Flagrant Foul (gxg)

Chapter 18

Leah had met me outside my last class to walk to practice with me. I appreciated it, as it let me have backup on the off chance I ran into Tegan while either on my way to the field house, or in the locker room. As it turned out, the walk to the field house was drama free, but I never did make it to the locker room. Coach Austin was pacing back and forth outside the door to it, a frown on her face. When she saw Leah and I walking towards her, she walked toward us.

"Reign, can you come with me please," she said as she got close. "Leah, stay in the locker room, we're going to have a team meeting."

I shared a quick look with Leah, and just nodded at her. I wasn't sure what was happening, but it wouldn't do much good to say no to the coach.

"I'll see you in a bit," Leah said while slapping me on the shoulder.

When she was through the door, the coach sighed, and led the way to her office. I had a weird feeling in my belly. I wasn't sure what was about to happen, but I knew it wasn't going to be good. When she led me into her office, two more people were there waiting. One was a short and squat woman in a severe business suit, and the other a police officer in uniform.

Shit.

Coach Austin sat behind her desk, shaking her head sadly. "Reign, I have to say I'm very disappointed. This isn't how we run our team. Officer Beane?"

The police officer stepped forward, handing me a folded piece of paper. "This is a restraining order. It states that you're not allowed to be within 500 feet of Ms. Tegan Massey. If you violate that, you'll be arrested. In addition, there may be charges coming for breaking and entering and stalking, so you will need to let me know if you plan to leave the area. My card and number are with the order."

"I'm sorry, what?" I was incredulous. Tegan invites me over, and then accuses me of all that? What the fuck? My heart was pounding in my ears, and I could feel tears pricking at my eyes. How was all this happening right now? She had taken this way too far!

"The order is self-explanatory, call me with any questions," he stated. "If you excuse me, I have to get back on patrol. He walked out the door, but I had a feeling that my trouble was just beginning.

"Reign, I think you know it goes without saying that we can't have you on the team with a restraining order like that. I have no idea what went through your head going after Tegan like that, but it is completely unacceptable."

"Coach, you can't be serious! I met her back at spring break! We had a relationship! She invited me over multiple times!" My heart, which had been pounding, now felt tight, like it was squeezing in a fist and the tears were now pouring down my face. "I don't know why she's doing this, but it isn't fair!"

"We have security video from her condo complex of you searching for spare keys in her garden. We have more of you racing from her condo in various stages of undress when she says she was in the shower. We have another video of you in the shower here last week where it sounds as though you were pleasuring yourself right after she left the shower area. We have pictures of you inside her condo leaving while also not fully dressed. At this point, we have no choice. We're revoking your athletic scholarship, and you're no longer a part of the women's basketball team."

I couldn't believe this. My whole life was being taken away from me! "This is all wrong. She's lying about all of this!"

"Unless you have proof to the contrary, I'm afraid that this decision is final," she said firmly.

"Reign," the short woman spoke for the first time. "My name is Mrs. Harris with the Dean's office. Based on all this evidence, and the restraining order, you're hereby expelled from the university. You have until Wednesday to vacate your dormitory room."

Yeah, just kick me when I'm down. Thanks.

"You guys are unbelievable. I don't get a chance to refute any of this, the decision is already made. Perfect. Fine. I'll be out tonight." I just stood up and started walking out.

"Reign, I'm very sorry about all of this," Coach Austin called out as I was leaving. "But we had no choice."

"You had a choice. You made these decisions before you even talked to me. Tegan is lying, and I'm not the only one that knows it. Sooner or later, I'm going to find my way back onto the court, and I'll be delighted to light this fucking team up every time I play you."

"There is no need for that language!" Mrs. Harris exclaimed.

I just snorted in laughter. "You know, when Tegan chased me out of her place on Friday after inviting me over, I thought she was playing a prank, or hazing me or something. But it turns out that for some reason she's trying to ruin my life and I never did a damned thing to her. So, if you don't want to hear that language from me right now, you should shut your fucking ears."

I closed the door behind me, and walked slowly down the hall, my heart breaking with every step I took away from the locker room. I thought that would be my home for the next four years, but now it was nothing to me anymore. I wasn't quite sure what I could even do right now. Packing up and leaving seemed like the best plan, but it also seemed too painful. But I had nothing else to do, and it was like ripping off a Band-Aid to get it over with. I had just opened the door to head outside when I heard my name being called out.

"Reign! Hold up!" I turned to see Leah racing down the hallway towards me. She crashed into me, wrapping me up into a hug. "I can't believe this shit! Where are you going?"

"I have to be out of the dorm by Wednesday, so I guess I'll go pack up and head out. I'll probably go down to my grandparents' house near Charlotte."

"Don't leave! Come stay with me at my place! Please? I told Coach Austin I'm leaving the team too, because I can't be on the team after that shit. Tia and Jen are backing Tegan, saying she was with them during spring break, so I wanna kill them too."

I thought about that for a minute. If I went to my grandparents, the whole family would get involved and worry. But maybe I could find a way to get out of this if I stuck around. "Yeah. I'll pack up and be there tonight. But don't make any rash decisions about your career here."

She rolled her eyes at me, and I realized there was no way she could play with Tegan too. If she hadn't known what happened, then maybe she could have. "Alright. Be safe, don't do anything crazy."

"Hey, you're the one that told the coach you were quitting!" I pointed out.

"I still might. How the hell am I supposed to play with those liars?"

"Because you have a chance to go pro. Don't worry about me, okay? Just keep your head down and play your game. I'll work something out," I promised her. I had no idea what though.

"Yeah, I'll think about it." She gave me one more hug, then headed back into the field house. I wasn't sure if she was joining the practice, or just changing back into street clothes, since she had changed into her practice gear while my life was being ripped apart in the coach's office.

It felt weird packing up my clothes in the dorm so soon after getting there. I took my time, not really wanting to leave Gee, but I guess if I was crashing at Leah's I'd be seeing her a lot anyway. I left her a little note anyway, though I felt silly afterwards since I had her number and would probably see her tonight. I had little doubt Leah would text her after practice about what happened.

It took two trips to carry my clothes and everything else down to the car. But as I did, I finally had a small reason to smile. As I was emptying my closet for the second load, I remembered what I just might need. The sneakers that Tegan had left in the hotel back at spring break were still at my grandparents' place! If she was with Jen and Tia, then how did I have those?

I wasn't sure how to manage it though, but I knew who would help me feel better about things. With all my gear in the car, I plugged the address for Jack's tavern into the GPS and got on my way. I wasn't sure if I'd ever come back to the campus, and right now I didn't care.

It might make me look desperate, but I needed Skye's brand of cheering up right now. If Friday had been a punch to the gut, then today was a shot to the heart. I needed something good. I needed something kind. I needed the help of a woman who was a virtual stranger, who I somehow trusted would make me feel alright yet again. Hell, I really was desperate.