For The Love Of The Game (Book 1)

Chapter 10: Tell Me About Him

I was in the car with the guy, as he let me sit in the front seat with them, as I was glad to know that this was not a kidnapping at all, all at the exact same time too, as I knew that I had been told not to get in the car with people that I did not know what so ever, but I also knew that this guy was not making up the story that he had told me, all at the exact same time as well, as I also knew that it might be even more dangerous for me to walk back home in the dark, all at the exact same time as well.
Plus, the guy literally showed up my mom's number in his phone, and the phone calls that he had with her, all at the exact same time too, which was even more proof to me, that I was in fact going to be fine, all at the exact same time as well. I had never heard of the guy before, besides the last name of the man, as of course his brother had been the star player that had died in that random gang shooting drive by, all at the exact same time too.
Though, I was scrolling through my phone right now, and I did in fact see his name pop up on Google, as his entire story that he had told me, did not seem to miss a beat on the articles that I was reading about him, all at the exact same time too, as apparently he had been a 5 star athlete, who had gone to DePaul none the less, and they had been having a good season before it was that he had got hurt.
Not only had he got hurt, but it was one of the worst kind of injuries, all at the exact same time too, as I looked at the photo, and I saw his phone poking out of his skin. They said that his career was over after that, and he eventually got kicked out of the school, after it was that he had got a DUI and he had only been 17 at the time of that, all at the exact same time too.
The article that I was reading was only 7 years old, meaning that I would have been 6 at the time that the article had come out, as he had told me, as it had been apparent that he had in fact been friends with my father none the less, as he had told me that he had failed to keep up a promise, as a last wish that my father had asked him, all at the exact same time as well, as my father had asked him to take care of me, as there were people searching for my father, at the exact same time as well, none the less.
I never really knew what it was that had happened to my father, as my mother had told me that he had been an idiot, and he had also died in a gang shooting, as when it was that I looked up his name on Google, I saw that he had played for DePaul as well, and also the fact that he did in fact have a death record, all at the exact same time too, as it did in fact kind of hurt me to think on that, none the less.
I breathed in quite a bit to my self, as I shook my head all at once, as I did in fact just continue to scroll through the article for a little bit longer, as I did in fact feel a lot safer now, none the less, as he had in fact also known where it was that I lived at, as I saw that my address was on Google Maps right now, as that was in fact just where it was that he was taking me right at this very moment in time as well, as he had said that he was going to have dinner with me and my mother.
I blinked my eyes a few times, as I shivered quite a bit, all at once, as I still felt a little bit afraid about all of this, even though I knew that I should not at all, all at the exact same time too, as I just got my mind, and my focus off of all of those thoughts, all at the exact same time too, as I then all of the sudden clicked on the lock button on my phone, all at the exact same time as well, as I did not want to read any more in to the article for any longer, all at the exact same time too.
I just got my mind and my focus that I heard Google say 'your destination is on your left!' as I saw that we were in fact coming in to my apartment complex, all at the exact same time as well. I blinked my eyes a few times, as I did my best to try to calm my self down once again, all at the exact same time too, as I then all of the sudden put my phone in to my pocket, all at once, once again, as I then also turned my head over to the man who was driving the car for me, all at the exact same time too.
The man began to start to park the car, all at once. As I blinked my eyes a few times, as he then all of the sudden did in fact turn his head over to me, all at once, as it seemed to be quite a bit clear to me that the man had in fact clearly seen that I had in fact been looking over at him for quite a bit of some time, all at the exact same time as well, as he then all of the sudden tilted his head at me, as it was clear that he was in fact quite a bit lost as to just what it was that I was doing right at this very moment in time any ways, none the less.
I stared right back at him for quite a bit of some time, as I still was not all too sure as to just what it was that I should even be doing in the very first place any ways, but in the end how ever, I did in fact go on ahead and start to nod to the man, all at the exact same time as well, as I felt like I should go on ahead and start to speak to him, all at the exact same time too, to find out some more valuable information about the guy, none the less.
