I shake my head. “Honestly, I was pretty uncomfortable with the whole situation. I just wanted to get as far away from her as possible at that point.”
“Fair enough,” she says, making another note. “And between that time and when I spoke to you at the high school, did you see Miss Pratt?”
“No.”
She flips her pad closed. “How long have you been coaching?”
“This is my second season.”
“I saw your plaque in the trophy case at school,” she says, tucking her pad into her bag and arranging some things in there. “You were quite the star when you went to school at Oak Crest.”
“I had a good run,” I say with a shrug.
“That’s what I understand.” Her gaze finds mine again and something in it hardens. “At more than just sports.”
A chill fingers up my spine as I realize this whole conversation was probably a huge mistake. “I’m not following.”
“You were quite the ladies man, so I hear.”
Christ. My mind reels, trying to think of anything in my past that could come back to bite me in the ass. I’m sure there were a few girls I pissed off, but I was never violent with any of them. “I had my fair share of girlfriends.”
She gives a pensive nod. “Is there anything else you think I should know, Marcus?”
I shake my head.
“I’d plan on staying local.” She hikes her bag onto her shoulder. “I’ll be in touch.”
I watch her leave, breathing away the panic I’m sure she saw rising in my eyes. But she doesn’t need to worry. I’m not going anywhere without Addie.
I climb on the treadmill and run until my legs won’t hold me anymore.
Chapter 22
Addie
Dad is being released from rehab today and we’re going to pick him up before I have to leave for work. Which hasn’t helped my nerves. Even though Becky said she wouldn’t tell him about Marcus, I’m still terrified she’ll slip, or he’ll figure it out.
I’m supposed to meet Becky at the pick-up circle, but I can’t help taking the long way past the pool cage on my way, hoping for the briefest glimpse of Marcus. What I find instead is a note taped to the locked cage gate that says practice is cancelled. A couple of freshmen from the team come up behind me and grumble when they see the note.
“Do you know what’s going on?” I ask.
They both just shake their heads.
Black dread snakes through my chest and squeezes my lungs as I stumble to the pick-up area. Becky is already there, waiting.
“Hi,” she says when I climb in her car. “How was school?”
I know my nerves are totally shot when I have a moment of panicked déjà vu. She looks and sounds so much like Mom, and my heart claws up my throat with the flash of the last time Mom said those words to me.
I breathe the panic away. “Fine.”
She hands me her phone. “Call your Dad and let him know we’re on our way.”
I’m a horrible daughter. I haven’t talked to Dad since I ran out of his room a week ago. I’ve wanted to, but I just don’t know what to say.
He cheated on Mom. But in my heart, I know Mom left him a long time before that. Does that make it okay? If Mom was his whole world, like he said, how could he have wanted someone else?
I have more questions than answers when I dial the number for the rehab center. The operator forwards me though to Dad’s room.
“Hey,” I say when he picks up. “Aunt Becky and I will be there for you in a few minutes. You ready?”
He blows out a sigh. “Past ready. I’ll see you in a few.”
I try to gauge his voice. He sounds okay—haggard, but not so angry. “Okay, Dad.” I disconnect and hand her back her phone.
“I wish your Dad would let me add you two to my account,” she says, slipping it into her purse.
“We can’t afford it,” I say. I still have my phone, but service was turned off over a year ago, after Dad stopped paying the bill.
“I’d be happy to do that for you,” she says. “Maybe for Christmas?”
I shake my head. “It’s too much, Becky. But thanks.”
She cuts me a glance. “I’m not going to report Marcus.”
My heart leaps out of my chest and I close my eyes with the wave of relief. “Thank you.”
I notice her grip on the wheel tighten as she takes a corner. “I’m also not going to tell your father. But, until the investigation is complete, I don’t want you seeing him.”
“Marcus didn’t do what she said he did. I know Corinne and I know Marcus. If they were the only two people on a sinking ship and I could save them both, I’d save Marcus twice.”
“You think you know him, Addie, but it’s only been a few months. People are rarely who they seem to be.”
I tip my head back against the headrest. “He gets me. Better than anyone I’ve ever hung out with. And I catch myself telling him things I’ve never told anyone.”
She searches my face as she says, “So you trust him.”