Song for the start of the chapter!
Darla H
Silence filled the space as Everett and I walked to my house. It twisted my stomach into knots, making me wonder why he even wanted to come if he didn't want to talk. More importantly, I wanted to know what he was actually thinking. He often was silent, which frustrated me. I was not used to silence since everyone in my family talked. I wondered if Everett held back because he didn't want to incriminate himself.
Finally, I couldn't stand the silence any longer and I broke it by asking a simple question I knew he would respond to. "How did you get into football?"
I thought this question was a shoo-in for a detailed response. He was the best player on the team, he would love to talk about himself and the sport that got him to college. But what shocked me was how the corner of his mouth turned downward in thought.
He sighed as he ran his hand through his messy hair. "Dad got me into it when I was young because he loved it. Found out I was good at it, so I didn't stop."
He spoke with such logic, not passion, as if it was only common sense why he played. I wondered if he actually liked the sport. "Do you like football?"
He shrugged as if the answer was simple. "Sure, doesn't everyone in Ohio?"
"I don't," I replied quickly.
He stopped walking as his eyes widened. "Your dad is the head coach for OSU, and you don't like football?"
"Surprised?"
He was the first person on the team that I told this information to. No one actually asked the question, otherwise I would share. I think they all figured I liked it because my dad was coach.
"Shocked actually."
"Well, life is full of surprising facts."
He nodded as he continued to walk down the road. "If you don't like football, do you like your internship, then?"
With a smile, I nodded as I thought about going to the stadium almost every day for the past few weeks. "Turns out I love it more than I thought. I've learned so much from the last three weeks. I guess, there is more to football than men pushing each other over."
He chuckled. "But there are a lot of men pushing men over."
"Yeah, there is a lot of that, but there is more to it, at least behind the scenes. Still don't like the sport, honestly, probably will never like it. But gained a better appreciation for it."
As we let the conversation die out, the sound of birds was the only thing that filled the space between us. Walking under the shaded trees that lined the streets, I saw my house approaching and I knew this conversation would be over soon enough.
"Why did you shout at Rick the other day?"
His hands balled into fists before he took a deep breath in. "It's because he is hanging out with Charles like they're BFFS. After everything your father has done for the team, Charles is still around like a persistent rain cloud."
My palms started feeling sticky as I realized it wasn't related to me. "What did Charles do that was do bad?" I asked, as I tried to pry more information from him.
"Rape, drugs, theft, abuse, the list can go on."
I felt sick to my stomach as the weight of the words sank in. He mentioned it so causally, but I could see in his eyes that even he was affected by Charles' destruction. "I never read about any of that."
He shrugged as if the answer was simple. "Because the school is superb at hiding things. Turns out if you are the best person on the team, you can get away with a lot. But even the truth catches up to people one way or another."
"And that is why you said you got him kicked off."
"He said too much, and I got it on tape maybe a month into the season. Turned it into your dad, hoping to some kind of reaction. Got it, but it took a while to get him off the team. He played until the end of the season, then quietly left."
"Why did it take so long?"
He shrugged again as he looked at his shoes. "Your guess is as good as mine."
My mouth felt dry as I tried to piece it all together in my head. Everett was careful, but he learned from experience. He didn't want to be in the same spot as Charles, but was Everett as bad as Charles? Talking with him made me want to trust him, but maybe this was nothing but a ply for reasons unknown. "And that is why you don't say much. You don't want to incriminate yourself?"
He shook his head if I got one key point wrong. "I want to protect myself. I don't want people to put words in my mouth. That is why I say little."
"And the others are afraid of you because they know you can film them if they step out of line."
"I don't film unless they deserve it. Charles pushed me over the edge, and I had enough. But the others still don't trust me. They see me as a backstabber. The team is everything, and we are supposed to look out for each other. But Charles didn't look out for us, he didn't look out for me, so I needed to get him out."
Not wanting this conversation to end too quickly, my pace slowed. I just hoped he wouldn't realize it.
This was the first time I was having a decent conversation with Everett, and I was right, he was part of the reason the team wasn't a team. The team didn't trust him. He was one reason the team was broken, and he seemed ok with that.
"Aren't you lonely?"
He glared ahead at my house in silence for a moment, as if it was listening to our conversation. "No," he stated so quickly it sounded like a lie.
Football was a team sport, he knew that, he had to be used to that. So it must have felt incredibly isolating to be on his own. "You know, you talk about team, but you are just as much of a problem as Charles. Don't you think that fear causes distance? Fear only holds you back."
