The Game Changer The Final Score - By L.M. Trio Page 0,38
own mixed up, wishful thinking, mind? He’s got me so flustered that I rattle off all of the reasons as to why I can’t do it tonight. He laughs at me. He’s messing with me as usual. He tells me I better make it worth his while since I’m making him wait. I laugh and give him a shove.
“I’ll be right back. Don’t move from here, I’m running to the bathroom,” JJ says as she heads in the direction of the restroom, giving me the opportunity to turn my attention towards the others and put an end to our private conversation.
***
(Luke)
“Yeah, sure… I’ll catch up with you at home,” I say to Mikey as he heads out of the locker to meet up with everyone after the game.
As I stand here by myself, the idea that maybe I can just steal a quick look pops into my head. The hallway is crowded so there’s no way I can be seen with everyone moving about. I watch from afar as the five of them stand together and talk. “Traitors,” I say to myself as they all huddle together with this Frank guy who seems to have taken my place. I laugh at myself for stalking them. Alright, stalking her. Deep down, I know I have to be patient. The timing has to be right.
However, when I see her going off on her own towards the restroom, it throws a wrench into my plan and I lose all sense of good judgment. I don’t think of the consequences, all thoughts are about seeing her alone while everyone else seems to be enjoying each other’s company.
I’m waiting off to the side as she exits the restroom. Her head is down and she’s searching around in her purse. A woman with a small child cuts in front of her, causing her to spill her purse all over the floor. The woman rudely keeps walking without apologizing and JJ kneels down to collect her things.
Without thinking, I rush towards her and kneel by her side. She looks so pretty when she’s frazzled that I’m unable to remove my eyes from her face. I pick up her lipstick and a pen. My heart is pounding so loudly that I hear nothing else around me. I’ve dreamt of this day, when I can be so close that I can actually touch her. Her focus is on gathering the contents of her purse and she has yet to notice that I’m kneeling beside her.
“Hey, JJ,” I whisper.
***
(Jesse)
It takes only a moment for my brain to calculate what I hear and in that same moment, my heart violently slams against my chest. It’s the same silken tone that whispered my name a million times before. There’s a pain so deep that I can’t breathe. To convince myself that this is real, I slowly raise my head until my eyes meet his.
His deep brown eyes tear into me with the same intensity I remember. I have every inch of his face memorized and the time apart hasn’t changed much. I want so badly to reach out and touch him, to be sure that he is real, but, I don’t dare. In fact, I don’t even reciprocate his sorrowful smile.
Right now, the only memories I have are of trusting him more than anyone in the world, him making me believe that everything would be alright, and him betraying me. I didn’t believe it was possible to feel a hurt more severe than when I lost my mom. However, my mom didn’t choose to leave me. He did. I grab the objects from his outstretched hand and shove them into my purse, abruptly standing on my weakened knees and taking off in the direction of the restroom; leaving him kneeling on the floor, alone.
Once safely hidden behind the door of the restroom, I fall back against the wall; feeling nauseous and dizzy. I breathe in slowly, trying to fill my lungs with air once again. The tears uncontrollably start to fall.
***
(Luke)
My stomach churns and I feel as if I may get sick as I slowly stand up and dust off the knees of my jeans. I realize what a bad idea this is, which is further confirmed when I look into Mikey, David, and Deanna’s horrified faces staring at me. Deanna makes a beeline past me in the direction of the restroom. I swallow hard as I realize the consequences of my actions and take a step in their direction.