Chapter 3

Chuck and Beth sat at the kitchen table.

"So Rimkus called me and asked if I could start coaching this afternoon," Chuck said.

"That's exciting," Beth said.

"I can't wait," Chuck said.

"Hey Chuck," Beth said. "You know my sisters Jackie, Jenna, and Jenny?"

"Yeah," Chuck said. "Well not personally, but you told me about them. They're triplets right?"

"Yeah," Beth replied. "Well, they're coming to visit."

"When?" Chuck asked.

The doorbell rang.

"Right now," Beth said.

"And I'm going out the back door," Chuck said as he left.

"He did not just do that," Beth said.

At the Tree Hill High School, Chuck sat at his desk in his office going over the sheet with the names of the basketball players. Jack, one of the players walked into the office.

"Excuse me?" Jack asked. "Are you the new coach?"

"Yes," Chuck replied. "I'm Coach Scolnik."

"I'm Jack," Jack replied. "I'm on the team."

"Nice to meet you Jack," Chuck said. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Yes, but I need to talk to you," Jack replied.

"You can talk to me after your classes are over," Chuck said. "I have a 30 minute office time between school and practice."

"But Coach," Jack said. "It's about another teammate, Jeff.'"

"If you're having a problem with a teammate, then we can schedule a time after school to sit down and have a talk," Chuck said. "Go to class."

"I think he's being abused," Jack said.

"Oh," Chuck said. "Have a seat."

Jack sat down in the chair in front of Chuck's desk.

"Jeff's been acting weird lately," Jack said. "He's been nervous whenever his dad picks him up from practice. Oh, and his dad has been yelling at him quite a bit. And the bruises."

"Bruises?" Chuck asked. "He has bruises."

"Mostly on his arms and legs," Jack replied. "And he had a black eye recently."

"Have you spoken with Jeff about your concerns?" Chuck asked.

"Yes," Jack replied. "But he always has an excuse. They range from tripping to he wasn't watching where he was going. And he keeps changing his stories."

"Okay," Chuck said. "Thanks for letting me know of your concerns. I will be sure to talk to Jeff."

"Thank you," Jack said.

"Now you need to get to class," Chuck said.

Later after practice, Chuck saw Jeff sitting on the bleachers changing his shoes and socks. Chuck walked over to him and sat down on the bleachers.

"Jeff," Chuck said. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Is it about me missing five baskets?" Jeff asked.

"No," Chuck replied. "I just wondered how everything's going at home and stuff."

"It's going great," Jeff replied. "Never better."

Chuck looked down to see huge bruises on Jeff's feet.

"Why are your feet so bruised?" Chuck asked.

"This is embarrassing," Jeff said. "I was lifting weights in my room and my phone rang. I usually keep it on silent, but for some reason I had the ringtone turned on. It scared my so bad that I dropped the weights on my feet."

Jeff's phone buzzed and he answered it.

"Hi Dad," Jeff said. "Yes, I'm coming. I'm just changing my shoes. I'll be out in a minute."

Jeff hung up his phone, put on clean shoes and socks, and quickly left. Chuck remained sitting on the bleachers as terrifying memories of his father's violent acts flashed through his mind.