They all looked at each other, before dropping their gazes.
“You told Coach Carmen that you did not want us to tell your parents. Why is that?” Reverend Jones asked.
I swallowed hard, my leg bouncing as I answered. “Because my parents don’t approve of him.”
“Why? If you don’t mind me asking?” Mrs. Bailey asked.
“Because…he used to be really good friends with them.”
“I see.” She wrote something down. “So you don’t want your parents to know because they don’t know about what you are doing with him? That you’re sneaking around with him?”
“Something like that.”
Both of the men stared at me.
“Miss Jennings, I am going to be completely honest with you here.” Reverend Jones shut his folder. “To me, it seems you are trying to protect this man, and I can understand wanting to do that for someone you care about, but what he did is intolerable and what you did with him by leaving campus and sneaking around with him, is just as unacceptable. You are a young nineteen-year-old woman. He looks to be in his forties, perhaps? You have no business messing with a man that age. At Notre Dame, our athletes represent what we stand for. We take pride in our athletes and our students. Imagine if someone else had caught wind of this, had taken pictures and of you with him and put those pictures in an article. Imagine if that article had circulated and went into the world about an older man messing with a young student on our campus? It would make the school look bad. It would make me look bad. It could cause us to lose sponsors and have families wanting to pull their children out of our schools.” His brows dipped into a frown. “Even though Coach Carmen pleaded your case and wanted you to stay, I just cannot jeopardize the image of my school for one person’s actions. Furthermore, we refuse to take this to an actual court and make a spectacle out of this situation. I’m sorry, Miss Jennings, but we are going to have to have your scholarship annulled so we can give it to someone else at this time. Someone who will respect the rules and understand the faithfulness of our university.”
I had no words. I knew this was coming, but even still, all forms of languages were lodged in my throat. The first thing I felt was brokenness, all over again. The next thing I felt was fear, because the words that came out of Mr. Grayson’s mouth next, froze me right up.
“We have already had arrangements made for Coach Carmen to contact your parents. By Wednesday afternoon, we expect you to have your dorm room cleaned out and for you to have left the University of Notre Dame. We will send security to check that this has been followed through and then follow up with an official letter as to why this has happened. The letter will most likely be sent to your home address.”
I huffed, as if it would decrease the weight on my chest, but it didn’t. I pushed out of my chair as they asked if I had any questions. No, I didn’t have any questions, but I was fuming.
After getting my cellphone back, I yanked the door open and rushed down the stairs, out to the cold. The wind nipped at my cheeks and tousled my hair but I didn’t give a flying fuck.
I kept going until I was across campus and in front of the familiar fraternity house. I banged on the door with a heavy fist, and Leo answered. “Yo, why the fuck are you knocking so damn hard?” he snapped.
I shoved past him and went through the living room where two girls were topless, and right for the kitchen where I heard people talking.
Standing in the kitchen was my culprit. Sitting on the countertop right beside him was Sophie, and there were a few other football players around but I didn’t care to figure out who they were. My eyes pinned on Brody as he stood with his lower back pressed to the edge of the counter, a slice of pizza in one hand and a drink in a red cup in the other.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in! My balls are already blue just looking at you! Get the fuck out!”
He was trying to show off in front of his friends, and yes, he got a good laugh from them, but he wasn’t going to have the last one. Not after what he did to me.
I stormed toward him and snatched the drink out of his hand, bringing it up and dumping it right over his head. All of the football players in the kitchen belted out roars of laughter and Sophie started to snicker, but I grimaced at her, snatching the wet pizza out of Brody’s hand and smashing it on her face. I smeared the warm, soaked pizza all over her, including the top of her head, and then dragged it down to her white blouse.