“Ms. Cooper,” the dean says, stopping me with my hand on the door. “Maybe if you don't end up pursuing assistant teaching, you might find you have a natural talent for persuasion.”
“Maybe,” I say. “Or maybe I’ll just save the situation for the plot of a future book.”
45
maverick
“Hey, Coach. You got a minute?”
Coach Alvarez looks up from his desk, holding out a hand for me to sit.
I’ve been in a lot of offices, but somehow, this is the first time I’ve ever been in his.
“How ya feeling, Hall?”
“Oh, better.” I bring my hand to my neck, feigning some sort of ailment so that I don’t get Silas in trouble for lying for me.
“No longer on yourdeathbed?” The sarcastic way that he says deathbed tells me all I need to know.
“I’m sorry,” I say, dropping my hand, and leaning my elbows on my knees. “I’m sorry I missed practice, and I’m sorry I didn’t even call to let you know.”
“I’m just glad you took a personal day instead of storming in here pissed off like your buddies have been known to do.”
I nod, forcing a half-smile, more so just in thanks for understanding.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks.
I take a deep breath, digging my thumb into the palm of my hand. “I don’t really know what to say.”
“You’ve had a rough few days.” It’s not a question, but I answer anyway.
“It seems harder because only a week ago I had everything.” I look down at the green rug between my feet, trying to figure out how it all went to shit so fast.
“You know, Chloe’s been a part of our family for over half her life now.”
I swallow down the pain that comes just from hearing her name.
“She was the first friend Savannah made outside of her brother,” he continues. “I remember the first day I pulled up to the rink, I had to drag Savannah behind me, and this little firecracker was just absolutely blazing down the ice, never once stopping or slowing down. The flick of her wrist was so accurate and fast it didn’t matter that there was another twelve-year-old in the net. It could have been Martin Broder in there, and she still would have made it.”
The image of a miniature Chloe being an overachiever even then brings a genuine smile to my face.
“She turned around, spotted us, and came skating over. She said, ‘You see that snipe? Been working on that since mites.’” Coach laughs to himself as he does an impression of her.
I try to smile but have to rub the ache in my chest.
“When Savannah’s mother died, there wasn’t a day that she was alone because Chloe never left her side.” Consciously or not, his eyes drop to the frame facing him on his desk before clearing his throat and looking back at me. “I tell you all this because aside from yourself, I don’t think there’s anyone more loyal on the planet than Chloe Cooper.”
Fuck, my throat burns.
“I know that,” I force out.
“I don’t know what happened, but I do know that Chloe wouldn’t leave unless she was pushed away.” I’ve always respected the man before me because of his coaching abilities,but the way he talks to me like someone who cares about me, like a friend, makes me appreciate him.
“I found out she didn’t get a job that she went out for because of her association with me,” I sigh. “I guess when you have to talk to the dean of students more than once, word gets around. One too many fights on the ice and I might have been able to save my career by the skin of my teeth, but I wasn’t able to save my relationship.”
“What did she do when she found out?”
I shake my head, like my body is physically trying to reject what I know happened. “I didn’t tell her.”
