Page 33 of The Forever Play

“And you’re happy with the gameplay strategy we’ve put together? The plays I sent you yesterday… you’ve gone over those?”

“Yes, sir. I spent about an hour last night going through them. It’s a solid plan of attack, and I’ll make sure my boys execute.”

“Good.” He nods, eyeing me up like he’s waiting for more.

I clear my throat and look to the ground.

After an awkward beat, Coach lets out a soft sigh, fidgeting with the ring on his pinkie finger before looking back at me. “Zander, you know I have faith in you. I recruited you into Kelsey U, and when I left, I brought you here with me. You’re one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever worked with, and I trust you to see this team through to victory on Saturday.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“But there’s been something really off with you this week, and unless you can clear your head, I don’t know how effective you’re going to be on that field.”

Closing my eyes, I scrape a hand through my sweaty hair.

“Now, you either need to open up and talk to me about it right now, or I’m making an appointment with our team psychologist tomorrow.”

With slumped shoulders, I drop into the chair and rest my elbows on my knees. My helmet clunks onto the floor, and I start spilling my guts like I’m unlocking a dam.

“I just found out my high school girlfriend has a daughter.Mydaughter. And she never told me.” I glance up with a desperate frown. “Didn’t try to call or see me. Nothing. She kept it a secret this whole time, and then I see this girl at the playground who looks exactly like my sister did at that age, and Sienna shows up and the girl calls her Mommy, and I’m reeling. I can’t… I…” I shake my head. “And she won’t tell me why she kept it a secret. I tried to ask her today, and she got all shitty with me and took off! I’m a dad! I’m a dad to a kid I don’t even know!” My breaths are getting short and punchy, my words starting to fall apart.

Coach has moved around the desk, and his hand is now on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “It’s okay, son. Just breathe. Breathe.”

I do as he says, struggling to regulate but knowing I have to. This is all part of my training, right? Find the calm in the middle of the storm. Don’t let the stress get the better of you.

“That’s a lot to take in.” Coach pulls up the chair beside me and takes a seat. “I can understand why you’ve been off. Can you think of any reason why she might have kept this from you?”

“I don’t know.” I wince and have to fight the urge to cry.

What the fuck?

I amnotcrying in front of Coach!

Sucking in a breath, I punch it back out and will my voice not to shake too hard. “I broke up with her before I left for college. I wanted to focus on football and making a good impression at Kelsey U.” I wince. “And I didn’t want to hold her back or hinder her senior year. I didn’t want her waiting around for me, you know?”

Coach nods when I look at him, like I need his approval for my shitty decision.

“But I never knew how much I’d miss her. And when I went back to see if we could try long-distance… she was gone. Literally disappeared.”

“I see.” Coach threads his fingers together. “So, you think she didn’t tell you because she wanted to punish you?”

I shrug. That didn’t sound like Sienna. She was never vindictive.

“Maybe she assumed you didn’t want to know. Or she didn’t want to burden you when you were obviously trying to pursue a career in football.”

“Maybe,” I mumble, gripping the back of my neck.

“Do you think she’ll let you see your daughter?”

“She let me play with her during my lunch break today.” My lips twitch as I remember Zoey’s adorable giggles and how she called me Foobawl.

“So, she invited you to be a part of Zoey’s life?”

“No.” I let out a weak laugh and am embarrassed to admit, “I’ve just been going to playgrounds any chance I can get. Just waiting around and looking for them. I got lucky today.” I swallow, and my leg starts bobbing again. “Until she yelled at me and took off.”

“So, there’s obviously some anger and pain lurking there.”

“On both sides,” I grit out.

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