Page 88 of The Quarterback
“Two more.Now!”
Clarence threw himself back in the machine and pounded out his last two presses. Rage propelled him, made him stronger than he’d been a minute ago. He pushed with ease, the weights rattling from the force of his extensions. On the ground, Colton passed sixty shaking push-ups.
“Break,” Wilson said as Clarence finished. “You have ninety seconds. Then, Colton, you’re back in the press.”
Clarence cursed for the entire minute and a half, trying to walk off his quivering calves. Colton lay on the ground, stretching his arms and his legs as far as he could as he took deep, slow breaths.
After ninety seconds, he folded himself into the leg press again and set his feet wide on the platform. Clarence’s under-the-breath muttering and cursing wasn’t so under the breath anymore, and Wilson stared him down as Clarence assumed the push-up position.
“Go,” Wilson said. “Count them off this time.”
One… two…Colton bit down on his lip. He squeezed the seat and roared. “Three!”
Clarence wasn’t counting his reps anymore. All Colton could hear was Clarence’s grunts, his huffs and puffs as he pushed slower and slower.
“Four,” he whispered, almost too breathless to speak. He sucked down oxygen like he was marooned in space. He saw stars. Closed his eyes. Dragged in another breath and heaved. “Five…”
“Man, this is too much!” Clarence shouted. Colton’s eyes popped open, and he watched as Clarence stopped and glared at Wilson.
Wilson got right in his face. “Quitting, Hobbs?”
“You can’t wreck my arm like this! You’re trying to ruin my throw! Coach will fucking blow!”
“Who do you think told me to push you? Who do you think wants you right here, on the ground, pushing on the earth like you need to make it spin?”
Clarence snarled as he rose to unsteady feet. Colton pressed another rep.
Instead of screaming, Wilson spoke in a quiet, dangerous hiss. “You are nothing but a quitter, and the whole coaching staff sees it. You quit today before you come close to your line, just like you quit on Saturday on the field—”
Clarence shoved Wilson. Wilson didn’t even budge. “Fuck you!” Clarence roared.
“You don’t know how to endure. You blame anything but yourself, and you want everyone else to give you everything the easy way. But the truth is, you don’t have thegutsto keep going.”
Hobbs took a swing, but Wilson grabbed his fist in one hand, stopping the blow.
“Everyone!” Wilson bellowed. “Everyone, stop your workout! Hobbs is done! That means all of you are fucking done, too! This team doesn’t work without a quarterback! When Hobbs is done, everyone’s done!”
Machines stilled. Dumbbells clattered to the mats. Curses echoed against the walls.
Clarence’s shoulders heaved. “Fuck you,” he hissed. “We don’t have to put up with this.” He turned to the team as if he could mount a mutiny against Wilson.
Colton pushed another rep in the silence of the weight room.Six. Pain bloomed like a flower inside him.
“Hall, what the fuck did I say?” Wilson snapped. “I told you to fuckingstop. Hobbs is done. The team is done. Not a damn person on this team can keep going if the quarterback quits, and yours just gave up.”
“I’m not stopping,” Colton ground out.Seven. His eyes blurred, darkness ringing his vision. He’d fought through worse on the field. He’d played through losing consciousness before. Played with broken fingers and bruised ribs. He’d gone to the grass and thought he wouldn’t get up a dozen times, but he always did. He could do this.
Wilson’s head whipped around. Three steps took him to the side of Colton’s machine. “What did you say?”
Eight. “I’m not quitting.”
“But didn’t you already quit on the team this summer? You didn’t come back ready to play, did you?”
He roared through the last two reps and then hauled himself out of the machine and stood on shaking legs to face Wilson. He squared his shoulders, straightened his spine. “What’s next, Coach?”
Wilson’s eyes gleamed. He looked Colton up and down. Nodded, so minutely only Colton could see. He took him to the dumbbells and the free weights and handed him a hundred-pound weight. “Hold it in front of your chest. And squat.”
“How many reps?”
