Travis's Pov
I could feel it once the first quarter ended. This was gonna suck. We were playing worse than we had all season and none of us could seem to get it together. The side lines were eerie, and no amount of pep talks were going to fix it.
I could hear my heart in my chest as the Eagles stole the ball solidifying their win. The remaining time on the clock no longer mattered. It was done. We lost. I could feel the tears beginning to surface as I looked up into the crowed, the sea of green cheering and celebrating.
My head hurt as I walked over to Pat pulling him into a hug. "We'll get em next time." I attempted to sound strong, but you could hear the cracks in my voice.
We congratulated the team before heading back to the lockers. I don't think I've ever seen a more depressing sight. Some of the guys were stetting on the benches, a blank expression on their faces, some were on the on the ground leaning back other were just standing there looking like they wished the world would swallow them up. I walked over to Chris who was sitting on one of the benches his head in his hands and collapsed onto the empty space next to him.
My head titled back resting on the cool metal of the lockers sending a chill down my spine. The room remained quite except for the occasional slam of a locker. I was dreading the interviews and press that we were going to have to deal with. It didn't even compare to the pit in my stomach left by the fact that I'm going to have to go and face my entire family and Taylor, knowing we just bombed the most important game of the season, the thing we had been working towards for an entire year.
After an Andy gave an attempt at cheering us up with an after-game talk, we were released to go change and do interviews. I tried my hardest to get out of there as soon as possible only giving a short brief interview before excusing myself.
I trudged my way through the hall trying my hardest to clear my mind from the thoughts spinning through it like a tornado. When I got up to where the others were waiting, I could feel the shift in the room. Everyone went quiet, the silence was deafening.
The first person to move was Taylor who ran across the room throwing her arms around my neck hugging me tight. The hug hadn't even fully registered in my head as I wrapped my arms around her waist. "I am so proud of you." She whispered into my ear.
I let out a long breath fighting back the tear as I tightened my grip around her. I didn't dare lift my head from her neck not wanting to face the pitting looks from my friends and family. Having them see how bad we did was bad enough, but having to face them now is like my worst nightmare come to life. "I don't want to stay here." I mumbled into her hair.
"I know, just say goodbye to your family at least and then I'll have my driver take us back to the hotel." I sighed knowing she was right.
Taylor loosened her grip around my neck, her hands sliding down my shoulders resting on my chest. "I love you." She whispered so only us two could hear. Standing on her tiptoes she reached up placing a warm kiss against my lips letting it linger before pulling back and gently pushing me towards my family.
I kept things brief, not going into how I was feeling because quite frankly, I didn't know. This game changed a lot of things in my mind, and I just wanted to be alone with Taylor so I could try and sort them out. "Can we head down to the car?" I asked her in a low tone. I felt like a little kid begging their mom to leave because they didn't want to be there anymore.
"Yeah, you've said your goodbyes to everyone you wanted to?"
"Mmhm."
"Ok." I stood by the door watching as she went over to her parents whispering something to them before giving them both a quick hug. "Do you want to stop anywhere before we head back or just go straight there?"
"I just want to go back to the hotel if you're ok with that."
"Of course, come on my driver already has the car pulled up for us." She smiled grabbing my hand.
I followed her silently ignoring the stares from the people in the halls. I zoned out for the entire car ride back, my thoughts raced alongside the cars outside. Taylor's hand didn't leave mine for a second, but she could tell I needed time to process so she didn't try and get me to talk which I was grateful for.
"You gonna be ok?" She asked hesitantly once we got up to my room.
"I will be." I sighed. "Would it be too much if I asked you to take a bath with me?"
"Nope, you lay down for a bit and I'll get everything set up." She gave me a reassuring smile before disappearing into the bathroom.
I didn't feel like laying down but after running around for four hours I had worked up quite the appetite. I slowly trudged my way into the small kitchen grabbing a pack of graham crackers and a glass of milk.
The game was replaying in my head like a broken record. Every drop, flag, pass. How did we lose so horribly? Where did we go wrong?
My fist tightened around the glass; I was surprised it hadn't shattered in my hold. "Trav?" Taylors voice floated through the heavy atmosphere of the room. "You ok?" She asked walking towards me. I simply shrugged in response, feeling her body press against me from behind, her slender hands wrapping around my torso.
"I'm sorry," my voice was thick with emotion. "I told you I'd win for the both of us." I said referring back to what I had told her after the Grammys.
"I guess this just wasn't our month." She moved to sit on my lap, resting her head in the crook of my neck. We sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sound being our steady beathing and the occasional sniffle.
"I don't know how much more of that I can do." I revealed "I hate to admit it but I'm getting older, and my body's never felt this wrecked after a game." I said regretfully. "I know I said I wanted to go for a few more seasons but now I'm starting to think this might have been my last."
"Travis." Her eye's watered as she reached out to touch my cheek.
"Who knows maybe I'll switch to golf full time." I tried to joke but it just fell flat.
"Are you seriously thinking about retiring?" I could see the emotion swirling through her blue eyes.
I sighed running my hand against her thigh. "I've been thinking about it for a while now but this almost feels like it further solidifies in my mind that it's the right decision."
"But it was just one game Travis that doesn't mean you should give it up!" She tried to argue.
"It's not just one game Tay, it was the Superbowl." Taylor cast her eyes down, her head falling back onto my shoulder. "I don't know, if I were to do another season that would include the months of training leading up to it and being away from everyone, from you." My voice cracked. "I kind of just want to be able to be with you, and with Ky and Jase having the baby I want to be able to be around for that."
By this point there were tears in my eye's threatening to fall. "I know we've talked about it and if we're going to start a family then I don't want to have to worry about practices and games."
"Let's disappear for a bit," I gave her a surprised look. "Not like disappear disappear, but just take a step back and not be seen out in public. We could go to some remote town or something and just escape from it all for a little while."
"You sure you want to do that?" I cupped her face. "You know people will start to talk."
Taylor shrugged her shoulders. "Fuck them, if people want to complain or make up stories then who cares. I just want to spend time with you." She leaned forward, her lips barley brushing mine. "Who knows, maybe an isolated house in the mountains could help us clears our minds a bit."
"What are you doing to me Tay?" I asked, my voice low.
"I dunno, want do you want me to do?" She breathed against my lips.
Without another word I scooped her up carrying her into the bathroom where the bath Taylor had prepared was waiting for us.
Maybe today wasn't all bad.
I forgot I had this in my drafts lol
