“Don’t be scared, baby; I’m here.” He’s so cute. If he thinks the president of a university can scare me, then he really hadn’t been listening or even aware of what was going on around him this weekend. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. To be immune to my family’s brand of madness would take a work of monumental effort. He’d be the first not to be affected.
“It’s not that I’m scared I just hate being in the middle of this stuff, and I hate even more that I got you involved. Your coach is going to have a fit.” It’s one of the reasons why I’d tried to take care of things myself. Because of past indiscretions from some earlier players, the school had cracked down over the years, and the sports department was a stickler for the rules.
Any sign of misbehavior was frowned upon, and they were quick to expel people from the team if it would save face. I knew this even before coming here, but I never thought it would affect me in any way. Cody’s not stupid, his moratorium on dating had saved him from a lot of headaches, but now it looks like I’d dragged him into the fire with me.
So the fear or discomfort he noticed stemmed from that, from me worrying about him being dragged into my mess. I don’t regret driving Susie over the edge, but if it hurts Cody in any way, then the remorse will eat me alive. Why didn’t I think of any of this before I acted? The closer we got to the building, the more worried I felt, but Cody, the one I was worried about, didn’t seem to care one way or another.
However, I should’ve known that this had nothing to do with none of the above. We were both trying to reassure each other that everything was going to be okay when we reached the office.
The first tipoff should’ve been the smile with which the secretary greeted us. It was just too bright. And then the fact that we were led down the hall away from the president’s office to some sort of conference room should’ve been another, but it took the smell of a certain perfume floating through the air to bring me back to my senses.
“Oh, good heavens, no. Who’s in there?” I pointed at the closed door as I asked the secretary in a very accusatory tone. That smile didn’t dim one bit, and Cody was looking at me like I’d finally cracked my damn skull.
“Annalisa Davenport, is that you?” I gave serious thought to turning around and running until I reached the state line.
CODY
“What the hell? Baby, what’s wrong with you? Who was that?” I held her up because it looked like her knees had given out on her. She just shook her head with the most pitiful look on her face, and just as I was giving serious thought to leaving, the secretary opened the door.
I looked inside to see her parents and some other people sitting around a conference table, but I still didn’t understand her reaction. “Come in, both of you. Thank you, young lady; you may close the door.” One of the older women spoke with a very welcoming smile, which did not explain why Lisa looked spooked and ready to bolt.
I had to literally half carry her to the table where everyone whom I hadn’t met as yet seemed very interested in me. By that, I mean I felt eyes on me from my head to my sneakers. No one spoke as I helped Lisa into a chair and sat down next to her, keeping my arm around her until she composed herself.
“Grandma Davenport, who called, um…why…” she broke off her statement and whimpered, and I gave serious thought to snatching her and getting the hell out because that was straight-up fear on her face.
“We’ll get to that later; this is not a family meeting; we’re still waiting for the other camp to arrive.” Other camp? She spoke to Lisa, but her eye was on me, literally. She used a monocle. I didn’t even think they still made those things. There were no introductions made, and I didn’t open my mouth to ask, though they all seemed to know who I was.
“Are they late?” Grandma monocle asked the table at large in a voice that said I’m in control.
“No, mother, they’re not; they still have a few minutes left.” Lisa’s dad answered, so I’m guessing the woman who was about to make my girl faint was her other grandmother, and the one who was looking less lethal was the one she’d spoken to on the phone.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and the secretary led a few people inside, one of which was Susie. Her mom and, I’m guessing her dad, the senator, came in behind her, followed by a trio of lawyers from the looks of it. Lisa’s family had only brought the guy from before. I’m not sure if that was good or bad.