Chapter11
“Are you sure about this, Jump?” Trey asked for the third time as they walked out of the stadium.
“Yeah, man. I’m good,” Jared assured his teammate.
“It’s gonna be a great party, lots of fine ladies around.” Trey had been trying to entice Jared to join him for some post-victory partying.
“Have fun, Trey,” Jared laughed, “but not too much fun.”
“Fair enough, bro.” Trey took off down toward the others as they argued over who would drive and piled into a few cars.
Jared sauntered over to his Camaro and tossed the duffel into the passenger seat. He surveyed the crowd screaming at him from beyond the wrought iron gates, grateful his mom had stayed at the house. A few of his teammates, Xander and Trent included, were already signing autographs but most of the crowd seemed to be clamoring for his attention now.
Riding the high from their victory and his triumphant return to football, Jared knew he couldn’t avoid the crowd and hope to maintain his fan base. He grabbed one of his token green Sharpies from the cup holder and headed across the lot toward the fans, careful to catch the kids first.
“Hey, Jump! Can I get your autograph?” A young kid, probably middle school-aged with a head of curls similar to his own caught his eye first.
“Absolutely, what’s your name?” Jared offered up his lop-sided grin.
“Brett,” the kid gushed. “You played a great game, one of the best I’ve seen and I’ve seen a lot!”
Jared chuckled. “Thanks, it wasn’t too bad. You play football?”
“Yeah, I’m a cornerback,” Brett said sheepishly.
“Have you met Xander Tate yet? He’s one of the best in the league,” Jared said, noticing his friend a few paces down the line. “You should definitely look up to him.” He winked at the kid, handed back the program, and moved on.
“Great game, Jump!” Another kid stepped up and handed him a football. “My name’s Chris, with a C-H, not just a C.”
“Okay, Chris with a C-H,” Jared confirmed and scrawled a message on the ball with his own name and number attached.
Kids came and went, sprinkled with adults looking for memorabilia to sell but Jared smiled and talked with each one, casually working his way closer to Xander and Trent who were known for spending time at the fence after games – win or lose. A few women stepped closer and asked Jared to sign their breasts, nothing new but not quite as exciting as it used to be. Xander laughed beside him as the cameras flashed to commemorate the moments. Jared took it all in stride, answered questions about his recovery, much as he had during the post-game press conferences, but it felt sort of empty. He didn’t know how long he was out there before Derek walked up with security and put an end to the autograph session.
“Sorry, Jump has a previous engagement. But be sure to come on out next weekend to support the Panthers!” Derek flashed his Ken-doll grin at the crowd and ignored the disgruntled stragglers who’d patiently waited for a minute of Jared’s time. The security team flanked Jared and guided him back toward the building.
Once out of earshot, Derek addressed him. “Why aren’t you with your teammates?
“I was,” Jared snapped, “or didn’t you see Tate and Roberts standing next to me?”
Derek ignored the biting comment. “You’re scheduled to sit with the ESPN anchors at tonight’s game in San Francisco so you’ll have to be on the plane in thirty minutes. That limo,” he gestured toward the side exit, “will get you there on time.”
“What? I can’t do that. My Mom’s waiting for me at my house. She leaves tomorrow and I wanted to spend the evening with her.” Jared stopped walking and grabbed Derek by the arm. “I can’t just up and fly to San Francisco.”
“You can and you will. It’s a done deal. If you don’t show it will ruin you,” Derek snapped. “Get with the program, Jump. I’ve done everything to salvage your career. Your mother will understand. Now get your ass in the limo.”
“What about my car?” Jared scrambled to think up a way out.
“We’ll get it back to your house for you,” Derek answered dismissively. “Now get the fuck out of here.”
“At least let me get my phone so I can call my Mom.”
Jared gritted his teeth defiantly. Had it always been like this? No, he didn’t think so. Something was different and it wasn’t just him. Derek was purposely trying to keep him busy.
Derek nodded toward one of the security guys. “Get Jump’s phone for him.” The walking muscle suit cocked his head toward Jared.
“What?” Jared played dumb until he caught the hard ‘I’m going to wring it out of you if you don’t tell me’ glare from the meathead. “It’s in the side pocket of my duffel bag.”
With a curt nod, the security guard stalked over to the Camaro, opened the door, fumbled around and produced the phone. He shut the door reverently behind him, that was something. The other guard escorted Jared to the limo where he received his phone and was quickly ushered into the back. The security guards didn’t join him. Jared shot a quick text to his mom letting her know what happened. Despite her supportive response, Jared suspected she was pretty pissed off at the moment. Derek had him, it’s not like he could skip out on a prime time appearance. Jared resigned himself to one more Derek-arranged appearance. Things would be different soon enough.
