expelled, and it looks like Cheryl will be too.” The last part was offered with a grimace. “Sorry about not realizing how truly cracked she was.”
“It’s okay,” I told her. My stomach churned at the news. Not because they’d been expelled, but because the relief was so profound. “I didn’t know either, I just thought she was a little too ditzy.” Which had always seemed dramatically unfair on my part. Looking back, it made me view every interaction we had differently.
And far creepier.
“Still, I like to trust my instincts. She totally bypassed them. Going to have to rethink everything.” Rachel shook her head. Neither Coop nor Archie said a word about it, even to tease her, and that was a relief. She didn’t deserve to catch hell for it, even if she could be epically hard on them.
Not over Cheryl.
That betrayal stung.
I squeezed her arm sympathetically.
“Anyway,” she emphasized the syllables. “There’s more.”
“Oh God, I don’t know if I want to hear more.” We were inside and on our way to the cafeteria. More than one student glanced our way, speculation in their eyes. Yeah, I didn’t need to know what that was about. I hadn’t looked at any social media at all. I had no idea what they were saying about the party or the fight or any of it.
“Drumroll please… Jackson rolled on Mitch and Cheryl, among others, and they were behind condom car.”
I stopped walking and stared at her. “For real?”
“Yep,” she said with a grimace. “It was their way of letting you know they wanted to run a train. Disgusting pervs.”
Coop and Archie’s expressions chilled.
I didn’t think it was possible to loath Mitch more.
I was wrong. I fucking hated what they’d done to my car. How it made me feel.
“It kicks the assault charges up and adds menacing and vandalism to it, so maybe they’ll throw the whole book at him.” Snarky tone or not, Rachel’s expression was nothing but sympathetic for me. “They’re gone. You don’t have to see them again.”
Unless I had to testify, but I’d rather not bring that up at the moment.
“Last, but really not least, the football season here is officially over. All the rest of the games have been forfeited.”
Oh. Shit. My stomach dropped.
Ian and Jake had gone to practice this morning, and they hadn’t texted yet. While they’d already discussed being good with the season being over, I hated the thought of what they might be missing out on.
“That’s pretty much the rumor. I figure it will be announced later today after they inform the remaining players,” Rachel continued while I got lost in my thoughts. We’d made it to the cafeteria, and the gazes turning in our direction were numerous. Coop slid up beside me while Archie fell in on Rachel’s other side.
It was kind of sweet.
Ian and Jake were already at our table.
“And on that note, I will leave you with the boys. You good for today?” Rachel said, thankfully in a far quieter and less abrasive voice.
“You don’t have to take off.” I didn’t want her to think she wasn’t welcome.
“It’s good. I actually need to go do a make up test, so I’m going to get that out of the way. I’ll see you in French.” She winked.
Archie handed her a coffee before she could leave and she stared at it a beat then smirked slowly. “This does not make us friends, Rich Boy.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he drawled.
“Good.” She took a sip, then nodded. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
With a chuckle, she strolled off, coffee in hand.
And it didn’t even kill them to be polite. Coop snickered as he dragged out a chair for me. Sitting, I glanced between Ian and Jake. “How bad is it?”
“Eh,” Jake told me with a shrug. “No more crack of dawn practices.”
“No more staying late Wednesday and Thursday,” Ian added.
“And no more games on Friday,” Jake said as he toasted us with his cup. “I for one am fucking relieved.”
I wasn’t the only one who looked at Ian, but he scooted his chair a little closer to mine as he said, “Ditto. More time to hang out with you and work on my music. Coach was right, half the team is gone, and those of us left weren’t really feeling the love. He’s going to start tryouts for next year early, keep the junior and sophomore players in the rotation, and let them figure out how to be a team before they have to work together.”