THIRTY-THREE
Austin
On my run the next morning, she called me. I was hoping for good news, but somehow knew I’d be disappointed. She was stubborn.
“Hey, Brooke.”
“Austin, I’ve been thinking about this all morning. Don’t try to stop me.”
“Stop you?”
“I’m breaking up with you.”
“You can’t. I won’t let you.”
“You can’t stop me. It only takes one person to break-up.”
“No,” I said, at a loss for words.
What could I say to explain to her the way I felt? I would give up football and everything else I held dear for her. Coach and others might think me young and foolish, but how I felt about Brooke had blinded me to reason.
“Goodbye, Austin. I’ll talk to you around Christmas.”
I had no words. She ended the call. Nothing made sense to me in that moment. Why the hell was I so into this woman? Did she really mean more to me than football?
She thought she was the only one who has a decision in this? I don’t think so.
I ran back to the house, hoping to catch Teddy before he left for the day. He was in the kitchen, eating a bowl of oatmeal. Brian sat next to him, watching intently.
“Hey,” I said. “Got a minute?”
Teddy looked up.
“Sure.”
“If I write a letter to the editor, can you get into the paper tomorrow?”
He picked up his phone and glanced at the screen.
“It’s a bit late, but maybe. What’s up?”
“I want to write something about Brooke and clear her name. She doesn’t need to be dealing with legal problems while trying to go to school.”
“Won’t that mess up…”
“Yeah,” I said, cutting him off. “But I need to do this.”
“Cute,” Brian said meekly.
“Can you help?”
“Sure. I might be able to call in a favor. Have you written the letter yet?”
“No, I was hoping you would help me.”
He nodded.
“Yeah, we can work something out. Grab your laptop. You can start while I finish eating.”
I went into my bedroom and grabbed the laptop, having no idea of what I might say. The only thing I was certain of was the fact I needed to do something to help Brooke. Whether she wanted my help or not, I had to at least try.
Teddy and Brian both helped me craft something short and to the point but with enough emotion to give me a fighting chance when Coach found out what I did. He would probably disown me and might even try to kick me off the team.
I loved Brooke more than football, and I would prove it to her. Teddy talked me out of calling to let her know before it was published, saying it would be better if she read it unaware. I agreed with him, but it was hard not to call her.
“Looks pretty good,” Teddy said after reading the most recent draft all the way through.
“Pretty good won’t work. I need something spectacular.”
“Needs more love,” Brian said.
Teddy and I both looked over at him.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You want to appeal to a raw human emotion like love. It’s too sterile right now. You give all the facts, but why is anyone going to care? On the other hand, if you profess your love publicly and give up football for Brooke, people are going to sit up and take notice.”
I nodded.
“You know, Brian. You’re a smart dude.”
“I have to get ready to go into the newsroom and put the paper to bed, but if you have it ready, email it to me.”
“Yeah, give me a few more minutes. I want to love it up some like Brian said.”
“Good idea.”
Teddy stood up. Brian did the same. I turned my attention back to the screen of the laptop. The words swirled and danced on the page in front of me. How the hell anyone sat down and typed up any amount of words that made sense when read together was beyond me.
Word by word, I went over the letter to the editor. I would likely go down in school history as a great football player who was an idiot and gave it all up for love, but in the heat of the moment, I pushed all doubts and fears aside.
Brooke needed my help. I loved her. End of story.
Maybe I would get lucky and Coach would still help or at least not throw me off the team. Would the students and faculty allow him to get rid of me?
Questions flew through my mind as I emailed Teddy a copy of the letter.
“Here it is, bro,” I wrote at the bottom. “Thanks for the help.”
I hit send then sat back in the kitchen chair.
Did I just make the biggest mistake of my life?
Only time would tell.