Rekindling Tradition

Chapter Twenty Two: Disappointment

Disclaimer: All characters and settings are purely fictional. If there are any similarities to real people or places, it is merely coincidental. The plot is written by me and not copied from any other writer.

********** Chapter Twenty-Two **********

Training couldn't have started at a better time. My entire life, I relied on football for relief. It was like therapy for the shit I couldn't handle. And at this point in my life, there was a lot of shit I couldn't process. I was mostly to blame. No one put me in this situation, but I and I knew it. 

Pushing myself harder, I tried to block out the thoughts. It was difficult when I knew there would be missed calls from Rylee. I frowned. She was under the belief we were back together and making things work. I wanted to correct her. Trust me, I did, but I couldn't. She was looking at me with those sweet, big eyes dripping with lust for me. Fuck, the pajamas she was wearing were sinful. How was I supposed to correct her when I wanted to be with her so badly? 

More importantly, how was I going to correct her when she was agreeing to move to Everton. My parents were still nagging me about changing Ty's name. The only thing that appeased them was knowing Rylee and Ty were returning home. It seemed like a step in the right direction for them. So, the past two weeks, Rylee was in Riverview preparing for their move.

A few days ago,  she sent Ty's documents for me to register him to Everton Preparatory. It was honestly the most grown-up thing I've done in my life. It was so strange to walk into my old school and tell the secretary at the office I was there to register my son. It felt good too. But, it didn't take long for the frustration to return when I had to write 'Scott' in the place of his surname. It's not that I hated the name. No, the name represented a group of people I was fond of and respected. It's just, I felt like I had nothing connecting him to me. Nothing legally binding, at least, and that terrified me. I was scared she would just run off again with Ty, and I would lose the opportunity to be his dad. I missed out on so much, I didn't want to miss out on anything else. So, I would do anything to ensure I wouldn't lose out on him, including lying to his mother. 

By the time I'm settled a bit, practice is over, and I'm getting dressed after a nice cold shower. I'm opening the locker provided for me. A picture of Rylee and Ty greets me. It was Don's idea to put it up. He said it was vital that we kept up appearances. Not that I minded, it was a great picture of the two of them. Rylee was dressed in fitted jeans and a matching Eagles jersey along with Ty. I knew it was my jersey because Ty told me he owned one. She was sitting down with Ty in her lap, and they were both smiling at the camera effortlessly. I appreciated the photo.  Even though it was before I knew he existed, I felt apart of the picture, knowing they both wore my jersey. 

"Yo, Bradshaw!" Quinn shouted. He was a wide receiver for our team and a pretty chill guy. He reminded me of Preston. They shared a few similar features, but Quinn's facial features were narrower, and his frameless muscular than Prestons. People often confused them during games we played together. It was hilarious watching people go up to Quinn thinking he was Preston Gibbs. 

I turned to Quinn, who was grinning from ear to ear. I knew it was only a matter of time before he said something stupid. He may look like Preston, but his mouth uttered statements that mimicked Mike. To say he tested my patience every practice would be an understatement. 

"I almost thought you were an idiot for getting some girl knocked up after high school," he started. He was giggling as he said the words. I noticed the rest of our teammates looked between the both of us. They were interested to hear what he had to say and more curious about how I would react. I withheld any expressions at his statement. Sure, it was an idiotic move, but I didn't know I was getting Rylee pregnant. She told me she was on the pill, and we had already gotten used to having unprotected sex.