The Second Chance

Chapter 5

I spent a lot of time thinking, contemplating, about that every night. But, this night was different. I spent more hours thinking and imagining every scenario possible. Or at least I tried. Every scenario, every possibility I could think of, ended with her saying yes or, in my arms. I was convinced that she would say yes. Who wouldn't? After everything we've been through together, asking her to be my end of the rope, wasn't even worrying. I knew she would say yes, I was only worried about coming up with the perfect words. Being an introvert, at least for me, meant I couldn't say how I felt. I expressed it, showed it even, rather than being straightforward about it. I began to think about the day I asked her. How Nick gave me the advice that would change my life. "Imagine at the end of those 3 seconds. You die. Unless you take action," he said. That phrase rang through my head all night until eventually, everything began to go dark.

I woke up with a jerk. Sweat ran across my face like I just ran a marathon. Something didn't feel right about today but I ignored the feeling and began to climb out of bed. It was around 6 a.m. that morning so I figured I had time to practice. I reached for my cleats and made my way outside. Every jog, every run, every push forward was dreadful. Everything felt weak, nothing in my body would budge. I learned that as an athlete though, you have to push the pain even harder no matter how many times it's trying or already has put you down. So that's what I did. I felt like I was improving but my body did everything in my body was trying to tell me to stop and leave. I didn't listen. I was on my last freekick shot and I had Andrea record my previous shots so I could upload them on Snapchat. I felt the wind breathing down on my neck menacingly. The grass looked as if it was trying to hold me down and stop me from taking the shot. I counted to three. "One." I started getting in position. "Two." I took a deep breath. "Three." I positioned the build-up. "GO!" I screamed to Andrea. She began to record. I ran towards the ball. My left foot was directly planted beside the ball and my right was stretched out. Ready to shoot. One moment I was shooting the world's perfect freekick and the next, I was on the floor, lying beside my insides.

Andrea recorded every dreary second of it. I was ready. I was taking the shot but something stopped me. As I kicked the ball I reached for my stomach. The ball soared through the air but so did my guts. I threw up. Vomit flew through the air as did the ball. I fell to the ground and barely got up. Andrea ran for my Mom and she helped me inside. I laid in bed in pain, not just from my body, but from my heart as well. This was supposed to be a special day for me, how was I going to do it in bed like this. I called Jade. But what was I supposed to say exactly? That I just vomited everywhere and now I'm in bed like a sick hospital patient? She answered with "Hello?" She had a worried tone in her voice. Not wanting to add to her worry, I eased into the news. "Are you okay? Do you need anything? I'll come over as soon as I can," she said worriedly. "No I'll be better in no time don't worry I'm actually getting ready and I feel better," I said to her. It didn't feel right lying to her but if I told her the truth she'd be on me like a nurse finding out their patient is dying. "If you feel sick, even a little, you go directly back home. I mean it Bryan, you worry me," she said. "Yeah I know, I'll be back before you know it." She still sounded worried, but not as much as before. We hung up and I began to get ready. I put on cologne and reached for my shoes when I heard small splashes on the roof. It was raining. "I hope she didn't pick a date outside," I said to myself. I put on a hoodie over my outfit, grabbed my keys, and went for the car. The rain was pouring even harder now. I hope she wasn't outside, I didn't want her sick too. As I reached into the city, I noticed a billboard sign in red bold letters. "New Pastry Shop NOW OPEN. Turn right on the next exit," it said. I made a right turn and parked myself in the parking lot of the shop. It was a small shop but it smelled amazing from the inside. I quickly got her a red velvet cake, which was her favorite, and made my way back to the car. The sky was dark now and it was still pouring heavily but I still made it to her house. I finally arrived and parked the car. I got out and made my way to the doorstep. I knocked a few times until they opened up. Jade stood on the other side with a white silk dress and white heels. Her dark black hair glowed under the lights and her dress sparkled in the night. "I have something for you," I said as I pulled out the cake. I handed it to her and she smiled. "Thank you," she said. "Let me put this in the fridge, give me a moment." She walked towards the kitchen and I heard the door of the fridge slam shut. Her heels were loud so I knew when she was coming. She made her way to the doorstep. "Shall we?" she asked. "It's raining," I said to her. "Do you have an umbrella?" She shook her head. I pulled out my hoodie and gave it to her. "Thank you," she said. I smiled and reached for her hand. I made my hand go around her waist as we walked towards the car. I opened the car door for her and went around towards the driver's seat. I turned to look at her. Her eyes sparkled as they met mine. Even now I couldn't make out the color but they were beautiful. I thought about how I was going to ask her. How the words would come out. I turned on the car and drove. I had my answer.

