More Than A Game

Chapter 10

I immediately tossed my bag onto the ground as I made my way inside the living room. Flooded with euphoria, I turned the radio on and pushed it towards full blast as Happy Little Pill began playing. I slouched down against the couch lazily, still beaming as I thought about my kiss with Chad this afternoon.

There was something different about our kiss and I didn't know whether it had anything to do with the fact that we were more public about it this time but I knew, we both felt the same way about each other which eased me inside. I was suddenly distracted by the text message notification ringing loudly. I turned off the radio completely.

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't know about how I would feel about this? -Jessica.

I stared at my phone screen in confusion. Was this another one of those stupid jumpscare pranks? Hesitant, I opened the link up to find a instagram post of Chad and another girl kissing captioned 'he cannot be serious?" I felt my heart drop once I realized that the girl was actually me, feeling rather annoyed. What did they mean by that caption? Thinking about ignoring the photo, I scrolled through the comments. A twinge of bitterness ran through me as I stared at the hate filled section.

I'm speechless. How'd you find this? - Carmen.

It somehow made it on the popular page and before you say anything, I know about the comments. Gosh, people can be so rude! - Jessica.

Words of hatred rambled through my mind. I know I shouldn't care about what they say, but there was a part of me that felt violated. There was no way I wanted Chad involved, he's probably got enough on his plate and I honestly didn't even know if he knows about it. That's when I remembered, Ollie Wines. He should know what I should do, he's probably got some backlash on social media at one stage. I dialed Ollie's number. Crap, straight to voicemail. I dialed once again and to my surprise he picked up. On the otherside of the line, a sleepy voice was mumbling in my ears.

"Huhm hello?"

"Ollie? This is Carmen."

"Oh hey Carmen, what's up?"

"I don't know if this is a good time or not but I really need to speak with you."

"Did something happen?"

"Can I speak with you in person?" It was at this point, I hoped I was doing the right thing in not involving Chad in the first place.

*

*

*

I knocked against the orange door of the flat. Taking a quick sigh, I watched the door open as I found myself facing towards a sleepy looking Ollie, who probably was taking a nap. He gestured for me to come in, looking rather worried. Maybe I should have just ignored it in the first place, I didn't want to bother Ollie but now, there was no turning back. We both sat on the couch, as I opened up the link Jessica sent from the text message earlier. I pushed the phone towards his face, looking down towards the ground.

Ollie grasped the phone from me and appeared to be looking through the comments. Great, I could feel my throat becoming dry as the seconds passed by. Ollie looked up before placing my phone on a table and moved closer towards me.

"Oh Carmen, gosh, I'm so sorry. When... When did it start." Ollie asked curiously, I could see him shuffling awkwardly in his seat.

"I only found this post today but who knows what's going to happen in next couple of days or even hours." I forced myself to keep my head down. I was on the verge of tears and didn't want Ollie to see me in that way.

"As much as I find football fans to be great and supportive, there are some times I find a couple of them to be such assholes." Ollie mumbled. I soon looked up and could feel my eyes starting to burn, letting out a muffled sob as the harsh speeches of hatred rushed through my mind.

"That photo that was taken. It was you and Chad, wasn't it?" I nodded to show I was trying to keep calm about my situation. Within an instant, I could feel Ollie wrap his arms around me. I didn't know how I was meant to be feeling at the moment. I leant my head down and sobbed onto his arm.

"Shh. It's alright Carmen. I understand how it feels to have people ganging up on you for trying to live your life." I don't know how long we hugged, but it sure did feel nice even though I couldn't even tell what nice meant anymore.

Ollie and myself walked out the door and began taking a walk down the street. I was hoping the walk would distract myself from the comments. Finally, I felt drier and my tears had died down when all of a sudden I heard a vibration coming from my pocket. I opened my phone to find myself being spammed with a heap of mentions on twitter all asking about that photo and my relationship with Chad. How'd they even find my twitter, it would be only a matter of time until they find out other bits of information about myself?

"Hey Carmen, I know this is a difficult time for you but you should really find a way to distract yourself from it. I don't know if I should bring this up, but a mate of mine Jackson is having his 21st birthday soon and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me. I understand if you say no."

"Actually, I wouldn't mind going. You had a point back at the house. It shouldn't matter what anyone else says, I should be able to live my life instead of trying to impress other fans." I forced a smile, trying to stay quiet about the mentions I've recieved on twitter. If I keep ignoring them, the less they're going to keep at the targeting, right?

"You want to come with me? Oh that's great but urh... is Chad going to say something, I mean you two you know?"

"Of course I want to come with you. You know I'm excited to meet new people and no, Chad won't say anything, it's not like its a date or anything. We're just friends right?"

"Obviously friends." Ollie added with a playful wink. A party was the perfect way to forget about the hateful people online. But I was still unsure how I was going to cope with all the attention so far. I already had my follower count at 6200, a massive jump in less than a day as well as this attention I was receiving that I wasn't quite used to.

After we decided our walk was over and made it back to Ollie's house, I gave one last hug to thank him for being there when I had no one else to turn to. I knew there was something up with Ollie when he asked about Chad but I decided to go against my intentions, it might have been just some rivalry they might have had at Port Adelaide FC.

Spending a couple of moments sitting in my car, I watched Ollie as he made his way into the apartment. I pulled out my phone and texted Ollie.

Thank you Ollie for this afternoon. I don't know what I'd do without you x - Carmen.

I saved the message to my drafts, expecting to text him later as I drove off home. By the time I arrived home, it was evening yet somehow I felt tired. I took off my clothes and slipped into a more comfortable t-shirt and sweat pants before sending the tweet from ealier before. He quickly sent a reply back.

If you ever need anything, please don't be scared to ask. Hope your still up for the party. Don't let the haters get to you :) - Ollie.

I read the message several times over, smiling to myself. I reread the message once again before falling closing my eyes to the sound of crickets singing above silence.