Chapter Forty Four-2

"Good to know," I whispered, my mouth feeling hot as I held back tears. He gave me a slow smile, before he turned, leaving the room. I let out an exhale, leaning against the wall for support. Coach Brennon is seriously starting to scare me. "What's up with you?" Carrie's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "Looks like you've seen a ghost." "None of your business," I snapped back. "Prissy bitch," she muttered, shredding her clothes confidently. "Oh and while I have you here, back off my boyfriend. You pining over him is embarrassing to watch." "I don't pine over him." I retorted, my cheeks reddening, still shaken up with what just happened. "Pining, obsessing, whatever you want to call it," she replied sweetly. "Just stop. Enough is enough. Got it?" I sneered at her, becoming angrier by the second. How dare she speak to me like that when she doesn't treat Hayden anywhere near he deserves. She could also be hooking up with our creep of a coach, to top things off. Ignoring her threat, I slipped out of my clothes and left the room, wanting nothing more than to be away from her and the Coach right now. "Morning," Hayden greeted and I hardly met his eyes as I lined up. I'm here to swim. Don't get involved. I looked up, to see Coach Brennon smirking at me. I felt myself grow pale as I stared back at him. "Mia?" I shake my head, clearing my thoughts, looking back at mum. I had made it to the kitchen and realised I was leaning over the sink. "Are you all right?" she asks, a concerned look in her eyes. In answer, I throw up, my entire body trembling. Hayden didn't attack Grace. Ashton did. *** Letting out an exhale, I lightly knock on the door. "Come in," a raspy voice calls. Opening the door before I could back out of it, I step inside Grace's hospital room, shutting the door behind me. "Wow," she says dryly. "Didn't expect you to be on the top of my visiting list." Walking over to the blinds, I quickly shut them and I hear her let out a quiet cough. "Is this the part where you're going to suffocate me with a pillow or something?" she asks. I turn to her, facing her for the first time and an audible gasp left my lips. Her face is bruised and cut and there are deep, purple bruises around her neck. She looks like hell and her injuries have had two days to heal. "Yeah, I get that a lot," she says with a sigh. Bing, I control my face. I am usually good at it but the extent of her injuries took me by surprise. "Sorry." She whips her head to me, her eyes widening. "Who are you and what have you done to Mia?" I roll my eyes at her and walk towards the chair pulled up near the bed, taking a seat. "Funny." "Seriously," she says slowly, narrowing her eyes at me. "You stood up to Hayden and told him the truth. You could have gotten away with it. You could have said it was Carrie in those photos and thrown me under the bus, but you didn't. Why?" She drops her eyes to her hands. "The best thing to do was to be honest. I'd been lying to myself in thinking he would be better off not knowing." "I get why you didn't want to tell him," I murmur, too weak to hold up the cold front I usually would. I am going to have an honest conversation with Grace for the first time since I've met her. I'm tired of the hate, the threats, the competition. She's not Carrie and I have to remember that. "I know what it's like to know how great Hayden is and then not be able to be with him. It's a horrible feeling." Her eyes are sympathetic as she looked at me and I glance down to my nails, wanting to pick them but I only just got a fresh set put on. "Yes, it is," she whispers. "Grace," I start, not entirely sure how to word what I want to say. I take a moment to collect my thoughts. "I'm not going to apologise for the way I've acted because I'm still annoyed at you and we have both done things wrong. That's not why I'm here. But, I am going to be honest. I think Coach Brennon is a child predator. He went for Carrie, he went for you and honestly, I think he tried to go for me too and considering we're the only females on the team, there would have been others if the rest of the team weren't boys." She inhales sharply at my words. "Nothing ever happened, but he used to watch me, make comments, touch my face, run his hands down my arms... Creepy stuff. I was scared to tell anyone because, honestly, who would really believe me? I see this stuff happen all the time. No one ever believes and besides, he never forced himself on me. I knew him and Carrie were having an affair. No one noticed. No one realised. But I did. I had to make it stop." "So, you took photos," she whispers. "I thought if they got caught, he would get in trouble. No one would have to know I was involved. But, he didn't... Hayden found out, Carrie moved schools and Brennon acted like nothing ever happened. Then, you came along and it happened all over again." "You took photos again?" Grace questions. "I should have done more, but I was still in the same situation. Once he had his attention on you, it was off me. I was fine. I focused on swimming, things were back to normal. Until you broke it off with him. Then he started trying with me again, saying these things to me..." I trail off, my cheeks warming. "Saying I was his number one, he was always here for me..." I see her face paling at my words. "I should have done something sooner but I didn't know what to do. I just tried to ignore it." I let out a whoosh of air as I lean back in my chair, lifting my eyes to meet hers once more. "He attacked you, didn't he?" She nods. "Yes. He did." "Fuck," I breathe, running a hand over my face. "I should have complained about him. I should have said something." "Mia, this isn't your fault. I appreciate your honesty, but no one could have predicted he would do this," she assures me, giving me a gentle smile. I b at her in shock. Carrie would never have said that. "You don't blame me?" "Of course not," she replies earnestly. "I got involved with him, knowing it was wrong. I paid the consequences." "If you're going to testify him in court, I'll make a statement," I say to her, hoping this would ease some of the guilt I am feeling, for keeping quiet about him for so long. "Thanks, Mia." I nod at her. I get to my feet, running my hands down the skirt I am wearing, attempting to remove the creases. "Well, I'm going to go now. I just wanted to tell you that." "Thank you," she says softly. "You didn't have to." "You didn't have to, either," I say to her, thinking back to when she helped me with Hayden. She offers me a weak smile as I walk to the door. As my hand touches the door knob, I look over my shoulder at her. "I still don't like you." She rolls her eyes. "Whatever you say, Mia." As I walk out of her room, I am surprised at the genuine smile on my face. -----------------