Damaged Souls (Broken Man) - By Christopher Scott Page 0,20

lost competitions carried over from grade school. He wouldn’t even know how to handle a girl like Delaney.

Delaney was way too complex for a shallow moron like Mitch. What appeared simple, innocent, and beautiful on the surface was much more complicated as you got to know her and sorted through the many layers of her personality. But, Mitch wasn’t interested in her complexity or personality. He just wanted to go out with her because she was the prettiest girl in school, a shiny trophy awarded for his athletic prowess.

Greg had tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but now, it simply wasn’t happening. Sure his pedigree looked good. Star quarterback, decent student, Division One football scholarship, good looking in the eyes of all the girls. But, Greg knew the reality behind the image.

It was just a carefully orchestrated front. He was like the entitled star athlete on television who said all the right things on camera and then was totally different once the lights were turned off. Yeah, Mitch was smooth and polished at first glance, but Greg had access to the dirty work behind the scenes.

Yeah, Mitch and his posse, primarily the offensive lineman who protected his ass on and off the field. Just a group of bullies who had first formed way back in middle school, hoping to ride the coattails of this quarterbacking phenom. They left Greg alone, mainly out of deference to his past friendship with Mitch, but they could be brutal on the weaker kids, especially when it came to their idea of locker room fun.

As Greg exited the shower and grabbed a towel to dry off, he thought back to the incident that destroyed any leftover hope of him and Mitch rekindling their friendship while at the same time officially ended Greg’s football career. It happened during the beginning of eighth grade, the fog finally starting to lift from Greg’s mind after a productive summer two years removed from his father’s death.

It was the summer he and Delaney became best friends. They did everything together that summer. Riding bikes to the beach, going out to eat, and just hanging out together as friends, something still possible at the innocent age of thirteen. It was also the summer he met Jack and Amanda.

At first, he thought it was odd that Delaney spent so much time with this couple that weren’t her parents, but soon, he came to understand why. They were just different than Delaney’s father and girlfriend, actually, they were different than any parents he knew. They never really talked about it much, but Greg gradually cobbled together the story of Delaney’s parents’ divorce, the relationship between Jack and Delaney’s mother, and the coupling of Jack and Amanda after her death.

Greg really liked both of them. Amanda was a beautiful newly expectant mother and a trained Psychologist able to talk about anything without making you feel analyzed or scrutinized. He always felt comfortable talking with her, and Amanda even seemed to make progress with Greg’s mother during the few sessions she managed to attend.

Jack was a little harder to get to know. The General Manager at one of the nicest resorts in town, he was serious and intimidating at first, unsure of this boy hanging around his new house and growing family. But, he gradually warmed to him, and soon, Greg found himself spending more and more time with Jack, Amanda, and Delaney.

It was during one of these visits that the subject of football came up. Greg remembered the conversation with Jack as they casually tossed the football, a simple activity that somehow made the conversation come more naturally between two cautious participants.

“You’ve got some pretty good hands,” Jack complimented him after a difficult catch.

“And you’ve got a terrible arm,” Greg remembered his flippant response as he tossed the ball back to Jack.

“Thanks,” Jack wasn’t bothered by the insult. “But seriously, you should think about going out for the team this year.

“I don’t know,” he had responded, although the idea had occurred to him. “But I’ll think about it.”

Greg surprised himself by showing up on the first day of practice, curious as to what the reaction would be. The response from the other players turned out to be cold as expected, but warmed slightly as they soon realized his and Mitch’s relationship had not skipped a beat, at least not on the football field. Mitch found Greg open again and again, connecting with unspoken words and laser like passes that absolutely shredded