Chapter 4

Looking at his team assembled in the locker room, Coach Ben Johnson let his anger build. During practice and on the sidelines, he worked hard to always remain calm and professional. The team was about to discover that there were limits to his calm and patience. Once they were all settled, he quickly got to the point. “There are rules on this team about fighting your teammates. There are also other rules of conduct, though. Who remembers the first talk I gave you at the first practice last summer?”

He was certain that Kyle remembered, but Bob Green, the starting middle linebacker and defensive captain, raised his hand.

“Coach, you told us that football is little more than a game, but life is for real. Being good citizens is our primary responsibility, no matter what happens on the field. You don’t care if we win every game, if we’re not being good citizens, then we’re failures, and if we lose every game, but are taking care of others, we’re successes.”

“Thank you. That was exactly what I wanted to hear.” That’s when he made sure they understood his limits. He unleashed it all, raising his voice to a bellow. “I will not allow scum on my team! This is not fucking Texas, and you are not little gods who can do as you please! You are first and foremost citizens, and I will not tolerate you forgetting that!”

From the looks on their faces, they understood him quite well. He knew there were some places where high school football players got a pass on their behavior, but it was never going to happen where he coached. In the shocked stillness that followed, he went on in something approaching his normal coaching voice, “Is there anyone in this room who thinks that Tyler Jensen should not have beaten the living shit out of Ken Thompson regardless of whether Thompson swung first?”

He saw the players exchange glances before another receiver and a defensive lineman raised their hands. He wasn’t surprised there were some, but he was happy there were only two. As he waited for others, he noticed that the rest of the squad seemed to ooze away from Oliver and Johnson. That brought his first smile since the team arrived — there were some bright cookies on this team.

Now to drive home his point about conduct and citizenship. “Thank you, Mr. Oliver and Mr. Johnson. The door is behind you. Don’t let it hit you in the ass on the way out. Like I said, I won’t tolerate scum, and that includes others who will.”

They both tried to argue, but let his anger show again, screaming in their faces, “Get out of my presence before I do something you may live to regret!”

Once they were gone, he went on. “Has anyone here ever heard the old Kenny Rogers song, The Coward of the County?” Given the age of the song, he was surprised when almost half of the team raised their hands. “It may be a cliché, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Sometimes you have to fight if you’re a man.”

Seeing that Kyle wanted to address the team, he nodded to him.

“Has everyone heard what Thompson said?” Most of the team nodded. “Yeah, I thought so. Is there anyone here who wouldn’t have taken him apart if he’d said that about their girlfriend, or maybe their sister?” There were some thoughtful expressions, but a lot of very hard looks. “That’s right, guys. We might not have done as thorough a job as Jensen, but anyone with balls would have made him eat those words. Principal Thomas and Coach have been telling us the truth — a real man doesn’t take what he wants, a real man stands up for others and takes care of them.

“I didn’t grow up around here, so I don’t know Tyler that well, but I plan to get to know him better next year. As far as I’m concerned, he deserves to be a captain of this team for showing leadership above and beyond the call of duty.”

The coach smiled inside at Kyle’s statement. He’d seen how well Kyle handled the team early on, but he hadn’t named him captain until he’d spoken with others around the school. It was nice to know he’d chosen well. When Kyle was done, the coach nodded and said that co-captain was a good possibility. He went on to say, “The thing to remember about being captain is that it’s a sign of respect. You all saw Kyle give Principal Thomas a standing ovation this morning. What he was doing was demonstrating why he’ll still be a captain as well. That was leadership, too, gentlemen. That wasn’t someone telling others what they should do, that was someone leading the way. I spoke with Naomi Clarke and Carol Jensen at lunch today to tell them that Tyler wouldn’t be kicked off the team for fighting with a teammate. Naomi asked me to express her gratitude to Kyle for leading the entire student body this morning. Well done, Kyle!”

Then he asked if anyone else had anything to add. One of Tyler’s defensive backfield teammates, Matt Namura, the smallest person on the team, raised his hand.

“Coach, I suppose I could wait for Tyler, but I’m curious. Does anyone know how he managed to trash Thompson so easily? I mean, Tyler’s in good shape, but we’ve all worked out together — Thompson’s bigger and stronger, and I know he’s gotten in his share of fights, so it’s not like he doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

Bob Green was again the person to answer. When he was acknowledged, he stood and said, “This is a little embarrassing, but I used to be a bit of an asshole.” That got a laugh from most of the team. “Yeah, laugh guys. Pretty much all of you have been there at one time or another yourselves. Anyway, what the people who haven’t been around here long won’t know is that Tyler was really small when he was younger. I wasn’t. Some of my buddies and I decided it’d be fun to play pound the shrimp.” Quite a few of his teammates cringed. “I see some people know what I’m going to say. Those who grew up around here will understand.” He turned to display his nose in profile before going on. “Not too pretty, is it? It wasn’t always that way. Tyler may have been a shrimp, but Carol wasn’t. There are still guys who do their best to avoid her.”

