Behind Close Doors

Chapter Forty-Three

HARRY'S POV

I DON'T KNOW if the rainy weather was to blame or the conversation I had with Matthew minutes before our game, but to the players on the opposing team, it probably looked like it was my first time ever throwing a football. My technique was sloppy, I'd been sacked twice, and the score was 0-19. I couldn't make a solid pass for the life of me and felt like I was doing my teammates a disservice by staying in the game instead of having the second quarterback step in. Call me selfish, but I didn't want to spend this game or any game for that matter sitting on the sidelines.

Near the end of the second quarter, Coach Ford called for a timeout and ordered all of the players to huddle up. "I don't know what's gotten into you boys, but you need to get your shït together. We haven't scored a single point and the Lions are wiping the floor with our asses," Coach said while glaring at every single one of us. "Get in the game and make those stellar plays you did in practice boys. Don't let me down."

I nodded my head and looked around to see most of the boys doing the same except for Matthew. When my eyes connected with his, I couldn't help but frown. He was shaking his head at me, and I hated the fact that I was proving him right instead of wrong.

"All I'm saying is, the girl is a distraction, Harry," Matthew argued, his words sounding like something Robin would say if he were here right now.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "I've got everything under control, so I suggest you don't worry about what it is I do after school," I retorted, my lips pulling together in a frown.

Matthew let out a scoff as he approached me slowly. He narrowed his eyes on mine and swiped his tongue along his bottom lip before saying, "If who you do after school starts getting in the way of how you perform on the field, then we're going to have a problem."

I never had a problem performing well on the field up until this point. Maybe it's because someone knows your secret now, the voice in my subconscious told me. I shook my head with a sigh and joined the players back on the field in our positions. Hell, if Tom Brady could win the Super Bowl with a scoreboard like mine and Donald Trump could be elected president when he lost the popular vote, then I could win this game for the Dolphins. With these thoughts in mind, I grabbed the football when it was handed to me by one of my teammates and launched the ball forward in Andy's direction.

Relief flooded me when he caught the football and began advancing forward. We gained about 20 yards before Andy was tackled to the ground. However, I wasn't going to complain because that's the most activity we've had throughout the game so far. The second quarter eventually came to an end and we were about fifteen yards away from the end zone. I was confident that this game was going to take a turn for the best within the second half.

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We were down to the final seconds in the game. The Lions had a five point lead over us, and one touchdown was the difference between who wins or loses. I went over the play countless times in my head before I walked back onto the field and took my position behind the rest of the players.

"28, 35, 42, 49. Hut-hut!" I shouted before the ball was handed to me.

I back pedaled a few feet and watched my linebackers go to work. They were doing their best to ward off the other players, so I could have enough time to throw the ball. My eyes darted over to the end zone to see if either Matthew or Andy was close enough.

They both seemed like they were the same distance away, but I trusted Matthew more to be able to avoid the opposing players if I threw him the ball. The end result showed me I shouldn't have. He ended up making it to the end zone but got tackled seconds before he could catch the football in the air.