Page 103 of Our Secret Moments

“Hm?”

“Just breathe, baby. I’ve got your back, always. You’re going to do great.”

After the call ends and I’m lined up on the pitch, helmet in hand, staring up at the full stadium, I realise this is exactly what I was made to do. Being here, under the spotlights, the fresh smell of the pitch, the roar of the crowd, is something I could spend forever in. And when I see my family and my chosen family in the stands, banners in hand, I know that we’ve got this.

The team played better than we’ve ever played before. I don’t know what was said by the parents at this morning’s meeting, but everyone is on fire. Every pass is smooth. Every tackle is effortless. Every interference from the referee is taken with a pinch of salt and we completely smash the other team in a score almost too good to fathom.

When I’m running with the ball, seconds left on the clock, I feel victorious. Nothing comes in my way. I keep my eyescompletely focused on the end of the field. Victory is so close I can almost taste it. Scoring a touchdown is expected, but there is nothing quite like the feeling of being able to cross that line, knowing that your team is right behind you cheering you along the way.

When the moment comes and I’m met with wild cheers from the crowd, my adrenaline high as fuck, I know that I’ve done this for myself. I know that I’ve put in the work and the effort and there’s only one person I want to see.

My heartbeat roars in my ears, the crowd silencing in my mind as I look up to see her. My Catherine. I search for her in the crowd, finding Elle and Nora first, cheering like crazy women. When my eyes focus on them, the one person I wanted to see isn’t there anymore.

I haven’t been able to stop moving since the game ended. I barely made it past the sidelines before the people in the stands came rushing down. My vision blurs as more and more people try to talk to the team, pushing past us and shoving flashlights and cameras in our faces. My stomach twists when I see the reporter, James Nyguen, from the Fort Morgan Times make direct eye contact with me. Nora and Elle are on his heels, following behind him, huge grins on their faces.

I need to get out of here.

I don’t get far before a different reporter from the same magazine shoves his camera and microphone in my face. “I’m sorry. I just need to–”

“I’m here with Connor Bailey. Twenty-year old quarterback for the Drayton Titans and an absolute machine on the pitch. What a game it was today. How are you feeling?” The shrillnessof his voice catches me off guard and I stumble a little, looking over his short frame to find my girl. Still, I don’t see her.

“Yeah… It was a good game,” I mumble in response. Jesus. The team is going to give me so much shit for this. All that training and practice for nothing.

The reporter lets out a nervous chuckle. “Your team just won the college cup and that’s all you have to say?”

I groan, desperate to roll my eyes as I take in a deep breath. “I’m trying to look for her.”

“For who? Your mom? A girlfriend, perhaps?” he questions, shoving both the microphone and the camera in my face. Do they both have to be so close to me? I grip them and shove them a bit further away from me as I stare straight into the camera.

“Yes, my girlfriend,” I bite out. I lower my voice when I look back at the slightly petrified man beneath me. “Now, can you get out of my way?” He blinks at me. “Please?”

When he’s finally gone to the side, I go to my next resort: my sister. She and Elle are talking excitedly with Sam and Wes, pulling on their arms and congratulating them. I should be enjoying that right now, but I can’t. I need to find her. Who knows what could have happened? She wouldn’t just disappear like that.

“Where’s Catherine?”

Nora turns to me at the sound of my gruff voice, her eyes widening in surprise. “Oh my god! Congrats, bro. I knew you guys would win. You were insane today. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve enjoyed watching you play that much in so long.”

I store her compliments for later. Now is not the time, so I ask again. “Where’s Catherine?”

Her eyebrows scrunch together. “What? Why do you want to–”

“Where. Is. She.”

Her eyes soften as she rests her hand on my forearm. I’m not annoyed at her, I’m annoyed at the situation. I just want to know that she’s safe and that I didn’t do anything wrong to upset her, or if someone else did then I’d be spending my post-game celebrations in a very different way.

“Okay, okay,” Nora says softly. “Calm down. She left ten minutes into the second half. Her dad called her. She said it was some sort of emergency.”

Fuck. I run my hands across my face. “And you didn’t want to tell me?”

“You were in the middle of playing the most important game of your college career with hundreds of scouts here and you expected me to tell you wheremyfriend was?” Her question is a valid one. For a second I consider telling her everything. Telling her that I’ve been head-over-heels for Catherine since the second I met her, but I want her to do that on her terms.

I shake my head as if that will take away the tightness in my chest. “No, you’re right. But, do you know where she had to go? Maybe we can meet her or something before the party?”

Nora rolls her eyes. “Connor, why does it matter to you so much that she’s there? If she wants to come, she will. You’ve never cared before, so I don’t know why you do now. She had to go. You won. Let’s just go to celebrate.”

I mull over her point when everyone starts to leave the pitch. I somehow manage to salvage another interview with a different reporter, hopefully covering up the damage I made with the first one. I call Cat a million times, but she never answers. At one point it started to go to voicemail and I succumbed to going to the party miserable and feeling alone. Even when I get back to my room, leaving the party early, I still haven’t heard from her.

I stare up at the ceiling and hope for both of our sakes that she’s okay.

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