Nets and Lies(22)

So, the New Melanie shrugged my shoulders in total apathy. “Well, she is.”

Detective Pendley shook his head. “Ms. Solano’s character outside of this investigation is not our concern.”

“But how can it not be?” I protested. “I watch enough TV to know that an accuser’s character is always taken into consideration.” When they didn’t respond, I continued on, “I know she had crush on Coach T, and she flirted with him all the time. But I know he would never have acted on it.” Right, Mel. He’s one hell of a stand up guy. He doesn’t hit it with the flirty slut. Oh, no, he just rapes his star player on the futon in his office.

Detective Pendley held up his hand. “Melanie, there’s more.”

I shifted nervously in my seat. “More?”

He nodded. “Yes. Ms. Solano alleges there was another victim.”

“Who?”

Detective Pendley cocked his eyebrows. “You.”

The wind left my body, and I wheezed. Detective McKay stepped forward, but I shook my head. Slowly, I tried calming myself down. Breath Melanie! In and out, in and out, in and out. Finally, my voice came back to me. “She said he…” I couldn’t even utter the word. I thought if I said it, then it might make it true. Worse, it might give away my secret. The one I clung to so viciously it hurt.

Keep calm, don’t freak out! Frantically, I searched my mind for answers. There’s no way she could know. There were no windows in the office, so she couldn’t have seen what happened. But why? Why was she saying that? What could she possibly gain by telling such a thing about me?

Detective McKay nodded in response to my last question.

Heat radiated through my face all the way down to my neck. I burned so hot I felt like I was on fire. I imagined flames licking at my arms and legs, scarring me physically like the ones I carried on the inside. Stop it. They’re watching you. Tell them something, anything, so they’ll stop staring at you.

Thankfully the New Melanie took over. I threw my shoulders back. “That’s crazy! Why would she tell such a lie?”

Detective Pendley stepped forward. “Is it a lie, Ms. Reeves?”

My mouth gaped open. Keep it together, Mel. Don’t let him in. Don’t let him see through to the truth. “How can you even ask such a thing?”

“You didn’t answer the question,” he pressed.

Rage like I had never known spilled out of me. I bolted up out of my seat. “Yes! Yes, of course it’s a lie! Coach T would never do that to me!”

Screaming those words was almost liberating—like I really could pretend it never happened. That’s right. He would never do that to you. You don’t have to believe it, think it, or feel it because there was no way it happened.

Before I could say anything else, I heard a commotion outside of the door. There were raised voices out in the hallway, and I could hear Mrs. Tillery, Dr. Micheltree’s secretary, arguing with somebody. She wasn’t successful because without even a knock, the door blew open.

Then my parents burst into the office.

“Excuse me, this is a closed meeting--,” Detective McKay began, but my dad stopped him.

He pointed his finger in McKay’s face and shook his head. “Oh, no, this isn’t a closed meeting. That’s my daughter you’re interrogating right now, and she has right to counsel!”

My face flushed. Leave it to my dad to go full on lawyer mode. “Dad,” I began.

“And if you think you’re gonna ask her one more thing without counsel, you got another thing coming!”

“Daddy,” I said.

“She’s seventeen years old. What could she have possibly done?”

“Sir, she hasn’t-” Detective Pendley started before Dad interrupted him again to continue on his tirade.

“She’s an A student, Captain of the Varsity Basketball Team, and a Who’s Who in American High Schools—”

“DAD!” I shouted.

Finally, he glanced over at me. “Please calm down. My rights haven’t been violated!”

He raised his eyebrows, and I nodded. He then sighed and backed out of McKay’s face.

“Please, Mr. and Mrs. Reeves. Have a seat,” Dr. Micheltree said.

Mom eased down into one of the chairs, but Dad kept pacing around the room.

“Can someone please tell me what is going on? I mean, my wife and I get a call to get down here immediately since our daughter is being interrogated by detectives from the Sheriff’s department, not to mention the deluge of calls we’ve received from other basketball parents about something with Coach Thompson.”

Detective McKay stepped forward. “Your daughter has been named as a victim in an investigation of sexual misconduct, Mr. Reeves.”

Mom gasped, and Dad’s face reddened. “Excuse me?”

And there they were. The looks I’d imagined—the looks I had feared—were etched across my parents’ faces. I had to do something, so I blurted, “It’s not true!”

My parents ignored me. “What do you mean sexual misconduct?” Mom asked, her voice wavering.

“We’ve had allegations that Coach Thompson raped a student here. When she came forward, she gave your daughter’s name as another victim,” Detective Pendley replied.