Page 87 of Rumor Has It

“Do not for a second think that you can semantics your way out of this, young lady,” Mr. Rothschild barked back.

“Out of what?” Rebecca scoffed. “I’m an adult. You know what, I’m sorry for trying to soften the blow of my sexuality last time. I didn’t think you’d want the lesbian bomb dropped and the story of how I lost my virginity all in one phone call, but if you want, I’d be happy to overshare this time.”

“Rebecca Diane Rothschild, you better watch your mouth.” The man was nearly shouting into the phone.

A silence rang out between the lines, heavier and more pressing than words could ever be. “Why did you call me?” Rebecca asked, her voice suddenly tragically sad.

“Do you have any idea what this does to your mother? To me?” He demanded.

“No. What does it do to you, Dad?” Rebecca asked, her voice ninety percent sarcasm. “Please, enlighten me with how my relationship status impacts you. I’m very happy by the way, thanks for asking.”

“We have to answer for it. To everyone in Pine Rock,” her dad screamed into the phone, cutting off her sarcastic comment.

“Okay? And? Just tell them the truth. Tell them that I’m just a trophy for you. Maybe I’ll win something tomorrow and give you something to show off. In the meantime, you have a kid who’s happy and in love and who is absolutely not going to let you ruin my morning ever again. Have a good weekend,” Rebecca said before hanging up her phone.

Wren let out a shaky breath. “Holy fuck, that was intense. Are you okay?” She asked, knowing that there was no way that Rebecca could possibly be okay after that.

“No,” Rebecca said, honestly. “But I will be.” She smiled despite having watery eyes, and pulled Wren in for an impossibly tight hug.

“Coaches want to talk to you,” Courtney said, after Wren set her bag down in her locker.

Wren’s pulse spiked. She knew she’d let herself get too hopeful when they’d sent her travel information a few days ago. All week, she’d oscillated between panicking about this moment and being unnaturally calm about the whole thing. Her fight-or-flight response immediately kicked into overdrive.

“Okay,” she said, nodding once. A quick glance around the locker room told her Rebecca had already been called in. Her bags were tucked neatly into her locker, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Wren swallowed nervously as she pushed through the doors to the coaches’ office. Rebecca was already seated across from Coach T and Coach Jameson. Her posture was rigid, but she looked okay otherwise.

“Good morning,” Wren offered, shutting the door behind her.

Rebecca smiled at her despite the concern about the situation they were in.

“Ms. Eames,” Coach Jameson started. “Why don’t you have a seat.”

Wren sat down in the chair next to Rebecca and did her best to hold in a long heavy sigh. There were several magazines face-up on their coach’s desk. All of the ones that Wren had seen so far with more rumors about her relationship with Rebecca.

“Well, ladies,” Jameson said. “Care to comment?”

“No, thank you,” Rebecca said, easily.

Wren snorted out a laugh of disbelief. She couldn’t hold it back. This felt so dramatic and ridiculous.

“Look,” Coach Jameson sighed. “I spoke with Sinclair about all this, and she made a fair point. You two are joining the team at a different time. It’s something none of us are used to. There’s no such thing as privacy anymore. And if you’re famous but too private, you get labeled something unkind anyway.” He shook his head. “What I’m trying to say is, it's lose-lose out there for you and I get that.”

“We also know, thanks to your little public announcement, that everything going on between you started a hell of a lot longer ago than this season, right?” Coach Jameson asked, with a very pointed agree with me lift of his eyebrows.

Wren swallowed audibly. “I mean, yeah. Yes, it did.”

Rebecca nodded at breakneck speed. “Yes sir, absolutely. Like six years ago, in fact.”

“Good,” Coach T said, clapping her hands together. “All we wanted to call you in for was to get confirmation of your relationship. We really don’t need or want specifics, but there are some HR videos you have to watch and papers you have to sign saying you won’t make this a toxic workplace.”

There was a heavy silence in the room as Wren and Rebecca fully processed what their coaches were telling them. Most importantly that they weren’t being kicked off the team.

Coach Jameson cleared his throat. “We need you to officially declare your relationship.”

“Oh,” Rebecca said, startled. “Yes, officially. Since like, Sweden?”

“Well, no. Officially since L.A,” Wren said, unable to stop the smile from spreading across her face.