Aiden
When I push the door open and I see all of my teammates on the court, it brings me a kind of hurt I can’t explain. Basketball has been all I’ve had for so long that knowing it could all be taken away from me today makes me nervous.
Coach turns his head when the door closes, spotting me approaching him. “Pierce,” he says. “The test is scheduled for tomorrow. You’re still under suspension.”
“I know, Coach, I was wondering if I could talk to you.”
He lifts his chin. “Can it wait?”
“Not really.” The longer I hold on to this information, the longer Jordan thinks he won, but he hasn’t, not even close.
I spot him on the court, narrowing his eyes at me, his cheeks blazing with anger. How did I not see it before? These guys have been like my family since freshman year, knowing that one of them stabbed me in the back hurts like hell.
Coach’s whistle goes off, and everyone comes to a halt. “Practice is over,” he shouts.
“Hell yes,” Carter mutters, running to the locker rooms.
“Nice to see you, Cap,” Andre says, patting me on the shoulder.
When everyone leaves, the asshole approaches me. “What do you think you’re doing?” Jordan asks, narrowing his eyes at me.
I shake my head, almost laughing at how much of a piece of shit he is. “You want to ruin my future? I can do the same.” His nostrils flare, but I don’t elaborate. Jordan scatters when Coach approaches me.
“What did you want to talk about?” he asks, walking ahead of me to his office.
The minute the door shuts, I let out a breath. “I have proof.”
“Of?” Coach asks, sitting at his desk.
“That the drug testing was tampered with.”
His brows shoot up. “What proof?”
I pull out my phone from my pocket and open up the recording I have of Jordan admitting everything. Admitting to blackmailing me, admitting that he messed with the drug testing. All of it.
When the recording ends, Coach looks up at me. “This is Jordan?”
I made sure to say his name so that there would be no confusion. That asshole might have controlled me for the past few months, but I’m not letting him get away with it. “Yes, Coach,” I say. “He wanted the captain position and was willing to blackmail and drug me to make it happen.”
Coach lets out a sigh, shaking his head. “He’s been coming to me for a while asking to reconsider him being captain.” My eyes widen at the admission. All this time? “I didn’t think he would be a threat, but this is serious,” he says, shaking his head. “This is damning evidence.”
My heart starts to race. “So what does this mean?”
“It means I was right all along in believing in you,” he says, nodding. I’ll always be grateful for Coach seeing something in me and giving me an opportunity. “And it means you’re back on the team.”
“And the scholarship?”
“Still very much intact.”
My shoulders drop, all the weight lifting off them. “Thanks, Coach.”
“I didn’t want to have to do this,” he says, lifting off his chair. “But Jordan is out, and my guess is he’ll no longer attend Redfield University.”
“Really?”
Coach nods. “This is very serious. Not only is blackmail a criminal offense, but tampering with one of his teammates’ drug testing is not the kind of guy I want for this team.” He glances at me. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Aiden. I know how hard it must be, with your family.”
“You knew?” I didn’t really know whether to believe Jordan when he said Coach knew about my past. He never made any comments on it, never treated me any differently.
“Of course I did,” he says. “As soon as I saw you in that janky high school gym, I knew you’d be one of the greats. And I still believe that. You’re one of the best damn players on this team.” He presses his lips together. “And I’m proud to have been your coach. You’ve become like a son to me,” he says, making my throat clam up. “I can’t wait to watch you play in the NBA.”
Fuck. I’ve never had someone be proud of me, or want me to succeed. “What about the pictures?” I ask him. “If I get drafted, they won’t want someone from a background like mine.”
He shakes his head, offering me a smile. “That doesn’t matter to me, and it won’t matter to them,” he says. “Nothing is going to stop you from achieving your goals unless you stop working for it. Coming from a background like yours doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t impact how you play,” he says, pressing his finger to my chest. “If anything, it makes it more impressive that you managed to work as hard as you have knowing you didn’t have the best environment.”
His mouth tips up. “I’ve already had teams interested in you.” He has? “Just keep working hard and show up. You play like you always do? There’s not going to be a damn team that doesn’t want you.”
Well shit. “You’re serious?”
“I sure am, son.”
I nod. “Thanks, Coach.”
He gestures behind me. “I was going to wait until everyone left, but… do you want to do the honors?”
I grin. “Hell yes.” He tried to ruin my life, it’s just as fair I get to do the same.
“Glad to have you back, Pierce.” Coach says before I walk out of his office and head to the locker rooms.
“Holy shit,” Ethan says when I walk in. “Look who it is.”
