Sticks and Stones

His alarm went off. He pried open his eyes. His head was pounding. He felt sick. He rolled over and came face to face with a sleeping Janessa. He jolted and sat straight up. She was naked, and so was he. He felt his chest tighten.

What the fuck have I done? Oh my God. How much did I drink last night? Obviously, way too much. I can't believe I did this. I've already fucked up once with Perri. I can not tell her about this. Oh shit, she was right. She couldn't trust me.

He sat up on the side of the bed. He ran his hands down his face. He felt her hand on his back.

"Good morning, Bodhizafa." She kissed him up the back of his neck.

He grimmist. "Don't call me that," he said, standing up and picking his shorts up from the floor.

"You let me call you that last night when I was calling out your name."

"You gotta go."

"Is that any way to talk to your girl?"

He looked disgusted. "You are most definitely not my girl."

"Really, because you told everyone I was your girl when we were leaving the club."

"What?" His head was spinning. "Who is everyone?"

"The entire gallery of paparazzi, of course."

He picked up her clothes and tossed them to her. "You will never be my girl. I already have one of those."

"Oh, the skinny broad? Yeah, I'm sure she is going to love seeing all those pictures of us dancing. Oh, and all the videos. Last I checked, we already had hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube."

He furrowed his brow, eyes squinted, and asked through gritted teeth. "What videos on YouTube?"

She picked up her phone off the side table. "Ooh. Wow, look at those numbers! They are going up as we speak! I wonder how many you need before you go viral?"

He snatched the phone from her. He watched the six-minute-long video in horror. There he was at the club dancing with her. They looked like they were fucking right there on the dance floor. He watched as they kissed. So much kissing. All the color drained from his face. He slid down the wall and sat on the floor.

"Janessa, you have to leave now."

"But Bodhi---"

"NOW, JANESSA!"

She put on her clothes and snatched the phone from him. "Fine. I'll see you at the office tomorrow. Take a shower. You looked like shit."

He heard the door slam. He reached over and took his phone off of the charger. He had three missed FaceTime calls. It was from his Periwinkle. The tears started to burn his eyes.

"I could have seen her? Oh my God. What have I done?"

He had two texts from her.

🟣Music Speaks When Words Fail: Lost In This Moment -Big and Rich I dream about it, too. I dream about our babies and what life would be like married to a famous basketball player. 😊I am so proud of you. I hope you can make it home for my graduation. I'm graduating a little earlier than I thought. I should be out on New Year's Eve! So excited! I'll be home for my birthday! I have gained thirteen pounds! By the way, we really need to talk, and it's not bad, so don't panic. I love you so much! You mean everything to me, Bodhi.

"Oh my God, I am a total piece of shit."

🟣Here is that video you requested! I hope you like it! I sent one... of me... by myself... in nothing but my brand-new Newcastle Eagles jersey, Number 6, my absolute favorite player in the world, Bodhi O'Neill! Don't tell Jo!

"Yep. Total piece of shit." He repeatedly bounced the back of his head against the wall.

He pulled up her Music Speaks song. It was about two people getting married and how much they loved each other. He started to sob. The guilt was crippling. He couldn't even watch the video. He didn't deserve to.

💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

Bodhi walked into the arena. He went into the team room and sat down.

"O'Neill, you looked like shit. Not even hammered shit. You look like shit run over by a garbage truck carrying a dumpster fire."

"Thanks, McMannis," Bodhi said, putting his head on the table.

"I heard we are having a mandatory surprise drug screening today. It's a good thing for you that they don't test for alcohol. I heard about your night out with Janessa. You dog!"

"Oh God. You know about that?"

"Dude, it's all over the papers."

"Don't forget the two million one hundred and thirty thousand people who saw it on YouTube. And that's just one video! Dude, you have totally gone viral!" Peters smacked him on the back.

"This is how I die. Perri is going to kill me, but not before Holden rips my balls off and makes me eat them," he muttered.

"O'Neill! You're up." Coach Mcleod called out.

A male nurse in gray scrubs handed him a plastic cup and followed him into the bathroom. Medical personnel from the testing facility monitored all tests to prevent the players from cheating.

"Dude, how much do they pay you to watch me piss?" Bodhi asked, filling up the cup.

"More than you would think. It keeps me honest."

Bodhi handed him the cup. "Fantastic."

😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓

(Three days later)

Bodhi's phone rang. "Hey Oliver, what's up?"

"Bodhi, I need you to come in."

"Okay. Is something wrong?"

"You can say that. I need you down here now. So, drop whatever you are doing and get your ass to the main office."

He hung up without saying another word. Bodhi looked at the phone. His heart dropped.

Oh shit. This has to be about Janessa. I am so fucked.

Bodhi swiped his keycard and entered the Newcastle Eagles' headquarters. He made his way towards Oliver's office. His secretary stopped him. "Mr. O'Neill, they are waiting for you in the conference room."

Bodhi looked confused. They? The conference room? God, I am in so much fucking trouble.

He walked in, and sitting around the table were Janessa, Oliver, Coach MacLeod, and the two owners of the Eagles, Paul Black and Ken Nottage.

"Sit down, Bodhi," Coach said.

He sat down slowly. "I think I know what this is about."

The owners looked at each other. "And what do you think that would be?" Black asked.

"I know about the video and the tabloid stories---"

"Bodhi, what you do in your personal life as far as relationships are concerned is none of our business unless you get caught with a hooker or anything else of that sort. No. This is about the results of the mandatory surprise drug test you took," Nottage explained.

Bodhi was utterly confused. "Did they lose it? Do I need to retake it?"

