“Okay, good.” Karter let out a breath, his shoulders dropping. “Matt is gonna be at the library for a while, so we have time to talk.”
“I am not staying,” I said. I kept my back planted against the doorframe.
Karter finally took a real look at my face. His smile vanished. “What is it?”
Protecting him drove every thought in my head. If Hastings found out the truth about us, Karter’s father would find out too.
“Someone filed a complaint,” I said.
Karter stepped away from his chair. “What kind of complaint?”
“The school is investigating us,” I said, keeping my voice down so it would not carry through the floorboards to the guys downstairs. “Title IX. Harassment under the guise of tutoring.”
Karter’s expression hardened. The reality of the situation was hitting him, but he was trying like hell not to show it.
I walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge, staring at the scuffed floorboards. “Perez told me Trenton has been running his mouth all week. Bragging about clearing out the dead weight.” I looked up at him.
If this investigation moved forward, Hastings would interview everyone. The team, the RAs, the professors. He would dig until the truth came out. And I knew exactly what happened when the truth came out at Ridge Cross.
Pearson.A strip of athletic tape with Pearson’s name on it stayed stuck to the bench for weeks before someone finally peeled it off. The official team email called it a conduct violation, but every guy in that locker room knew a legacy alum caught him with another player and made one phone call.
By Monday, his scholarship was gone.
“We’ve got two choices,” I said, looking up at Karter. “Tell the truth, and we both get screwed over. Or we end this right now, publicly, and I take the fall alone.”
Karter blinked, staring at me as if I’d started speaking a different language. “What the hell does that mean, Aleks?”
“It means I’m going to Hastings tomorrow. And I’ll tell him I made a pass at you, you turned me down, and I kept pushing it.”
He just kept staring at me.
“It is the only play that works,” I told him, my voice dropping flat. “The harassment charge sticks to me. Hastings gets to protect his donors, he gets to quietly expel me, and you walk away completely clean.”
Karter ran a hand through his hair. “Are you out of your mind!?” He took a step forward, his shoulders squaring up. “Do you really think I would lie to the AD to back up some fake harassment story?”
“You have to,” I said. “My life is already done, Karter. Corby benched me for Friday. The Chicago scouts are gone. But you still have a future. If we fight this, they will treat us like they treated Pearson. They will drag you right down with me, and your dad will cut you off. Right?”
“I do not give a shit about my dad,” Karter shot back. “And you are just trying to run away before I can.”
“I am handing you a clean exit,” I shot back, frustration bleeding into my voice.
“I do not want a goddamn exit!”
I expected him to panic. I fully expected him to realize his family reputation was on the line and take the deal. Any sane guy with his kind of money and privilege would have walked away.
But Karter just stared at me and didn’t flinch.
“I am not letting you take the hit on this alone,” he said.
I stared back at him. I’d come into this room ready to throw everything away just to keep his name out of Hastings’ mouth.
But looking at the stubborn line of his mouth, I realized my plan was already dead. He was not taking the out.
“Alright then,” I said with a firm nod. It probably looked more confident than I felt. “Then we take the hit.”
Chapter 19 - Karter
Apparently my family name bought me the nicest leather chair in the room for my own interrogation.
