Nets and Lies(19)

I smirked at him and fought the urge to shout, “This isn’t about some stupid F or a smart ass remark! It’s about him screwing me for three months and then dumping me for no apparent reason!”

But I didn’t. I merely shook my head from side to side. “No, Mr. Sands, this isn’t about revenge. I was raped.”

He leaned forward in his chair. “Jordan, I’ve known you for the last four years. In that time period, you’ve managed to stay in trouble fairly consistently.”

I snorted. “So?”

“Just try to hear me out, okay? I mean, here we’ve got you, a student who has been known to cheat on tests and lie about her whereabouts when skipping class. Then we’ve got a coach like Mark Thompson. He’s been teaching for fifteen years without blemish or complaint. Never has a girl come forward in all those years with such an accusation.” He shook his head. “Who would you believe?”

Once again Coach T’s words echoed through my mind. I clenched my teeth and growled, “I was raped!”

Mom sighed in exasperation. “JoJo, give the doubters your evidence. Maybe then they’ll eat their words.”

Dr. Micheltree and Mr. Sands both stared expectantly at me. I suppose they were waiting for me to whip out a soiled pair of panties or something with conclusive DNA evidence.

“Coach T has a scar on his right hip. It runs from his pelvis down to his inner groin.”

The room grew eerily silent. It felt like all the air had been sucked out. Dr. Micheltree leaned back in her chair, unable to speak. Mr. Sands stared down at the floor. Neither one of them would look at me. They both acted like I was some diseased element on their picture- perfect campus.

It pissed me off.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Did you hear me?”

“Yes, Jordan. We heard you,” Dr. Micheltree said softly. When she looked up at me, hurt pooled in her eyes. But it wasn’t hurt for me. I could read it so easily I almost bolted from my seat to slap her.

It was all for Coach T.

Since they didn’t have any sympathy for me, I decided to give them something I’d even held back from Mom—something that would really make them hate Coach T. “He did it to Melanie Reeves too! I found her panties in his office futon!”

Everyone’s heads swiveled to stare at me. Even Mom’s expression changed to horror, but I think it was because she was afraid I had just overplayed my hand. When she recovered, she cleared her throat. “So, now that you see the truth, what are you going to do about it?”

Dr. Micheltree exchanged a glance with Mr. Sands. “We’ve never had an accusation of this kind here at Newton. It’s unprecedented.”

Mom rolled her eyes. “That’s all well and good, but I want to know what you’re going to do to the son of a bitch?”

“There’s protocol already in order, Ms. Bradford, of what we are to do. We must call the Sheriff’s department. Jordan will have to be interviewed and then—”

I sat up in my chair. “What happens to Coach T while all this is going on?”

“Until formal charges are brought against him, he’ll continue working at the school.”

I gasped, and Mom grabbed my hand. “You mean to tell me he can commit rape and walk the halls a free man?” she asked.

Dr. Micheletree nodded. “Only until formal charges are filed. I’m sure the Sheriff’s Department will expedite the situation.”

“Well then, I suppose we need to get to the Sheriff’s Department right now then?” Mom asked, picking up her purse.

“I suppose so.”

Mom motioned for me to stand up. Dr. Micheltree and Mr. Sands didn’t look pleased we were leaving. I figured the sooner we went to the authorities, the sooner their perfect school was wrecked.

We’d almost reached the door when Dr. Micheltree cleared her throat. “Ms. Bradford,” she began. Mom and I turned back to look at her. “I do hope we can keep this as quiet and as uncomplicated as possible.”

I cringed as Mom shuddered by my side. I braced myself for what she was about to say. She flashed Dr. Micheltree a winning smile. “Of course. I’ll be happy to keep it as uncomplicated as coaches who can’t keep their dicks in their pants!”

And with that, she slammed the office door behind us.

Chapter Seven: Melanie

I didn’t sleep at all on Monday night. After I woke up a little after two to find Will gone, I couldn’t go back to sleep. For the rest of the night, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Both an emotional and physical ache rippled through my body. And even though I wanted to sob with despair, I couldn’t cry. I was eerily calm while over and over like a movie on repeat, I relived what had happened in Coach T’s office.

At six-thirty, Mom came bustling in to wake me. “How are you feeling, honey?” she asked, sporting her pink flowered robe.

“I’m okay,” I lied. It was pretty sad how good I was becoming at bending the truth. The Old Melanie was literally disgusted by it. But lying not only preserved my sanity, but it insured my survival. And no matter what, I had to survive.

“Were you able to sleep last night?”

I shook my head. “I think I’ll stay at home and take it easy today.”

The truth was I just couldn’t face Coach T yet. Not only would I run the chance of seeing him during school, but I would definitely have to see him at practice. The thoughts of walking past his office to get to the locker room caused my stomach to lurch and churn.