The Player: Dark Enemies to Lovers Sports Romance

Chapter 12

“Why the fuck are you on the sidelines, Aaron?” my sister’s voice demands of me as I walk toward the locker room at halftime.

“Because I’ve fucked up, Kaylee.” My growl is low and menacing. “Coach thinks a bit of time out will get my head back in the game.”

“And where the fuck is your head at?”

To hear my sister swear at me reminds me of our mother. Kaylee has never been the volatile one, but here she is, acting like Father and Mother rolled into one.

“In the clouds. I’ve had a lot of shit going on. You’ve seen the press.” God, the fake ass stories are killing me. The latest one is that I’m dating a Brazilian model. It’s a joke to think I’d even allow the woman near me. Besides, where would I have met her? The college campus or getting a coffee at the local coffee shop?

“Yeah, I saw it. Aaron, about the ball…” Kaylee trails off, and I squint my eyes.

“What about it?” The back of my neck tingles as I recall all the things I did to Julie. Fuck, I should be doing those things right now. Instead, I’m now sitting in a room full of sweaty men, getting our asses chewed out because we are losing.

“You swear you never went?”

I told my sister I never went to the ball. That I wanted Julie to go and have fun. To spread her wings. Lying seems to have become second nature to me since I can’t seem to tell the truth. Not even to my sister.

“I swear, Kaylee. Why?”

“Well…” There’s shuffling going on, but Kaylee clears her throat. “Well, someone showed Julie a good time and he has her in knots.”

“Really? Isn’t that a good thing?” It is for me. Not so much for Julie. I’ve disappeared from her life both as Aaron and James.

“No. Julie is… Well, you know how she is. Once again, someone has left her abandoned. She already has self-esteem issues. This is making it worse.”

The guilt claws at me, making my body buzz with anger. I tamper it down and control my voice. “She’ll be fine. You told me Julie is coming home for Thanksgiving, and this will give you time to make her feel better. It will give her a focus for her emotions.”

Kaylee snorts. “You are such an asshole. Come home and see her. I think it would do you both good to get over this bullshit.”

“What’s with your language nowadays? Huh?” I try to chastise my twin, but I’m proud of her. She’s single-handedly made the bed and breakfast a success, and now she’s working on the farm.

“Considering I have to put up with your snot-nosed ass, Bryson, and Mom, I think I’ve earned my right to cuss like a sailor.”

Her tone is full of laughter, and it’s the one thing I love most about my sister. She knows when I’m teasing her and she can give as good as she gets. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t expect me home. I’ve got to take care of some things, and I’ve got the game right after the holidays. There’s no way I can miss it.”

Kaylee huffs, but she eventually tells me it’s fine that I’m not coming home. Hanging up, I listen to Coach rant. And rant some more. My mind goes back to the professor.

“Don’t, I’ll leave Ms. Bright alone. We can all go our separate ways.” The man who dared to try to hurt my Sugar Plum pleads with me as I strip him naked.

“Shut the fuck up, you piece of shit,” I growl at him and push him toward the desk.

I disabled all the cameras and security features of his lab so I could get in here; however, it’s only good for the next twenty minutes. The idea of not seeing Julie hurts me, but I’m here to take care of her problem.

“Please.”

I’m tired of hearing his bullshit. Ramming the stick I carved specifically for his ass deep into him, he howls.

“That’s right, you fucker. This is for the children I’ve found that you’ve been fucking around with. You sick bastard.”

Twisting his neck, I break it. The sickening thud of bones crunching force me to back off. Damn, I didn’t know I had this violent streak in me, but I’ve never explored it before.

Taking the machete I brought with me, I whack his head off and throw it into the bag. It’s my trophy until I can get his eyes out of their sockets. I’ll send them one by one to Julie as my way of saying she’s safe.

“Johannsen.”

Looking up, I see Coach and all the players looking at me. “Yeah, Coach?”

“You ready to go in, or what?”

He’s letting me in? Fuck yes. “Hell ya.”

Everyone hoots and hollers. “Keep your head in the game then, son. No matter what, this is your make-it-or-break-it game. You hear me?”

I know he’s trying to make sure I don’t screw up, but he could have done that without saying it in front of everyone.

“You got it, Coach.” I’m ready. Hell, I was born ready, but I’ve had my mind on other things. It’s time to let everything go for now.

“We are going to run the plays made specifically for Johannsen. Run them. Smooth this game out, dammit.”

Coach takes his hat off and bows his head before he leads us in our ritual prayer for the second half of all our games. It doesn’t bother me to pray, but it seems some of our teammates shift uneasily. Whatever.

The second half of the game goes by in a blur. I think about what I expected when I got put back in the game. My mind calms itself down, but it seems everything leads back to Julie.

I see the last sack coming a mile away. My first thought is to try and dodge it, but then if I do, I could end up hurt, or worse, we hit at the wrong angle and one of us dies. Taking a deep breath, I grunt as the impact washes over me.

“Should have stayed out of the game, bitch boy.” Number forty-one from the opposing team laughs in my ear as he helps me up, and I look at him.

“I’ll be damned. Jackson, you son of a bitch.” I slap him on the head and he smirks.

“Let’s get drinks tonight.”

“Fuck it, meet me at the bar. The one in your hotel,” I tell him. How the hell did I forget that Jackson went out for college football too? Shit, I really do need to stop and get my shit together.

Getting my bearings back to me, I walk into the huddle. “Alright y’all. We are down by seven. Let’s do one last trick play. They will never see it coming. Cummings, which one you want to catch today?”

He chuckles and goes into details about our Flea Flicker Trickster play and I nod. “You got it. Oh, and when we win, let’s all go to these little bitches hotel and ruin their solace. Shall we?”

My team gives me a sly look and they nod. I may be the bad boy by reputation with this team, but they always have my back. Now, if I can just get my head to be with the team for this last damn play.

* * *

We win,but my joy is short-lived when I look at my camera application and don’t see Julie in her dorm room. I scramble to switch over to her place of employment and when I don’t see her there either, the panic sets in.

Pulling the cameras from the parking lot of the dorm, I see her car there. Where is she? Where the fuck is she?

Sending a text to my sister; I know she will know what is going on.

Me

Do you know where Julie went?

The anticipation is killing me.

Twin

Um, bro, what do you mean?

She knows I watch her. Why is she acting stupid?

Me

Don’t play dumb. She’s not at her dorm.

Twin

Julie walked in on her professor. He was dead, she fainted and ended up in the hospital. I came down to take care of her since I’m her emergency contact.

That guts me. I knew Julie would find him, but I didn’t want her to feel any more pain. I want to be her goddamn emergency contact.

Me

Alright. Where is she now?

Twin

Dude, this is nuts. Just call her yourself and talk to her!

Me

You know I can’t. Tell me what I want to know, sis.

Twin

Asshole. I have her. We are going home, and she’s staying with me at the BB.

Me

Thank you. Take care of her.

I can relax a little knowing my sister has her. Instead of accessing the cameras, I put my phone in my pocket and count to ten. She’s safe. That’s all that matters.