Page 44 of De Vil

Libby continues the story. "Braxton tried to say Coach was sleeping with you and that you were in her bed last night. She made it sound really gross, but I knew it was a lie."

Fuck, this isn't good. "I told everyone that was a lie. You were in our room and still asleep this morning." Libby smiles at me and Juarez chuckles.

The other girl, Rios, shrugs her shoulders. "Who cares if you’re sleeping with Coach?"

Libby nods and takes my hand. "Exactly. You are my friend, and if you want to sleep with her, that's totally awesome. I mean, she's hot as sin, girls!"

I smile and feel lighter than earlier. Maybe they would understand the truth if I told them.

"Ladies, let's load up," Joanie says. She looks at me with pure disdain and hatred but doesn't say a word to me.

Once we are on the bus, Coach addresses us. "Listen, I want you all to put your differences aside. No matter what you think or feel, we have a game to win. We play as a team or we don't play at all."

She sits down, and no one says a word. I sit in the back with Libby. "You are in love with Coach, aren't you?"

I stare at her, and there's only curiosity and acceptance in her eyes. There's no judgment or hate. "Yes." I don't deny it. It's too painful to lie about my feelings. I'm head over heels in love with Coach.

"Does she love you?"

My heart skips a beat because I'm not sure. "I don't know." She never said it back, and she's had time to. But a door shutting in my face is pretty final, isn't it?

"Well, I'm rooting for you." Libby squeezes my hand, and to my surprise, my heart warms. She's a true friend.

"Thank you, Libby." She turns and winks at me. We hold hands the entire ride to the athletic dome we are playing in tonight.

The ride gives me time to work myself up to confront the woman I love and explain to her she's my everything.

Last night was fucking miserable. This morning wasn't much better. Before breakfast, I got a call from Dean Groveton. Braxton's parents have already filed a complaint against me, and I'm certain he's going to show up at the game tonight. He'll demand that I ride back with him so he can tell me I'm going to be put on administrative leave.

The board of education wants to talk to me tomorrow morning. I already know I will do whatever it takes to make Tia safe. I'm going to bargain for everything to be pinned on me and not Tia. It's the last good thing I can do for her.

As we ride along to our destination, I'm contemplating what I should do. No one is talking, and I appreciate the silence. I certainly don't feel like conversing right now.

We park in our designated space, and the girls jump out. I wish I could say they filled me with that much excitement. Unfortunately, Joanie has been on my ass all day so far. She looks at me when we are the last on the bus.

"I don't care if you have been with her, but break it off, Laura. This only ends with you fired and her name tarnished forever." She gets off the bus, leaving me in contemplation.

I want to win this game and get back home. Maybe once I'm home I can come up with a solid plan. By the time I make it to the locker room, I'm exhausted with worry and stress. I overhear some girls talking about Tia.

"Coach probably felt sorry for the scholarship kid and was being nice to her."

"I bet Tia seduced Coach. I mean, who the hell would really want Tia?"

"What a trash thing to do to get on the team."

Braxton is standing there laughing with the other girls. They continue to talk, but I don't jump into their conversation. I skulk back to the coach's office. It's empty and I lock the door. I need time to think about what I'm going to do and how I'm going to handle this entire situation.

* * *

The beginning two sets go by horribly. The teams are disjointed, and no one is listening to each other. When the third round comes up, I put Tia in for Timpson. She crushes the competition and scores every point to win the match. In the fourth round, I switch the other five players on the A team for the B team. They literally decimate the round within three minutes. My gut was right. My B team is truly my A team.

They obeyed every command Tia gave without hesitation. There were no second guesses or thoughts of going against her. They were like a well-oiled machine. Although we tied, I found a victory within knowing my choice to make Tia captain of the team is the right decision.

Once the girls finish slapping hands with the opposing team, we head to the locker room. The dean is waiting for me outside the door. He acts like he is about to talk, but I shake my head.

"I already know."

"Good." He nods his head at me, and I follow him to the Coach's office. "I'd be a hypocrite if I told you that you shouldn't be in a relationship with a student. It is not against college policy, but they frown upon it."

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