- Ties That Bind -

Chapter Seven

                    March 8th, 2023

Devyn was seated at her desk in a cozy office, engrossed in a task that Wink had requested her to review once again. The sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a warm glow on the room as she focused intently on her work when a knock on the door caused her to say, "It's open!" without looking up.

She heard the door open and shut, and footsteps walked over to where she was sitting. "Sorry, Wink asked me to look these over." She said, fixing the pile of papers.

"All good. It's good to see you, Devyn." The voice said, making Devyn look up there standing in her office was no other than Daniel Jones.

"It's good to see you as well. How have you been?" Devyn asked the quarterback, who had now moved to one of the chairs in front of her desk.

"Pretty good. Practicing a lot, trying to improve." Daniel said to the couch.

"You've improved a lot since college, that only comes with hard work and dedication. I'm sure your parents are proud of you." Devyn told the man with a half smile.

"They are," Daniel said to her. An awkward silence fell over the room, "So are we just gonna act like we're strangers? Cause for the last week, we've acted as if we've never seen each other." Daniel explained.

"Because we are strangers, Daniel," Devyn said as she shifted in her seat. Daniel looked down, not sure what to say next.

"We had such a good past, can't we just be friends?" He asked.

"Keyword past." She said to him coldly, "You have no idea." She said, trying to pull herself together before she spoke again.

"You have no idea how hard it is to see the face of someone you once loved every single day." She paused for a moment, "But you know what's even harder?" She asked him, and he just looked at her, not sure what to say.

"Seeing a stranger where you once had a home." She said to the man. Devyn was healed from what happened four years ago, but that doesn't stop the memories from rushing back. "If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting." She says, grabbing her papers and standing up as did Daniel.

"Devyn, i-i, uh, I still kick myself every day for letting you go." Daniel says stopping the coach in her tracks, "I turn every else down because they aren't you and my heart knows it shouldn't still be this attached to you but it refuses to let anyone else in. You're the one I want but can't have, and I have nobody to blame but myself. So I understand if you don't want to be friends." Daniel Jones says to her.

She paused for a moment, processing everything he had just told her. "I have to go," she said, leaving her office and Jones alone.

Devyn was sitting in a meeting half her attention was elsewhere, and her father picked right up on it. Whenever she was asked for her opinion, she would abruptly come out of her daze, express her perspective, and then immediately return to her previous state of being lost in thought.

"Devyn," Her father called out. She stopped walking and waited for her father. "Are you okay? You seemed distracted throughout the entire meeting."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about upcoming events and practices." Devyn said, faking a smile at her father so he wouldn't be suspicious.

"Okay, let me know if you need anything," Dabs said, half believing his daughter but didn't want to push her.

"I definitely will. Do you, Beth, and the kids wanna come over for dinner sometime this week?" She asked.

"I would have to double-check with Beth, but I don't see why not." Her father smiled.

"Good. Let me know what she says." Devo said with a smile.