I stared there for just a little bit longer, as I then all of the sudden did in fact start to see him nod back to me, all at the exact same time too, to let me know that he was in fact paying attention as to just what it was that I was about to go on ahead and start to say to him, all at the exact same time as well. I let out a bit of a soft sigh of relief to my self, all at once, once again, as I did in fact start to go on ahead and begin to speak to him, none the less, as I did in fact know that he was beginning to start to listen as to just what it was that I even had to say to him in the very first place any ways, never the less.
"So Xavier... You really were friend with my dad huh? What was he like?" I said to the man, as he seemed to be staring at me right in to my eyes, all at the exact same time too, after just what it was that I had even said to him in the very first place any ways, never the less, once again. Though, he did in fact seem to just be staring at me with quite a bit of a blank look on his face, and a blank look in to his own eyes, as if he had not in fact been listening to a single word that I had just said to him, all at the exact same time too.
It did in fact kind of upset me at first, if I was not going to lie to my self either, as I really did in fact not like it when people acted like they were paying attention to me, when in reality they were not doing as such a thing what so ever, all at the exact same time as well, as I grunted a bit of a heavy grunt to my self, all at the exact same time too, as I then all of the sudden began to start to squint my eyes over towards the man, none the less.
I breathed in quite a bit to my self, as I saw that the man now all sudden seemed to have a bit of a sad look on his face all of the sudden, as it seemed like it had taken him some time to realize the fact as to just what it was that I had even said to him in the very first place any ways, never the less, as I felt quite a bit bad for it if I was not going to lie, as it was clear that it was bringing up some sad memories back in to his mind, all at the exact same time too.
No one really ever told me about my father, not even my mother, even when it was that I asked her to be serious about him, as I some times wondered if he was just a simple hook up, all at the exact same time as well, though I felt like it could not be the case at all, as she was too good for some thing like that, none the less. Though, I felt like I could not be all too sure, as I knew a lot of grown ups that had in fact been quite a bit wild back in the day, all at the exact same time too.
She really only told me that he was a good man, and he was a loving father, but that was about all she would tell me about him, as it would always change to another subject shortly after that, every single time, none the less. I so badly wanted to know my father, as I knew a lot of people that had grown up with good fathers, that had been role models in their life none the less. I was quite a bit jealous of them, if I was not going to lie to my self either, as I knew that I would never get that.
I got my mind, and my focus off of all of those thoughts, all at the exact same time too, how ever, all at once, as I then all of the sudden began to start to see that Xavier was now all of the sudden getting out of his car, all at once, as it was clear that he was in fact ready to just go on ahead and get in to my mothers apartment, as soon as he could, all at the exact same time as well, as I wondered if that was due to the fact that he was just really hungry.
I felt like that was not the case how ever, as I felt like it might be more just the fact that he did not want to answer what it was that I had just asked him, just as my mother was when ever it was that I brought it up, all at the exact same time as well, never the less. It really was starting to get on my nerves if I was not going to lie to my self either, as I just shook my head, and I got my mind, and my focus off of the rest of those thoughts once again.
I too then just got out of the car, just as Xavier had done, as I then closed the passenger side door as soon as it was that I was out, all at the exact same time too, as he then all of the sudden locked the doors to his quite beaten up car, all at the exact same time as well, as it seemed like he must have had this car for at least a decade if I had guess, none the less, as for all that I knew he could have got the car from a car scrap yard, as well.
I rolled my eyes a bit to my self, as I got my mind and my focus off of all of those thoughts once again, as I knew that I should not be thinking that kind of way towards the man, as I really did not have a single clue as to just who it was that the guy even was in the very first place any ways, as his face seemed to be a bit familiar to me, but I felt like that could easily just be due to the fact that he was the brother of the star athlete on that really good DePaul team that one year, none the less.
