Page 48 of Away Game

Why the helldid I let West talk me into talking to Coach before the game? Coach had said he’d be in his office bright and early, so as long as I arrived before the team had to prepare for the game, he had plenty of time to speak to me.

Had Coach Kyle taken some course on talking to troubled students or something, because I didn’t see how he was going to help me.

“Fin, I’m glad you came,” Coach motioned to the couch that lined one wall of his office. “Before we get into the heavy stuff.” He chuckled humorlessly. “Why don’t you tell me about your doctor’s appointment yesterday.”

I hung my head. Talking about my appointment wasn’t much easier to talk about. “It’s not good news. The tear is severe, and I’m out for the rest of the season, although the doctor did think if I rest it for a full six weeks and then slowly start to train again, I should be able to play next year.” That was if the team still needed or wanted me by then.

Moving to sit down beside me on the couch, Coach turned toward me and gave me a combination between a sad smile and a grimace. “I did some research after you were hurt, and I figured that would be the case. I hope you plan to listen to your doctor’s directions because we’ll need you next year. Don’t lose sight of that, do you hear me?”

“Yes, Coach,” I nodded. A little tinge of hope bloomed inside of me that I wasn’t finished. Without being able to play, my father had said I was worthless and a huge disappointment. Not that I didn’t already know it, but even after all these years, it still hurt to hear.

Now it was time to see if I’d be homeless for the remaining part of the school year. “Am I going to have to move out of the house?”

“That is a good question since it’s for the starting team,” Coach nodded. “I don’t want to displace you, but I also know Conley might feel cheated if he’s not allowed to live in the house. Let me talk to him and see how he feels about it. If he wants to live there, maybe we can pair you up with someone.” He had a knowing look in his eye that made my hands start to sweat. If he thought I was going to live with West, he was delusional. We’d hooked up all of once.

Coach chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment before he gave me an uncomfortable smile. I knew this was a bad idea. “West told me a little about your situation, but first, I want to tell you about me.”

Okay.

“A long time ago,” he laughed. “That makes me feel old, but trust me when I say if you’re not living the life you want, ten years can feel like a hundred.”

What the hell was he talking about?

Coach’s shoulders eased, and he let out a small laugh. “I can tell you’re confused, so that means West didn’t tell you about me.”

No, why would he? Were they besties now?

“After the incident, ugh, I hate that word for what happened to West, but after what happened with Alpha Mu, I had West come over for dinner to talk. I wanted to let him know that I would not let what they’d done to him go unpunished.”

“We got video of them last night admitting to it,” I blurted out. I wasn’t sure how they were so stupid, but I didn’t care. They were going down.

“Good, when we’re done here, you can send it to me, and I’ll make sure it gets in all the right hands. Willow Bay University and I will not let the actions of homophobic bigots go unpunished.”

I was glad West had Coach in his corner because, at the time, I felt like the school would let everything they’d done to West slide under the mat and forget it ever happened.

“While West didn’t tell me everything about you and your situation. I’m not even sure he knows, from what little I do know and have gathered by instinct, we were the same when I was your age. Well, kind of.” He laughed uncomfortably again. “When I was in high school, I fell in love with my best friend — mymalebest friend — and we were going to run away to be with each other once we graduated high school.”

I was pretty sure my jaw was hanging open, and I looked like my eyes were going to pop out of my head. Coach Kyle was gay? Holy shit.

“I see you’re surprised by that. Kind of like I was when West told me about you. Most people think you can just look at someone and tell if they’re gay or not, and while you can sometimes, that’s not always the case.”

“I had no idea. When West told me it might be good for us to talk, I thought he’d lost his mind or that you’d taken some class on troubled teens,” I admitted.

“I wish I had someone older and accepting to talk to back then because I fucked up my life for ten years. I was so depressed and in a really bad place, but finally, I decided to stop living my life as a lie.”

“What happened? Why didn’t you go with your friend?”

“Because I was scared of what my family would do if they found out. I was sure they’d send me to one of those conversion camps to ‘un-gay’ you. I lived in a small town where everyone knew your business, and I knew I’d never be accepted if they knew I was in love with my best friend.” He took a deep breath and let out a shaky breath. His eyes were unfocused as if he was back to being that teenage boy once again. “So, one-night Archer had to leave a party we went to early because someone skipped out on a shift where he worked, I got drunk, and to prove that I wasn’t gay, I had sex with a cheerleader that I knew liked me.”

Coach scrubbed a hand over his jaw and looked back at me. “A few days before we were supposed to leave, Kenzie came to me and told me she was pregnant. I didn’t want to believe her, but unbeknownst to me that night, I took her virginity. Taking the coward’s way out, I left Archer a note and told him I was marrying Kenzie. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try to give my baby the best life possible.”

To say I was gobsmacked would have been an understatement. While our stories weren’t the same, they were a lot alike.

“Did you marry her?” I asked stupidly. I knew he had to have since he said he was unhappy for ten years.

“I did, and for a long time, Kenzie didn’t know how I felt about my long-lost friend until she noticed how unhappy I was. It was then I knew I couldn’t live a lie any longer. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids, but you can only live for them for so long. It’s amazing what they pick up on.”

“You have more than one?”

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