18. Jordan
CHAPTER 18
JORDAN
L ucy’s timing is impeccable. I found her gift when I needed it most–right after a meeting with my coach that left me feeling unsettled.
I had arrived at the arena that morning to find my head coach waiting for me at the door. He said we needed to talk. Needless to say, my heart dropped and my mouth went dry.
I’ve seen this movie before.
The ending is all too familiar.
I sat in his office, rubbing my hands up and down my legs in an attempt to keep them dry. It didn’t work. He sat down in the seat behind the desk, took one look at me, and shook his head.
“Mitchell, you aren’t in trouble.”
The pit in my stomach shrank ever so slightly with that reassurance.
“No, nothing like that. You’ve been such a positive addition to this team, it’s hard to believe we were able to land you. The season we’re putting together is surpassing everyone’s projections. We owe a lot of it to you.”
I had to fight the urge to smile. Men take sports seriously, so oftentimes there’s not a lot of room for that kind of compliment. But his words mean more to me than just on-court praise. He’s helping me reframe how I fit into a team.
The labels I’ve received all my life have been overtly negative–toxic, team cancer, selfish. And even though I know that reputation was almost exclusively caused by the actions of my dad, it became hard not to internalize it.
Coach Daniels cracked a little smile as he watched me process his compliment. I coughed out a reply.
“Umm, thank you, sir. That really means a lot to me. More than you even know.”
He nodded solemnly. “I might have a little idea. I know your background, and I have some experience with what you’ve dealt with.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what he was referring to. Then he laid it all out for me.
“I’m fully aware that you’ve turned away some lucrative sponsorship deals since you’ve arrived in Maverick City. I’m also pretty sure I can guess why. You’re protecting yourself and you’re protecting your team. I commend you for that sacrifice.”
At this point, he leaned back and removed his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Mitchell, my father was a bully. I don’t need to get into the specifics, but once I turned eighteen, I was out of there. I met my beautiful wife and made my way in the world, vowing to be nothing like him. I want that for you. There’s greatness in you, but I see the strings holding you back.”
I just stared at him. I never knew much about my coach’s background–we’ve only known each other for a few months, after all. But now I recognize where his toughness and resilience come from.
He’s been battle tested.
Just like me.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the massive wooden desk .
“So, here’s the deal. Pierson Automotive reached out. They want to give you a lease on a new car. You and Lucy Townes.” There’s a twinkle in his eye. “I think you might know each other.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. “Yes, sir, we do.”
“They want to do some promos with you, but I gave them a caveat: it all has to be for local news. No social media. I figured that would be the best way to keep it relatively under the radar.”
I clenched my jaw. The second my dad catches wind of this, he will be on me to use my leverage to get him a new car. Or give him mine. Or start canvassing local businesses asking to do more promotions for way too much money.
Coach Daniels read my mind. “I don’t have to tell you how big the Pierson family is at this university. Keeping them happy is a top priority for administration. They asked for you and Lucy specifically. You can think about it, but it’s pretty much a done deal already. See you on the bus.”
I nodded and then headed for the door. He left me with one final tip.
“Hey, Mitchell. Townes is a good one. Reminds me of my spitfire of a wife. Don’t take a girl like that for granted.”
As embarrassing as it was to have my coach commenting on my love life, his words are pinging around in my head as the bus revs up and slowly pulls out of the arena parking lot. Lucy basically made him into a prophet with a 100% hit rate when I left his office and immediately found her present in my locker.
I’m anxious about her association with me, though. I don’t know what my dad will do if and when he finds out. I haven’t talked to him in so long, I don’t know how much he’s been drinking. He becomes bearable and even fun when it’s under control–even if he’s still constantly grubbing for money.
But when the drinking rears its ugly head, he’s relentlessly cruel and selfish. Memories flood back in of his various drunken tirades. The time he berated me after a seventh-grade basketball game because I missed a game-winning shot. Every game he got thrown out of–which was almost half of them.
