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"Everett told me he isn't coming to practice today. Said he doesn't feel good," Dad said as he talked to Tyler about training the Monday after the party.

I looked up from my phone as this conversation became more interesting. Dad and I both knew the true reason why he wouldn't come in. He was still recovering from that beating he took over the weekend. Everett told Dad he would be at practice tomorrow, but I wasn't convinced. I cleaned his face and knew he needed time to recover.

Tyler nodded casually, not asking for more details. "That's fine. I can focus on Ethan and Rick today."

"Sounds like a plan, Stan."

Tyler grinned at the comment. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

Dad shook his head. "Nope. I think you're good to see those boys for training."

"Cool," he said then left the office, leaving me and Dad alone.

Dad sighed. His eyes looked tired; however, I don't think anyone besides me noticed. He turned to his papers. "Well, I have little for you to do today since we're mainly studying past plays."

I nodded as I reached for my backpack which had a mound of homework in it. "That's fine, I'll just stick around and study in the office if you don't mind. I have a test tomorrow." I would admit, I felt relieved I could cocoon myself in the office and focus on my never-ending schoolwork.

"Great. And I'll just say this again: you don't need to come here every day. If you need to work on school, I understand, homedog."

I eyed him. He had never called me that before.

"I heard someone say that on campus the other day. Does it sound cool?"

I shook my head as a chuckle escaped my lips.

"Alright, that's a no then."

I thought about all the joys I had for the last few weeks. I enjoyed coming in every day even if I was busy. It was exciting, and I had built some good friendships. "I know, but I enjoy coming here."

He chuckled as he stood from his desk. "Never thought I would hear you, out of all people, say that. Who are you and where did my football hating daughter go?"

I smirked. "I still hate football. But that doesn't mean I hate the players."

He smiled one more time before leaving the office, allowing me to study in peace.

______________________________

Finally, after studying for who knows how long, I swung the backpack over my shoulders and walked out of the office. Slowly, I wandered through the halls, unsure where I was going. Finally, I found myself on the inside field watching Tyler work with a group of players.

I never really talked much to Tyler, but as I watched him interact with them, I could see he loved the sport just as much as Dad did. He talked with enthusiasm and glitter in his eyes, as if this was the most important thing he could do.

"So how was going to Everett's place the other night?" Tad asked with a grin as he walked over to me.

I frowned as I remembered how angry he got when I brought up Charles. As much as Tad wanted some kind of gossip, there was none. Maybe being there could have been, but we messed it up. I don't think Everett and I would ever get along. "He let me in to his place and we talked for a few before I said something he didn't like, and he kicked me out."

He let out a single chuckle with a shrug. "Well, can't say I didn't see that coming, but I did."

I kicked the ground in frustration. Maybe Everett was just unable to be helped. Maybe Dad already realized this and gave up.

Tad nodded as his gaze switched to the players in practice. "If it counts towards anything, I don't think he brought any player to his apartment before so you would be the first."

Even if that was true, what we had wasn't anything worth mentioning. "I'm honored," I said with sarcasm. I sighed. "Why is he so impossible? He's like a mountain, standing alone, staring down at everyone."

"A what?"

I shook my head, too tired to explain my reasoning behind it. "I think I'm giving up on helping him. Every time he talks to me, I come running but then he goes and treats me like crap. Every single time. Then he apologizes, but does the same thing all over again. It's like a broken record and I'm tired."

Tad nodded. "Everett is tiring, but he's just as cute."

"Hadn't noticed," I stated. I had been so focused on what I didn't like about him I didn't notice much of his appearance.

"Of course you didn't." Tad chuckled as he placed his hand on my shoulder. "But just know there is the reason he has such a following... and it's not only because he's good at the sport."

For a second, we were silent as we watched the players.

"Based on his face at the party, I'm guessing Everett isn't coming to practice."

I shook my head. "No. He texted Dad last night telling him he wouldn't be here."

"Probably the best. Rick's already talking about how Charles kicked his ass and that Everett isn't as good of a player as Charles."

I glared at the ground, feeling defensive. Why did Rick have to add fuel to the fire that was burning? Couldn't Charles just melt away like an ice cube on a hot day? "Just when I thought Rick was a decent person, he went ahead and did something like this..."

"Who said Rick wasn't good?"

"Everett."

"Well, I don't like Rick much either."

If Tad had an opinion of the players, this was the first I was hearing of it. It frustrated me because this information would have been useful when I first started. "Why didn't you tell me about your opinions?"

He shrugged. "I didn't want to taint the well. Just because I have a negative experience doesn't mean you will."

I nodded.

"Besides, I'm not that focused on the gossip, never have been."

"Just the hookup."

He winked. "You know me."

I guess I did. After working with Tad for these weeks, I would say I knew him pretty well. Tad was probably the person I knew the best on this team. We were friends, and I was glad for that because I trusted him the most.

"Nora, do you have a moment?" Everett's voice rang out from behind me.

