Only Us (Justin Fields)

|32| Drive Back To Me

Justin

With the summer days now upon us we get to the good part. Training never really ends for me and even back home, especially back home, the grind never stops. My dad is a busy man and he works full time as a police officer but he still makes time to help me out. In fact he makes time for all his kids, never misses a beat. When I'm in town we watch film and hit the weights and run some routes. Plus it was nice to be home with him again. Kinda like the good old days. Who knows when I enter the draft how many long June days like these I have left.

To help out Jill agreed to watch over Jaiden and Jessica while they were here for the summer. It shouldn't be too hard with Jessica gone most of the summer doing college stuff and basketball camps. Jaiden already adored her and Jessica thought she was cool, it gave Jillian a chance to spend an extended amount of time with people who aren't me. Granted Jaiden is just like me in a lot of ways, so it'll kinda be like hanging out with a girly version of me. But I'm sure Jillian won't complain.

So dad drives me out to the field like he did back when I was in peewees and couldn't drive myself. Back where I first learned to throw a ball around. I rest my head in the windowsill watching the clouds in the sky roll across the sky like a movie screen.

"You gonna explain how you've brought this girl home twice now and you guys aren't together" he starts as I roll my eyes. He was really religious so I'm not sure I want to have this conversation. Even if nothing is going on between us that doesn't really matter.

"Not if I don't have to" I scoff.

"You don't have to. But it doesn't seem like you to do this kind of thing either" he admits.

"To be honest I don't know what I'm doing. I just want to do it with her" I explain.

"As a friend or a sister..." he trails off.

"I'm not so sure anymore. When our relationship first started I never imagined it being where we are now. Our paths crossed and it seemed like an axis, it was to be just once never destined to cross again. But again and again we found each other. Now I don't think I could live without her" I confess.

"I see. And does she know this" he tries.

"Of course not. If I told her this she would probably run away" I admit.

"Where she going to go? She's living at your mom's for the summer" he chuckles.

"Yeah but I don't want to trap her there. Or make her feel like she can't return to school because I feel a certain way and she doesn't feel like she can reciprocate it so she has to avoid me. I can't stand the idea of her not wanting to be around me. She's working so hard to love this life I can't deter that because I had come to a realization too soon.

In terms of running away before she couldn't go anywhere when things happened but now that she has her drivers license, she can be far away from the pain she knows but that means far away from me too. I don't want that" I confess. I know I said I wouldn't mind if she did originally. But that was before...

"Does she even have a car" he asks.

"Well... no. But she'll get one somehow" I shrug.

"What about the Ford in the garage" he asks me.

I finally lift up my head and turn to him. "You mean the car you were going to give me before I bought my own" I question.

"Yeah. It's in decent shape. Give me until the end of summer and it can be as good as new. It has good milage and will get her where she needs. Plus she's watching Jai and Jess for the summer so this can be payment and it will free up space in my garage so it'll be helping me out" he claims.

"You're being serious" I ask him.

"She means a lot to you and therefore she means a lot to me. Of course I'm serious" he assures me.

"I would love that. And I want to help out fixing it up" I insist.

"You're going to have time to do that and train and get ready for school and be with your family this summer" he questions.

"I'll figure it out. Plus it would mean a lot for her to have this. As long as she drives back to me" I insist.

"From what I can tell you have nothing to worry about" he promises.

We pull up to my old stomping grounds and get ready. No one was harder on me than pops but no one could push me like he does. He knows when to stop and when to go. He knows the game and he knows me. I'm where I am because of him and if thing play out the way we want I'll be able to easily repay him the kindness he has shown me all my life.

"So how do you think the season will go" he asks as we warm up some tosses.

"The big ten is different than the SEC. They play hard ball, most of their games aren't 41-54. It's 21-17 or somewhere in the 30's if you're lucky. But I believe that works for me. Those long drives that eats up clock. Using my legs to push through a pile. Using my head to read a defense. I think I'll fit in well in this conference and there's no better team than OSU" I insist.

"You think you'll have problems like Georgia" he wonders.

"I'm not in the south anymore. The feel is a lot different. Ohio... it couldn't be any more different than Georgia but I don't think that's a bad thing necessarily. This will always be the home I come back to but Ohio can be the home where I belong" I say.

"You really like it there" he smiles.

"I love it. The program is great, we're treated like royalty. And the schooling is good too. I have study groups and clubs. It's a nice campus and I've come to appreciate things I never thought I could care for" I confess.

"Like that girl" he connects.

"She has a name you know" I insist. He could never remember names. That's why me and my sisters all have names that start with J.

"What's her name" he wonders.

"Jillian. But I call her Lilly because she's beautiful and delicate, like a flower" I say.

"And what does that make you? The sun... the water" he quizzes.

"I'm the soil. Helping her expand her roots. Watching her grow" I say.

"Yeah... you got it bad" he teases and I laugh.

"Yeah, I think you're right. But I don't think that's such a bad thing" I admit.

"I don't think so either" he smiles.