Chapter 53
CHAPTER
FIFTY-THREE
HOLDEN
I clenched my jaw, grinding my teeth as I stared at the Royals sideline. My father gloated, and I seethed. Seeing him at the parade had shocked me, but I’d pushed it aside. But finding out he was part of the Royals coaching team had thrown me off my game.
I hated how easily he got into my head, and the first half had been a disaster of epic proportions. If I didn’t pull my head out of my ass, the second half would be the same.
Shifting my gaze from him to the middle of the field, I watched the court nominees. I wanted this part over so we could get back to the game. The fourth couple reached their spot, and I looked around for Emerson. She hadn’t emerged from the tunnel yet. She’d planned to change into a dress so she wouldn’t stand out among the other girls. I didn’t understand it, but I wasn’t a girl. Plus, she’d looked banging in her outfit for the halftime show. Watching her dance and owning the field had given me a boost. She’d told every hater she didn’t care how much they talked. I could use some of that advice myself .
“Our last nominee for Homecoming King is our Hayward football captain, senior Holden Adler.”
The crowd cheered, and I headed out to my spot. I didn’t look at the crowd too closely, worried I’d see disappointment on their faces. I kept my gaze forward, replaying football play calls in my head.
Just get through this charade, and then you can return to the game.
“And our last nominee for Homecoming Queen is a Wolfette and new to Hayward, junior Emerson Adams.”
I glanced around, searching for Emerson, but she was nowhere to be found. Shit. We thought she’d be safe during the game. I hadn’t thought about him being able to get to her. Worry swirled in my gut, and I turned to run off the field to find her when she emerged. I froze, one foot lifted in the air as she walked out onto the field with her head held high.
The crowd went silent as everyone took her in. The cameraman zoomed in on her, broadcasting her onto the jumbotron for everyone to witness.
She still wore the black tights and shorts from her halftime performance but had removed the tuxedo top and undershirt. Her bra was nude, blending in with her skin and giving the perception she was topless. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the most shocking thing about her look.
It was the words scrawled on her visible skin in black that had everyone gaping.
I dropped my foot and tried to ignore the guys catcalling and whistling at her. When she approached, I took her hand, needing to touch her. She kept her gaze forward, her chin up, portraying to the crowd her strength. But her hand shook in mine, so I squeezed it to remind her she wasn’t alone.
“Breathe, baby. You’re amazing.”
Her eyes flicked over to me, and her shoulders dropped an inch. She did as I said and took a deep breath. I hated seeing the slurs written on one side, but I trusted she was making some kind of point.
The emcee cleared his throat, regaining his composure, as he continued with the stupid tradition of crowning people based on popularity. However, this year had become more than that. The girls at this school had made it about self-worth. Which was dumb because my girl was worth more than any of them.
But Emerson hadn’t signed up to be the face of the cause, her own insecurities making her doubt her reach. That was the thing about Emerson. Once you met her, you knew she was special. I didn’t know if that was what intimidated other girls or not, but the students on campus who didn’t fall into the popularity crowds had found a champion in my girlfriend.
“Our Homecoming King and three-time winner is Holden Adler.”
I kissed Emerson, shocking her again, before I walked to the center where the emcee stood with a fake crown. The other guys clapped as I passed, patting me on the back of my pads. That was the thing about most guys; we didn’t hold this kind of thing as having value, so we wouldn’t beat each other up.
No, we reserved that for the field.
My gaze swung to Kincaid at the thought, and I regretted it the second I spotted him talking to my father. I focused back on the field, looking at Emerson as she stood alone.
“And our Homecoming Queen, by a landslide: Emerson Adams.”
The crowd roared, students standing up with their signs as they shouted their happiness. “Mer for Queen.” “Mer’s one of us.” “Emerson is Hayward.”
Emerson jerked at the sound, her body tight as she stood still, staring at the crowd. Smiling wide, I ran over to her, picked her up, and spun her around. She wrapped her legs around my waist, and I carried her back to the fifty-yard line.
“You won, Wildcat.”
“I… I didn’t think I would. I just wanted to show those Zetas they didn’t scare me.”
“Is that why?” I asked, motioning with my eyes to her chest. I gritted my teeth at her cleavage.
“They took my dress and left me a cow costume. I decided not to let them win. I wasn’t going to run away or wear what they wanted.”
“So fucking brave, baby.” I kissed her and set her down on the field. The queen from last year placed a crown on her head, dropped a sash over her head, and handed her a bouquet of roses. She stiffened at the sight of them, so I took them and gave them to the girl the emcee said was runner-up. Emerson relaxed once they were out of her sight.
“Congrats, Emerson. I have to say that you’ve made this year’s race exciting. There’s been so much support for you. Why do you think that is since you’re new to campus?” the emcee asked, thrusting the mic at her. I growled, but he ignored me.