I got my mind and my focus off of all of those thoughts once again, as I then instead got my focus on the thoughts that had to do with the fact that I knew that I should go on ahead and start to get ready to go in to my place, all at the exact same time too, as I was in fact about to dip my head a bit low to the ground, and get ready to take the man there, until I saw that the man was looking at me right in to my eyes right at this very moment in time as well, for some odd reason or another, once again.
I was quite a bit lost at first, as I tilted my head over towards the man, all at the exact same time too, until I then all of the sudden did in fact start to notice that Xavier did in fact nod to me, all at the exact same time as well. I was a little bit surprised, as well as lost by it at first, though it was in fact quite a bit clear to me that he was simply just trying to let me know that he was about to speak to me, as it was clear that he was trying to get my attention on to him, none the less.
I blinked my eyes a few times, but in the end, I did in fact nod back to the man, to let him know that I was in fact paying attention as to just what it was that he even had to say to me, all at the exact same time too, never the less, as I got my mind, and I got my focus off of the rest of those thoughts, and I did in fact begin to start to listen as to just what it was that he did even have to say to me, all at the exact same time too, as he then did in fact begin to start to speak to me, never the less.
"Your father was a bit of a strange man... He had his ups and downs... He did love you though... He was just... He was just a drug addict... He got in to a lot of gang stuff... Your mom did not want that around you... That's why you never got to meet him..." He said to me, as I blinked my eyes a few times, all at once, once again, as I was quite a bit surprised as to just what it was that he had even just said to me, all at the exact same time too, never the less.
I blinked my eyes a few times, as I did my best to try to calm my self down as well, as I wondered if he was lying about any thing that he had just said to me, or if he was just being a little bit soft on me, all at the exact same time too, as I wondered if he thought that I was too soft to take what it was that he even had to say to me, all at the exact same time too.
How ever, as I seemed to stare at Xavier, right in to his face, none the less, I saw that he had a dead serious look on his face right now, all at the exact same time too, as it was clear that he was in fact being for real with what it was that he even had to say to me, never the less. I got my mind, and I got my focus off of all of those thoughts, as I did my best to try to calm my self down, as I began to start to think on just what it was that he had even said to me, a little bit harder.
I then began to start to realize that what it was that he had in fact just told me, also had in fact made quite a bit of some sense to me, all at the exact same time as well, as I breathed in quite a bit to my self, all at once, as I did in fact know that my mother did in fact seem to hate drugs with a passion, all at the exact same time too, which I had always seemed to notice, though I never really thought all too much in to it, until up to this point, all at the exact same time too.
I breathed in quite a bit heavily to my self, as I also knew that I had seen that my father had in fact died nearly 8 years ago up to this point, never the less, once again. I blinked my eyes a few times, as I did my best to try to calm my self down, all at once, as I then did in fact begin to start to realize that my father had in fact been alive for the earlier parts of my life, all at the exact same time as well.
I shook my head how ever, as I got my mind, and I got my focus off of all of those thoughts once again, as well, as I then all of the sudden began to start to see that Xavier was now all of the sudden beginning to start to go on ahead and go up to just where it was that my apartment was at, all at the exact same time too, as I blinked my eyes a few times, and I did my best to try to calm my self down as best as I possibly could, never the less.
I nodded a bit to my self, as I then did in fact begin to start to follow him over to just where it was that he was going over to, all at the exact same time as well, which was of course the fact that he was heading right over to the front door of the apartment complex that I was at, all at the exact same time too, as I did my best to try to calm my self down, all at once, as I began to start to think on just what it was that was even going on right now, any ways.
There we were, right at the front door to my place, as I reached in to my pockets to grab my keys, to unlock the door to my place, all at once, until Xavier, with out even seeming to think, did in fact go on ahead and start to ring the door bell, and knock on the door quite a bit heavily, all at the exact same time too, as I tilted my head over towards him, as I was in fact quite a bit upset as to just what it was that he was even doing right at this very moment in time, in the very first place any ways, once again.
