Page 110 of More Than Chemical
Keep me posted tomorrow.
Sounds good
I slept horribly that night. I was nervous for Dad and what he would face the next day. And then, as much as I tried not to, I kept thinking about Dallas. Dallas and his ineligibility.
A memory came back to me from the night we’d gone to Sporty’s. When I told him who my dad was, and he clammed up on me. He’d gone from a pursuer to an avoider in mere seconds. And if I hadn’t cornered him later that night and forced myself on him, our short relationship would have run its course and I wouldn’t have been mad at him now.
Damn it. I didn’t want this turmoil.
There was a rock in my stomach. And because of that, I wanted—no, needed—to fix things for him. Make them right. He deserved that.
Forty
The Verdict
The next morning, both sides gave their closing arguments, and the jury was excused to decide the verdict.
I texted Priya an update.
Gray put us in a small conference room adjacent the courtroom to wait. I wasn’t sure how many times Dad stood up from the table, paced to the window, wrung his hands, and then came back again to sit with Mom, Eric, and me. A dozen at least.
Waiting was horrible. Especially when it was to find out whether he’d face jail time or not.
An hour went by. Then another.
I pulled Eric aside. “I’ve been thinking, and I have an idea.”
“About what?”
“I was doing some research, and it’s the university who has to request that an athlete’s NCAA eligibility be reinstated. Then the NCAA reviews the case on its merits and makes a decision. So you’re right about Plunkett. About things having a way of coming full circle. He’s the one who would have to submit for Dallas’s reinstatement. Do you think we could convince him to do it?”
Eric paused, stared, and blinked a couple times. “That is a good idea. He did tell us to come to him if we needed anything.”
After one of his laps, Dad sat and stared at his hands, clasped together on the table. “I want to thank you all for being here with me through all of this. It’s been rough and nerve-racking, but you’ve stood by my side, and I’ll be forever appreciative.”
Mom moved behind him and put her arms around him.
Dad moved his hands to her arms. “I’m sorry. Really sorry. For the mistakes I made. How what happened and what I did affected more than just myself.” He looked at Eric and me, his eyes red and watery. “I love you all so much.”
Eric reached out and put his arms around Mom and Dad. I got up and did the same thing.
My family and I were all wrapped in this gigantic family pretzel when Gray entered the room.
“Well, this picture warms my heart,” he said.
We pulled apart, laughed, and dried our eyes.
“Especially since I’m here to tell you that it’s done.” Gray put his hands on the table and leaned against it. “Court is to resume in fifteen minutes. The jury has reached a decision.”
We all inhaled.
Finally, it would be over. Almost a whole year of trauma, almost a whole year of heartache, so many sleepless nights I couldn’t begin to count them, and it came down to this. Twelve people were about to speak my father’s fate.
“Oh, Ade,” Gray said. “There’s someone asking for you in the hallway.”
Every raw emotion hit me at the same time. Dallas. It had to be Dallas. On Valentine’s Day.
Eric opened the conference room doors, and I rushed out.