His voice caused my hairs on my neck to rise. Suddenly I was worried he heard our conversation.

With a straight face, I turned to him.

He pulled on his hat, partially hiding his damaged face.

I held back a scoff. As if that would disguise him. My eyes trailed down his body, noticing his jean shorts which were something I don't think I had ever seen him wear before. His legs hugged the fabric, highlighting his thigh muscles. For the mild weather, I wouldn't say it was short temperature, but he didn't seem bothered by it.

Silently, Tad looked at me, then at him. He shifted on his feet. His gaze then shifted as he looked at the players across the field and waved at them. "Don't mind me, I'll just.... coming!" he shouted to them.

"Thanks Tad," Everett muttered.

I raised my eyebrows. That was the first time I ever heard him use Tad's name on his own accord.

Tad smiled at him. "Anytime." With that, he ran off, leaving us alone on the sidelines.

"So, you do know his name."

He shrugged. "I'm trying to be better."

I nodded. It was a small action, but this was a start.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath in, as if working up the nerve to tell me whatever was on his mind. I didn't dare interrupt his thought process in fear that it would just shut him down, so I bit my tongue and waited.

"I just wanted to say sorry for how I acted at my place the other day. You were trying to help, and you didn't deserve to be treated like that."

I shook my head. "No, I really didn't."

He frowned. "I was wondering, do you want to go on a walk with me?"

Why would I walk with him? Just for him to get upset about something? That's always how our walks ended, and I was tired of it. But there was something in his eyes that told me that this time would be different.

I looked at the time on my phone. There was still another hour worth of practice which meant he could have an hour or so of my time. "I'm sure Dad won't miss me."

He gave a small smile. "Ok, great. Um, let's go?"

I nodded as I followed him out of the field to get out of the stadium.

_________________________________

We silently walked down a paved path by the stadium. I waited for him to speak, but instead he glared at his shoes.

With a sigh, I tossed my gaze towards the trees that lined the path. They rustled in the breeze and few people passed us, paying little attention as they stared at their phones. However, every time someone passed, Everett pulled his cap lower over his face, worried people would recognize him. I wondered if he was always this careful on campus or if it was because of his face.

Minutes passed by and I wasn't sure when Everett would speak. Since he invited me, I did not want to be the first one to say something.

Finally, with a heavy sigh, Everett spoke, breaking the silence. "I really haven't told anyone what Charles did to me. It caught me off guard when you mentioned it the other night."

I nodded. I didn't mean to make him uneasy, that was never my goal. I just wanted to understand.

"Your dad told me that talking about it could help. But none of the assistant coaches believed it would. So, I held all this information. But I'm getting so tired of holding it in. I want to talk about it with someone I trust. I want to talk about it with you."

There was that word again. He trusted me, but I still wasn't sure how much weight that word had with him, because I didn't trust him. What did I do to make him trust me?

My pace slowed to match his as I waited for him to share his story. My heart sped up. This was what I was waiting for.

He took a seat on a park bench that overlooked a small lake that the university named mirror lake and I followed his lead.

There used to be a tradition of jumping into this lake after the football team played Michigan University, but that tradition stopped when someone died in the lake years back. To avoid lawsuits, the OSU drained the lake before the game.

People complained about this tradition for years, saying it was dangerous, but the university did little about it until that death. It was funny how the university waited until the last possible second to make a choice about a subject, but by then the damage was already done.

"When I first got on the team, I was pretty lost, just a freshman from a farming town. I looked for a lot of help and Charles was the first one to guide me. He was my big brother that was assigned to me. He was friendly and nice which made me feel welcomed. He invited me to everything and brought me into his group of friends."

My stomach slowly turned into knots as I waited for the story to continue. There was a heaviness in his words that made me feel sorry for him.

"He started being a little handsy on after the first game. He started to slap my butt while changing in the locker room or giving me foot massages after practice. I thought nothing of it since locker rooms could be erotic places."

I frowned. I had read about this kind of stuff before in phycology. It sounded like grooming. Charles was grooming Everett.

"When he first tried to come onto me, we were at a party, and both a little drunk. I pushed him off and told him I wasn't interested. And he backed off for a few weeks. But then one day when we were training together after everyone left, he held me down and..." Everett's voice shook as he rubbed his hands on his thighs.

His struggle made me realize I didn't need to know all the details. This was enough. I placed my hand on his and gave it a squeeze. "You don't have to share anymore."

He shook his head. "Charles was my first time. It made me feel dirty. He told me no one would believe me if I spoke out. You see, Charles played the good guy, everyone liked him, so I stayed silent, and because of that, he did it again and again. By mid-season, my performance was slipping, my grades were failing. My mental health was in the gutter, and I couldn't stand it any longer. That's when I got him admitting to rape on tape. I sent it to your father, and he handled the rest. By time the school did something, Charles did a good job tearing this team apart, making sure no one trusted anyone, especially me."

A lump formed in my throat as I tried to formulate something to say. What happened was tragic. It shouldn't have happened. "Did he do this to others?"

