The team's first extended road trip of the season — a four-game swing through three states, ten days away from Ironbrook entirely — arrived at exactly the moment Rae and Beckett most needed a break from depositions, lawsuits, and the constant low hum of media attention that had settled over campus since the video broke.
It did not, predictably, provide that break in the way either of them hoped.
"Team policy," Whitfield said, handing out room assignments on the bus with the specific flat delivery of a man who'd clearly anticipated exactly the reaction he was about to get. "Given everything that's happened this season, I've decided to separate you two for the duration of this trip. Connecting rooms weren't an accident before — I want to be clear that decision's off the table now."
"Coach
