“They buried it,” Savannah said. She looked at Dustin. “Iknewit would be worse than we thought.”
Dustin was nodding, but he was looking at me. “Peterson?”
I wrapped my arms around myself.
“And the girl?” he asked me. “What happened to her?”
I closed my eyes for a second. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I can’t find a trace of her. I don’t think she ever came forward publicly. And from the little I can find, the university kept everything behind closed doors.”
“So they protectedhim?” Savannah asked dubiously.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s the thing. I don’t think they protected him at all.” I looked between them. “I think... they protected themselves.”
Her brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“There’s very little I can find on him, but from what I can see,” I said, “he didn’t have boosters backing him. He was a freshman, noted as ‘promising,’ but he wasn’t a star — yet. There was no reason to save him.”
“So why erase him?” Dustin asked in confusion.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “And that’s what I’m trying to find out. And think about it, if they were willing to make him disappear completely, what else are they willing to cover up?”
Savannah smoothed her hands over her thighs, head down. She looked nervous.
“Grade altering.” I shrugged. “Not really a story,” I said, watching her flinch. The truth rose in my throat before I could block it. “Injury cover-ups, bribes, making sexual assault disappear?” I licked my bottom lip. “That’sa story.”
“This is why I told you to stay away,” Dustin grumbled. “Coach hated you being there, you knew that. Why did you?”
“Why did I what?” I asked him, returning his glare. “Why did I want to know the truth?” I pointed at myself. “Reporter.”
“Student.”
We both looked at Savannah. She gave me a weak smile. “You’re a student, Hadley. Just like us.” She didn’t look away. “You won’t be a reporter for a while. Just like Dust isn’t in the NFL and I’m not showcasing my art in a gallery somewhere.” She blew out a breath, looking at Dustin. “You were right. We shouldn’t have got involved in this.” She sounded almost apologetic.
“But you’re already in this,” I said with more force than either of them expected. “And just like you wanted me to be careful,” I said to Dustin, “it would be better if you knew what’s going on rather than get blindsided.”
He looked at me like he saw right through every wall I’d spent years building. “You’re right, we needed to know.”
I nodded once, jaw tight, turning away to pick my notebook off the floor, before I said something I couldn’t take back.
“So?” Savannah was looking at him with something close to expectation.
He nodded. But he didn’t move, even though I don’t think she’d have protested if he was ready to leave. He was watching his hand, still stroking Milly, and she was loving the attention.
“Dustin?” Savannah prodded him.
He looked up at her, then at me. “If they got rid of Mason with hardly any trace and no story, how easy would it be, do you think, for them to do it to someone else?”
I didn’t say anything because he could already see the answer in my eyes.
“Yeah,” he said gruffly. “That’s what I thought.”
Savannah’s breath caught.
“And that’s whyyouneed to stop,” he told me, and with a hard look, I realized he was telling us both. “Because you’re justa student like us. They’ll have you off this campus before your bags are packed.”
Savannah nodded, but I was already shaking my head. “And that’sexactlywhy I can’t.”
“Damn it, Peterson,” he snapped. He got off my bed, picked up the piece of paper, and waved it at me. “Look at this.” He didn’t yell, but he was just as intense. He pointed to my backpack. “I just know you’ve got more in there.” He held up his hand. “Don’t tell me. The less Savvy and I know the better!”