No Turning Back (Full Circle) (22 page)

We wake up to my phone blaring. Piper.

“What’s up, girlie?”

“You with Cash?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, undoubtedly after you left last night, Trent took it upon himself to talk about you to Dustin.  He didn’t look so sure of it, but he’s saying some bad stuff.  Like that you were the one using and knew what was going on.  No one else was around but Justin and me.  I told him if he mentioned anything to anyone, I would personally make him pay.”

The way that Cash is looking at me makes me feel like he can feel my thoughts.  He pulls the phone from my hand, gets the scoop from Piper, and hangs up.

“We’re going to the Sloan house.  Right now.”  I don’t say a word; instead, tears begin to fall.

We get to their house, and Dustin’s truck is there.  Cash goes to the door and their mom answers.  Then I see Dustin.  He looks like hell.  He walks out of the house and to Cash’s truck.  He sees me and then looks at Cash.

“Cash, man, I don’t know what went on with my brother, but I’ve known Trent long enough to know he’s full of it.”

“Well, I’m glad you can see through him because a lotta folks can’t.  Charley wants to talk to you, if you don’t mind?”

I get out of the truck, and we all sit on the tailgate.  Everyone looks at me, and finally I tell the truth.

“Dustin, I’m sorry if I looked like I’d seen a ghost at the Burger Shack, but y’all look alike and I didn’t know if you knew anything.  Your brother did something to me that no one should ever have to go through.  I’ve known for a long time that Trent, Dylan, and some of the other guys did a few drugs, but I never in my wildest dreams thought they could do something so extreme to one person.”

Dustin looks at me with total confusion.

“He put the date rape drug in my beer at Trent’s.  Then he raped me.  My parents were outta town, and if Cash hadn’t showed up at my house, I have no idea what would have happened to me.”

Dustin doesn’t say anything, and Cash doesn’t either.  That in itself scares me shitless.  Then, Dustin speaks.

“Charley, you’re a great girl.  In fact, I don’t know how my brother even got you to go out with him.  He’s caused this family so much heartache between girls, drugs, and then almost losing his scholarship.  I hate to say it, but it doesn’t surprise me that he could be that stupid.”

“But, there’s more.  He has someone keeping tabs on me at school.  I need your help.  Can you help me find out who it is?”

With Cash there as my witness, Dustin agrees to help us.  We head back to my house.  I change and Cash goes home to do the same before going to meet Joe. 

We arrive at the restaurant, and Joe comes in alone.  This is somewhat awkward.  I never really thought about them meeting.  Cash stands and introduces himself.  We order and then Cash just lays it out there about the picture of him, Trent, Dustin, everything.

I can see the embarrassment in Joe’s face.  He has nothing to be embarrassed about because we aren’t together.  We discuss how the plan has changed, and we are going to let Dustin help us find out who at Southern is helping Dylan. 

We leave on a good note, and Cash and Joe agree that Cash needs to come visit as much as possible in case Dylan decides to show up... because he is... I can feel it.  In my soul, I know he’s going to appear, and I want to be ready.

Our ride back to Grassy Pond is quiet.  When we return, Cash tells me that he will be at the first meet I have at home or away.  I smile, not because it’s what I need him to do, but because it’s what I want him to do.  He has never missed a meet of mine.

I enjoy the remainder of my break that night with Cash, Piper, Tessa, Mom and Daddy.  I go to church Sunday morning, eat lunch at my grandparents, and then make my way back to Southern for practice. 

Chapter 12: Let the Meets Begin

I arrive back at Southern with just enough time to get to practice.  I enjoyed my time at home, but know that it is now or never with the team and class.  In a little over a month, the season will be underway, exams, and then I’ll be home for Christmas break.

As I walk into the locker room, the smell of chlorine hits me. I see that everyone has made it back but Georgia. Undoubtedly, she had bad traffic on the way here.  I change into my suit and head to the pool.  Coach is there waiting on us, and boy is she waiting. 

“Girls, it’s time to show those Livestone girls what they are up against.  That meet is getting close.  We have an exhibition meet at home this Saturday against Monroe and Central.  Make sure you do everything you can to be prepared.”

I can’t help but get excited about everything that is going on in my life… the team, class, Joe, Cash, and a great group of friends.  I pull myself from my thoughts as I hear Coach’s whistle blow. 
Oh crap!
  Time to put on my goggles and go! 

Coach has had no mercy on us today.  Let alone I didn’t do any type of working out.  I’m going to hate myself in the morning.  Georgia finally makes it to practice, and Coach doesn’t give her too hard of a time.  We finish our last set and then the team decides to go eat supper together. 

