(26) Rumor Has It

"Please tell me you were not doing unmentionable things with that boy in a dark closet during school hours."

Makennah could have died of embarrassment. Literally fallen off a bridge. It would be less painful than this.

"I swear on my life."

Will sighed very heavily on the other end of the phone. Makennah stood in the principal's office by herself, explaining to Will what had happened. The principal insisted that she call home and tell them what happened. Thankfully, Carolynn didn't answer so the school had to call Will. She thought that might be her only saving grace. He was probably the only one who wanted to discuss this even less than she did.

"Would you mind explaining to me what exactly you were doing then in a closet with a boy with the lights off?"

Makennah didn't see any way out of this other than the truth. "Can I tell you later please? It's a long story and I'd rather explain face to face."

Will was silent for so long that she feared he wouldn't agree to those terms. "The second you get home we are having a talk, young lady. And you will explain everything."

Never before did Makennah have a father figure. Never. Not once. Her own dad was a mystery, his identity never to be discovered. Other foster dads maintained their distance; likewise, Makennah did the same. So hearing his stern voice just about knocked the sense of God into her. She never wanted to be yelled at by Will again. And that wasn't even really yelling.

"I promise," she answered with a steady voice although she felt everything but.

"One last thing....he wasn't...hurting you, right?" Will almost sounded afraid.

Makennah couldn't even fathom that thought. "Oh my gosh no! It's nothing like that! I swear!"

Relieved, Will sighed. "Okay good. I'll see you when you get home. No more skipping class."

"Yes, sir," she answered respectfully before Makennah hung up the phone. Noticing that she was done, the principal welcomed himself back into his office.

"Back to class. I'd rather not see you in my office again."

She nodded, trying hard not to stare too long at his big nose. "No offense but same."

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Tightening her pony tail, Makennah skipped over to the sidelines of the soccer field and downed the last of her water like a parched lion in the middle of a hot desert day. Sweat dribbled down between her cleavage and soaked the band of her sports bra. It also dampened the ends of her hair and skin. Her shirt clung to her like a second skin.

With her back to the sun, she noticed all of the grass stains on her white shorts. Unexpectedly, she got tripped up and took a tumble - walked away with a bruised knee.

"Hey Mack!" Coach Hanes waved Makennah over.

"Sup, Coach?" They were supposed to be running drills once everyone left so she wondered what this was about.

"My kid got sick on the bus on the way home. I gotta get going. Sorry to cancel but don't worry...I've seen a lot of improvement in you." Coach Hanes lightly punched her shoulder.

"Hey no problem I understand." She weakly saluted him and started peeling off her shoes once she sat on the ground. The boys would probably be happy that they didn't have to wait on her to finish up.

For several minutes, Makennah enjoyed being alone with the field while the sun warmed her skin after everyone else cleared out. Her body relaxed and unwound after a hectic practice.

"Kennah!"

Uh oh that didn't sound good.

Makennah jerked her head back to see Theo jogging towards bed in his football pants, cleats, and white Nike undershirt. "What's up?" She threw her hand up over her eyes to shield her view from the sun.

Theo stopped beside her, breathing hard. He must have jogged over straight after practice. "Matt found out. He's pissed. There's already a rumor going around that we had sex in the closet."

Makennah groaned. "Frick. Did he say anything to you?"

"No. He barely talked to me the entire practice. Wouldn't even look at me. Nick approached me and asked about it. I obviously lied and said it wasn't true..."

Makennah continued for him. "But it's pretty impossible to come up with an excuse for why we were in there."

"Exactly." Theo huffed and dragged his hands through his sweaty hair. "We're just gonna have to tell him."

"Yeah, I feel like..."

"Well, well, Well."

Theo and Makennah simultaneously froze mid-conversation and turned their attention to the newcomer. Matt.

He arrived in the same condition as Theo except a little less winded. Hard steely eyes assessed the both of them, drawing his own conclusions before he even asked for clarification about the rumors.

"Rumor has it you two were found in a closet in the theatre together."

