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Looking around at the guys, I make the gut wrenching decision to tell them everything. “I got a text before the game today. You guys were already in the locker room with your phones off. It was a threat, and there were pictures attached of Brady and me… naked. They were from a few weeks ago at his house. Someone must have been watching us, and they took pictures.”
Cooper stands up and starts to walk away. Then turns around and roars, “What the fuck, Natalie? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Murphy steps in front of him, blocking his path, as I scream back, “Because it happened today! Right before the game. What was I supposed to do? Walk into the locker room and announce it to the team?”
Coop pushes Murphy away and lowers his voice. “I’m sorry. What happened next?”
Standing up, I pull the phone out of my pocket and open the text. I read it to them.
“I’m gonna kill him.”
Cooper starts to storm off, but Murphy grabs him as Bash comes over to me and pulls me into his side. One step above a whisper, Bash makes his offer. “How do you want to handle this, Natalie? I can call my dad for help.”
Cooper marches back over. “No. Sorry man, but no. Natalie, you didn’t want to call Dad this summer when shit went down, and I went along with it, but you have to call him now.” He grabs my hands and bends slightly, so he’s at my eye level. “Let Dad handle this. He has fixers on his payroll who can squash this mother fucker like the bug he is. Bash, man, I love you, but I don’t want to owe your dad anything.”
Coop wipes the tears from my cheeks and pulls out his phone. “I’m calling Dad.”
I rip it out of his hands and scream, “Cooper Sinclair, you do not get to make this decision for me!”
“What do you want to do then, Nat? Make a deal with the devil to handle this? Ask Bash. Ask him what his dad will do to this guy when he finds him. Better yet, ask him what you’ll owe his dad if he takes care of this for you.”
Coop steps closer to me. Rage filling his eyes. He looks from me to Bash. Then yells, “ASK HIM!”
I put Coop’s phone in my pocket, then storm off. I need to get as far away from him as I can. I feel like I can’t breathe right now, and Coop bulldozing me into what he thinks is right is not helping.
I walk back into the hospital waiting room and am momentarily shocked by what I see. We’ve taken over the space. There are football players scattered throughout the room, everyone sitting stoically waiting for word on their captain. Tommy is laying down with his head in Annabelle’s lap. Chloe is walking toward me, with her phone up to her ear. She mouths to me that it’s her mom on the phone, and I take what feels like the first deep breath I’ve taken in hours.
Coach Maxwell is leaning against the wall. His arms crossed over his chest. He’s surveying the room as I walk over to him. “Coach, have they said anything yet?”
“They sure did, young lady. Brady has a concussion like we expected. They are thinking a few cracked ribs, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet. He woke up for a few minutes, but once the pain killers kicked in, he passed back out.”
Tears fill my eyes. “I missed him waking up?”
Coach awkwardly places his arm around my shoulder. “We aren’t allowed to see him yet, Natalie. You didn’t miss anything. He’s going to be fine.”
I wipe my face with the back of my hand and step back. “Thanks, Coach.”
As I turn around, I see my brother and the guys walking back in, so I turn down the hall instead of sitting in the chairs. I wonder for a few minutes until I find an empty chapel. Slipping inside the doors, I take a seat in the back corner and pull out Cooper’s phone. I flip it over in my hand a few times as I mentally replay my conversation with my brother.
I know he’s right. I can’t handle this on my own. I have to call my dad. But did he have to scream at me? I didn’t do anything wrong, but he made me feel like this was my fault.
And what was that stuff about Bash’s dad? I’ve heard the gossip around school. I know Bash has issues with his family. But I thought that was just gossip.
A deal with the devil?
“Nattie.”
I jump out of my skin. “Holy shit, Bash. I didn’t hear you come in. You scared me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Coop’s looking for you.”
“Yea, well, Coop needs to chill the fuck out and not make things worse.”
“He’s trying to protect you, Nat, and he’s not wrong.”
Turning to look at Bash, I wonder how he does it. How is he this kind, smart man if he was raised in a family of criminals?
“I know he’s right. I just needed to get away from him for a few minutes. He can be a bit much when he goes into over-protection mode.”