She gave me the directions as I was driving. She would repeatedly say stuff like "turn here" or "red light" and point towards the direction. "It's to keep the suspense," she would say. After minutes of turning left and right, she had finally said, "Pull over here," she finally said. I obeyed and parked myself in the parking lot. We arrived at a medium-sized building with about 4 windows on each side. "Where are we?" I asked. "You'll see," she said. We both looked out the car window. It wasn't raining as hard as before but it was still pouring. I pulled the hoodie I gave her over her head and got out of the car. She got out as well before I could open the door for her. I put my arm around her waist as we went inside the building. As we opened the entrance door, music began to blast and there were people everywhere. Dancing. I turned to look at Jade, confused. "May I have this dance?" she asked. She reached for my hand and pulled us to the center of the dancefloor. The music began to change into something soft and smooth, like the slow dancing songs you would hear at prom or in the movies. I stopped being so paranoid and went with it. I put my arms around her waist and her arms went around my neck. We moved slowly across the dancefloor. One moment we were in the middle and the next we were in the corner. She could take you anywhere and you wouldn't even notice it. She put you under her spell like that. Multiple songs passed until she finally gave in. The dance room was about to close anyway so we let go of each other and walked towards the door. We waited for everyone to spill out before we did. I turned towards her and held her hands in mine. I stared deeply into her eyes and she stared into mine. Just like the first time we met. She smiled and so did I. My mouth began to move voluntarily and the words spilled out. "I love you, Jade. You make me whole, you make me feel complete. Although it hasn't been official yet, I wanted to make it known that we were both tied together now. Which is why I ask you now. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Her smile faded. I couldn't tell if she was upset or disappointed or making some joke but either one of those expressions made me sick. She stood silent for a few seconds. She turned her head towards the floor like a little kid getting yelled at by their parents. "Now would be the time to say something," I said worriedly. She looked up at me and began to cry. Was this real? What was happening? Did I say something wrong? At that moment many thoughts began to roam inside my head but it all stopped quickly. She pushed me aside and began to cry. She dropped down on her knees, sobbing, making a puddle around her. As if the water falling from outside wasn't enough. I dropped down to my knees as well. I kept asking her questions. "What's wrong. Was it something I said?" Nothing helped. It only seemed to make matters worst. She had her hands covering the water flooding through her eyes but I could tell she was about to burst. Then, she finally stopped for a few seconds. "We can't be together Bryan. You can't love me and I can't love you anymore. It's over." I was confused and distraught. I had many feelings push into my head, it was overwhelming. "B-But I thought you loved me." She removed her hands from her face and stared directly into my eyes. "Well I don't and that's final," she said angrily. She started walking away into the rain. Each step was faster and farther from me. I ran after her. As soon as I caught up with her I reached for her hand but she shoved it away. "Leave me alone Bryan! I don't want to see you," she said with her hands covering half of her face. "At least let me take you home," I said. "No, I'll take an Uber. Now leave me alone."

Those words hit me straight in the chest like this morning. The pain came back even stronger. I held my stomach trying to stop myself from making a mess. A teenager, around my age, saw her call of distress and rushed over. He was a tad taller than me, not exactly built but he looked like he packed some muscle. He went over to Jade. "Is this man bothering you?" he asked. "Leave her alone," I screamed. He turned towards me and stood his ground. I walked over to him with my hand still on my stomach. "Go away," I said. He looked at me with a strong defiant look on his face. "I'm afraid I'm not going anywhere," he said confidently. "I asked you nicely." I removed my hand from my stomach and began to shape it into a fist. I went for it. I punched him with all the strength I had left and I left him bleeding from his mouth. Angry, he got back up and punched me twice as hard. I was on the floor now. I couldn't get up nor move my hands. I turned and rolled into a ball and he took advantage. He began to take advantage and kicked me in the back. I felt a crack in my spine. I let out a loud groan before my stomach began to fill. I opened my mouth and unleashed hell. The vomit was worse this time, it wasn't even the right color anymore. Jade began to run in my direction and she screamed. "Leave him alone! Get away!" Seeing what he had done to me he ran in shock. She dropped to her knees again but this time I was on the floor. "Are you okay?" she asked. I wiped the blood from my mouth and slowly got up. "Take it easy, you're hurt. rest for a bit. She reached for my stomach but I shoved her hand away. "You caused this. You hurt me. I don't want to hear from you again," I said angrily. She looked at me with her big innocent eyes. I didn't buy into it. I got up and with one hand across my stomach, I made my way to the car. She was still there, on her knees sobbing in the dirt. That was the first time I ever left a girl stranded.