That caught the coach by surprise, especially when he saw a couple of guys nodding vigorously. He’d met Carol earlier, but not paid her too much attention. “Why is that, Mr. Green?”

Several of the players were apparently in on the joke, as they chuckled. Green went on to say, “Coach, they destroyed us, and Carol did most of the damage. The first thing I knew, I was on the ground holding my balls. All of a sudden, my face just exploded in pain. I had raccoon eyes for a couple of weeks, and my nose never did set quite right.

“Coach, I’ve buried the hatchet with them since then and talked a bit with Tyler about what happened that day. It turns out their uncle’s a Marine, and he’s taught them some things about real fighting. Basically, when they fight, it’s not for show, it’s all out from the start. They’re not going to taunt anyone, they’re not going to invite them out to the parking lot, they’re not going to give them any warning at all. Just like they did that day with us, they’re going to lay them out right then and right there, and when they’re down, they’ll keep on kicking them. Before this, I don’t think either of them had been in a fight since Carol was in, like, sixth grade. Their reputation is well-earned.”

Before the coach said anything, Jeff Turner, who’d laughed at Green’s account, stood and said, “Coach, I wasn’t there, but I heard that a couple of Thompson’s buddies heard what Tyler said and knew his reputation. They tried to drag Thompson away before he got killed.” Turner shrugged, then continued, “Thompson shook them off and, well, he’s in the hospital.”

“Thank you for the education, Mr. Green and Mr. Turner. That’s actually the perfect segue. I’ve been cleared by the police to say this next as long as I preface it by saying that the investigation is ongoing. There, I said it.” He stared out at the team and let a little steel enter his voice. “Ken Thompson has been moved to the prison ward of the hospital, and he’s handcuffed to his bed. Apparently, what he said has got the police doing a thorough background check on him.” He continued in his normal voice, “I won’t publicly speculate, but despite being football players, most of you are not stupid. You can add it up yourself.”

That brought an unexpected outburst from Kyle. “Son of a bitch! I wish he’d killed the little fucker!”

The coach had never seen Kyle lose his cool before, but he looked like he was ready to go kill Thompson himself.

After a second, Kyle continued in a much softer voice, “Coach, I have a cousin, Mindy, who’s been going to a different high school. And, well, I think I need to introduce her to Tyler, so she can meet a real hero.”

Coach Johnson nodded thoughtfully, then said, “Have any of you met Mindy?” There were a few raised hands. “If I’m hearing Kyle right, you now have a face to put to violence against women. Do not spread that bit of knowledge around, you won’t like what happens if I find you did. I’m also charging you all to remember it, and to remember what being a good citizen means. Dismissed!”

If Kyle Smith had been asked about how the people at school saw him, he would have said that he hoped they saw a good student and easy-going athlete who liked people. After all, it was close enough to the truth. He’d had his moments growing up and done some things he still regretted, but he’d never been comfortable with the bad-boy image, so he made the effort these days to nurture the good guy who’d been there all along.

What most of the people at school didn’t see was how much he enjoyed being around kids — his girlfriend, Amanda, told him that he’d be a great father someday. The other thing most people didn’t know, though, again, Amanda did, was how much he loved his family. He might tease his little sister about being a pest, but he loved her dearly.

His favorite relative, though, had always been his cousin, Mindy. Though she was nine months younger, they’d practically grown up together. When they were younger, they’d cuddle up on a blanket in his backyard and watch meteor showers, or just the stars. They’d shared their first kiss when he was ten.

Unfortunately, a new priest, Father Michael, had come to the local parish about then. Unlike the previous priest, his sermons never seemed to be about the joys of doing good works, or of Grace, but instead were always focused on the evils of sin and worldly temptation. Mindy’s father, his uncle Russ, ate it up, but Kyle’s parents got to the point where they could no longer stomach it, so they quit attending altogether. A year later, his uncle took Mindy out of public schools to remove her from temptations and put her in Catholic schools. Kyle and Mindy didn’t get to see each other as often after that, but they remained close, and when they were together, they were inseparable.

All of that had come to a crashing halt in late March, when she’d gone to a church party for teens.