The café is open, but we decide to order a pizza and hang out on our hallway.  It’s time for a little team bonding. 

“So, Charley, you get any action on break?”  Tori wastes no time finding out what she wants to know.

I look at her like she’s lost her damn mind.  She has no idea the shit I dealt with while I was home… seeing Dustin, the text from Dylan, Cash beating the shit out of Trent, and me finally explaining everything to Dustin. 

‘Um, no, Tori.  I didn’t get any action, but I did have a pretty interesting break.”  They all look at me wanting more of an explanation.  I now have to be as vague as possible.  Georgia glances my way.  I’ll fill her in later. 

“Well, now Charley, you have to explain that comment.”

I shrug my shoulders and say, “You know, the typical country girl’s weekend away.  I worked on the farm, hung out with old friends, went to Turtle’s Pool Hall, watched Cash get in a fight, and came back here.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did you say that Cash got in a fight?” Georgia says.  I nod with no other explanation.

Tori, on the other hand, is dumbfounded.  “Did you say Turtle’s Pool Hall?  Seriously, Char.
Turtle’s
.  What kinda name is that?”

“Tori, I live in a town called Grassy Pond.  Turtle’s Pool Hall is in an even smaller place called Turtle’s Corner.  I am a redneck and proud of it.  Actually, I can’t believe that surprises you.”  We all laugh.

We finish supper then watch
Scandal.
  I get a text from Joe wanting to make sure I’m okay and wondering when he needs to come by tonight.  I text him to let him know I’m okay for the night and will see him for Freshman Seminar in the morning. 

When
Scandal
is over, I make my way back to my room, and Georgia is right behind me.

“Hey Char, you got a minute?”

“Sure.  What’s up?”  She looks at me like I’ve got to be kidding.

We go in my room and I fill her in on what exactly went down.  We both know that things are getting serious with Dylan and everyone involved. 

“Here’s my question, Charley. Who do you think is behind all this here at Southern?  Who does Dylan have on his team?”

That is a question I have been trying to answer for weeks, and I think Georgia and I are about to be on the exact same page.

“The only things I know for certain are that it has to be someone that was with Joe this weekend.  I really hate to think one of his
friends
or teammates is in on it, but there is no other option.  We talked about that when we met for lunch yesterday.”

“Alright, so now what?  It’s not like we can sneak in the guys’ dorms and plant cameras or watch them in the locker room.  Let’s make a list of who all was in the mountains and then let’s see what Joe can tell us.”

I pick up my phone and text Joe.

Me: Can u come over?

Joe: Yes, u ok?

Me: Yes   

While Georgia and I wait for Joe, I call Cash to tell him what we are thinking.  He agrees that we need to narrow down who might be involved.  I also inform him of the exhibition meet in two weeks.  Of course, he plans on coming, and I’ve even talked him into going to Hank’s that night!  I can’t wait!

Joe texts me he is outside, and I go let him in.  Georgia waits for me in my room, and when he gets there, I think he’s caught off guard.

“Dang girls, you trying to gang up on me?” We just smile, and I motion for him to hurry up and sit down.

“Okay, Joe, here’s the deal.”  Georgia states very authoritatively, which is totally not in her character.  “We know the snitch was with you in the mountains.  If we narrow that list down, we can figure out who is behind the shit happening here at Southern.”

“Yeah, Georgia, I thought we had that part figured out already?”  Joe glances at me.  Cash, Joe and I had discussed that at lunch, but hadn’t acted on it yet. Georgia isn’t giving us any time.  She’s taking control, and I’m so glad that a girl’s in charge for once.

Joe, Georgia and I make a list of everyone that was there.  They are all lacrosse players except Joe’s roommate, Paul.  We pretty much mark him off the list.  He has access to Joe, but there is no connection to anything relating to Dylan when we Google/Facebook/Twitter search him. 

When we search the team members, Mark, Trey, Chris, Jacob, Maddox, and Holden, we get nothing. I look at Georgia and Joe, and I think they feel like I do. Defeated.  I decide to call Cash to see if he can do some digging at home.

“Hey, Cash Money!  I need you to do some digging or better yet… talk to Dustin.”  I put him on speaker.

“You got it, Char-coal!  What are the names and what you know ‘bout them.  I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks, Money! I love you!”

“I love you too, and Joe, in two weeks, Charley’s
mine
at Hank’s.”  The room falls silent, and Georgia makes some silly comment to lighten the mood.  

