Page 87 of For Crosby

The audio switched to Jeremy’s voice and our conversation outside the dining hall played. Every word a near confession of his guilt. Sure, it would never be permitted in a court of law, but it had to be enough concrete evidence for the dean to finally hand out a punishment to the right person.

Dean Edwards stared at my phone, even after it stopped playing.

“Obviously, I have the video,” I said, knowing I’d fight tooth and nail to stop from having to show it to him. “And I’m sure Mathews will confirm his involvement if you call him in.”

He shook his head, outwardly disgusted by what he’d heard. “I’ve heard enough.”

“Jeremy’s been putting Crosby through hell since he got here,” I continued. “And even though Crosby won’t talk, I don’t believe Jeremy deserves to get away with it. No matter what issues he has with Crosby’s family.”

Dean Edwards pressed a button on his phone and his secretary answered. “Find the phone numbers for Jeremy Potter’s parents. I need them to come to campus immediately.”

“And if they ask what this is about?” his secretary asked over the speaker.

“Tell them their boy is fine, but that this is an urgent matter.” He disconnected that call and pressed another button. Campus security answered.

“I going to need two officers sent to pick up Jeremy Potter.”

Relief washed over me. Crosby may not have wanted to take Jeremy down for fear of the repercussions, but I felt damn good knowing the asshole was about to get what he had coming.

The dean hung up the phone. With a deep exhalation, he looked to me sadly. “All I ever wanted was for this university to be a safe place for students. I hope you don’t think I was too harsh last time you were here. I was just following protocol and trying to get to the truth so I could punish whoever tried to hurt Crosby.”

“I understand that now.”

He nodded. “Crosby’s here because of me. His mother and I were classmates. So, when she contacted me about the potential problems facing Crosby if he stayed in Texas, I allowed him to enroll here. I promised her I’d take care of him.”

“And the first thing that happened when he arrived was he got hazed,” I said, finishing his thought for him.

“Exactly. Not only had I let him down by not giving him the safe place his mother sought for him, but I let her down.”

“Crosby’s okay. He’s a lot stronger than people think. And, he’s got me looking out for him.”

A sad smile tipped his lips. “He’s lucky to have you. I’m sorry I couldn’t have helped sooner.”

Crosby

The puck flew across the ice. I waited to the left of the goal and stopped it with ease, firing it at our goal. Our goalie nearly got his glove on it, but it sailed past him. Coach blew his whistle, signaling a change of drill. I stopped where I stood, waiting for Coach to tell us where to be. He’d finally allowed me back to practice, but kept Jeremy and me apart at all times. He clearly knew something had happened between us, even if I didn’t blame the cup stunt on him.

A door slammed and two campus cops entered the arena, their steps determined and echoing off the rink walls. Everyone on the ice turned, watching them approach our assistant coach, the closest one to them. They said something to him before he signaled Coach over.

With rapt attention, we watched their interaction with Coach. The cops did all the talking. Coach listened and then reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. His thumbs pounded away at the screen before he lifted it to his ear. He listened to whoever he’d called while pacing up and down the bench area for a good three minutes. As he did, the color drained from his face. Anger brimmed in his eyes. And his steps became louder. He made a few comments into the phone then listened some more. After another few minutes, he disconnected the call and jammed his phone into his pocket.

He stared off into space for what felt like an eternity, pondering whatever he’d just heard.

His eyes eventually moved to the ice, moving slowly over every one of us, his mind clearly plagued by something. “Jeremy,” he called.

Jeremy looked around confused, before skating over to him.

We remained motionless as Coach spoke to him.

Whatever he said sobered Jeremy’s features. Coach shook his head as Jeremy protested. Given the anger in Coach’s eyes, he wasn’t hearing it. Jeremy yanked his practice jersey over his head and threw it into Coach’s chest, before skating off the ice.

The cops met him at the door of the rink and followed him to the locker room.

What the hell just happened? I met Xavier’s eyes on the opposite side of the rink. He shrugged his confusion. I glanced around at all of Jeremy’s friends. They looked like they wanted to crawl into holes and disappear.

I looked back to Coach. He spoke to his assistant, his hands tunneling through his hair. After a few minutes, he blew his whistle and gestured for us to come over. We skated to the bench, gathering around him. “I know how rumors spread and I want you to have the truth from me before you hear lies from anyone else. Jeremy is no longer a student here.”

My teammates exchanged nervous looks, all of them too scared to say a word.

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