His face twisted up as his fist turned into balls. He remained silent, which allowed me to speak up again. I didn't care if he didn't like what I had to say, someone needed to. Everett was impossible, mean, rude, but he could be helped.
"You know, when I told you that you remind me of mount Everest I wasn't lying. Being a mountain is the loneliest thing, and no mountain can be part of something else."
"What makes you think I am not a team player? I have friends on the team," he snapped back at me in anger.
I eyed him, trying to understand how he possibly believed that. I saw the way his friends stood around him. They stayed because they wanted to be protected from his wrath. Those weren't friends. "Your posy doesn't account. I know they are afraid of you too."
He shook his head as he stopped walking. "I don't have to listen to this shit." He glared at me, but I stood unwavering. I wasn't afraid of him, even if he towered over my small frame.
"No, you don't. But don't you think you should? The truth is often painful."
He frowned as he looked around us, making sure we were still alone. "Goodbye Nora."
And just like that, our pleasant walk was long gone. Anger boiled beneath my skin, turning it hot. There was no way to recover from this. I was done with his crap and if he didn't want to talk to me again, I was fine with that. "Goodbye Everett." With that, I picked up the pace with Rori trotting beside me.
As I walked up the driveway, I ran into dad as he weeded the front flower garden. He looked up at me with a cheerful smile, as if he saw something exciting. "Did I see you talking with Everett?"
I nodded as I took off my shoes, allowing my feet to breathe on the grassy ground. "I ran into him as I walked home. We decided to talk for a few moments."
He held back a smile as he looked at me then down the road as if he could still see Everett. Suddenly I grabbed his attention, all because of Everett, which told me he was concerned about him. "What did you guys talk about?"
"Nothing too much. Just football, internship, stuff like that."
He nodded. "Everett used to be such a kind kid. He talked to everyone, but I haven't seen that side of him for a while."
For a second, I think I saw that side of him, but once again, he let his mood get in the way. "I think I just saw that side of him for a moment."
He grinned widely at me. "By goolie! That means Everett is still in there."
Maybe he was, but he was so deep down in there and maybe nothing would help him out.
"Hey, if it's not too much trouble, since you two are friends-"
Oh, we were not friends, but I didn't care correct him and rain on his parade.
"-can you tell me if he says anything that is noteworthy?"
"Looking for anything in particular?"
He shook his head as he wiped his muddied hands on his jeans. "Whatever you think is important is best."
It wasn't like I was pining to talk to Everett, but if I did, I could at least keep an ear out for anything. Dad deserved that much. "Sure, I can do that."
He threw his hands into the air excitedly. "Great! You are really the best intern in the world. Like the best."
I smiled. "Thanks." I started walking into the house but stopped as I thought about the conversation with Everett. I had at least one question for dad. "Hey, one thing Everett said that was interesting was that he reported Charles to you, but it took a while to get him off the team. Why was that?"
Dad frowned as his excitement vanished. "It didn't take me that long. But you know the university and the hoops I have to jump through. Nothing is easy with them, and it took a lot of time to get things worked out with the board and such."
I nodded.
Dad was a terrible liar, so if he said it was because of the university, I believed him. I knew the university could be a nightmare to deal with. I heard my professors talk about it, so I could only guess it was a school wide issue.
"I turned the video into the dean and the university president as soon as I got it. They told me they would look into it ASAP. It just took them weeks to do that."
"Why am I not surprised about that?"
"It's the sad truth to universities. It happens across the country. University protocol gets in the way a lot of times. Takes you so long to do anything."
He talked from experience. It made me wonder if he had issues with players in other schools. "Have you dealt with football players stepping out of line in other schools?"
He gave a tired sigh as he stroked his mustache. "Happens at almost every school."
"And the universities act the same towards it?"
He shrugged. "OSU was probably the slowest I've experienced, but all of them were slower than I would have liked."
And that comment made me hate the sport even more. "So at the beginning of the season, you told me you picked me because you knew I wouldn't date any of them. You said it would complaint things. But I am starting to believe that it was because you know they are not as perfect as they appear."
"No one is perfect."
I nodded. "You are right. No one is." And the football players were proof of that. Before I drove into my disdain for football in front of the head coach, I grabbed my shoes and decided it was best to leave it with that. "Well, enjoy your weeding."
"And you enjoy your Saturday things!"
I smiled at him before I walked into the A/C house.