed her. They thought she made it up because she’d seduced him and she was lying in order to stay out of jail. Her parents institutionalized her because she wouldn't let go of the accusation, which was swept under the rug because Turner was a minor at the time.

  "Herb's spoken with the Chief-of-Police here in town and the Chief deemed it was worth the two of us coming down to talk with her. If her claim is true, it could be used to get DNA from Turner. I don't know why me being here has any bearing on her case, but Chief Dennison seems to believe I'd provide something that could be used to help her case. He's getting a Court Order for us to go talk to the girl tomorrow.

  "I didn't tell you because if this doesn't work out, you'll be disappointed and I know you'll try something when we get back to school to get Turner to make a move on you. I'm trying to do this the right way without you or me getting hurt in any way. I'm sorry I lied to you, but I love you and want to spare you some of the bullshit and heartache, Dre," I explained.

  He looked down at the white sheets and reached for my hand. "Why didn't you just tell me that?"

  "Because I was afraid you'd do exactly what you did. You'd jump on a plane and come down here and try to save me. How'd you even know where I was?" I asked. I was pretty sure the Sheriff hadn’t told Bryana where he was going.

  "My mom and Père got tired of watching me mope around after you told me you couldn't come to San Fran, so they suggested I cash in our tickets and come to Unionville to be with you. Imagine my surprise when I showed up at your mom's house and she told me where you were.

  “I immediately booked a flight to come here and she insisted on coming with me. She told me she wasn't getting in the middle of things between us, but she was sorry she didn't come with you and Herb in the first place," he explained.

  "Momma's here? Where is she?" I asked, surprised she'd come with him. She hadn't even mentioned she was interested in coming when Herb and I discussed it.

  "She, um, she went to Herb's room. Apparently, they talk quite a lot and he talked her out of coming in the first place. Unfortunately, when she found out I was coming, she decided she was coming along. Why would he talk her out of coming to support you?"

  I thought about it and the only thing I could come up with was related to something Herb said earlier when we were at the police station. "I think he was trying to keep her from finding out about my back. He mentioned she didn't know about it when Chief Dennison took a picture of it earlier in the day to take to the Judge, so I think he was trying to respect my wishes regarding the scars."

  It was then I thought about something else. "Hey, what did Lance ever tell Juan about my back?"

  "Actually, I told Juan it wasn't something we talked about, and he said he respected your privacy. You know, Lance would never tell anyone," he reminded. I actually did know that even though he’d been the one to show Andre the horrible evidence of my assault. I actually owed the man an apology for my reaction.

  "Shit, I sort of told Nick because he overheard some of our discussion on the way back to school, and hell, who knows what Herb asked him. Anyway, he threw his mattress away and ordered a new one. I guess I need to get all of our friends together and just tell them the fucking truth. I can only imagine what the hell they think," I complained.

  He took my hand and pulled me over to him, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling my head to rest on his chest. He stroked my damp hair, and we were quiet together. My mind was running ninety miles an hour, trying to come up with a reason for him not to leave me because of my stupidity.

  "Dre, babe, I'm sorry I lied to you and I won't do it again, no matter what it is, okay? I was trying to protect you from disappointment if this doesn't end up coming to anything. I love you and you already have so much shit to deal with when it comes to me. I didn't want this to be the one thing that tips the scale against me." I was being honest while trying to keep the begging to a minimum.

  He turned and kissed my temple. "Please, I'm begging you not to lie to me again. I'm pretty strong, you know. I can handle a lot more shit than most people give me credit. I love you, Colton, but I just can't tolerate lies."

  I looked up at him and hoped he could tell I was sincere. "I won't, I promise. I’m sorry. I should have told you the truth. Are Les and Jean-Luc…do they know you're here?"

  He laughed. "No. I thought them showing up here, guns blazing, might be a bit much." I laughed with him.

  I finished my beer and took his empty bottle as I stood to grab us two more. We settled together and watched television for a while, not saying anything. Finally, we were both tired enough we decided to go to bed. We didn't fool around because I guessed he was still a little pissed, but he let me hold him. Thankfully, I didn't have any bad dreams. That was a blessing.

  The next morning, we got up, showered together…chastely…and got dressed. We went to Herb's room and knocked on the door. When my mother opened it, I was shocked to shit. "Momma? What are you doing in Herb's room?"

  "Colton, get that tone out of your voice. I'd guess I'm doing the same thing in Herbert’s room as you and Andre were doing in yours. Sleeping."

  I glanced over her shoulder and saw two double beds, both of them unmade. Of course, I had some experience with two beds in one room and I knew just because they were both unmade, it didn't necessarily mean both beds were slept in. I just couldn't think about it at the moment because there were too many other things on my mind.

  "Why are you here?" I asked.

  She scoffed. "I'm here to support my son. I know there are things you aren't telling me so I won't push you right now, but I want the whole story, Colton. Now, you and Andre go get us a table at the diner. Herbert is getting ready for the day, and we'll be down shortly. Chief Dennison called him last night and told him he had the Order from the Judge. We're supposed to meet him at the hospital at eleven."