Instead of going straight home after the team meeting, Kyle detoured to his aunt and uncle’s place a couple of miles away. At first, his aunt didn’t want to let him in to talk to Mindy, but he eventually convinced her that he wouldn’t hurt his cousin, and she reluctantly let him in. When Kyle saw Mindy, he understood why she’d been reluctant. He couldn’t quite stifle a gasp; it had been a couple of weeks since he’d seen her, and she looked terrible!

“Hi, Min. I’m not going to ask if you’re doing okay since I can see you’re not. I hope I can help you, though.”

She cut him off. “I know you want to help, cuz, but I don’t think there’s any help out there. I’m not even sure I want it, now.”

He saw his aunt cringe at her words, and his own heart sank, so he moved to reassure her. “You know, at least in your head, that I love you, and I’m not going to hurt you, don’t you?” Mindy nodded, if a bit reluctantly. “I know you think it’s hopeless, but I think there’s someone out there who can at least ease your mind some. For the sake of all the good times we’ve had, are you willing to trust me one more time?”

He endured her scrutiny, hoping with all his heart that she still had enough fire and drive to find the courage she’d need to trust him. Eventually, she agreed, as long as Kyle promised that she wouldn’t be hurt more.

Kyle wiped his eyes, then asked his aunt to give them some time alone. He swore he wouldn’t let Mindy get hurt, but what he wanted to try wouldn’t work with her there. Eventually, she agreed to go pick up his little sister and take her home and spend some time with her.

After his aunt left, he dug out the team roster and called Tyler’s home, since it didn’t have his cell number.

When the call connected, a woman answered and said, “Jensen residence.”

“Hello. You don’t sound like Carol, so you must be Tyler’s mother. This is Kyle Smith, the quarterback of the football team, and I have some information for him and a request for a big favor.”

“Oh, hello, Kyle. I’m afraid Tyler’s not here at the moment. Carol took him over to visit his girlfriend.”

“I understand, and in his place I’d be at my girlfriend’s house, too. I just want to tell him that the rest of the team will have his back. We’re very proud of what he did. I also want to ask him for an incredibly important personal favor. Could I get his phone number, please?”

“I don’t suppose that’ll be a problem. It’s XXX XXX XXXX. On your head be it if you interrupt a private moment, though.”

He heard the humor in her voice, but was completely serious when he replied. “Thank you very much. I don’t have any doubt that when Tyler understands why I’m calling, he’ll forgive me interrupting his time with Naomi.”

He quickly dialed the number she gave him and waited for an answer.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Ty! This is Kyle. I apologize for interrupting your time with Naomi, but this is important.”

“Hi, Kyle. You’re in luck, you didn’t interrupt anything major. What’s up?”

“The first thing is that the team will be watching your back, and Naomi’s. You may not need the help, but we’re all proud of what you did, and we take care of our own. Other than that, though, I need to ask you for a big favor. I’m sitting here with my cousin right now, and she desperately needs to meet a real, live hero. Is there any way that you and Naomi can make time to see her?”

“Thanks for the news. It’s good to know that she’ll have some protection while I’m suspended. What’s up with your cousin?”

“If she wants to go into it, she can, but I think you know something that will help her immensely.”

“Huh? Oh, oh shit! Oh, Kyle, I’m so sorry for her. Sure, I’ll be happy to talk with her, and I’m sure Naomi will be, too.”

“We always knew you were too smart to play football. Thanks. Let me talk to Mindy for a sec.”

Turning to his cousin, he said, “I know you’re scared, Mindy, but yesterday, one of the guys on the team completely destroyed a guy who was threatening his girlfriend. We had a team meeting today and I learned more about the asshole Tyler hospitalized. I think when you talk to Ty and his girlfriend you’ll feel better, I really do.”

When Mindy looked at him, he thought he saw a spark of curiosity enter her dull eyes. She said, “There has to be more to it than that. If you’re certain, then I’ll do it. I hope I’m not making a mistake here.”

“You’re not. Mindy, you may not know it, but I’ve been in love with you for years. I’m ashamed to say I let the whole cousin thing and your parents get in the way. Well, fuck all that! I love you! I’d rather cut my own throat than hurt you. I promise I won’t let anyone else do it if I’m there to stop it.” He took his phone off hold and gave Tyler directions before hanging up.

“It’ll just be a few minutes. Turns out Naomi lives just around the corner.”

Sure enough, a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Kyle checked the peephole, then turned to Mindy and waited for her okay. When she nodded, he opened the door and let Tyler and Naomi in. He wasn’t sure why Carol was also there, but he let her in, too.

“Mindy, I’d like you to meet Tyler Jensen, his girlfriend Naomi Clarke and his sister, and fearsome protector, Carol. Guys, this is my cousin, Mindy.