Everett shrugged as he took a deep breath. "Don't know. You're the first person who I have told the entire story to. I imagine if there were others, they hadn't talked about it either. He was good at getting in your head, and I'm still trying to get him out."

I placed my hand on his again. It took a lot of guts to share and I just wanted him to know I supported him. "Thank you for sharing."

He picked at his shoes, not making eye contact with me, although I wish he would. "I did this more for my sake. But thank you for listening."

I nodded as my gaze switched to Mirror Lake. The sun shined brightly above us, but this day suddenly felt less joyful.

"I know I haven't been a team player, but it's hard for me when so many things are a reminder of what happened."

Now made sense why he was like this. I hated him because I thought he was a dick for no reason, but Everett was hurting.

I did the next thing that only made sense, I brought him into a hug.

Everett tensed for a second before wrapping his arms around me, embracing me tightly. "You mentioned before how you saw me as Mount Everest. I feel like I need to be a mountain because no one will touch me."

I knew this was not my father's fault, but I couldn't help but feel angry towards him. He was the coach, he was supposed to look out for these guys, so how did he miss this?

"None of this is your fault, not the team falling apart, not any of it," I said as I let go of him.

He nodded, although it didn't look confident. "What's frustrating is that he's still out there. The OSU community loves him. They still sell his jersey at the shops. It's because there were no articles released about this. OSU brushed it under the rug as if this was nothing but a little rumor. Everywhere I look, I still see him. It's terrible."

For a moment we were silent. There had to be something we could do. If the University would do nothing, we could do something. "We can stop him. We can publish articles about it. If we made it public, the university would have no choice but to address it."

Everett frowned as he pulled his cap down to hide his face from a group of passing students. "I don't know."

As hard as it was for me to accept that answer, I knew it was his story and when he was ready to move forward, I would be there to help, but I wouldn't push him. "Ok."

Everett rubbed his hands on his thighs. "I never thought something like this would happen to me. I'm on the football team, I'm liked, popular."

"It can happen to anyone."

"I guess I can."

My phone buzzed with a text from dad wondering where I was. I flipped over the phone to hide the text before turning my attention to Everett. "I should get back. Dad will start calling soon."

He nodded. "Thanks for going on this walk with me."

I smiled as I got up from the bench. "I'm glad I came." And that was the truth. For the first time, a walk didn't end in a fight. In fact, quite the opposite. "If there is anything I can do to help, let me know."

"Listen," Everett said as he grabbed my hand, causing me pause. "There is something you can do. I have this dinner with my dad tomorrow evening. I was wondering if you would come?"

I frowned. This was such a personal ask. I was implying about helping with Charles, nothing else. I barely knew him, so what use would I be at a dinner?

"I just want someone else there to defuse tension. I know my dad will like you. As a friend, I trust you with something like this."

Friend and Trust. Those words. Every time he used them, it was as if he believed it, but most of the time, we didn't act like friends. "Why do you trust me?"

He smirked as he stood up from the bench. "Because you hate football."

I chuckled. I never realized that fact could evoke such trust.

"So can I pick you up at five?"

To meet the man who raised Everett fascinated me, and I couldn't help but agree to his question. "Sure. I'll be ready."

He smiled as he pulled on his hat. "I'll see you then." And with that, he walked down the sidewalk, leaving me alone to get back to the stadium.

________________________

By the time I made it back to the stadium, practice was over and most of the players vanished.

"Hey Nojo, where did you go?" Dad asked as I walked into his office.

I had been truthful with him my whole life, but as I looked at him, wasn't sure if I wanted to tell him what Everett told me. Dad knew some of the facts, but maybe he didn't need to know that I knew them too. "I just went to get boba then ran into a professor and talked about an assignment due next week."

"Ah!" he exclaimed. "Got you. Gotta stay on top of those assignments. You don't want them to mound up like a hill or anything."

"You got that right."

He turned back to his papers on his desk, switching gears.

I thought about going to dinner with Everett's father tomorrow and knew I needed to tell him about it otherwise. "Actually, I also ran into Everett."

He looked up from his papers. "Oh, you did? How is he?"

"He's good. He invited me to go out tomorrow. I told him I would."

"Tell me how it goes," he said casually and turned back to his things.

I was surprised I didn't get more of a response from him. It made me think that whatever he was working on was more important. "What are you doing?" I asked, unable to fight my curiosity.

"Some papers that Melissa gave me from the board. It's really not exciting." He organized them, then stuck them in a folder. "They want me to study some extra plans before the next game."

I didn't believe that fact. Why would the board give my dad, one of the best coaches in college football, plans to review? Instead of calling him out on it, I went along with his lie.

"It's an away game, so you don't have to come if you don't want to."

"Is it a close by?"

"Just a short two-hour bus ride. It's just in Toledo."

The homework I had to do was never ending, but I felt like I should go to this game. I should go to every game. "I'll think about it."

"Hey, that's good enough for me."