Nets and Lies(17)

She smirked at me. “And look what it got you. Tossed aside so he can move on the next piece of ass.” Rolling her eyes, she murmured under her breath, “Just like your father.”

I cringed. It never failed whenever some guy had screwed me over that Mom managed to mention my dad. Somehow I seemed to be paying for his sins with every relationship or hook-up. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I want him to pay for what he did.”

Mom cocked a dark eyebrow at me. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Because you’ve got to be absolutely certain of your decision before we go forward. There’s no going back once you accuse him.”

I refused to meet her expectant gaze. Instead, I stared down at my hands. “Yeah, I’m positive.”

Mom’s nails dug into my chin as she jerked my face to hers. “Dammit, JoJo, I mean it. I’m not going to bat for you if you’re not certain you want to see that ass**le pay.”

Swatting her hand away, I stared coldly at her. “I said I was sure. What the f**k do you want me to do? Write it in blood?”

Mom smiled. “There’s my fiery girl. You had me worried there for a minute. You’re going to need that fire in you if we’re going to make this happen.”

Rolling my eyes, I spat, “Just get off my back and stop worrying about me, okay? I’ll do what I have to do. I’ll even ham it up and cry while I describe how he threw me down and raped me.” I brought my hands to my temples. My head had begun pounding.

“So?” Mom asked.

“So, I’m going upstairs to take some Advil before going to bed and putting an end to this truly screwed up day!”

Mom shook her head. “Not before we get your story straight.”

“You mean sit down and go through it like we’re writing a damn novel or something?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. You gotta march into that principal’s office tomorrow with a story no one can poke holes into.”

I stared at her for a minute. “Do you realize how seriously f**ked up you sound right now?”

She laughed. “Oh honey, this is nothing!” She motioned around the room. “Do you think we’d have all of this if I wasn’t totally f**ked up?”

Chapter Six: Jordan

I didn’t make it to bed until close to midnight. We talked everything through a million times. No detail was spared as Mom and I fabricated the story of how Coach T had raped me. In the end, it wasn’t hard since he had taken advantage of me along with taking what little trust I had left in men. Every time I started to falter on my feelings about crying rape, I thought of the way he had acted in his office—how he was probably doing Melanie behind my back. That caused the anger to pulse in my veins, and I wanted him punished.

The next morning I barely touched my breakfast. My stomach churned so tightly in knots I felt like I would throw up. Get a grip, Jordan! You’re acting like some pu**y about this. Get your head on straight and your act together.

Mom drove me to school. From time to time, she would turn to look at me. Each time, she flashed me a winning smile. “It’s gonna be okay, JoJo. You’ll see,” she reassured.

To keep my focus, I once again kept my mind on how he had treated me the night before—the things he’d said, the look of hatred he’d given me. That was the Coach T I wanted to pay. I locked the other one—the one I truly loved—out of my mind.

I strode confidently through the office door with Mom close on my heels. I stopped at the secretary’s desk. “Yes, I need to see Dr. Micheltree.”

The secretary, who was a floater and sometimes substitute teacher, eyed me disdainfully before staring down at an appointment book in front of her. I guess she remembered subbing for some of my classes. I fought the urge to laugh in her face about how ridiculous she was to hold a grudge over stupid shit like that. But I refrained.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No, I don’t.”

A shit eaten grin spread across her face. “Oh, I’m sorry then, but Dr. Micheltree won’t see you unless you have an appointment. You’ll have to come back.”

I opened my mouth to make a smartass remark, but Mom pushed me aside. She leaned in on the counter—her face inches from the secretary’s. “Now you listen to me. I didn’t haul ass all the way down here to be told to come back some other time. I should be at work right now, and I don’t intend to come back. So, we’ll just have a seat until she can see us!”

Without another word, Mom turned on her heels and clicked over to the couch. She shot the secretary one last angry look before she flounced down. I stood rooted to the floor, almost as astonished at the secretary, whose mouth still hung open wide. But then, I went to sit down beside her.

Barely five minutes had passed when the secretary cleared her throat. “Dr. Micheltree can see you now.”

Mom threw a triumphant glance at me before rising from the sofa. “Thank you so much for all your help,” she drawled in a sugary, sweet voice as we passed the desk. We wound around through a circle of offices before arriving at Dr. Micheltree’s door. Mom knocked.

“Come in,” a voice called.

We walked in the office. Mrs. Tillery, Dr. Micheltree’s secretary, smiled at us. “She just stepped out. Please have a seat, and she’ll be right with you.”