Page 35 of We're All Liars
CADE
She heads towards the bus as I move behind her. “We don’t have to do this. We can just grab Ryder and your mom and leave now.”
She turns, her palm against my nose, fingertips on my forehead, as she pushes my face back. “Shut up.”
“Morgan!” Coach shouts her name. “Cheer team is on the other bus.”
“Yeah. I’m good. Cade needs a blow job to get his game face on.” Morgan goes to climb the stairs when Coach grabs her arm, holding her back from boarding the bus.
“I’m trying, Morgan. I can only apologize so much for the past. Let’s get through the game and then we’ll start over with a clean slate.”
“Indeed. Perfectly clean.” Morgan jerks her arm out of her father’s grip and climbs onto the bus. Coach looks to me with pity and maybe some pleading to feel sorry for him. But I don’t. At all. The bastard hasn’t received half the hell he warrants.
“Don’t touch her again.”
“I can’t do this today, Crawford. Stay in your lane and just play ball.”
I literally bite my tongue to keep from asking “What’s the point?” because Coach already has the outcome predetermined. Wildcats lose, he wins. That’s all his goal was all along. For him to win. Not today, jackass.
When I step on the bus, I spot Morgan in the very last row in the seat against the window. Last ride on the charter bus. Can’t say I’ll miss it.
I drop into the seat beside her, but she keeps her gaze pointed out the window to where students are getting back in their vehicles after the cheerful sendoff AP Ferguson had arranged. Now the fool is the one who strides onto the bus. He searches around before stopping on me and curls his finger for me to come. “Off the bus, now.”
“Why? What’s going on?” Coach asks him.
“We’ll discuss it in my office.”
Coach waves over the bus. “We have a game to get to.”
“Mr. Crawford won’t be attending.”
“Why the fuck not?” Coach shouts, and I wonder the same.
“There’s evidence that the incident in my office was Cade’s doing. So, we need to have a discussion about it.”
“You mean the shit on your desk?” Coach looks flabbergasted at me. Hey, I’m just as fucking shocked because I wasn’t the one who did it, so what evidence he has, I don’t know. Coach shakes his head. “I can’t believe this. What the fuck are we going to do now? The game is hours from kickoff. Way to let your team down, Crawford.”
That’s it. Coach set me up to get me out of the game, and I have a feeling the evidence was something provided by him. A few of the players are cursing and hollering, and when I glance over to Morgan, she looks as baffled about what to do as I am.
Ferguson shouts for me to exit the bus again. So I stand and tell him, “I didn’t do anything. I propose we discuss the ‘evidence’afterI win the game.” Yeah. That’s the best threat I can give Coach right now without outing everything.
“Unacceptable. You won’t be playing. There’s a backup to take your place. The team can play without you.”
Topher shouts, “No, we can’t. I did it.”
Fuck. I don’t want to play this game without him.
“No, I did it,” Neil shouts from a few rows in front of me.
Then Johnson, who is seated beside him, says, “Stop taking credit for my shit. I did it.”
One by one, every player on the bus stands and says they’re responsible for the mess.
I can’t see Ferguson any longer, but I can hear him yelling for everyone to sit down. No one is listening until Coach lets out a high-pitched whistle, then everyone settles back into their seats except me. I look at Coach. “Guess it’s a forfeit. Won’t even count as a game played. Sorry, guys.” I apologize to my team for show, but I know the game will be played.
“Let’s take a second to regroup. Ferguson, I think this is better sorted after the game. You can’t reprimand the entire team because of one person’s bad decision.”
Ferguson looks pissed. “I guess I can’t suspend the entire team… But I will if the guilty party isn’t in my office first thing Monday morning. No exams. No socializing. Straight to my office and that’s it.”