Anthony
ANTHONY
“THE FUCK IS this?”
I was looking at the paper reading it repeatedly, trying to understand what it meant.
The bitterness over my stupidity rose again but I was trying to tamp it down.
There had been plenty of nights that I was furious over the shit that happened right after I got kicked out of school.
The way players were getting paid now was nothing compared to what I’d done.
Only difference was seven months. Seven fucking months between my getting kicked out and when NIL deals were made official.
Now it was legal for college kids to have agents, get payouts for likenesses and get paid to play.
The transfer portal was more lucrative than the NFL draft for some of the more popular players.
Basically, it should’ve been this way the entire time.
Schools had been using kids as slaves for the game for years and were finally being treated with the respect that they deserved.
The entire system fed on poverty, hell, everything in this country did.
They wanted people to give their all in order to make it, while making the system rich, and then would discard them the second they needed help.
Countless numbers of former athletes had gotten injured with no form of compensation for the money their bodies had made their respective schools.
The situation was tragic because they were normally only encouraged to be one thing their whole life — an athlete; they didn’t normally have other skills to fall back on.
And it led to a lot of negative behavior.
I knew how it felt firsthand, and I had to learn to swallow my pride in order to keep myself together.
I was one of the lucky ones. I didn’t come from money, but my brother had been hardworking and talented enough to be one of the few who made it to college on a full ride.
He ensured that we no longer struggled. My brother was getting Pell grants and sending the money home to us and being disciplined enough to budget while in school.
People loved him so they always looked out and our Uncle Silas made sure he didn’t go without.
Silas sent me to the same school that ‘Twan had gone to and tried to keep me on the straight path. But I was too busy trying to get my parents’ attention and prove that I could be a star as well.
And look where it got me.
“What you got?”
Rye was looking at me curiously and I guess I’d spoken what I thought out loud.
“Something from an attorney or agency or ‘sum.”
I was sitting in the kitchen of the home she shared with my brother.
As we usually did, we were gathering for a meal before the start of the week.
Sunday dinner during the season was a big deal and Rye and Antwan kept the tradition going even through the off season.
Grams was normally the one on the stove but sometimes ‘Twan and I would get in the pots and bring the flavor of home to the house.
Rye tapped my shoulder and wriggled her fingers for me to hand her the paper and I laughed and did it.
Rye was damn near five foot nothing but that personality made her a giant.
The way she saw my brother and loved him down would make sure she always got my respect.
Her giving birth to the next generation of our family just launched her into a different stratosphere of love.
She wanted what was best for my brother even before they were together.
She handled his money and protected him in a way that no other woman had done.
I understood how deeply that affected him, which is why his love for her was endless.
I was silent as I watched her dark brown eyes scan the paper briefly and she folded it back up and handed it to me. “Oh, you need to go see Billy.” She rested her hip against the countertop like that was the end.
I folded the paper up while shaking my head and tucked the paper in the pocket of my basketball shorts.
“I’m not about to bother that lady—”
Rye gave me that look like she would fuck me up. Which was crazy since she was the shortest person in the house next to my niece. “You not gone bother her but she’ll cuss you out if you say that to her face. At least call her up and ask her what it means.”
She spoke her piece and went to moving around in the kitchen like what she said was law. It was, but I damn sure ain’t want to give in that easily.
I hesitated and she gave me a look that said she wasn’t about to take no for an answer so I just gave her a nod.
“I’ll do it.”
There was no way I could tell her that her best friend scared the shit out of me. Not physically, but the lady was powerful. And I hadn’t been the most respectful to her when we first met. I’d been around her since then but I still felt fucked up about my behavior.
Rye folded her arms over the turquoise cropped sweatshirt she was wearing over matching lounge pants. “Oh, you ain’t have a choice.”
“Rye, why are you bothering my friend like that? Let him live.” Grams came walking in the kitchen from her room on the first floor with a smile on her face and gave me a hug.
“Hey, Grams.”
This lady’s hugs were like a warm blanket on a freezing day. And she was probably the coolest old lady I’d ever met. And that was saying a lot given where I was from.
“You staying for dinner, right?”
I nodded because I knew she was gone get into them pots and make some magic happen. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. Gone call Billy now before it’s finished. You have plenty of time.”
I looked between the two of them and saw the sly smile on Rye’s face. “I hope you didn’t think she was going to get you off the hook? That lady is even bossier than I am. She’s just nicer about it.”
Grams grinned and kissed Rye on her head before she gave me a wink. I wasn’t about to fight the two of them so I just stood up to follow orders.
“I hear y’all. I’ll go call her.”
I walked out of the room and headed outside toward the pool house.
The hesitation of reaching out to Billy was something I’d battled within myself.
When she met me, I was an arrogant kid who listened to whatever my mother said.
I was full of myself especially because of the name I was making separate from my brother, and I approached her in a completely fucked up way.
My brother and her husband had no problems setting me straight, but I hated that she’d seen me in that light.
Hell, I hated that I’d represented myself that way.
So much about me then had been ego driven and I was always worried that her lasting impression on me would be that kid instead of the man I was turning into.
Since I had her number I dialed it up not thinking she was going to answer since it was the weekend.
But leave it to her to be unconventional.
“Hey, Anthony.”
Her voice was always striking even when you’d heard it before. It was southern and island drawls mixed with a no-nonsense intelligence that left many people bewildered after she’d bowled them over. It was the audible version of a velvet glove over an iron fist. Bejeweled brass knuckles personified.
I cleared my throat because I’d been prepared to talk to the machine not to an actual person. Especially not one that had seen me at my worst and might still judge me for the person I used to be.
“Hey, Billy, uh, I had a quick legal question. Is there a way I can pay your hourly rate to—”
“Anthony, I will walk my ass over there to slap you if you keep on. And then have Jacoby finish you. Pay me like we’re not family. Tell me what you need.” Her accent got deeper as she was fussing at me like it always did when she got animated.
I had to laugh off what she said but I did it quietly because I knew she meant everything she’d said. “I got this letter in the mail.”
“Who is it from? Are they trying to offer you compensation and have they reached out yet verbally?” She started firing off questions and I put my hand on the letter again because it was crazy how she knew what was going on.
“Hold up, how you know they trying to offer me money?”
“Damn, you really have put that shit behind you haven’t you?” She didn’t have to elaborate on what she was talking about but I had to let her know I had.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” I stood up a little taller because I felt proud knowing the truth in my words.
“Frankly, I thought they would’ve reached out to you sooner than this but I bet they couldn’t find your current address. You got it at Antwan’s house?” She was asking questions again without answering mine but I hoped she would get on to what was up.
“Yeah, how in the world did you know that?”
“Because of the money that’s involved.” Cryptic again but now she had me interested.
“What money?” My brows shot up because I wasn’t sure what the hell she was talking about.
“The settlements for people who played shortly before the NIL was implemented. You haven’t heard about it?”
“Nah.”
To be honest, I kept my head down and focused only on shit I could control.
College football still left a bitter taste in my mouth so I tried my best to avoid it.
I’d learned from living with my uncle that I had to learn to manage my triggers.
And constantly watching people do what I used to but no longer could was a huge trigger for me.
I’d kept my watching to only my brother’s games because my love for him could override anything.
When I got onto the practice squad it was slightly easier for me to train my mind to look at watching the sport as being a part of my job.
I never faulted anyone else for being able to get the money they did, but I wished I had been smart enough not to fall for the bullshit.
“Yeah, they’re looking for kids for the first four years before it was implemented. They’re going to cut a check for y’all and plenty of people are trying to buy your settlements for pennies on the dollar.”