009 - FIND YOUR SISTER

009

FIND YOUR SISTER

ENZO

Noah flinches and instinctively opens his mouth to defend them... because they’re his flesh and blood, because Sarah is the woman who packs extra meals for me when we’re on the road... but the words die in his throat. He looks down at the floor, tracking his finger along a seam in the tile.

"I don't know," Noah. "I want to say you’re wrong. I want to tell you there’s no way Nova would do this, that my mom wouldn't just pack her up and run. But the house was empty, Enzo. Her closet was half-cleared." He looks up, and the helplessness in his face makes the anger in my chest flare hotter. "If it was anyone else? I’d tell you to burn their world down."

"Exactly," I say.

I lean my head back against the wall of the arena hallway.

Three weeks from the playoffs. My draft stock tanking by the minute.

The door to Coach’s office opens and Coach steps out, holding Noah’s phone. His face has gone from raging red to pale. He hands the phone back to Noah, but his eyes stay locked on me.

"Your father’s attorney already sent a draft of the statement to the athletic department," Coach says. "They want you to sign off on it and blast it across every media outlet by noon. It basically distances you from the Graham family entirely. It paints Noah and Nova as rogue agents."

Noah stands up slowly. He looks taken aback. I don't. That right there... that's the handwork of my father. "Coach, my dad said..."

"I know what Richard said," Coach cuts him off, raising a hand. "Richard is a good man. He’s trying to protect everyone. But Enzo’s father has the money and the legal muscle, and right now, the school is leaning toward compliance to save the program's reputation. If the board thinks Enzo is a liability, they’ll suspend him indefinitely before the day is out just to look proactive."

Coach looks at me. "Enzo. If you sign that statement, you'll be protecting whatever your draft status your father has for you in college. And you leave for college soon. I'll advise you to think it through. Signing it gives your future scouts a narrative they can swallow... that you were a victim of a bitter girl with a microphone. But you will be throwing Noah under the bus with her."

I can't do that to Noah. He wouldn't do that to me. He would never give it a second thought. That's what hurts. Here I am, thinking about it when I know Noah would never agree to it.

I look at Noah. Dude's my linesman. He's my fucking best friend. I don't know how we've come this far along. But when I started playing hockey, I wasn't the type of guy to make friends. Noah was my first. He's taken hits for me on the ice since we were kids just skating about. Sounds corny but I love this guy.

But then I'm not also thinking about my friendship. I'm also thinking of my father’s cold voice on the phone, telling me I'm ten million dollars worth of ruined property.

"What does the statement say about Nova?" I ask.

"It explicitly names her as an unauthorized party who recorded a private conversation with malicious intent to disrupt the athletic program," Coach says.

She deserves it. If she leaked it, she deserves whatever the lawyers throw at her.

Noah is watching me, holding his breath, waiting to see if his best friend is about to destroy his family to save himself.

"Give me an hour," I tell Coach.

Coach frowns. "Moretti, we don't have an hour. The media..."

"I said give me an hour, please." I say. "I’m not signing anything until I look for her myself. If she’s gone, she’s gone. But if she’s still in Ridgeview, I’m going to find out exactly why she did this."

I turn on my heel and start walking down the long hallway toward the exit.

"Enzo, wait!" Noah calls out, jogging to catch up with me. "Where are you going? I checked the house, I told you..."

"We didn't check the whole school, Noah. And Ava might know where she is." I say, pushing open the heavy glass doors that lead out into the blinding sun. "She thinks she’s smart. If she’s hiding, she’s somewhere she thinks we won’t look because we’re too busy panicked in Coach's office."

I pull out my keys, unlocking the driver's side. I look over the roof of the truck at Noah. "Are you coming with me, or are you going to stay here and wait for my dad’s lawyers to ruin you?"