Page 42 of Gridlocked on the Gridiron

Absent-mindedly, Lucia responded, “No, I had no idea. Colton likes to keep his private life private, even from me.”

Maya walked in with a casserole dish, a pained expression on her face. She’d clearly heard what they’d been talking about, her eyes flicking between the two of them.

“Casserole’s ready,” she said quietly.

“I’ll help with the rest of the dishes. You’ve done enough. Let me bring the stuff in, you’ll burn yourself.” Landon followed his sister out of the room as he spoke, leaving a shocked Lucia to stare at the pristine table, her body leaning against a chair to steady herself.

She knew Colton had invited her, had wanted her there for moral support, but she couldn’t help but feel as though she’d overstepped the bounds of their relationship by having that conversation with Landon. She’d learned things so intimate about Colton that it genuinely made her question all the interactions she’d had with him, all the mean comments she’d made about his game since they’d first seen each other in the Sabertooths’ boardroom.

She didn’t know how to act. On one hand, this didn’t change their relationship at all, but on the other, she felt for Colton. She really did. Someone who was supposed to have nurtured him, taught him how to ride a bike, taught him how to play a relaxed game of football, taught him all the ways of the world, had cursed him with high expectations and a life mapped out for him.

Moments later, Landon and Maya had set up all of the dishes on the table, no thanks to the still-shocked Lucia. Maya led Lucia to a chair.

“Here. Colton usually sits in this chair anyway.” She pointed to the one beside Lucia.

Sure enough, a few moments later, Colton walked in and sat beside her, his jaw tense. When he saw the expression on her face, his eyebrows knitted together.

“You okay?” he whispered as everyone sat down at the table around them, their father included.

She nodded. “You?”

“I’ll be fine.”

Lucia spent most of the dinner observing the dynamic between Colton and his father, though her silence also allowed her to notice how Troy Beaumont couldn’t even look at Maya. She continued trying to make conversation, even bringing up their mother, but their father kept focusing on football, as if dinner was just a continuation of his conversation with Colton.

When his attention turned to Landon’s playing, Lucia tuned out for a moment, eyes drifting over Colton’s hardened features as he ate. How much of what his father said had he internalized just then? How much of it had he internalized his entire life? How much of what he did was just his father’s words in his head, telling him that’s what he had to do for people to care about him? For people to love him?

When dinner was over, Lucia could tell Colton was ready to leave. Everyone but their father helped load the dishwasher, and Lucia and Colton hugged both of his siblings goodbye. Maya put Lucia’s number in her phone, promising to keep in touch.

Maya and Landon would be staying the night since they both had to take a flight to get in and out of Charleston, so Lucia and Colton were the only ones to leave. At the door, Colton’s father stood, still talking about football as Landon and Maya looked on solemnly.

“Don’t forget to get in the gym more this week. You’ve got a big game, and you need to be stronger. You took too many sacks the game before last.”

Colton sighed. “Yes, I will. Just like I have been.”

“Well, clearly it hasn’t been enough.”

That was it. The words were bad enough, but the tone of them sent Lucia hurtling over whatever precipice she’d been standing on. She whirled around on him.

“Colton is one of the best, if not the best, quarterbacks in the NFL right now. Potentially ever. He’s playing incredibly well compared to preseason, and he’s on par with his performance from last year. He has professionals setting a schedule and training program for him, including myself. All he needs is your support. We can handle the rest.”

Mr. Beaumont’s face reddened, and she could see the impressed look from Landon and the open-mouthed shock from Maya over his shoulder.

She slid her hand into Colton’s, weaving her fingers through his. They’d done so a couple of times for cameras over the past two months, but there was something different this time. This was for him, for them. This was to ground herself and to show her support for him.

Finally, his father spoke angrily, face completely red. “How dare you speak to me like that when I invited you into my home. You are a rude little—didn’t your mother teach you any manners? I was nice to you as a courtesy, but you’re ruining my son’s game. The last thing he needs is an analyst as a girlfriend when he’s playing the worst season of his life since joining the team.”

At the mention of her mother, Lucia reeled back. Colton squeezed her hand, pulling her closer to him.

“Don’t talk to her like that. She’s the reason I’m playing as well as I am right now.” He focused his eyes past his father, nodding at his siblings. “Goodnight.”

Lucia followed him down the stairs, her hand still firmly tucked in his. She wasn’t sure if he was upset at her for overstepping, but he didn’t speak until they reached the sidewalk.

“Every damn year! He does this every fucking year. We can’t just respect my mother for everything she did for us, for him. Everything she sacrificed and all that she dealt with near the end. Instead, we have to talk about the only thing he knows how to talk about. She’s dead, and he acts like she never fucking existed.”

When they reached his car, down the street and out of sight of his father’s house, he leaned against it, his back against the driver-side door. “And you…”

“Colton, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said all of those things, it wasn’t my place.”

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