Chapter Twenty-Three
Dominic
I decided to stay on campus during spring break. I figured there would be more people staying, but as it turned out, most people decided to leave. The place was quiet, but I didn’t mind. I actually really enjoyed having fewer people around. I didn’t see Candice, so I assumed she had gone home. There were so few people that if she was there, I would definitely have seen her. I was surprised to find that she’d gone home. After everything her father had done it could only be awkward in that household. I thought maybe she’d gone home with her new friend, but I’d overheard her talking to someone else about going back to Japan. I hated that my mind still went to Candice even when I was trying so hard not to think about her. I wished I hadn’t broken up with her, but I knew I had done the right thing for my game. The coach wanted me to focus, and I was proving to him that it was all that I was doing. I had noticed that he had eased up on me.
“Glad to see you more focused,” he said to me when he saw me out on the field again.
“Coach Bane, I was always focused,” I said to him. I still felt a little angry at the way he had treated me. Even the other guys agreed that I was the hardest working person on the team.
The coach looked slightly uncomfortable at my words. He knew it too. Had Derek gotten to him? Had Candice’s father gotten to him? I still had no proof, but I knew that the coach had wanted me to break up with Candice because of them.
“Well,” he said. “That’s good. That’s good. I’d like you to run some drills while you’re out here. Might as well make the most of your time. You’re well on your way to playing in the NFL if you continue like this.”
I nodded. “That’s why I’m out here,” I said.
I ran off to get started. Lately, I wasn’t in the mood to talk to the coach like I used to. It was a pity because the two of us had always gotten along so well with one another. He had always respected me, and I had always given him the same respect. I still wanted to play as hard as I could, and I still wanted to go after my dreams, but I didn’t feel like being friendly to him anymore. I looked around the field and saw that I was the only one out there. If this wasn’t dedication, then I didn’t know what else he wanted from me.
I ran drills for the next two hours, barely even stopping to catch my breath. Every now and again, I would catch someone else on the field, but for the most part, it was only me. I decided to take a break and went to get my bottle of water from the stands when I noticed Coach Bane around the corner talking to someone. He couldn’t see me from where he was standing, but I had a clear shot of him. I couldn’t hear what he was saying but from the way he was standing and the gestures he was making I could tell it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. I moved slowly so that I could see who he was having such an intense conversation with and my eyes widened when I saw who it was. It was Lionel, Candice’s father, and from the way they were standing, I could tell that it was Lionel that was calling all the shots.
I felt livid. I had been right about him all along. I knew that Coach Bane wouldn’t have tried to sway me to break up with Candice for no reason. I had my suspicions that Lionel was involved all along, but I hadn’t known for sure until now. I had to force myself to calm down and walk away. I wanted to go right up to them and accuse them in person, but I knew that wouldn’t help my case. I needed to have a calm mind, and right now I was anything but calm.
Instead, I walked off the field and made my way to the gym where I spent the next half an hour pummeling the punching bag. I’d been doing this a lot lately. It had been my way of dealing with my problems. I needed some form of release, and this seemed to be the best way of doing it. I was glad that there was nobody else at the gym with me. It gave me the chance to hit the bag with as much force as I wanted to. The more I punched, the better I felt. By the time I was finished, I felt better. I climbed into the shower and washed the sweat, the dirt and the pain away.
A day passed, and I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my new knowledge. I felt angry at the coach and angry at Candice’s father for getting in the way. Also, I now wondered if staying away from Candice was even going to do anything for me. Perhaps the damage had already been done. If Lionel was still talking to Coach Bane, it meant that my future aspirations for the NFL might already be tarnished. He was probably going to make sure that I never played for them. Why else would he be talking to the coach? The man only thought about himself, and unfortunately, Coach Bane was letting him walk all over him.
The more I thought about it, the more upset I got. Had I really ruined my chances of being with Candice for nothing? Was I going to remain without a girlfriend and without a football career because of him? I thought of going back to the gym, but even that didn’t entice me. I needed to see Candice. She was the only person that I wanted to see.
As I walked out my dorm, I saw Coach Bane in the distance. He spotted me and called me over, waving and smiling at me as if nothing was going on. I turned away and pretended not to have noticed him. Screw you, I thought as I walked away. I wasn’t going to let other people dictate who I could or couldn’t see. Lionel had already taken me away from Candice once before, and if I let him do it again, I was only allowing him to win. No, I was going to take matters into my own hands. If I wanted to be with Candice, then nothing and nobody could stop me.
I climbed onto my bike and made my way over to her house. I knew exactly where it was. It was a different house from the one she had lived in when she was younger, but the moment she described it to me, I knew which house it was. It was the biggest house on the street, grander than anything I had ever seen. It was obvious that it was where Lionel would choose to live. He was not a modest man. He wanted people to know about him. He wanted them to know how rich and popular he was. I was glad that it didn’t impress me one bit.
I parked across the road and looked out at the house. Thankfully, Candice had once explained to me that her room overlooked the small park across the road. Looking at the house, I could now see exactly which room she was talking about. I climbed off the bike and stared up at the window, inwardly willing her to look out and see me. I thought about trying something romantic and throwing rocks at her window, but I wasn’t sure that I trusted myself. I imagined throwing one and breaking the window and setting off some sort of alarm. Or maybe I had the room all wrong. I was sure it was hers, but I didn’t want to take the chance of throwing a stone at a window that ended up being her father's. I thought I saw movement, and my heart soared, but after a few minutes, she still had not looked out. I got out my phone and sent her a text message.
Look out the window, I typed.
She didn’t read it right away, and for a moment I thought that she might not even be home. But, just as I was about to give up home, I saw her face appear at the window. Her blonde hair cascaded around her shoulders and when she caught sight of me, she looked surprised. I smiled and waved, and I was glad when she did the same. I saw her looking down at something and then heard a beep as a message came through on my phone.
What’s going on? The message said.
Come with me. I want to take you for a ride, I said.
I thought she would say no. After all, I was the one that had broken up with her. She had disappeared from the window, and she hadn’t replied to my message. So I just waited, hoping that she would come. Then, I saw the front door open, and I watched as she ran towards me. I didn’t give her a chance to ask me anything. I just picked her up, kissed her, and handed her a helmet.