Makennah stood to her feet so that she didn't feel so small. As with the other conversation where Theo unimpressively took the lead and acted like a dick, he charged forward again. "It's not true."

"It's not?" Matt raises his voice like he didn't believe them. "So you weren't having sex with my little sister in the theatre?"

Okay. Super cute. Little sister? Her heart soared.

Focus, Mack.

"Dude come on. I would never do that."

Matt places his hands on his hips. "What...have sex during school hours or have sex with Makennah?"

"Both!" Theo yelled enthusiastically.

"Matt, I promise we weren't doing anything in that closet," Makennah chimes in. The red tint on Matt's face made him look like a tomato. He was outright pissed and she really wanted to talk him down. Twice now she upset him beyond what she ever imagined. She didn't want this getting back to Will and Carolynn.

She might be toast as a foster kid.

"Do you know how bad that looks?!" Matt yelled. It was uncharacteristic of him to lose his cool in public. Granted, there was no one wandering around in earshot. But that's how Makennah knew he was just about to fall over the edge into insanity.

"Yes of course! Do you think we were planning to get caught like that?" Theo answered back.

Matt sneered.

Makennah flat out smacked her own forehead. "You idiot. Do you know how bad that sounded?" She screeched at Theo. "We weren't doing anything!"

At the same time, Theo said, "Alright that came out wrong but seriously we weren't doing anything!"

Matt crossed his arms over his chest. "Then what am I supposed to believe?"

Before Theo could stick his foot in his mouth again, Makennah stepped forehead between the two of them. "Theo and I have been sneaking into the theatre to try to catch Cassandra cheating again to record video evidence and prove it to you."

Her heartbeat ran like a race horse as Matt glanced between the two of them, seeking any sign of a lie. Theo and Makennah looked back at him with sincerity.

"Is that true?" He asked his best friend.

Theo nodded. "Yeah, man. We've been worried about you."

Without thinking it through, Matt started to storm off. Theo went to run after him but Makennah stopped him. "No, let him go."

It didn't matter anyways because Matt doubled back with the angriest face she'd ever seen. "I can't believe you! I told you guys to back off! And Theo? I told you the truth about how I felt and you're running around behind my back getting into my business and dragging Mack with you? That's not cool! That's sick! It's my relationship! I can handle it on my own!"

"You don't believe us and we can see that you're miserable!" Theo countered.

"That doesn't matter! It's not your business!" Matt poked a finger in Theo's chest and Theo smacked of away.

"Alright stop!" Makennah shoved them apart. "Matt, you are lucky to have a friend as good as Theo. I've been cheated on. I know the feeling. And alllll of my friends knew and didn't tell me! Do you know how much that crushed me? The only reason that Theo convinced me to try to get evidence on Cassandra is because we don't want to see you get hurt. You should know the truth and be able to decide what to do with it."

Matt heaved a sigh and pivoted on his heel to catch his breath and clear his thoughts.

"Literally exactly what she said. Kennah was recording the hallway with her phone to see if Cassandra would show up," Theo added.

"We're sorry, okay?" She figured now he might accept an apology after their explanation. "We realize we messed up but we were just trying to help you. And to be honest....the only reason I think you're so mad is because you know we might be right about Cassandra," she said quietly, hoping not to piss him off again.

"No!" Matt yelled like it can't be true.

"Matt..." Theo started but stopped.

"No it can't be true. She can't be..." Matt couldn't finish his sentence.

His pain made her heart ache. She didn't like seeing him like this. "We'll back off, okay? We promise. But please Matt....listen to us. We wouldn't lie to you. You need to confront Cassandra about all of this."

"We'll stop," Theo promised, sharing a look with Makennah.

Matt came back to his senses, shoulders slumping foreword in defeat. "I'll be fine, guys. I've got it covered." To lighten the mood, he scratched the back of his head and chuckled forecefully. "To be honest, I'm just really thankful that rumor isn't true." Matt slung his arm around Theo's shoulders and started to lead him away. "I mean that'd be a little messed up. My best friend and my sister? No way."

Theo laughed like it was the most absurd thing in the world and Makennah just watched them walk away like the best friends that they were.

