The Fumble Of A Quarterback

Chapter 28: You're Involved

The days leading up to that Sunday were spent far away from the field or anything related to football. I was a woman of my word, and I did quit. I was done. Working for god wasn't as heavenly as I thought it would be.

I tried to convince Everett he was making a mistake but retracking the article, he wouldn't listen. When Sunday finally came and the article was released, neither Everett nor I read it. We both knew what it would say. Instead, we fled the city for Newark, where we had spent the day with Dale on the farm.

"And look at that! It's snowing, in November? It's going to be a cold one this year," Dale said as he looked out the window of his small farmhouse.

"Why look at that. It is snowing," I said as I looked out the window beside him.

For a moment we looked out the window and watched the snow come down like feathers. It wasn't until Dale's phone alarm broke us from the scene.

"Ah, well, that's it. Pizza is done. I'll get it," Dale said as he got up from his chair and walked into the kitchen.

I turned my attention to Everett who stared out the window. He had been so silent and it was because of the article. I knew it was weighing on his mind but I wondered if he was regretting the article.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He nodded. "I'm fine. I thought leaving my phone at home was a safe move, but it's only driving me crazy."

"I think my phone is in the car. Want to see it?"

Everett shook his head as he rested his back against the wall. "Nah. I'll just find out everything when I return tonight."

"If you change your mind, let me know. I'll get that phone."

He chuckled as his father walked back into the room wearing a frown.

He looked at me then at Everett in silence. With his phone in his hand, he cleared his throat. "You're involved in a smear article against your own team?"

Everett's eyes glanced at me before turning his attention to his dad. He nodded. "Yeah."

"Why?"

There was such pain in his voice. As much as I wanted to speak up, I knew this was Everett's chance to defend himself. It was his time to finally be honest with his father.

Everett shook his head as his body turned ridged. "Football has done nothing good for me. There are terrible people on the team that needed to be exposed."

"But what does this mean for you?"

"I don't care," Everett said with a shrug as he tried to keep his voice level.

"You don't care? What do you mean? What about your dreams? You looked so hard and now the pro teams will think twice. You shouldn't have rocked the boat. That's not what good players do," Dale said, raising his voice.

Everett walked closer to his father. "No, that's what spinless players do. And going pro was never my dream. It was yours."

"You can't be serious," Dale yelled.

Suddenly the relaxing day was turned into something stressful.

"I am. You know what, I'm done. Dad, I hate football and you never saw that. I've hated it for years. I was incredibly unhappy playing football. I was abused in football. If I never played, I wouldn't have experienced all this pain. I've tried to tell you, but you never listened."

Dale opened his mouth then closed it. "You can't throw this all away just because of one experience."

"That's what you don't understand. It's more than one experience but you wouldn't know since you never listen to me." And with that Everett walked out the door.