Page 29 of A Game as Old as Time

I’m done. I can’t do this.

He was mumbling like a madman as he felt his shoulders being grabbed.

“Gunner, what---”

I can’t lead this team!

“I am done!” he shouted, the whole sideline turning to him as he finally snapped. “I can’t do this!”

It was that bubbling anger that was coming up from his stomach now. A ball of fire that he had tried to bury for so long.

“I am done with all of this!”

This was not how it was supposed to go. This was not how he was supposed to experience his senior year. It was supposed to be different, with him as the captain and his father as the coach.

“Gunner, you can’t quit on your team! They need you!”

A stadium of eyes were again searing into his skin, and he could feel them saying the same thing. They wanted him to lead. They wanted him to fix this.

They want me to be my father.

He caught a glimpse of Peyton, who had broken from her cheerleading line and was walking toward him.

Stay away, Peyton!

“Gunner!” Coach Bianchi yelled, leaning toward him.

“Yeah!” Gunner’s voice barreled through the sideline. His teammates avoided his glare. “Well, you would know a lot about quitting on your team, wouldn’t you, Coach!?”

He knew what he had said, and he knew what that meant for him. Yet, at that moment, when he spun away, he couldn’t have cared less about any of it.

Screw this game.

Peyton was shouting his name, chasing after him, but he was already sprinting out of the stadium.

I have to get out of here.

**********

“Well, Pioneer fans, another disappointing night, as our South Mountain High football team lost again, and this one was not close. The final score was 52-7, but the game will not be the talking point in the papers tomorrow. The real story is about Gunner Weston, who left the sidelines after throwing an interception on the first drive of the game.

Weston has not looked like the all-district quarterback we saw last year as he has tried to play through what has been a tragic time for him and his family. A lot of people around the community are wondering if Coach Bianchi should have even given Weston the chance to go out and start. He clearly is not in the right mindset to be playing football, and you must wonder if Coach Bianchi has the best interests of this young man at heart.”

Hailey switched off the radio and steadied herself next to her sister, who was staring straight forward on the couch.

Why would they say that about Daddy?

They had not spoken since the game ended, and as the headlights flashed up the driveway, Hailey could feel her heart sink.

I hate this so much.

“I’ll get the soup warmed up for him.” Melissa seemed to already know what to expect.

Hailey could not help but stare at the door, waiting for the doorknob to turn and her father to enter. Seconds turned to minutes, and she knew her father was sitting in the dark, collecting his thoughts in the car before coming in.

He did this after most games, but when they lost, he could spend hours out there by himself. When they were young, he had told them it was because he never wanted to bring the games home with him, but Hailey still struggled each time she watched him from the window.

The beep from the microwave meant the soup was finished, and as if on cue, the doorknob finally turned. Her father walked in with a large smile on his face. The notepads in his hand were crumpled, and he threw them down, along with the duffle bag he typically carried.

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