“Mindy doesn’t know why I asked you to come over beyond that I think you’re a hero, Ty. Can you please tell her what happened yesterday?”

Tyler nodded, then went on to recount the fight. When he told what Thompson had said, all the blood drained from Mindy’s face. Kyle had been expecting that, which is why he made sure she was sitting down to start with. Then Tyler said, “The next part isn’t common knowledge, but my dad told me earlier that Thompson’s now in the prison ward of the big hospital downtown. Our attorney also said that they’re most likely going to take samples from him to match against rape kits.”

Kyle hadn’t heard the last part before, but he wasn’t stupid and he knew Mindy was terribly fragile. As soon as Tyler said the words, he turned and dropped down next to her, which was good because she fainted.

Carol got there before her brother and helped Kyle carry the bigger girl to the sofa and arrange her. When he stood up, he looked around and saw that Naomi was also pale, so he suggested she sit down just in case. She didn’t even argue.

Carol’s voice caused him to turn back to her. “You don’t have to tell me, but I’m sure Mindy was attacked and her reaction to the comment about the rape kit says that someone had their way with her.” She looked like she was almost quivering with rage, but she kept her voice down. “I want to rip someone’s balls off and stuff them down their throat!”

Kyle had listened to Bob talk about Carol, but hadn’t really understood at a visceral level what he’d meant. The intensity he saw in her face right then brought it home — he was a bit bigger and stronger than her, but he was pretty sure if he ever got her angry enough, it’d be his funeral. She was so wired that she swung at Tyler when he put his arms around her, though it looked like he’d been expecting it. Once that surge was over, though, she turned in his arms and buried her face in his shoulder. She was still sobbing when Mindy started to come around.

As soon as he heard her move, Kyle spun around and dropped to his knees by her head. “Are you okay, Min? I wasn’t expecting you to faint, but I didn’t know that last part.” He gently brushed her hair back from her face and waited while she got her bearings.

His position by her head let him hear her when she quietly said, “Is it true? You didn’t just do this to me to bring me out of it, did you?”

Kyle quickly waved Tyler over, so he could hear her. When she repeated her question, Tyler nodded and said, “I got suspended for hitting him, but yeah, he left his teeth all over the gym floor.” The way he said that seemed to catch her attention. Then he said, “It’s true he said those things. It’s also true that he’s in the hospital, and I’ve no reason to doubt Dad that he’s in the prison ward. I don’t know for a fact that they’ve taken fluid samples from him, but given what he said, our attorney, who has been doing this for a couple of decades, thinks it’s almost certain. And why take samples if you’re not going to test them against the kits that have been collected?

She started crying then. By the time she’d collected herself, Kyle saw a change in her eyes. A fire burned there that had been missing ever since that day. After a few minutes, she got up and stood in front of Tyler, though more than an arm’s length away, and said, “Thank you. Thank you for not sugarcoating it. Thank you for separating what you know is true from the rest of it. But most of all, thank you for kicking his ass! I hope you understand that I’d love to be able to kiss and hug you in thanks, but I just can’t!

“I’m sure Kyle didn’t tell you, but, yes, I was raped. Someone put something in my drink at a church party. I don’t know how because I was trying to keep an eye out, but they did. I couldn’t do anything; I could feel myself being moved and even when they started on my clothes, I knew what was going on, but after that I didn’t know anything until I woke up in the hospital. That’s when I found out what had happened.” She started to cry again and sat back on the sofa. “You might not understand, but to some of us, our first time is supposed to special. Mine was a rape while I was unconscious. I was saving myself for someone special. Now who would look at me? Who would be willing to tie themselves to me? Who wants soiled goods? Who?!!”

Into the silence following her outburst, he heard the voice that had been silent until then. Naomi said, “I promise you they are out there. If Tyler didn’t have his hands full right now, he might be right there amongst them. I wasn’t raped, but it was a near thing. I have a scar on my breast from his knife when I escaped. I’m still waiting for my first time, but I know Tyler well enough now to know for a fact that he wouldn’t hold it against me if I had been raped.”

She sat down next to Mindy and gently said, “And I know he’s not the only one. There are some good people at our school and your cousin is one of their leaders. He demonstrated it today in front of everyone. I know you’re in pain right now, but there’s someone right here who can help you find your way again if you’ll let him.”

Kyle wasn’t expecting to be put on the spot, but didn’t shy away from Mindy’s gaze. “I promise you, I won’t stop loving you because someone drugged and used you. If you’ll allow me in, I’ll do everything I can to help you. Please let me help, I want the Mindy I’ve loved for so long back again.” He knew better than to hug her, but he badly wanted to.