Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
As much as the league wanted to push a rivalry with Nico’s former coach, it was Tony Rodgers who was Nico’s actual arch-nemesis.
The man was a six and a half foot giant, weighing in at two hundred and way too fucking much.
Every time the defensive end sacked Nico, the wind was knocked out of him and he had visions of his long gone mama.
The Cobras huddled behind the line of scrimmage as Nico barked orders to his team.
On third and nine, they needed enough time and protection to be able to get the ball out.
That meant pulling the tight end back and using him as an extra blocker.
Once the plan was set into motion, Nico lined up behind the center.
It was like he was lining up behind the barrel of a Rodger-shaped gun.
The man’s dark hazel eyes bore through the opening in his helmet, haunting Nico.
The ball snapped into Nico’s hand, and he immediately traversed backwards.
His first read was double covered. His second wasn’t in position yet, and just as he was about to dump the ball off to Romeo Bourne, he landed with a thud on the turf, the weight of the two-hundredy and way too fucking heavy Rodgers pinning him to the ground.
Despite taking four sacks from Denver—three of them at the hands of fucking Rodgers—the Cobras beat Denver on their own turf. As was customary, the two teams lined up to shake the hands of the opponents.
The two teams weren’t division rivals, so the process went smoothly enough, until Nico reached out his hand to begrudgingly shake Rodgers’. The other man hawked a loogie and spit, a wet glob landing on Nico’s lip.
Nico threw the first and only punch, as both men were dragged away from the scene of spit-gate by their teammates.
october 2022 - denver
Cooper spent three weeks plotting, and as he marched across the turf it never dawned on him that this was an insanely bad idea. It wasn’t often that a player crossed the field to the opposing teams bench but it also wasn’t unheard of. Polite pleasantries and all that.
He waved at the head coach for Denver, a man he respected as he had been Cooper’s coach back in college.
He smiled at Priscilla Rapport who was busy interviewing Jason Gardner, the up-and-coming quarterback for Denver.
He even smiled at the cameramen who were still rolling even though they were in the midst of a commercial break.
The last person he smiled at never saw the swing coming.
Cooper landed a quick, but overtly planned, punch right on Tony Rodgers mouth.
Ejected from the game, Cooper packed his shit in the locker room and got a ride back to the hotel the team was staying at.
While he showered, he replayed the moment in his head over and over again, and every time he viewed the footage in his mind, his emotions swung from one end to the other.
From intense gratification to shame. From confusion about how he let his emotions get the better of him, and then back to gratification.
He bowed his head against the tile and let the water rain down on the back of his head, a waterfall cascading around his face and landing like thunderous pellets on the bottom of the shower.
After showering, he put on a pair of sweats, sat down on the edge of the bed, and turned on the game. Denver led the Cobras by fourteen and the two-minute warning was fast approaching. His emotions swung back to shame, knowing he’d let his team down.
He reached for his phone and was inundated with endless notifications.
MOM
Call me immediately.
MOM
It’s important.
TOMMY
As a fan of entertainment, I loved it!
STASSI
Are you okay?
TOMMY
As a lifelong hater of Denver, man, that was awesome.
MOM
What has gotten into you?
TOMMY
As your fucking manager, have you lost your goddamn fucking mind?
TOMMY
Your guaranteed money is no longer guaranteed and forget about your bonuses. Which hey, you do you. But you’re fucking with my money.
MATTEO
Dude WTF…
NICO
I know we’re still mad at each other, but that was kinda hot.
NICO
Let it be known that the only man I’d ever let spit in my mouth is you. That man violated me and I appreciate you defending my honor.
NICO
Okay, we can go back to ignoring each other now.
TOMMY
The broadcast said you went back to the hotel, so I know you’re not busy. So stop jerking off and answer the FUCKING PHONE.
Cooper hashed out quick responses to each of them.
COOPER (to Tommy)
Go fuck yourself.
COOPER (to Mom)
Service is bad in the mountains.
COOPER (to Stassi)
I’m sorry.
COOPER (to Nico)
New phone. Who is this?
The pounding on the hotel door was a welcome distraction. Cooper tossed the phone onto the bed, pulled a shirt over his head, and answered the door.
It was Matteo Reyes, dressed in athletic gear. He was on the final stretch of a stint on injured reserve after suffering a shoulder dislocation in training camp.
