Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 130380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Our fans had shown up for us, rivaling the boos that came from South Hartford as we ran out. I loved knowing we were taking up almost half the space, that it wasn’t a house full of their fans like it usually was. But when I quickly glanced at the NBU friends and family section and didn’t see Mary, my stomach dropped.
Her seat was empty.
I tried to ignore it, mouth clamped shut as I jogged out with the rest of the team. I only had a moment on the sideline before it was time for me to join the refs in the middle of the field for the coin toss.
I chanced a glance again.
Still empty.
I couldn’t shake off that second look. I stared at the seat with my heart beating loud in my ears.
I thought she’d come.
She’d answered my call. That alone had given me more hope than it probably should have. To see her still wearing my hoodie? That had me flying high. And she’d smiled. She’d told me good luck. She hadn’t said she would be here but…
I’d stupidly believed without a doubt that she would be.
“Captain,” the ref said, and I blinked, finding him and the player from the other team watching me like they saw just how stupid I was.
“Tails,” I said when I realized they were waiting for my call.
The coin was flipped. We won. We deferred. And then, the game began.
Other than checking the stands every two seconds to see if Mary had shown, I was locked in and focused on the game. Calling it a game at all felt wrong.
It was a blood bath, a battle, a war.
Our defense held them to three and out on their first drive, and then with a sick return from Zeke, we managed to score with our first possession. That only fired SHU up more, and two plays into our next possession, Kyle was taken down in a ghastly tackle that had him rolling on the ground in pain.
It was a concussion. I knew without having to hear it confirmed.
Our training staff helped him up and he walked off the field, all the way back through the tunnel to the locker room. We knew he wasn’t coming back.
And now, we were down our best tight end.
The momentum shifted to South Hartford, and they scored on their next drive before picking off Blake and getting a defensive touchdown, too.
It went on like this, back and forth, both teams grinding like it was the championship game right now instead of a rivalry. We were all beat up when we limped into the locker room at halftime, and we were down by ten.
I expected Blake to feel defeated already. He’d been picked off twice. He surprised me in the locker room, though, huddling the team together and reminding us what we were fighting for.
With us having first possession of the second half, we drove down strong and steady for a touchdown.
And still, Mary wasn’t in the stands.
Defense was battling, trying to hold South Hartford to a kick when Zeke came and put a hand on my shoulder on the sideline.
“You okay, man?”
I nodded, but couldn’t verbally assure him or myself. I was here. I was locked into the game.
But I also wasn’t here, not really.
My head was wherever she was.
“It’s not over,” he said, a bit lower this time. “Maybe she just needs more time.”
I tried with everything in me not to break down and cry when he said it.
With another nod, I faced him. “Let’s just win this game.”
“Damn right,” he said, slapping my helmet before he jogged over to Riley.
The longer the game went, the more grueling it became, and the crowd was so alive with energy it was impossible not to buzz right along with them. I was having a monster game, and everything was going right for us — but we were still down by six by the time we got the ball back in the fourth quarter.
There was just over two minutes left.
It was do or die.
I pulled my helmet on, jogging out onto the field after Zeke got us the best return he could. Even with it, we still had sixty-three yards to drive down the field for a touchdown. A kick wouldn’t win or even tie. It had to be a touchdown.
As I huddled with Blake and the rest of the offense, listening to him call our first play, I felt an all-encompassing Zen wash over me. It was like all the noise cleared out, the cheers falling mute, my breaths steadying, and even Blake sounded like he was whispering instead of shouting over the noise of the fans.
We have this, I said to myself, and I felt it deep down in my fucking soul.
Without thinking, I looked up over Blake’s head to the empty seat in the stands.