Page 23 of The Player

“You got it, Coach.” I’m ready. Hell, I was born ready, but I’ve had my mind on other things. It’s time to let everything go for now.

“We are going to run the plays made specifically for Johannsen. Run them. Smooth this game out, dammit.”

Coach takes his hat off and bows his head before he leads us in our ritual prayer for the second half of all our games. It doesn’t bother me to pray, but it seems some of our teammates shift uneasily. Whatever.

The second half of the game goes by in a blur. I think about what I expected when I got put back in the game. My mind calms itself down, but it seems everything leads back to Julie.

I see the last sack coming a mile away. My first thought is to try and dodge it, but then if I do, I could end up hurt, or worse, we hit at the wrong angle and one of us dies. Taking a deep breath, I grunt as the impact washes over me.

“Should have stayed out of the game, bitch boy.” Number forty-one from the opposing team laughs in my ear as he helps me up, and I look at him.

“I’ll be damned. Jackson, you son of a bitch.” I slap him on the head and he smirks.

“Let’s get drinks tonight.”

“Fuck it, meet me at the bar. The one in your hotel,” I tell him. How the hell did I forget that Jackson went out for college football too? Shit, I really do need to stop and get my shit together.

Getting my bearings back to me, I walk into the huddle. “Alright y’all. We are down by seven. Let’s do one last trick play. They will never see it coming. Cummings, which one you want to catch today?”

He chuckles and goes into details about our Flea Flicker Trickster play and I nod. “You got it. Oh, and when we win, let’s all go to these little bitches hotel and ruin their solace. Shall we?”

My team gives me a sly look and they nod. I may be the bad boy by reputation with this team, but they always have my back. Now, if I can just get my head to be with the team for this last damn play.

* * *

We win, but my joy is short-lived when I look at my camera application and don’t see Julie in her dorm room. I scramble to switch over to her place of employment and when I don’t see her there either, the panic sets in.

Pulling the cameras from the parking lot of the dorm, I see her car there. Where is she? Where the fuck is she?

Sending a text to my sister; I know she will know what is going on.

Me

Do you know where Julie went?

The anticipation is killing me.

Twin

Um, bro, what do you mean?

She knows I watch her. Why is she acting stupid?

Me

Don’t play dumb. She’s not at her dorm.

Twin

Julie walked in on her professor. He was dead, she fainted and ended up in the hospital. I came down to take care of her since I’m her emergency contact.

That guts me. I knew Julie would find him, but I didn’t want her to feel any more pain. I want to be her goddamn emergency contact.

Me

Alright. Where is she now?

Twin

---