I knew that my mother was probably doing some thing important in there right now, as that was usually what it was that she was always busy doing, all at the exact same time as well, as I could have easily simply just unlocked the door, and gone in, with out having to bother my mother what so ever, all at the exact same time as well. I let out quite a bit of a heavy sigh to my self, all at once, as it was a little bit too late to do any thing about it at this point, none the less.
I rolled my eyes a bit to my self, all at the exact same time as well, as I then did in fact begin to start to hear the foot steps of my mother, as she began to start to head over to the front door of this place, all at the exact same time as well, as I noticed that she was in fact wearing high heels, all at the exact same time too, for some odd reason or another, which did in fact confuse me a bit, as I knew that she only wore those when she was trying to look impressive, none the less.
Did she have some sort of date after this tonight? I was not all too sure as to just why it was that it was in fact the case for just a few more moments longer, until I then all of the sudden began to start to think a little bit deeper in to it, all at the exact same time as well, as I knew that Xavier had in fact been on a 20 minute phone call with my mother earlier, while she had to be on lunch break none the less, as it was clear that she had known that he was coming to her place tonight.
I was a bit surprised, as soon as it was that she had opened the door, all at the exact same time as well, as I saw that she was in fact wearing a nice dress, all at the exact same time too, as it seemed almost like she was trying to impress Xavier, never the less. I was a little bit confused by it once again, as it seemed like some thing was going on that I had not realized, and I had not expected what so ever, all at the exact same time as well, as I blinked my eyes a few times, all at once.
My mother had a big smile on her face, as she always did when ever it was that I saw her. How ever, the smile that she had on her face right now, was not meant towards me what so ever, all at the exact same time as well, as I saw that she was looking right over towards Xavier, as she then all of the sudden nodded to Xavier, all at the exact same time too, as it was clear that she was happy to see him, and she was in fact letting him know that she was in fact about to go on ahead and start to speak to him, none the less.
I just seemed to be staring at my mother with a bit of a blank and quite a bit of a confused look on my face, never the less, as I then all of the sudden saw from the corner of my eyes, that Xavier too, did in fact have quite a bit of a big smile on his face, all at the exact same time as well, as he then nodded back to her, to let her know that he was in fact paying attention as to just what ever it was that she even had to say to him in the very first place any ways, never the less.
I still was in fact quite a bit lost as to just what it was that was even going on right at this very moment in time any ways, as I tilted my head towards my mother, as I knew that this was not a normal thing for her to be this way what so ever, all at the exact same time too. How ever, I got my mind and my focus off of all of those thoughts once again how ever, as she did in fact go on ahead and start to speak to Xavier, as I did in fact begin to start to listen as to just what it was that she even had to say in the very first place any ways, never the less.
"It's so good to see you again Xavier! It's been such a long time!" She said to him, all at the exact same time too, as she seemed to just continue to stare at him with the same smile that she had on her face before hand, all at the exact same time as well, as I saw that Xavier was doing the same thing as she was, as it seemed like the both of them were in fact quite a bit happy to see one another, never the less. I blinked my eyes a few times, as I saw Xavier begin to start to walk up to her, all at the exact same time too, which did in fact scare me at first, as I then all of the sudden began to start to see him reach for a kiss. Not just any kiss either, as it was a long and hard kiss right on the lips, all at the exact same time too, as I stared at the both of them for just a few moments with quite a bit of a shocked look on my face, once again. I was not all too sure as to just what it was that was even going on right at this very moment in time any ways, how ever, in the end, I did in fact all of the sudden see my mother turn her head over to me, as it seemed like she was now all of the sudden beginning to finally notice my presence, as she then all of the sudden began to start to speak once again, as I breathed in quite a bit heavily to my self, as well, as I did in fact begin to start to listen as to just what it was that she had to continue to say, once again. "Why don't the both of you come in side?"
