Page 79 of The Quarterback
He and Nick had never pushed this hard. They’d always kept it fun. Instead of spending hours perfecting his form, he wanted to stop and sit on the grass with Nick. Gaze into his eyes. Feel his hands on his shoulder. Listen to him talk. About work, about Kimbrough, about Justin. Anything, as long as he could hear Nick’s voice.
He should have been in the gym more, working on strength training and his rehab, instead of lying with his head in Nick’s lap as they tried their third Netflix show of the week. He’d laughed into Nick’s thigh when Nick sighed in disgust and turned the show they’d just started off. At the rate shows bored him, they’d run out of Netflix in a month, he’d teased.
Why had he sacrificed his training to spend time with Nick? His future was his arm, but he’d been careless with himself. Why? Didn’t he want what he’d spent his whole life chasing? Hadn’t he set his entire life up to enter the NFL? As a kid, he’d lain awake at night and stared at the ceiling as he held his football and thought of a million fans screaming his name, looks of adoration in their eyes as they watched him every week. He wasn’t going to be nobody, he wasn’t going to be forgotten. He was going to be Colton Hall, and he was going to be loved—
His arm collapsed before he completed the forward arc of his pass. The ball dropped, hitting the grass and rolling away. Running away, like everything and everyone in his life had left him.
He was Colton Hall, and no one loved him.
Especially not the man he loved.
Nick, if you’d loved me, I wouldn’t need any of them.Not the fans. Not ESPN. Not his name in neon. He wouldn’t need six Super Bowl rings.
He’d only want one ring.
You are my whole world, Justin.
Justin had no idea how loved he was. How lucky he was. Nick picked him every single time. Of course he did. Justin was his son.
Fathers didn’t always pick their sons, though. Sometimes they left when their sons ran the wrong way the first time they ever got their hands on the football, too excited and sugared up from orange slices at halftime to know which direction to go.
I’m sorry, Dad. I wish I’d run the right way for you.
I’m sorry I kissed you, Nick. I should have kept this to myself. I shouldn’t have wanted more than I deserved, and I shouldn’t have come between you and Justin.
Damn it, Justin was his friend, too. Not anymore, but hehadbeen. He loved Justin in the way you love the person your best friend loves. Justin was a good guy. He didn’t deserve being stabbed in the back.
I should have known how this would end.
He was always going to think Nick hung the stars in the sky, probably one by one, and probably designed specifically for Justin’s personal joy. There was no stopping how hard he’d fallen for Nick. He’d been falling ever since Nick threw him against that wall, bursting into his life with the incandescent rage of a father who loved his son and would do anything for him.
“Hall!”
He jerked his head up as Coach called his name. He’d gotten lost in the grass, staring at the footballs he’d littered in the red zone. Coach looked like he’d sucked a lemon for breakfast, and he glared at Colton as Colton jogged across the field.
“Yes, Coach?”
“Come with me.”
He followed Coach into the stadium and up to the executive floor, to Coach’s personal office. The last time he’d been there, he’d signed with Texas as a high school senior. Coach had shaken his hand over his big desk and told him he was going to be the next Tom Brady, and that he had a Gronk for him, too.Wes.
“Sit.” Coach sighed. Colton sat, his pads squeaking. “Look, I’m sorry, but I have to be honest with you. We’ve been watching you all morning, and Colton…” He spread his hands. “You are not where you need to be at this point. You’re not recovered from your injury, and I’m afraid if you push yourself too hard to try and catch up, you’re going to hurt yourself worse. Maybe even permanently.”
Coach’s words ping-ponged inside him, echoing in all his empty places.
“You’re also not where the team needs you to be.”
Colton flinched. He looked down.
“Now, I have to make a lot of hard decisions as the head coach here. This may be one of the hardest I’ve ever had to make. You’re more than just this team’s quarterback. I’ve watched you grow, watched you develop. In some ways, you’re like a son to me. But I’m paid to win, not to be you boys’ daddy.”
Colton nodded.
“You know Clarence Hobbs? The quarterback out of Libertyville University?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hear about the NCAA blowing up their program this summer?” Colton shook his head. “It was the third time the recruiting staff got caught offering bribes to high school kids to sign with the team. Cars for the kids’ families, all-expense-paid luxury apartments for the incoming players. You know the NCAA doesn’t take kindly to players and teams making a mockery of them. They penalized the program for the next five years. But they also told the current players they can transfer out to another school and not lose a year of eligibility. Players who transfer now can start this upcoming season.”
