The End Zone

Chapter 37

SORRY FOR LATE UPLOAD

One year later. Senior year.

I despise planning parties. I worry about if there will be enough food, if people will have enough fun, what if we run out of cheese before crackers, but today is special.

If all goes well, today is the day Zack gets drafted to the NFL.

With the help of his physical therapist and my constant nagging to rest when he needs it (hypocritical, I know), he recovered fast enough to play in the majority of our sophomore year then dominated junior and senior year. It's all led up to this moment and it's looking pretty good.

He's been walking around unbothered all day, all swagger and smiles. I don't tell him that I saw him meditating in his bedroom or pacing his bedroom or doing an absurd amount of pushups to clear his mind.

Now he sits on the couch with his glasses on, hugging a pillow as he watches the TV even though nothing has even started.

There's a knock on the door and I can recognize it's Daniel simply by the sound. Everyone gets in their positions and as soon as I open the door to our apartment, yells, "Hey!"

Zack rises from his seat to greet Daniel as I hug him, smirking at his Stanford sweatshirt. He hands me the chips he brought then settles next to Daniel on the couch.

"You're going first round, bro," Daniel says, practically kissing Zack's ass and braiding his hair. "Don't worry. We all know it."

I watch with a slight smile then scooch in with them. "You heard him," I say. "You know Daniel's always right."

Zack toys with my star necklace then lets out a forced scoff. "Worried?" he says. "Amelia, I'm-"

"Zack Darrington, we know," practically everyone in the room choruses.

"Exactly," Zack says, lifting his glass. "Which means, I'm totally calm, cool, and-"

He seems to go into shock, eyes wide and face frozen as his phone starts to ring.

The room goes dead silent as he picks up.

"Hello?" he says. "Hey, Coach, how are you?"

Daniel and I exchange wide-eyed looks.

"Yes," Zack continues. There's a moment of silence then his face breaks into a blinding smile. "Thank you, Coach. I'm very excited. Yes. Yes. Okay. Thank you so much."

The second he hangs up the phone, the room explodes in cheers. I throw my arms around him and Raj and Mia run around the room screaming, "Yeah!!!!!!"

"The TV!" Dominique exclaims, fumbling for the remote.

"I'm so so proud of you," I say, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You've worked so hard."

"Thank you, Princess," he says, pulling me into him as we turn to the TV.

On screen, the man has just finished announcing the seventh overall pick. Everyone pulls out their phones and we turn the volume up as another pick is announced.

"With the eighth pick in this year's draft, the New England Patriots select... Zack Darrington. Running back. The University of Michigan-"

Screams ring throughout the apartment as Zack's picture ripples onto the screen. Carrie, Pete, and Tommy are cheering over facetime. Raj is grabbing pictures and videos from every angle.

Zack is smiling and thanking and laughing as everyone dances around the room and pours drinks and cheers.

"Eighth pick of the draft," he says.

I nod with a smile. "Eighth pick of the draft!"

He looks at me. "We're going to New England," he says quietly.

I grin back. "We're going to New England."

The smile he gives me makes my heart feel full for the first time.

A/N: last chapter next week 😳😩😥🥳