“Not who I was expecting,” Cooper said, gesturing for his teammate to come in. “I thought you were Coach White coming to rip me a new asshole.”
Matteo closed the door behind him. “You were always his favorite, so I think you’re relatively safe from having your asshole ripped open. It doesn’t mean he’s happy with you, but he’s also trying to win a game that you threw us to the wolves for.”
Honestly, Cooper would have preferred if White screamed at him the way he screamed at everyone else.
Cooper was born in a golden cage, was always the coach’s favorite, and his privilege in life was well documented.
Being so goddamn special contributed to his loneliness.
When you’re told, from a very young age, that you’re the most special person in the world, it puts you on a pedestal.
It’s not a real pedestal, but a figurative one.
Standing so high above everyone else means you can never look them in the eyes. Can never get to know them, not really.
“What the fuck are you doing, Coop?” Matteo questioned, a tenor of concern in his voice mixed with something else. Anger? Disappointment?
It was all the same.
“The guy’s an asshole,” Cooper pointed out, as if that was an excuse.
“Yeah, maybe he is. But you have a lot more to lose than some random guy on the streets lobbing a fist at someone.” Matteo shook his head. “The game didn’t even begin and now we have fucking Anderson out there throwing interceptions. We needed this win and you threw it away.”
“And you thought you’d come in here and set me straight? “
“As your friend, I was hoping you’d listen to me. As your teammate, I expect you to.”
Cooper nodded, bit his lip, and knew better than to throw up a wall. But he did it anyway. “We’re not friends, Reyes.”
“This is what I’m talking about,” Matteo scowled. “Whatever you’re angry about? Go have a few drinks and get it out of your system like everyone else.”
“I got it out of my system,” Cooper said through a thinly-veiled smile. He opened the door and gestured that it was time for his teammate to leave. “Thanks for your concern, though. Always appreciated.”
But Matteo remained fixed, standing beside the bed with no intention of moving.
Cooper waved his hand towards the open door again.
Matteo exhaled, closed his eyes, and his throat tensed.
“Are you going to throw up?” Cooper questioned, only half-serious.
Matteo’s eyes flashed open, and then…
“I know about Luke,” he whispered.
Time stopped, or seemed to. A gust of wind blew past Cooper, but he reckoned he was only imagining it. His heart raced and slowed at the same time, but all he knew was that his breath was ripped from him and his heart pounded against his chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’ve never told anyone and I’m not going to tell anyone.”
Cooper pushed the door gently to a close, and held his head against it as Matteo continued, “I get it, though. This horrible thing happened to you and you have to live with that alone. It makes you angry at the world, but it’s not going to get better on its own.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cooper said, gravel in his throat.
“Tell me I’m wrong and I’m wrong,” Matteo pleaded, but how was any of this his business?
Cooper turned to Matteo, and locked eyes with him. A stillness fell over Cooper. A quiet followed like the entire world went silent except for the commentator on the TV attributing the defeat to the actions of the Cobras quarterback, to the rage-fueled attack on the opponents team.
And Cooper was angry.
At the world who didn’t know.
At his mother’s machinations.
At Stassi for letting him live in the comfort of this fucking cage they built together.
At the sport he loved that wouldn’t love him back if it knew the truth.
At Luke for making him stop the fucking car in the middle of the road, for leaving him to do this on his own.
At Nico for reminding him of what he lost on that road.
Not the man, but the feeling.
Currently, he was the most mad at Matteo for daring to utter the words he spent an entire lifetime trying to bury.
“Tell me it’s none of my business, and then it’s none of my business.
” Matteo’s words cut through the silence.
“But as your friend, as your teammate, as someone who looks up to you, I want you to get better.” Matteo placed a gentle hand on Cooper’s shoulder before shuffling past him, towards the door Cooper wished he would have exited without saying a word.
“And maybe that means talking to someone professional. Maybe it means talking to a friend.”
Cooper couldn’t face Matteo, but before the man left, he just needed an answer to one question. “How did you find out about Luke?”
It took entirely too long for Matteo to answer. “You just told me.”
Cooper twisted on his feet, realizing he had been played. What should have felt like anger felt more like comfort, more like not feeling so fucking alone. “I didn’t say shit.”
Matteo nodded. “You didn’t say shit.”
“And you’re not going to say shit?”
Matteo nodded. “Not a word.”
“Thank you.”