  I glanced at my phone and saw it was just nine-thirty, so we had a little time. I was hungry…fucking starving because I hadn’t eaten the night before. "Okay. Just…we'll be talking about this soon as well," I stated, referring to the room situation.

  She nodded and closed the door in our faces. I turned to Andre, the look of disbelief evident on my face. When he laughed, I didn't like it. "What's so damn funny?"

  "You are, Colton. If you couldn't see the attraction between the two of them, you're blinder than I thought. Come on. Let's do as the lady ordered. She's got a hell of a temper from what I've seen and I don’t want to cross her."

  He took my hand and led me down the stairs. I was truly grateful my room was on the first floor at one end and Herb's was on the second floor at the other. I sure as shit didn't want to know what they were getting up to at night.

  We took a booth in the diner and ordered four coffees. Andre sat down next to me, and I turned to look at him. "How do you know about my mom's temper?"

  He chuckled. "Well, I saw it the weekend we were there and she had that party. Then, last night when she and I showed up, we went to Herb's room first. He was pissed she was here, and he wasn't too damn thrilled I was here either, but she unloaded both b
arrels on him, reminding him she was your mother and she was entitled to be here to support her son.

  "Then she said, 'Besides, you jackass, you can't be trusted to take care of yourself without me.' He laughed and let her in, telling me your room number before he shut the door in my face. I didn't ask any more questions, but I think maybe they've spent time together that neither you nor Bryana knows about."

  That wasn't something I was prepared to consider because hell, Momma had always told me she'd had her one love and she wasn't looking for another. Every time I'd brought up her needing to date, she got pissed about it. Had she changed her mind and not told me?

  I didn't have time to ponder anything because the two of them came in and sat down in the booth across from us. She picked up her menu, not looking at me at all. Of course, Herb was looking at me and he looked to be pretty fucking worried. "So, seems I'm not the only one who has some secrets," I accused as I looked at him, seeing his ears immediately turn red.

  "Colton Josiah, stop it right now. It's none of your business," Momma stated as she continued to peruse the menu casually.

  "Oh, it's very much my business, Miss Michelle. What's going on with the two of you?" I asked. I ignored Andre's squeezing of my knee because I was getting to the bottom of it.

  She slammed her menu on the table and let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. After you and Bryana left for school, I was at the Thriftway buying groceries and I ran into Herb. We exchanged pleasantries, and when I looked in the basket he was carrying, I saw all he had was microwave food. I told him that wasn't any way to eat, and he told me he could only make breakfast. He mentioned he didn't think all those eggs were good for him because Bryana told him to eat healthy while she was at school. He’d decided frozen dinners were the way to go and you know me…no way.

  "I told him to put that crap away, and I invited him for dinner. Since then, we've been having dinner together when I don't work nights, and when I do, I stop by his place and have breakfast. We didn't tell you and Bryana because we didn't want the two of you to concentrate on anything other than your studies. It's not really anything formal, okay? It's nothing for you to worry about."

  My eyes went wide. "So…what? You two hooked-up and then nothing else?" I didn't like the sound of that at all.

  I saw her eyebrow rise, indicating without a doubt I was in trouble. "Colton Josiah, do you want to talk about how you and Andre spend your time together?" I shook my head 'no', seeing no good coming of that conversation.

  "Well, then respect my privacy as well. Now, what's everyone eating?" Michelle demanded which was a sure sign the subject was officially closed. As we ate breakfast, I watched the two of them chatting and laughing together. I couldn't deny Herb seemed to have some affection for my mother, and if he did, after he'd been so kind to me through the whole clusterfuck which had brought us to Mississippi, well, I wouldn't give him hell over it. I'd leave that to my bitchy sister.

  "Chief, this is Michelle Wixsom, Colton's mother, and this is his uh…" Herb began, uncertain of what to say regarding Andre.

  I laughed as I took Andre's hand and pulled him forward. "Chief Dennison, this is my boyfriend, Andre Dupree. Andre, this is Chief Dennison, Vicksburg Police Chief." After Andre shook his hand, Chief Dennison led us inside the building. It looked as depressing as I imagined it would be, and I pitied anyone locked up in that place.

  Chief Dennison walked up to a window and greeted the nurse who was standing there. "Ma'am, I'm here to see Dr. Rowland. I have a Court Order granting me the right to interview one of the patients."

  She nodded and picked up the phone as the Chief walked back over to where the four of us stood. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Dupree and Mrs. Wixsom will have to remain here. I'm not sure how long this will take. Do y'all want any coffee or anything?"

  They both shook their heads. I took Andre's hand and led him off to the side. "When are you going back to California?"

  He squeezed my hand, looking around to see the others in the room were deep in discussion. He leaned forward to whisper in my ear. "I don't have a return date yet. Let's see how this goes first, okay?" He discreetly kissed my neck and squeezed my hand.

