Chasing Home (NFL)

The Super Bowl

"Are you folded at the top of a laundry basket?

Sweepin' the floors of a three bedroom house that
Keeps you crying all day long?
Have you been crushed by what we've become?
Have you done everything but come undone?
All I know is you're gone

We were perfect as a blood red rose
But dreamers in thorns are hard to hold
Tell me baby, I need to know"

– "Where Did I Lose You" by Mark Wills

Chapter 57: The Super Bowl

"I'm surprised to hear you call."

I felt a flash of guilt at Aaron's words as I pressed my cell phone to my ear. I stood in the middle of my small hotel room I had to myself. "I haven't given up at you. I know what happened at the game, but can't we still be friends?"

I heard him sigh. "I don't know, Lauren." He paused. "Is it true what Brady said about you two?"

My heart squeezed, and I had to force myself to sound normal. "Yes. We're just friends who got caught up in the moment. Actually, we're even less than that. He was trying to use me to get to Peyton. Now we don't even talk to each other." I shut my eyes to ward off the tears.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea. I haven't been making anything easier for you, have I?"

I smiled weakly. "It's alright. It's hard to know what's going on with each other when we don't see each other much."

"True. Are you going to stay in Boston after the Super Bowl?"

I hesitated. This was my chance, and I had to take it. "I don't think so. I don't belong there. I – I was thinking about going back to Green Bay. Would I be welcome there? Would I be able to find a job?"

Aaron was silent for a minute. Then he spoke: "Of course you would be welcome, Lauren. I'll ask around and find out your prospects for a job."

I let out a breath of relief. "Thanks, Aaron."

"No problem. Good luck in the Super Bowl."

"Thank you. I'll see you later."

"Later."

I hung up the phone and fell back on my bed. I knew I had to support the Patriots in the Super Bowl. I still worked for them, after all. I had learned a lot with them, and I owed at least one more game to them. I would make the most of the time I had left.

I sat up and stared at my phone. Freya wanted an update, so it was time I gave it to her. Even though Rob probably enthusiastically called her every day, she would worry if I did not check in every now and then. I rolled my eyes at the thought. Overprotective roommates.

***

The day before the Super Bowl, I invited my brothers over to my room so we could hang out. Eli and I sat on the couch while Peyton and Cooper sat at the kitchen table with their chairs turned towards us. We had been chatting amiably when there was a knock on the door. Everyone looked at me.

"It's probably Rob," I said as I slipped off the couch and headed for the door. I had a witty comment ready on my tongue when I opened the door, but it caught in my throat at the sight of the person before me.

Eli was instantly by my side. "What are you doing here, Brady?" He glared at the quarterback.

Tom did not appear angry. He looked more frustrated than anything, and almost... lost. My heart hammered in my chest, making it difficult to properly analyze his expression. "I need t talk to Lauren," he said in a steady voice.