Beyond The Lights

Chapter 4: Breaking Down

*The end of freshman year*

It's coming to the end of our first year. My lectures are getting shorter, my assignments are getting tougher and due sooner. Training has been harder and harder to get through because my whole body hurts from when Ollie would hurt me. I come home covered in bruises and scrapes. I can't tell you the amount of times my friends, family and Coaches nearly find out about what Ollie does to me. Just yesterday Coach Nathaniel nearly found out, it was super-hot, I was dehydrated and sweating hard but I refused to change into my t-shirt because I didn't want anyone finding out. It has become a bit of a routine, I go into the dark room and he beats me then he leaves. I wait 2-3 minutes and then I go to the bathroom and clean myself up. Then I leave as if nothing has happened. Next Friday is our final game and Ollie has been getting worse and I'm pretty sure it's because he's mad not playing in the game, and as the game is getting closer he's getting madder and madder, so I'm getting scared he's going to do something on the night.

*Friday- Game Day*

Today is the day of the final game, all of my assignments are submitted, finals are over, classes are finished so all the football players playing today don't have to go to class. I don't have to be at Athens until 3:30pm for pre-game training and warm ups. I have a lie-in until 11:30 am, then I get washed and put on black leggings, a black and white Adidas crop top, my Nike air force 1s and I head down to Starbucks and I grab a mocha frappuccino with coffee and a bagel with cream cheese and salmon. I take it to go and head back to the apartment to start packing up my things because we leave for summer vacation tomorrow so I have to pack basically everything. I start packing all my clothes leaving out an outfit for tonight just something comfy and an outfit for tomorrow for the drive but this time I'm driving cause Carter drove us here at the start of the year. Then I pack everything in my desk because I need everything in the bathroom for tomorrow. Once I'm finished packing everything on my half of the room I check the time and it's 2:45 which gives me 15 minutes to change into my training uniform and drive to Athens. After I'm finished getting changed I grab my keys and training bag, I run to my car and drive to Athens.

When I arrive I see some of my team mates that actually like me on the team and we all talk about the game and walk into the changing room and make our way on to the field with the rest of the team. I walk over to the boys and Carter and we stand together for the Coaches talk. "So guys, we're here, the last game of the year and for some of the seniors their last football game ever, so make this a good one lads family on three, ok , 1...2...3...FAMILY" we all scream and break up into our group positions. Ollie and I run over to Coach Nathaniel "Hey Ollie and Ry. Ry, you ready for the big game tonight, I bet you're excited for tonight right?" Coach asks. I can see Ollie rolling his eyes and getting really frustrated out of the corner of my eyes. "Yea I am I guess" I reply to Coach. He gives me a look. "I guess, what's wrong Evans?" he asks. "Yea what's wrong Evans?" Ollie asked testing me to see if I would break and tell coach. "Oh you know, worried about my grades in my finals plus Shaine, Holden and I have some family stuff going on at the moment so yea" I say looking down at the ground, "Well we'll always be here for you, me, Ollie, the rest of the team, we're a family and family doesn't give up on family" Coach Nathaniel says to me as he looks me in the eye. I turn around and look at Ollie with tears in my eyes and whisper, "You sure about that?" as one of my tears falls. I quickly wipe it away and get on with my work out and try my hardest to beat Ollie in all of our exercises.

By 5:00pm everyone is wrecked and starving after working up an appetite from the workouts. We all go inside and eat the catering they got us because it's the last game of the season. After dinner everyone chills out until 6:30pm when everyone goes to the changing rooms and gets changed into our game uniform we only wear for the games. 30 minutes later all the coaches and Holden come it to talk to us and to hype us up before the big game. "So guys and Rylee, we're here, the last game of the year and for some of the seniors their last football game ever, so make this a good one guys and Ry, family on three, ok , 1...2...3...FAMILY" we all screamed and ran down the hallway and smacked the big wall decal of the bulldogs mascot, then we ran onto the field through the banner and into positions to start the game.

*5 minutes before the end of the game*

"BLUE 42, BLUE 42, SET, HUT, HUT" I scream and I'm passed the ball and I see a gap in the other teams players and I run through it and right as I'm about to reach the end zone I'm tackled and everything goes black.

"Coach Evans, Rylee's just been attacked by Ollie and he won't stop hurting her and she's blacked out" Carson screamed running at me crying, "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" I yelled, "Rylee was about to make a touch-down and Ollie ran out and started attacking her and he won't stop hurting her, please you have to come help her?" Carson said crying. I quickly grabbed all the other coaches and we ran out on to the field and we saw Ollie kicking, punching and screaming at Rylee's lifeless body.

We ran over to her with the paramedics, all the Coaches got Ollie away from her and the paramedic checked for a pulse and yelled out "CODE BLUE, SHE'S A CODE BLUE WE NEED TO GET HER TO THE HOSPITAL" Rylee was given an oxygen mask lifted onto the paramedic cart where they started CPR and drove off. As I'm running after her Carter and Shaine come running up to me. "Holden, we want to come with you" Shaine asked. "No you're going to stay here and win this for her, go and make her proud" I told them. "Holden I'm coming with you, I'm her brother I have a right" he told me. "Yes you are her brother, but you're better off staying here and winning the game. You can come straight after the game is finished, just please stay here" I yell as they transfer her into the ambulance and I run to my car and follow the ambulance to the hospital.

"Shaine come on we need to get back and win this for her" Carter tells me running back to the field. I reluctantly follow him back to the field. We gather up all of the team and re assess the team and figure out a plan so that we can play without a quarterback because Ollie was taken away by the police right after Holden got him off of Rylee's body. We set up the new positions and the game restarts.

*End of the game*

*Buzzer goes off* "And the Kings Academy have won again after losing two team members" the commentator says over the speakers. The whole team celebrates for 10 minutes then we all grab the trophy and run to the changing room, grab our stuff, not even changing and we all race to our cars and drive to the hospital. All 20 players and 10 staff, we all make it there in 30 minutes.

I jump out of the car and run in the emergency door. I go over to the desk. "Where's Rylee Evans?" I ask the receptionist. "What relation are you to Ms Evans because I'm only allowed to give her information out to immediate family members?" she replies. "I'm her twin brother, so tell me where she is" I ask her again starting to get a little annoyed. "Oh ok, well she is still is surgery, but you are all welcome to have a seat in the waiting area as you all wait for her but she won't be out for a while I'd imagine" the receptionist tells me. I nod to her and tell the group her condition. I look over at the waiting room and see Holden with his head in his hands. I take a seat next to him and put my hand on his back. "It's not your fault Holden" I say to him. "Yes it is, I promised myself that I would protect you and Rylee after mom and dad couldn't come back home, and apparently she's been getting abused physically for a year by Ollie. I thought having you guys going to the same college as where I worked was a good idea actually wasn't such a good idea, I couldn't even protect her from one of her team mates, the team we're supposed to be a family and look what's happened" he says looking up at me. "She hid it very well from us, but you and I both know she would have told us if she could, so she was probably protecting us from him. So all we can do now is wait until she gets out and wakes up from surgery, ok" I told him and he just nodded. The rest of the team came in and sat around us and we waited for her to get out of surgery. Nearly everyone had to leave by midnight, but Carter, Carson, Sierra, Maddox, Holden and I all waited until she got out of surgery which was around 04:30am. She was then moved into her own private room and we were given a chair, pillow and blanket each and we all fell asleep but at 6:00am Holden got a text from the school saying Ollie got six weeks in jail with probation and is banned from ever entering the NFL.