Janessa spoke up. She sounded a little too eager. "You tested positive for Methylenedioxymethamphetamine."

"Come again?"

"More commonly known as MDMA, Molly, Mandy---"

"Okay, I get it, but there is no way I tested positive for meth, no matter what form you want to call it. I admit I drink, but I don't take anything stronger than 500mgs of Advil. The test is wrong."

"The lab ran it three times. It is 99.9% accurate."

"I swear. I did not take anything." Bodhi was begging them to believe him.

"We have never had an issue with the lab before. Look, we don't want this to tarnish your reputation. You have done a lot for this team and this corporation. So, we are just going to keep a lid on this. Bury it sixty feet under. You will have a two-game suspension, but Janessa will put out a release that you returned home for personal reasons. We suggest that you go home. The last thing we need is the paparazzi to see you hanging around town."

"We are disappointed in you, Bodhizafa," Janessa said with condescension, shaking her head.

His anger started to boil within him. He seethed. He gave her a look that Medusa used to turn people to stone.

"When does the suspension start?" he asked.

"You'll play tomorrow. Then you will be (she made quotations with her fingers, 'visiting your family' for the next ten days." Janessa said with a small smirk. 

"O'Neil, don't be surprised if you have several more tests in the upcoming months. You have to take this seriously. If this gets out, they will crucify you in the press. It will be nothing but stories bout the American we are paying twenty-five percent more than some of our more established players doing meth. It won't be good. We are not the NBA O'Neill. Things work a little differently over the pond. Understand?"

"I get it, but I swear I didn't do anything."

"Well, if you test positive again, we will retract your contract, and you will never play in the BBL again."

He hung his head. "I understand, Sir. Thank you for giving me another chance and protecting my reputation."

"Meet me in my office. I need some information for the press release," Janessa said, gathering her things. She swiftly walked out of the office.

Bodhi's phone rang. He excused himself from the meeting. He looked at the screen, and Holden's name flashed. FUCK FUCK FUCK! He ducked into an empty office.

He took a deep breath. "Hey Holden. How's life in Kennedy?"

"You will just never fucking learn, will you? Do you ever think with your brain, or do you only have the capability to think with your fucking dick?"

"Holden, let me explain. It's not what you think!"

"It's not what I think? That is like the cheater's creed. And I don't care what your explanation is. You are all over the news here. You are all over the fucking internet. I can only say thank God Perri can't see any of it.... yet! She's worked so hard to get better, and now she will get out and see your face plastered everywhere. That video of you dance-fucking that girl is going to destroy her! I should have NEVER let you back into her life. I should have NEVER given you the go-ahead to be with her. I should have NEVER forgiven you after the shit you pulled with Katie. You asked if her illness was your fault. OF COURSE, IT'S YOUR FUCKING FAULT! MY SISTER ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! She's going to find out about this the second she steps out of the clinic. I don't want you texting her, talking to her, touching her. I DON'T WANT YOU TO EVEN FUCKING THINK ABOUT HER!"

"You're not her keeper, Holden! She's an adult. I think it's up to her if she wants to talk to me. I need to explain to her what actually happened—or what I think happened."

"What you think happened? Yeah, that sounds legit. I know you wanted to come to her graduation, but I don't think you should be there. When she finds out about all this, I don't need to be her keeper to know she won't want you there."

"I need to be there. Seeing her is the only thing that is keeping me alive here."

"Well, pretty sure she's not going to give a shit if you drop dead. You're lucky she has more to live for than just you. Fuck you, Bodhi. Have a great fucking life with your new girl."

Holden hung up before Bodhi could say anything. He pulled up Perri's number and texted her.

🔵Periwinkle, I want you to know how much I love you. I loved the song. I loved that we dream of the same thing. I would give anything to see you in person in my jersey. I will be at your graduation. I have ten days off I am going to spend at home. I want to see you as much as I can. You're my world. There is no one else I want to be with but you. Music Speaks When Words Fail: Goosebumps: Travis Scott

He shoved the phone in his pocket and went to Janessa's office. He rushed in and slammed the door behind him.

"You fucking drugged me? How could you do that? What did you do? Put it in my water? How the hell could you have done that? You are a fucking psycho bitch!"

"Now, now. Bodhizafa. Calm down. Is that how you talk to your girl?" She came out from behind the desk and sat on the corner. "Maybe you should have a seat."

"Don't tell me what to do! And how many fucking times do I need to tell you don't call me that. And you will never be my girl." He was pacing the small office. "You knew about the drug testing today, didn't you? Why would you want to possibly tank my career?"

"Of course. I know when all the surprise tests are scheduled for. Interesting fact. Did you know MDMA stays in the urine for up to four days? And you should thank me. I am the one who came up with the idea of your alternative suspension reasoning. Me. I saved your ass Bodhizafa."

"You're the one that caused the entire issue! Why? Just because you wanted to have sex with me? You realized you raped me, right?"

"Oh, please. You wanted it."

"You drugged me. How many other guys have you done this to?"

"Guys don't report sexual assault, so I guess we will never know."

"You are fucking sick. You know that, right?" He spat his words at her.

"Just be happy we used a condom. Unless it was one I poked a needle through. I may be carrying a little Bodhizafa Jr."

"What?"

"It's like Russian Roulette. So far, no luck. Maybe instead of poking one for every six, I should do two. That would make it really interesting."

"You're certifiable. You know that? You really are."

"Oh, please. Sticks and stones. I get what I want, and I want you. Go to the police and tell them how the little woman you work with raped you. Now, take this." It was a sheet of questions she needed for the press release. "And get the fuck out of my office... Bodhizafa."