Unintended Consequences

Chapter 16 - Archer's POV

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    "Look alive Johnson!" Coach barked at me from the sidelines. We had about an hour before our game began, so as usual, we were out on the field warming up. My teammates swarmed around me, running drills and passing balls around—but I couldn't focus.

    Looking up into the stands, I made eye contact with my father for the hundredth time since we took to the field. It's hard not to when he hasn't taken his eyes off of me since he sat down. With a grimace, I tried to focus on calling plays for the boys to practice. No matter how hard I blocked it out though, I felt like I was on a stage.

    This is why I hated it when my dad came to my games. He analyzed every play I called, every throw, every catch. No matter the outcome of the game, I knew he'd have a list of things I did wrong.

    High school had been a miserable time for me. Dad came to every game I played and never held back on his criticisms or his disregard for causing scenes. More than a few times, he stormed onto the sidelines to yell at me between plays—or came into the locker room at half time. Thankfully, since I came to play for USC, that all stopped.

    A small smile played on my lips as I thought about the first—and only—time Dad had tried to come to yell at me during half-time. Coach wasn't having any of it. I think his exact words were along the lines of telling Dad to pull his head out of his ass and walk his beer gut out of the stadium. Now, I only had to deal with Dad coming to a few games a season, but it still set my teeth on edge knowing he was watching me.

"Hey, Johnson! Your girlfriend's got eyes on you!" Tyler goaded me. Without looking up I knew he meant Charlotte. Ever since I brought her to the house, I hadn't heard the end of it. It probably didn't help that I also made her off-limits to the entire team.

Turning towards the stands again I saw that the crowd had gotten thicker. My mom sat next to my dad now, with Charlotte and her roommate on the other side. When Charlotte caught my eye she wiggled excitedly while smiling and giving me two thumbs up. God damn it, she's cute.

Nodding my head in acknowledgement I couldn't help but smile at her excitement. The smile dropped though when my eyes moved over to my mom and saw her smug face watching Charlotte and I.

I turned back towards my team to finish warming up and tried to ignore the stands from that point on. I knew what my mom was thinking. She'd mentioned how great Charlotte would be for me several times over the years. But we weren't together—we were just friends.

I don't know exactly what my plan had been going to Charlotte's room that night—but becoming friends with her wasn't it. I'd spent a month trying to shake her out of my mind and I just couldn't. I'd always been content in my own company. Sure I partied with my team, or spent the night with random girls. But besides that, I was happy just being on my own.

Then suddenly, after spending a day with Charlotte—I find myself missing her company. I craved her quiet voice and soft laugh. I wanted to see her roll her eyes and say something sassy—which was a side of her I didn't even know existed before. I even missed watching her dumb movies.

Soon, I was walking to the center of the field for the coin flip. James and Tyler flagged either side of me as we walked in perfect step—all with our heads high, and our faces devoid of emotion. With every step I took, I hardened myself to anything that could make me weak. This was war and I was expected to lead the troops.

Three-and-a-half hours later I was hopping in the shower while my teammates roared behind me in celebration. I'd celebrated too, hell, I'd even let James hug me after our game-winning touchdown. But the second we walked off the field, I remembered my dad in the stands and any happiness from the win seeped away.