Nets and Lies(28)

Tara stared at me, her mouth hanging open in astonishment. Then she silently gathered up her things.

“Wait, don’t leave!” I cried.

“Did you not hear anything I just said? If you keep lying to me, I’m not your friend anymore, Jordan. When you decide to tell the truth, you come and find me.”

And with that, she stalked away from the table, leaving me all alone. I sat in shock for a few seconds, trying to gather my thoughts. Then I realized what it must look like for me to be sitting by myself. So, I gathered my things and started out of the lunchroom.

There was really nowhere for me to go. I couldn’t go out to the sunshine of the courtyard. I would be in the same situation. No one wanted to have anything to do with me. As I cast my eyes toward the library, I realized that wasn’t an option either. You had to get passes in the morning to go there.

Finally, I took my things and started for the parking lot. For the remaining thirty minutes of my lunch, I sat in my car, my coat pulled around my shoulders, and my iPod plugged in my ear. I didn’t listen to my usual rap or pop playlists. Instead, I listened to classical music in a desperate attempt to drown out my problems.

It didn’t work.

Chapter Nine: Melanie

After my horrific run-in with Jordan, I spent the rest of the school day in a fog. I went through the motions, going to class, taking notes, poking the food on my lunch tray, but my mind was miles and miles away. Now I had the answer to why she had claimed I was raped. She’d found my panties and thought I’d been voluntarily sleeping with Coach T. The very thought made me shudder with disgust.

Somehow she, of all people, had seen through my lies. I’d been so convincing to everyone else, even the detectives.

But not Jordan.

With one expression, she saw through to my core and knew I had really been raped. Knowing that someone else knew the truth was emotionally crippling. I could only hope that because of Jordan’s reputation that no one would believe her, and they would continue believing my lies.

When the bell rang, I silently rejoiced. I wanted nothing more than to get home and bury myself under the covers again. But when I got to my locker, Will was waiting on me. “Ready to go?”

My brows furrowed. “Go where?”

“To the Circle of course,” Will replied, giving me a funny look. The Circle was a spot in the athletic park below school where our gang of friends hung out. The gang was comprised of juniors and seniors, athletes and non-athletes. It didn’t matter if it was warm weather or cold. With tail gates lowered and hatch backs raised, we would lounge around listening to music and talking.

But today when Will and I got there, it was different. An unspeakable tension hung around us, strangling our usual free flowing conversation. Plus, the very reason we were able to meet at this time of day was because Varsity basketball practice had been canceled—even the guys’. The coaches were spending an afternoon in meetings trying to sort out what was going to happen in Coach T’s absence.

We shivered and huddled together in the winter cold. Finally, JT snorted exasperatedly. “Dude, this is bullshit!”

Will raised his head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, we’re all sitting here like somebody died over some rumor that bitch of a skank started!”

“Stop talking shit, JT,” Lauren warned.

“I’m not talking shit. I’m stating facts,” he argued.

Lauren tossed her strawberry blond hair over her shoulder and raised her eyebrows. “Oh really? Well, it sure sounds like shit to me. We’re sitting here like somebody died because they did. Coach T’s reputation and possibly his career.”

“Lauren!” Breanna Perkins snapped. She jerked her blonde head towards Will and me. At the mention of his dad, Will stiffened at my side. I squeezed his hand reassuringly.

Lauren’s face turned the color of her hair. “I’m sorry guys,” she mumbled.

JT patted her on the back before glancing around at the rest of us. “Look, she’s right in a way. I mean, we gotta man up here. Coach T is innocent. There ain’t no way in hell he would’ve raped Jordan or…” He refused to meet my gaze. “Or anyone else for that matter.”

His words stung me. My parents hadn’t challenged the idea and now my friends weren’t either. Kids I’d known for years, even my best friend, jumped to Coach T’s defense without even a second thought. But in the end, I had done the same thing, hadn’t I?

Breanna nodded. “JT’s right. Just because they’re accusing him doesn’t mean he’s going to jail. I mean, he’s bound to be found innocent once we all testify.”

Once they all testified…once they all unified together against me—against any of the truth I still harbored deep within me. My chest ached at the thought. I fought the urge to stand up and scream, “It’s the truth dammit! He really raped me, and you can all go to Hell for not believing it!”

But I didn’t.

Instead, Kara Ridings stood up to drive another nail into my coffin of truth. “I’ve known Coach T since middle school travel ball, and he’s never looked at me or touched me in any way that wasn’t totally appropriate!”

JT and Paul Jacobs grinned at each other. “Thank you, Kara. Save it for the detectives okay?” JT said.

She laughed. “Well, I was just saying, you know, that he’s totally innocent.”