I blinked my eyes a few times, as I was in fact quite a bit surprised as to just what it was that she was even saying, as it seemed like she was talking to me, as if I did not live in this place with her at all, all at the exact same time as well. I was quite a bit lost by it for quite a bit of some time, all at once, until I then all of the sudden began to start to realize that it seemed like she was a bit lost on the fact that Xavier was here with me right now, that she had not realized that I was her son, none the less.
I rolled my eyes a bit, as I got my mind and my focus off of all of those thoughts once again, as I let out quite a bit of a heavy sigh to my self, all at the exact same time too, as I then all of the sudden began to start to go on ahead and begin go in to my house, all at once, as I saw from the corner of my eyes, that it seemed like Xavier was in fact following me in, all at the exact same time too, though I did in fact notice that it seemed like he could not drop his gaze off of my mother, all at the exact same time too.
She was in fact quite a bit of a beautiful woman, so I felt like I could not really blame him for it too badly, as I just shook my head once again, as I got my mind and my focus off of all of those thoughts once again, as I just went on ahead and began to start to head past my mother, to where it was that I could smell food cooking, as I had to guess that it was not done, based off of the fact that I could clearly see steam in the air, none the less.
My mother clearly noticed that as well, all at the exact same time too, as I saw her begin to start to hurry over to the kitchen all of the sudden, as I was about to tell her to slow her self down, due to the fact that she was in fact wearing high heels none the less. How ever, she seemed to be doing just fine as to the fact that she was rushing by the hall way, over in to the kitchen, where it was that the food was cooking right at this very moment in time as well, all at the exact same time too.
It seemed to be that my mother was a bit off on her game right now for some odd reason or another, which was for sure not a normal thing for her, as I tilted my head a bit confused by it, though I knew that she was not paying me any sort of attention at all right now, as I saw that she simply seemed to be going in to the kitchen to make sure that the food was still okay, all at the exact same time as well, none the less, as I let out quite a bit of a soft sigh to my self, all at the exact same time too, as I got my mind and my focus off of all of the rest of the thoughts that I had been thinking on before now.
I shook my head a bit to my self, as I then all of the sudden sat down on the bar stool that was right beside the kitchen, all at the exact same time as well, as I watched my mother continue to cook the food that she had on the stove, all at the exact same time as well, none the less. I stared at her for just a little bit longer, until I then all of the sudden began to start to notice that Xavier was joining her in the kitchen, as I saw that he was just behind her back, all at the exact same time too.
I was a little bit lost by just what it was that he was even doing right at this very moment in time any ways, as I stared at the both of them with a little bit of a blank look on my face, as I saw him hold on to her shoulders, which was in fact a bit odd to me, all at the exact same time as well, as it did not seem like my mother was going to do any thing to stop that at all, which was strange to me, as it seemed like the both of them almost seemed to be... Dare I say it? Perhaps boy friend and girl friend? Or maybe used to be?
I felt like I had to get the elephant out of the room at this point, as it was in fact making me feel quite a bit uncomfortable right now, as I knew that my mother did not really date any one what so ever, all at the exact same time too. This seemed to be exactly what it was that was going on right now how ever, as it seemed like he had come to my place not to help me with basketball, but rather for a date with my mother. I shook my head all of the sudden, as I then all of the sudden let out a loud cough, all at the exact same time too, as I they then turned their heads over to me.
My mother looked at me with a bit of a confused look on her face for just a little bit of some time, all at the exact same time as well, as I saw that she then did in fact nod to me at the very least, to let me know that she was in fact paying attention as to just what it was that I even had to say to her, all at the exact same time as well. I still was not all too sure about any of it either way, but I did in fact go on ahead and start to speak to her, now that I knew that she was in fact beginning to start to listen as to just what it was that I even had to say to her in the very first place any ways, never the less.
"Mom... Why didn't you tell me about him?"