The Bad Boys Game

Chapter 16- Reunion

After Marissa and I finished our dinner, we headed to the game. Nerves are sitting in the middle of my stomach. I haven't seen Atlas since we broke up.

Atlas was my best friend. He treated me like a queen. We were mutual friends in middle school but never really spoke to one another. But then in Freshman year, we met. Atlas, Zach and I were a team. We couldn't be separated.

Zach and Atlas were the only Freshman on Varsity football at our school. Atlas is an amazing football player and everyone knew it. I always cheered for him on the sidelines when I was a cheerleader.

As soon as I met Atlas, I liked him. He is gorgeous and every girl in school liked him. I pretended like I didn't like him because I knew he only liked me as a friend. This was also in the stage that Zach liked me as well.

Then in the summer leading into sophomore year, things changed. Atlas would come over to my house everyday. This wasn't irregular, but he usually brought Zach along. Now we would always hang out together alone and talk. Talk about our deepest thoughts and our pasts.

I poured my everything into him. He's knows every detail about me. He told me things that he would never tell anyone else. We both leaned on each other for everything.

At the beginning of sophomore year, we began dating. All I wanted was to be around Atlas. That's why my friend group dramatically decreased. I pushed others away and only spoke to very few people. Being away from the cheer girls made me realize how much I hated it.

Atlas also made me find my love for books. I've always loved books, but never like the way I did after Atlas. He would recommend me amazing books every week. He also showed me what it was like to be truly happy.

After I would talk to the cheer girls, Atlas would always tell me how I would act like night and day. How I always would act not like myself and let the girls always tell me what to do. He made me realize that I did whatever the girls asked me to.

He taught me how to be strong. Taught me how to stick up for myself and not take their crap. I became a better person who didn't put other's needs before their own. I was finally content with who I was.

Then he got recruited to play football at Westview, our rival school. The day after school let out that year Altas broke up with me. He said that we began to go into two separate directions. He wanted to venture out and do new thing. Not be tied down.

Atlas told me he loved me when we broke up and always will. He said that we were not going to work out at different schools and that we were ultimately moving our lives without each other.

I miss him. I miss him everyday. I love him. He made me happy and made me stronger. I began to not be a push over and learned to stick up for myself. I really wish I could just talk to him every once and a while.

He broke my heart when we broke up. I know his reason for leaving me was all a lie. I know he really just stopped liking me. I was too much for him.

He wouldn't understand my humor sometimes, I meant for it to be joking but he took it like I was serious. I always pushed him to not worry about football as much as he should about school. Made him start thinking about if he didn't get a scholarship, what his major would be, what school he would like to go to. Always made sure he was well taken care of and ate right. I guess in that way I cared too much, it bothered him. Always joked around saying I was acting like his mom, but I think he really meant it.

Now tonight, I will see him. I am praying that he doesn't acknowledge me. If he does, I know I will fall at his feet. Whatever he does, I know that I will forgive him. I love him too much.