This whole thought train is making me feel nauseated. I gaze out the window into the vast Nebraska cornfields. Deep breaths in and out. I love this place. Most people from back home couldn’t believe this is where I decided to come. Aside from the fact that it was one of the only schools that would even take me, I wanted a place that didn’t feel suffocating.
I can breathe here.
I can think.
I found Lucy here.
Ping.
Lucy:
So…new cars?
Me:
Yeah… how has it taken you this long to get one?
That makes no sense.
Lucy:
Think about it.
Me:
Sasha has that much pull ?
Lucy:
Yup. Pretty sure she’s technically employed there.
Me:
What changed?
Lucy:
You and me. Us appearing together. Apparently they
want to utilize the fact that we are dating. Sort of
capitalizing on a love story;)
Lucy:
Not that we’re in love!
Lucy:
Just a figure of speech
Lucy:
I’m going to shut up now
Me:
You’re adorable.
Me:
Are you okay with this? Us being so public?
Her response takes a little longer this time. The bubbles appear and disappear before finally, I receive a very short answer.
Lucy:
Yes. Are you?
Now it’s my turn to take a while to reply. Of course I’m okay doing this with her. I’m more than okay with it. Being around Lucy is like being around the sun. It makes me feel warm and potentially want to start removing clothes.
But I can’t open Pandora’s box. Once my dad knows that a new car is on the table, he will be like gum on my shoe–if gum was a life ruiner and not just a footwear ruiner.
Me:
You know what caused me to transfer. I can’t
risk that happening again.
Me:
And I definitely can’t risk ruining anything for
you.
Lucy:
I’m a big girl, remember? I can take care of
myself.
Me:
But there shouldn’t be anything to take care o f
in the first place.
Me:
Also, I want to take care of you.
I mean it. I want to spend every waking moment protecting this girl. And just being with her. Time with her makes me feel lighter. It seems like she feels the same way, considering how tightly she physically clings to me when we’re together. She always has one point of contact–a hand, her head, even a foot.
Most times there are multiple, and I’m not complaining for a second.
Behind the competitive beast, perfect student, and polished persona, there’s the sweet and adorable Lucy who rants about the integrity of movies staying true to books and how sad it is that Pluto lost its planet status. There’s also the vulnerable Lucy who cries when she randomly experiences a wave of grief over missing her dad or when watching commercials about grandparents getting their house ready for the holidays.
Speaking of the holidays, they’re looming ever closer, and I can only hold Lucy off for so long. I can’t afford to fly home for the two days we have off from workouts, and even though spending Christmas alone is the norm for me, Lucy won’t stand for it.
She lives an hour away from Maverick City, in East Platte. Apparently her mom is insisting I come back and celebrate Christmas with the two of them and Lucy’s grandparents. It feels like a lot, very soon. And I’m not exactly the boy next door.
I’m the problem next door.
I’m the guy dads tell their daughters to steer clear of .
There’s a reason I’ve never celebrated a holiday like this. For me, Christmas was always just the time of year when it got cold and other people talked about everything Santa got them. They decorated and went on vacations and had big family gatherings.
My mom usually worked on Christmas because she made more money on holidays, and my dad would pass out drunk at home or at a bar down the street. I would usually watch basketball all day and then my mom and I would watch a Christmas movie when she got home. Our favorites were It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone . I probably related to that one a little too much.
Usually we had a little tree that she and I decorated with homemade ornaments. We’d string popcorn and hang candy canes, and my favorite Christmases were the ones when my dad joined in. That stopped a long time ago.
Lucy has a family that loves being together, and I’ve heard many stories of cherished memories from Christmases with her dad. Even now, her dad’s parents come to celebrate with her and her mom, as well as her mom’s parents. I visualize it looking like every happy ending in every legendary holiday movie.
I’ve accepted that I won’t ever have that.
It feels like something I don’t fit into. A perfect picture that I would be ruining.
Although I have to admit, Lucy is starting to convince me otherwise.