**
“So, Jump, that was quite a performance today.” Brett Simpson, one of the Sunday Night Football Announcers had greeted him warmly and assured Jared that they’d keep things light. So far, he’d lived up to that promise.
“Thanks, Brett.” Jared hated the way his voice echoed in the microphone. “It was great to be back on the field and I’m just glad I was able to help us win.”
“Help?” Jimmy Williams, the other half of the sportscast, chimed in. “You call that help? You had over 200 yards receiving and three TDs, Jump. That’s a banner day for any receiver but coming off an injury like yours, well, that’s just spectacular.”
“My team really came through today. Trent Roberts had some great blocks and really opened up our offense by making a few crucial catches up the middle,” Jared explained, “and I think maybe I was underestimated a little bit.” He offered that trademark smile to the cameras like he had so many times before.
“I don’t know, it looked like you were a whole new player out there.” Brett shook his head and shuffled his papers. “I’ve never seen a receiver come back from an injury like that and have a game like that.”
Jared shrugged and put on his serious face as if he were sharing a secret with the announcers. “To be honest, I had no idea what my numbers were today. I just went out and played ball.”
“You just went out and played ball,” Jimmy repeated back to him, “now that’s an answer we like to hear. Too many people get caught up in the celebrity of the sport and forget about the game.”
“Now, Jump, I hear you had a great physical therapist who really helped you get back on track,” Brett cut in. “How are you planning to thank this guy?”
Jared cringed internally as he recalled making the same mistake, but then realized that it would be a great way to give her national praise without giving up her identity. He nodded emphatically and responded. “My PT is probably the best in the business. A.J. works with kids with long-term illnesses and took the time to help me recover. I can honestly say that A.J. is the only reason I was able to do what I did today. I’m still working on a way to repay A.J. but I haven’t quite found the right way. I mean, how do you thank somebody for saving your life?”
“Wow! That’s some serious praise, Jump,” Jimmy exclaimed. “Saved your life? Was it really that serious?”
Grinning, Jared confirmed his statement. “I can honestly say that A.J. saved my life and got me back on track, back to who I need to be.”
“Well, if I ever need a physical therapist, I know who to call for a referral.” Brett shook his head. “It looks like halftime is coming to a close, would you care to hang around for the rest of the game, Jump?”
“Sure, I’d love to. It’s shaping up to be a defensive battle,” Jared replied gracefully, “and I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to do some recon on a rival.”
“That’s true!” Jimmy chuckled. “You’re set to match up with Dallas next week, right? Glover always gives you a tough time, huh?”
“Hopefully, that will change next week,” Jared replied with a cocky smile. “I had a lot of time off and I didn’t waste it. A good friend and analyst pointed out some tweaks I could make to improve my game and I intend to make use of them!”
“Sounds like you’ve been busy honing all aspects of your game play,” Brett approved, “it’s nice to hear about a young player going back to basics, reviewing films, and really putting in the work. I hope it pays off for you, Jared.”
“Thanks, Brett.” Jared beamed at the camera as they returned to the second half of the game.
He really enjoyed interjecting comments with Jimmy and Brett for the second half of the game and even landed a few digs at his long term rival, Glover, much to the glee of the announcers. Jared knew it would be the talk of the town the next day but was having too much fun to stop. It wasn’t malicious or anything and Glover had said far worse in the past while Jared tended to take the high road and ignore him.
As the game came to a close, Jared noticed the security detail step into the booth, faces hard and clearly unamused. They gestured for him to accompany them but he was not about to walk off the set in the middle of a broadcast so Jared ignored them until Brett and Jimmy wrapped up.
“That was brilliant, Jump.” Jimmy laughed as they descended the steps to the main floor of the booth. “I haven’t laughed that much in the booth in years.”
“Please join us whenever you have the time, Jump,” Brett chimed in, wiping at his eyes. “You were a great addition tonight. I bet it felt good to land a few zingers on Glover, huh?”
“You have no idea, Brett,” Jared quipped. “And I’d love to join you both, whenever you’ll have me, let me know. Just don’t go through my agent, call me direct.”
“Sounds good, Jump. Have a safe trip back to L.A.” Brett shook his hand firmly.
“Later, Jump.” Jimmy extended his hand as well. “It was a pleasure.”
Jared shook Jimmy’s hand and inclined his head respectfully. “Until next time.” He sauntered over to the security detail, twin statues near the door complete with matching scowls. “Hey guys, ready to go?”
Silently, the muscle suits led him out of the stadium by as many behind the scenes routes as they could manage, effectively cutting him off from any fans or media. Jared didn’t even know that was possible. Still, they dumped out into a loading dock that was empty but for the same limo he’d arrived in. Jared slid into the limo, grateful to be alone again, and turned his phone on. He had dozens of texts and missed calls, even a few voicemails.