“Alright boys, no need to fight over me. There’s enough songs at Hank’s to go ‘round!”  We all laugh, but there is still tension in the air.  I hang up with Cash and Joe, Georgia, and I are back to square one while we wait for Cash to do some digging.

We decide to call it a night.  Georgia goes to her room, and I can see from the look on Joe’s face he’s not going anywhere.  I set my alarm and crawl into bed.  Joe’s arms surround me, and I fall asleep.

I wake up to my alarm making that annoying sound.  I nudge Joe and tell him he has to go to practice like I do as well.  He gives me a hug bye and sneaks out the door.  I grab my flops and bag, and out the door I go.

Georgia and Tori meet me in the hallway, and we all look like we could use another hour of sleep or maybe a few hours of sleep.  We know once we hit that cold water, we will be awake.

Practice goes relatively quickly.  I take a shower, grab a bite to eat in the café and head to Biology.  Even if it is at 8 a.m., it’s not too bad.  It’s Monday, so I know that Joe will be waiting on me to walk to class with Dr. Cope.  We have decided to cash in that trip to Quail Hollow this Friday. 

Dr. Cope wants to know how everyone’s break has been, how projects are going, and if anyone is ready to present.
Really?
  Of course, Dork 1 & Dork 2 are ready to present.  Joe and I look at each other and sit back and listen.  I write Joe a note.

We are going to be ready to present by Monday!  That would mean 1 less class
!
:)

Joe looks at me and totally gets what I’m saying. One less class = more free time.  This means that my week will be practice and finishing this project.  When Dr. Cope dismisses class, I walk out with Joe.

“Hey, Joe, we don’t have many more hours left to finish.  You think we could do those tomorrow and maybe Wednesday?  Then we can put the project together Thursday and Sunday?”

“Squirrel, you are after my own heart.  Oh wait, that was when you mentioned Quail Hollow!”  He smirks.

I lock my arm through his and we walk across campus.  Joe makes a quick call to the special purpose school and we are set for the week.  The biggest question is how are we going to present?  I’m going to have to think on that one.

We make our way back to Kluft, and I go upstairs.  I know I’ll see him later near the gym.  I go into my room and start to create our presentation.  I want something that is fun and exciting, not a freakin’ power point!  I’m thinkin’ an iMovie would be perfect.

I break out my MacBook and begin to work on what we have so far.  I have pics from the zoo, ballgame, special purpose school, and I can add the ones from Quail Hollow Sunday.  This is going to be awesome… now if I could just finish those facts.  I take a moment and pull the facts out of my notebook.  Let’s see if I can finish them before practice.

Joe’s Unique Facts:

1. Scares easily

2. Grew up with his parents, but moved in with his grandparents his Sr. year.

3. Has played lacrosse since he was 5, but his first love was golf

4. Can do a toe touch

5.  Made straight A’s his entire high school career (must be nice)

6. Trustworthy

7. Respectful

8. Great dancer

9. Puts others before self

10. Protective of things/people he loves

Well, I guess that does it.  I still feel like my list is empty.  I feel like I’m missing a big part of him.  I want to mention Lucy, but I’m afraid that will cross a line.  I decide to leave that out.  Now if only I can find a song for the background.  I glance at my watch and realize that I’m about to be late for practice.  I hit save on the computer and out the door I go.  I need to hurry, especially when I realize that Tori and Georgia have already left.  I can’t believe they didn’t knock on my door!

The rest of the week is uneventful.  Practice, work on project, volunteer and repeat.  I call Piper’s brother, and we have the tee time set up for Friday.  It’s only for nine holes, but hey, Joe can’t argue with that.

On Thursday after practice and class, Joe and I decide to finish everything but the golf pics.  I still have yet to come up with the background music.  Joe comes over to my room and I show him what I have completed.

“Hey, Squirrel, what if we do a little intro of each of us before we get started.  Like pics from back in the day or something.  I really want to talk about Lucy.”  This makes me smile.  I wanted to include her, but didn’t know if he wanted to or not.  I must be cheesing because Joe just looks at me.

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing, you just look like you heard the best news ever.  What’s up with that?”

“I wanted to talk about Lucy, but didn’t know if you wanted to. I think it’s a great idea.” 

We add pictures of Lucy, us when we were younger, and even our top ten lists are entered.  Now to decide on music.

“Hey, Squirrel, I was thinking that if we could do like two different songs.  One for you and one for me.”

“Alright.  Whatcha thinkin’?

Joe gets a goofy grin and I know this can’t be good. 

“So, for me I was thinking something real hip hop and for you I was thinking “Country Girl Shake it for Me”!”  I waste no time and throw my pillow at him.

“How the heck do you know that song?”