Easton “You missed nothing in last class.” Jackson tells me as I glide slowly around the rink to warm up. I had to skip our literature class in order to talk to Luci. “Mother playing games with her?” Becker asks quietly. “Is ice frozen?” I mutter and he rolls his eyes. I’m about to say more when I see Coach skate over to us. “Enough skating guys. Go stretch.” He calls out and we move to do that. Unfortunately, that’s when the squealing starts. I don’t even glance over my shoulder. “f*****g puck bunnies…”I mutter. Practice is supposed to be locked down but a few seem to sneak in every other week. They drive me insane. “I mean that’s their objective, East. You’re usually sharper on the draw.” Kingston says with a snicker. “They hope and dream we’ll take them home. Personally, I’d be afraid of the diseases they’ve named after some of them.” “You’re a regular f*****g comedian lately. What’s got you so mouthy?” He usually is more silent and lets Becker hit back at me like that. “I got inspired by the little nanny calling your ass out. She let you have it.” He prudently moves away from me as I narrow my eyes at him. I was about to smack him in the back of the head. Coach begins yelling. “Practice is closed ladies! Get lost, or I’ll have security handle you!” Becker mutters. “Too bad she doesn’t call out Porter.” His eyes find the defenseman as he is showing out for the puck bunnies before they leave. “Would be worse if she did. You know he gets nasty.” Jackson adds before we all shut up. Coach Humphries moves closer to us. “Easton, need to see you in my office after practice.” “Yes Coach.” I know exactly what this conversation is about. We finish practice and I grab a shower before changing and heading for Coach’s office. I knock and he tells me to come in. “Close the door Easton.” I do and move to stand before his desk. “You can sit.” “Done too much of it today, Coach. Feels better to stand for a bit.” I shove my hands in my jeans. I have a feeling I’m going to be ready to show my irritation with my fists. “Spoke with your mother the other day. She hired Luci Forrester to look after your son.” I say nothing and watch him calmly. “You allowed that to happen? Knowing her reputation?” Coach is one of the few on campus who know about Cole. I keep him off the radar. “Cole chose her. He is very attached after she saved him from a texting driver.” I decide the bare bones truth is best in this case. And I will not allow anyone to hurt my son. If Luci makes him happy, he gets Luci whether I like her or not. He huffs and leans back in his chair, crossing one leg over his knee. He tosses his pen on the desk. “I will ignore her for Cole’s sake and because your parents are big donors to the school. But she needs to understand she is to stay off radar. I do not want her bothering your teammates.” Half the team are my brothers, but whatever…. He continues though. “Maxton said she’s been causing trouble in a class you share. Do I need to intervene to make sure you all stay eligible to play?” “Maxton basically assaulted her Coach. You might want to intervene with him before she presses charges.” I say keeping my tone bored. “What do you mean? He insulted her and she cried. That’s what he said.” He watches me intently. “He lied to you. He grabbed her neck and wrist. She had bruises the next class I heard.” Becker had gotten her an ice pack. Which it seemed she refused to wear. He even got the nurse to deliver it worried she’d never accept it from him. He was ready to put Maxton through a window. We weren’t the only ones. Even football for brains Deacon knew he needed a beat down. Julian Soames naturally didn’t care. “I’ll speak to him. Though even if she tries, they’ll shut her down. Would be his word against hers and his parents have enough money for the dean to make it go away. But I’ll say something to him since your son likes her. I don’t need you getting distracted or having to cut practices for childcare.” I eye him blankly. It never does to react with him. He and his brother are cut from the same cloth. “As long as Cole doesn’t see or hear any unpleasantness while he’s at the game, Coach. I will not allow him to be caught in the middle of anything no matter what her….transgressions were.” He knows I’m serious. Madison pulled her s**t at a game trying to draw attention to me using Cole and I tore into her. That was the last game Cole attended. He’s got his heart set on coming Saturday and I will hurt someone for ruining it for him. He stares at me for a minute before gesturing toward the chair again. He glances at the door for a minute. “Sit. I’ll tell you some of what she did. You need to be aware to watch your kid around her. I wouldn’t put it past her to use him in a bid for you or one of your brothers.” I sit and wait, curious if I’ll finally learn what the hell she did. Kendall, our other defenseman has a brother, Alec on the team who is a jackass. He’s mentioned before that Alec said Coach Frank Humphries told them to keep clear of her, but if they have to interact to not give her an inch. Free to insult her basically. Our coach has never said anything other than to comment that she can deal with what’s thrown at her or leave. He fiddles with his pen for a minute again. “She’s had other jobs as a part-time nanny. During one of them, she met one of the football players. He was a relative. He apparently bullied her after she flirted with him a few times. She was an easy target, he said, and no that wasn’t right on his part in any way. It should have been handled then. But I’m sure they didn’t think it was too bad. Some people need to toughen up a bit and learn to fight back. It puts a stop to it, but he claims she would just cry. Shortly before the playoffs, she went to his fiancée claiming she was sleeping with said football player. His fiancée was distraught. They broke up and she tried to harm herself, sending him into a tailspin. Was permanently injured from it. They brought Forrester in to question her about it and she was extremely upset. Admitted she only lied about that because he bullied her and the school refused to take action. Thought she’d get back at him.” He leans forward, talking quietly. “There’s more that I cannot share, but that’s the general backstory. Trust me, the girl has issues and they aren’t pretty. She ruined two lives with a false claim. Frank took it all very personally. You know we think of you boys as our own when we’ve been your coach for so long. My brother was hoping she’d be run off campus, so to speak after what she did. Little old school justice since nothing could be done criminally. She wouldn’t budge though. At least she keeps to herself after she was warned.” I say nothing as I process that. “Be careful trusting her. Like I said, she has some deeper issues.” He sounds sincere and I wonder about that. I’ve seen her space out like she did the other night. Baker had to call her name about five times before she registered. At first, I thought it was shock from us being there, but now I wonder. I think of the little twitches I’ve seen recently. The rest of his story sounds like pure bullshit. She stood up to me just fine the other night. I can’t exactly call him on it though. “Is my son at risk?” I ask him curious of his answer. “I don’t know. Like I said. I’d be careful. Your mother might know more. She’s not one to allow just anyone in her house.” He points out and I nod slowly. But finding out anything from her will be like staring down an insurmountable impasse. Unless she feels like sharing. “I always am on guard with him. I need to get home. Goodnight Coach.” I say quietly and leave. On the drive home, I think more about what I’ve seen. I haven’t paid enough attention to the girl in the last few years to really know much. I guess it’s a good thing I have my own little fount of information and observation. One that sees more than he realizes and has no problem sharing.