  I nodded in agreement as a door buzzed and a doctor walked into the room. "Chief Dennison? I'm Dr. Rowland. I understand you have a Court Order you’re here to enforce?" he asked.

  Chief Dennison handed it to him, and the doctor pulled down glasses which were resting on his forehead. He glanced through the two-page document before he looked at all of us. He flipped his glasses onto his forehead again and grinned. "Who's Colton Wixsom and who's Herbert Wynn?"

  Herb and I stepped forward. The doctor looked at us and then looked at Momma and Andre, who was standing next to her with her arm hooked through his elbow as if he was escorting her. "Who are they?" the doctor asked.

  "That's my mother and my boyfriend. They're fine to wait out here," I volunteered. The doctor nodded and signaled to the nurse, who pressed a button and then a large metal door opened with a buzz. Dr. Rowland led us through it, and then another door opened once the first door had closed.

  Once we were inside, we were stopped by a security guard. After he took the Chief's cop stuff and wanded Herb and me, he pressed yet another button to let us in. It was like a fucking prison and I had no understanding why the woman was in such a place.

  "What's wrong with her?" I asked the doctor. He turned to look at me, giving me the once over. I could tell he'd already formed an opinion of me, and I didn't like it.

  Apparently, Herb picked up on it as well. "Yes, Doctor, what's the diagnosis?"

  "Miss Asher suffers from PPD." He looked at us expectantly and he appeared to be surprised when none of us had a clue what the hell he was talking about. The fucker rolled his eyes and continued. "Paranoid Personality Disorder. She exhibits signs of constant paranoia and is suspicious and mistrusting of others. She believes everyone is out to get her, and she'll continue to observe you for signs that will validate those fears. She constantly believes there are threats against her whether there are or not.

  "She's withdrawn and she tends to hear voices in her head. She refuses to partake in therapy and I believe her to be schizophrenic. She is silent most of the time, and she'll perceive your presence as hostile. She's attempted suicide many times, so we have to keep her room sparsely furnished. She rarely agrees to come out of it and without her meds to stabilize her, she becomes catatonic."

  Herb spoke next. "Are you telling us she won't talk to us? Is this visit all for nothing?"

  "Remarkably, when I went to speak with her this morning and explained the visitors, she was looking forward to it. The voices in her head told her someone was finally here to rescue her.

  “Please, don't give her a false sense of hope because when it doesn't pan out, we'll have to seek more invasive means of dealing with her and I've been trying not to go down that road," he commanded. It pissed me off immediately.

  "What's that mean?" I asked.

  "It means that we'll need to consider surgery in order to keep her from killing herself. She's resourceful in the ways in which she creates weapons to hurt herself. She's taken plastic utensils from her dinner plate and made them into things with which she can slice through her skin. Some of the cuts have been quite deep and had we not installed a security camera in her room, there were times she'd have bled to death.

  "I don't envy you trying to talk to her, but maybe you can reach a part of her none of her physicians have been able to reach? You should know she doesn't trust men…any men…and really, not many women. There's one nurse who she'll tolerate, and the woman will be with her. Her name is Loretta, and I'll have to insist she stay in the room. Go in and have a seat. They'll bring her in shortly," he ordered.

  We sat down and I looked around. There were bars on the windows and the security we'd gone through? It wasn't a normal hospital…it was a maximum-security prison.

  I turned to Chief Dennison. "Why is there so much security?"

  He sig
hed as he pulled out a large file from the briefcase he was allowed to bring in after it was thoroughly searched. "This place houses deadly criminals. It's a place for the criminally insane and apparently, from what the former Chief of Police noted in the files, she tried to kill her parents after they forced her to stop accusing Turner of assault. Instead of a trial, they had her committed here with his help. From what I found out, the last Sheriff was her uncle."

  "Do you believe that's the truth?" I asked.

  "Of course, it's not. Look at me. I wouldn't hurt a fly…"

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Meeting Natalie

  "Of course, it's not. Look at me. I wouldn't hurt a fly…" we heard behind us as a very petite woman gracefully glided into the room. She was beautiful in an otherworldly way. Her skin was quite pale and her hair was white-blonde and choppy short. She had huge gray-blue eyes and a bright smile. I couldn't imagine her hurting anything.

  The woman with her was a short, round woman with dark hair and a permanent scowl. She eyed us all carefully before walking behind Natalie over to the table to pull out her chair. After the small woman sat down, the nurse walked over to a side chair and sat down near the window, retrieving an e-reader from her pocket.

  "I'm Natalie Marie Asher, but you may all call me Natalie. I've been waiting for the three of you to show up." She looked at me pointedly. "Especially you."

  I looked at the other two men and they both shrugged, so I extended my hand to greet her. "Natalie, I'm Colton. Why have you been waiting for me?"

  She giggled innocently and looked around, seeing the nurse sitting off to the side, apparently engrossed in something on the small screen. She leaned forward and we all did the same for unknown reasons. "Because you have the magical answers." I sat back, confused, but she had such a kind smile I wasn't freaked out.