“Where have you been, Cap?” Andre asks.
I turn to Jordan who’s avoiding me, stuffing his clothes in his locker.
“You ok?” Carter asks.
What the hell is going on? I fully expected to come in here and see the guys laughing at me, talking shit and looking at me like I’m a pile of trash. It’s what I’m used to back home. Pushes from my own teammates, pranks in the locker rooms. It was brutal, but I kept at it because basketball was my only escape from home.
But these guys are still talking to me, calling me cap? I don’t know what I expected, but this wasn’t it.
“I’m good,” I tell him. “Finally back on the team.”
Jordan twists around, his eyes in slits. “Aren’t you suspended?”
I grin, shaking my head. “No, but you’re off the team.”
“What?” Jordan asks.
The anger on his face makes me laugh, knowing that after everything, he lost it all. Jealousy got the better of him and he lost. “You should have checked my pockets, asshole.” I shake my head at the guy who I thought was a friend here. “I recorded every goddamn word you said. Coach knows I haven’t used. You, on the other hand, have been caught tampering with drug tests and blackmail.”
The guys murmur, their faces contorting with what I felt when I found out Jordan was the blackmailer… betrayal. Hurt. The team is supposed to be a family, not turn on each other.
“You can’t kick me out,” he says.
My shoulders lift. “Coach thought I should do the honors.” His gaze darkens, finally realizing he has nothing. “You’re off the fucking team. None of us want to work with someone like you.”
Jordan laughs, looking around the room at the other guys who’ve iced him out. “Please,” he says, turning his eyes to me, shooting me a glare. “He’s a fucking loser.” The words still manage to hit deep even after all this time. “He shouldn’t be captain. The pictures are proof enough. He’s a nobody.”
Everyone is silent. I wonder if they’re thinking over what Jordan said, maybe warming up to the idea of agreeing with him. I’m not a nobody. I know that now. My past or my family don’t make up who I am. I’m my own person, I have my own morals and beliefs and goals, and guys like Jordan aren’t going to make me feel like that anymore.
When Carter stands up, everyone’s eyes turn to him. “I had next to nothing growing up,” he says, swallowing hard. I flinch at his confession. “Tell me I’m not supposed to be here.” He glares at Jordan. “Fucking say it.”
He lets out a scoff, ignoring Carter. “You’re all just fine with having him as captain?” When no one agrees with him, he laughs. “You’re all losers,” Jordan says, shaking his head.
I don’t even acknowledge the irony in his statement. “And you’re not supposed to be here. Leave.”
“Fuck you,” he says, picking up his shit and shoving it in his gym bag. “Fuck this school.” He turns around, but before he can leave, Ethan grabs him by his collar and swings, landing a punch to his face.
Jordan jumps back, his eyes wide and the room settles in silence. He shakes his head, his jaw clenching, and then walks out of the door.
Ethan turns back around, eyes blazing as he runs a hand through his hair. “He played me,” he admits, shaking his head. “He fucking told me you had rich parents who paid off Coach to make you captain.”
My eyes widen at his admission. Jordan really wanted that position, and he was willing to turn everyone against me to do it. “That’s not true.” Furthest thing from it.
Ethan nods. “I know that now.” His eyes dip, running his tongue over his bottom lip. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Cap. I really thought…”
I nod. He was misled, nothing we can change about that. “Thanks for that,” I gesture towards the door.
He shakes his head, letting out a scoff. “He had it coming.”
Yeah, he did.
I blow out a breath knowing he’s no longer a threat. But if Jordan could do that to me, then any one of these guys could turn around and do the same. “He isn’t a problem anymore,” I tell him. “He’s off the team and out of this school. We need to have each other’s backs, not stab them.” I turn to the rest of the team. “Anyone else have a problem with me being captain or where I come from, then say it now. Because these petty little arguments are exhausting.”
“I’m good,” Carter says, raising his hands.
“I have nothing against you,” Andre replies.
“Me neither,” Brent says.
My shoulders drop. “Glad to have that sorted.”
“We all saw the pictures,” Andre says, making my face drop. “I know how hard it must be to have your personal business out there.”
“Yeah,” I breathe out.
“We’re here for you, Cap,” Carter says, lifting his chin. “Whatever you need, you can count on us.”
I’m glad to have a team that has my back, even if no one else does after this. I give him a nod. “You too,” I tell him, admiring him for standing up for me today, even if it meant exposing his business. When I turn to leave the locker room, his voice stops me.
“Where are you going?” Carter asks.
“Home to my girl.”