None of them from A.J. He didn’t know why but he thought maybe she would have reached out after tonight’s appearance. Suddenly, the silence of the limo just left Jared feeling very lonely until it gave him a great idea of how to get rid of Derek and hire Ameryst to represent him.
“Jared?” Trent’s words slurred a little.
“Were you sleeping, man?” Jared asked.
“No, I was just having a few drinks.” Trent’s voice seemed half muffled like he was in a tunnel.
“Would you be up for hanging out tomorrow at my place? My Mom’s leaving around noon and I was thinking of grilling out and having a few beers….” Jared trailed off to leave the offer hanging in the air.
“You want to hang out with me?” Trent’s drunkenness didn’t hide his surprise.
“Yeah, man. I’m gonna see if Xander wants to come over, too,” Jared added, hoping to sweeten the deal.
Trent stayed silent for a long while until Jared worried he might have passed out but then, the man answered in a dull slur. “Sure, why not?”
“Great, come over around six.” Jared hung up before Trent could reconsider.
The window partitioning the driver’s area from the back of the limo descended and one of the security guards, he couldn’t tell which because they didn’t look back, addressed Jared in a gruff voice, “We will arrive in twenty minutes. You will fly back to L.A. and we will take you straight home.” The window closed before Jared could reply, not that it mattered.
Jared dialed Xander’s number next and invited him over, along with his family. If Xander was surprised, he didn’t let on, simply accepted the invitation and asked what they could bring. Jared assured Xander that he had it covered and just asked them to be there. His next call was to his Mother to let her know when he’d be home. She promised to stay awake but Jared knew that meant she’d fall asleep on the couch watching a movie.
The last thing Jared did before shutting his phone off for the night was send a text to A.J., just like he had every night since he got his phone back.
**
“Answer him!” Jaida encouraged.
“No.” A.J. flipped the pancakes in the skillet.
“He was really funny last night,” Jaida said through a mouth full of food.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” A.J. chastised. “And I don’t care how funny he was.”
“Jared looked like himself again,” Jaida continued after a gulp of orange juice.
“Yep, back in the spotlight,” A.J. answered bitterly.
“You should call him,” Jaida urged again. “I know that he’s calling and texting you.”
“So?” A.J. served the pancakes to her sister and returned to the stove. This conversation was wearing on her.
“He mentioned you,” Jaida pressed. “Jared is trying to reach you and he talked about how you helped him without saying your name.”
“So?” A.J. repeated.
“So, he cares. He could have given your name and he didn’t. He could have said he did it all by himself but he didn’t,” Jaida pointed out. She was not letting this go.
“Drop it, Jaida,” A.J. snapped and then thought better of it when she saw the wounded look on her sister’s face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I just don’t want to talk about it, okay? Jared is in L.A. and we are here. He can do what he wants and we are going to keep on living our life here.”
“We could move there,” Jaida suggested hopefully.
“Jaida,” A.J. groaned, “we’ve been over this.”
“No, you’ve been over this. You’ve said we are staying but I am eighteen and not a complete invalid,” Jaida snapped.
“That’s not fair, Jaida.” A.J. recoiled.
“Are you ashamed of me?” Jaida asked.
“What?” A.J. nearly dropped her plate. “Why would you ask that? Why would you even think that?”
“Well, why else can’t we go to L.A.? Why do you hide me away?” Jaida pressed. “I’m not ashamed of what happened, why are you?”
“Oh, sweetie, I’m not ashamed of you at all!” A.J. dropped to her knees beside her sister. “I just hate the press. It’s their fault that Momma’s gone and that you got hurt. I couldn’t handle that happening again. What if I lost you this time? You’re my sister and I love you. Please, please believe that.”
“So you would give up true love to hide out here?” Jaida’s wide brown eyes challenged A.J. to deny the truth.
“I don’t believe in true love, Jaida. This is real life, not a fairy tale,” A.J. pointed out. “I know you believe in happy endings but I don’t, not anymore.”
“Maybe you should,” Jaida snapped and pushed away from the table, “or you’re going to end up bitter, angry, and alone.”
Jaida stalked out of the kitchen as best she could manage. She did wish her leg worked a little better so she could stomp off with a little more effect, but Jaida managed. Fortunately, her sister was so surprised by her outburst that she didn’t notice Jaida swiped her phone on the way out of the kitchen. Maybe she wasn’t one hundred percent, but, it didn’t mean Jaida couldn’t contribute. Her sister just needed a push in the right direction and Jaida had an idea of just where to start.