Page 71 of Who's Saving You
Saying her name feels like betrayal as it comes out of my mouth.
“My sister owns a sports management company. Sheprobably has a few different business names. She does a lot of PR work, cleaning up images and getting college kids prepped for professional sports.”
“But this name was tied to articles about that game.” I say softly, “It’s in the docs, Nik.”
He turns from me, taking his suit jacket off and roughly pulling at his tie. He uncuffs and rolls up his sleeves, the jerky movements seeming like he needs to do something, anything, more than talk right now.
“I want to see what you found.”
“Can we talk first? Tell me your side, tell me what happened.”
He stares at me before a smug grin crosses his face. His reply is full of cockiness. “You got some answers, go write your story.”
“Are you serious right now? You’re so busy trying to protect me, you moved me in here, bought me clothes, flew me to Houston, but now I can justgo write a story?” I turn from him, walking away before turning right back and erupting. “I don’t have any answers! How did you get involved with Dante? Why did he have no problem saying he’d clean it up? You threatened Rhett as if it were something you did often. What the fuck? I deserve those answers, Nik.”
He stares at me, and I know his thoughts are burning through his mind. I need him to open up here. I need him to let me in. Not just professionally, but personally. If there is something so pivotal happening, I have to know before I go on to write this article. But if there is something that could hurt him personally, well, I need to know that, too. I won’t write an article that could demean someone. That's not me. But he has to let me in if we’re going to move forward in any capacity.
28
Nik
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. She’s closer to understanding all this than I thought. But Eva? How is my sister involved with this?
“Nik, please.” It’s two words. Two simple words, but they break me. My mother would have my head if she saw the standoffish way I was handling myself.
I’ve learned to guard myself, my thoughts, my feelings. I’ve had to. When you get comfortable, that's when things happen, people get hurt, and lies bubble to the top. I’ve given half answers and plastered on the Saint Nik persona for years, that sometimes I forget who I really am.
So, since she opened up about her start in her career, I know it’s time for me to do the same. “Trevor saw the pattern. He knew I missed those plays on purpose because there was no way I'd ever miss them otherwise. He sat onthe sidelines making comments each time I came off the field. Then they benched me, played him, and we got into it after the game in the locker room. We almost came to blows, even though everything he was saying was true.”
I let the words fall around us as we stand facing each other in my kitchen. Everything she’s telling me, if I allow it to sink in and resonate, is becoming clearer about how fast things were cleaned up. It never dawned on me that someone was coming behind me and cleaning it up. At the time I felt so alone. The act was so horrendous to a squeaky-clean player like myself that I didn't think it would have gone past the few people involved.
And once the game ended and the debt was paid, my dad disappeared. I don’t know where he went, but my sister, my mom, and I made it out unscathed, and I just had to keep this secret buried and move forward like nothing happened. It was a bad game. Period. It’s all I’d ever say about it. But I never got to talk to my dad about it, never got to ask questions, never got any closure. He spent my entire childhood giving me everything he could to ensure I made it, and then he left right before I got it.
“Coach pulled us both apart, separated us in different rooms, and asked for our side. I know he told them I was playing like shit on purpose, that I was missing plays and catches. He didn’t know why, but he kept saying over and over that there was something else behind it. I’m sure my coaches were leery; playing like shit was completely out of character for me, and whether they believed him or not, they sided with me. I was the golden boy, so I know they believed my story.”
“Which was?”
I pick up a small pack of candy. Turn it over, play with the wrapper. “I blamed it on feeling sick. It was such acowardly way out, and I knew it. Even if I had a fucking 104 fever and was throwing up in between drives, I wouldn’t have missed those routes. But because I was what was good for the school, they sided with me.” I sag against the counter. “They interviewed Loving and Soba. Both backed me one thousand percent. They never asked for more; even if they had doubts, they were probably afraid to incriminate themselves. The school tried to keep things quiet, tuck their tails after a loss, but the story began to form, and rumors began to spread about why we lost. They desperately tried to get ahead of the press. Someone had to take the fall, and I let it be him.”
Noelle's eyes don’t leave mine. “You let your teammate get expelled for your screw-up.”
I nod slowly, letting the words I just spoke out loud linger, and for some reason, wanting to tell more. “A few days later, the athletic department put out a press release that Trevor was caught buying term papers, and then blamed the team’s loss on inner turmoil resulting from the accusations. They said Trevor was jealous and wanted to be first string, so he also paid other teammates to make me look sloppy. Those same routes I missed? They spun it to make it seem that the other players weren’t executing the plays correctly. I don’t know how it happened, but those accusations were made public, and I let them do it. I knew he wasn't guilty of anything, but because I was desperate to stay safe, I let myself believe everything they put out about him. It happened fast. One minute, rumors were swirling about all kinds of things, and the next? Dead silence. Trevor was gone, and the game just continued.”
Eva sat with me at the closed hearing with the coaches. She did most of the talking, supplying facts about Trevor not even I knew. She brought Rhett into it, saying he wasaltering stats in the playbook. It was never proven, but the doubt was established, so it only added to the fall of Trevor.
EP INC.
I bury those thoughts and toss the candy pack down. “I was scared. I told myself I’d fix it. Once I made it, once I had power, I’d pay him back. Get him hired somewhere. I thought…” I shake my head, face in my hands, words lingering. “I thought I couldbalance it out.If I continued to do good, charity, and mentorship, and presented a clean image, it would mean something. That it would cancel out the lie.”
She’s listening intently.
“By the time I had the platform to make it right,” I say, “the machine was already moving. The Warriors had their star rookie.Saint Nik.If this got out...”
“It all burns.” Noelle finishes it for me. “Does Trevor know the real reason you did it?”
I shake my head. “I was too embarrassed. And too scared to tell the truth. If I told the coaches, they’d go to the cops, and I knew that would be signing a death warrant. You don’t mess with these types of people.”
“You are these types of people.”