Several minutes later, Makennah received a text message as she packed up her bag in the girl's locker room.

T- do you think he'd be pissed if he found out we slept together?

M- I think he'd light you on fire

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When Makennah arrived at home, her stomach tumbled into a ball of nerves. Will's car was parked in the driveway which meant their talk was imminent. It didn't help that the neighbors vicious dog was in the yard and growled at her as she walked into the house.

Carolynn was nowhere in sight. Only Will waited for her in the kitchen.

"Hey guys, don't snack too much. Dinner will be ready soon," Will told the boys who didn't listen very well because they grabbed bags of chips, popcorn, and candy and ran downstairs to play video games.

As a sort of peace offering, Will pulled a fruit dish out of the fridge and offered a fork to Makennah. She didn't think she could eat, but she knew she had to try.

"Start spilling," he instructed as he dove into the bowl, shoveling a piece of pineapple in his mouth.

"Well it has to be a secret." She had been rehearsing what she was going to say on the ride home.

"I can keep secrets. I'm a lawyer after all," he said as if that was funny. Dad jokes. Ugh.

"No I'm serious. No one can know." She had to get across to him that this information couldn't leak.

Will raised his eyebrows. "Alright."

Makennah held up a pinky. "Pinky swear?"

Will smirked and entertained his pinky with hers. "I pinky swear."

Makennah sighed. "So the first day of school I was going to go see the soccer coach. And on my way there, I heard someone making out in the theatre. Turns out it was Cassandra," she dropped her voice to a whisper. "But it wasn't Matt and Cassandra. She was kissing some guy."

At the revelation of this news, Will leaned back, dropped the fork, and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're kidding."

Makennah shook her head. "No. So I told Theo and he helped me break the news to Matt. But Matt didn't believe us."

Closing his eyes, Will dragged a hand down his face as if this news truly tormented him.

"So Theo and I decided to try to catch Cassandra again and record her so that we have evidence. Since I caught her the first time in the theatre, we thought we could hide there again..."

Will finished for her. "...and you hid in the closet with Theo to try to catch her." Will almost laughed. "You're smart I'll give you that."

His admission, despite his remorse for her getting caught, felt pretty good. It spurred her on to keep doing it even though she was walking on thin ice with Matt. "Thank you."

"However, that was very stupid of you. Obviously that put you in a compromising position."

"Which is why I promised you that nothing happened and you just had to believe me. I swear on everything that Theo and I were just spying on Cassandra." Makennah sighed. "Unfortunately we haven't been able to catch her since the first time."

"I can't believe she's doing this to Matt. That makes me so angry." Will fisted his hands into tight balls. "You're sure it was her?"

"Positive." Makennah wanted to say more but she couldn't. Now she toed the line with legal and illegal, law and order. Admitting the identity of Cassandra's lover could tip the scale negatively and could end up sending someone off to jail. Although she didn't like the coach or Cassandra, she didn't want to ruin their lives. She just wanted them to stop cheating.

At her quietness, Will asked, "Do you know anything else?"

She shoved her mouth full of fruit so that she couldn't say anything else other than "no."

"Are you sure?" Persistent he was.

"Yeah, like I said. Trying to find more...not working out well."

"Does Matt know?"

Makennah felt awful for lying especially to Will. He didn't deserve that. However, as he said, he was a lawyer. He himself would know exactly how to press charges against the coach for sleeping with a minor - his student. If this news about her cheating on his son made him angry, there's no telling what an adult with his power could do. Makennah didn't find him to be the vindictive type, but better to be careful.

"Yeah Matt knows we were spying on Cassandra. He got pretty mad at us today," Makennah admitted. Not he car ride home, everything seemed to be normal but she still didn't feel okay. She didn't want to step in any Sinclair's toes.

"So are you going to stop?"

Laying down the fork, Makennah slowly backed away from the fruit peace offering and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. She had done enough lying for one day. She didn't want to do it anymore.

"I have some homework. Gotta go." And she dipped out without another word.

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I want to thank all of you for reading my story and giving it a chance! Thank you so much :)

Xoxo

W. Carolina