Emerson looked alarmed, but didn’t back down. “My first day at Hayward, I was the victim of bullying. It wasn’t the first time. I was bullied all through high school, and I decided I was tired of letting other people tell me how to feel about myself. I wrote an article, and I guess people identified with it.” She shrugged.
“I’d say so, considering this year’s vote was the largest turnout in ten years. You made quite a stir when you exited the tunnel. What was your reasoning for going against the grain and not wearing a dress?”
“That choice was taken from me, actually. Someone replaced my dress with a cow costume. It almost made me want to quit, to run away and hide. But then I remembered my fellow Wolfettes, who had risked dancing something different to support me. I remembered Lydia from my Anthropology class, who told me how nice it was to see someone like her on the ballot. Countless others have taken the time this week to tell me how much my running meant to them. So I knew I couldn’t let all these people down, nor would I let the bullies win.” The crowd clapped, standing as Emerson took a breath. She pointed to her body. “These words, they’re things people have said to me.”
“They’re not very nice things,” the emcee said.
“No. They’re not.” She lifted her other hand and displayed a sponge. She swiped at the words, ‘fat ass, cow, dumb bitch, ugly, whore, slutbag, worthless,’ and smeared them away. “These cruel words don’t define me. They don’t define any of us. I had to take a lot of hard steps to learn that. Hopefully, no one else will have to.”
“Powerful message. Congrats to our Homecoming court! Now, let’s get back to the game. Our Wolves have some Royal ass to pummel.”
The court walked off the field as the football teams took it to warm up. The two girls who hadn’t been disqualified stopped to tell Emerson how much they admired her. My team beckoned me to join them, but I needed to tell my girlfriend something first.
“Do you know how tempted I am to drop down to one knee and propose right here?”
“Shut up.”
“I’m not joking, Wildcat. In fact, when I win this game, I’m doing just that.” I kissed her hard, handed her my crown, and jogged to my teammates. Colter handed me a squirt bottle, and we both bent to warm up our muscles.
He motioned to Emerson when we stood. “What did you say?”
I glanced back at our girlfriend, who was still frozen on the field. She snapped out of her daze when a Wolfette ushered her off, and they headed down the tunnel. Hopefully, to change. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate if she stood half-naked on the sideline.
Turning back to Colter, I smirked. “I told her I’d propose when I won this game.”
Colter snorted and shook his head. “Cocky asshole.”
“What? You don’t think I will?”
“No. I believe that. But you need to win the game first.” He leveled me with a look, the challenge clear.
“Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be?”
“Yep. If you win by only one possession, I get to ask her.”
“And if we win by more than one?”
“I’ll get the whole team to help.”
“Deal.”
We smiled, shaking hands as we finished warmups. Colter didn’t need to since he wasn’t playing, but I appreciated he’d joined me, keeping our routine the same. I threw a few passes and then trotted off the field. A manager handed me my helmet, and I held it under my arm as the last few seconds of halftime counted down. The Wolfettes returned to their spots, dressed back in their school uniforms. I smirked at Emerson as she passed, her face bright red, only encouraging me more.
With my head in the game, I kept my gaze off the Royals sideline. I wouldn’t let my father steal anything else from me.
In the third quarter, I threw a sweet pass to LeBlanc for a forty-yard touchdown, giving us the lead 13-10. The Royals made a run for the end-zone at the end of the third, but our defense held them. Midway through the fourth, my nerves that we wouldn’t score again got the better of me, and I overthrew a pass that was intercepted. Thankfully, Matheny took the Royals down. Still, Kincaid marched them down the field, and they managed another field goal, tying the game.
The ref blew the whistle for the two-minute warning, and everyone huddled around me. I relayed the calls, and we lined up, ready to end this game with a score. But it didn’t happen. We ran the ball, and they stopped us. I threw the ball, and they blocked it. We’d only made it thirty yards down the field and were on our last down with under a minute left on the clock.
It was now or never.
Coach called a sixty-six-slot seam in my ear, and I conveyed it to the guys. We were all sweaty, covered in dirt, and exhausted. I dug deep for something to say, but nothing came to me. I glanced over, spotting Emerson, and my heart stilled.
God, she was so beautiful.
“I’m trying to think of something inspiring, but I’m tapped out. But I told my girlfriend I’d propose if we won this game, and Colter challenged if we didn’t win by more than one possession, he got to do the honors. But if we lose, neither of us gets to do it.”
“No shit?”
I grunted.
“Well, all right, boys. We gotta win this for Cap,” LeBlanc said.
Laughing, we lined up, staring across at the Royals’ defense. Centering myself, I called out the cadence. “Blue 42. Blue 42. Hut.”
The ball was snapped, and I stepped back, handing it off to our running back as the defense surged. Taking the opportunity, I jutted to the side, confusing the defense as Tripp threw it back to me, and I lined up with LeBlanc, who’d made it downfield.
Focusing on his position, I snapped my arm forward and threw the ball as the Royals defensive back tackled me to the ground. I got hit hard, my head rattling in the helmet, but I didn’t focus on the pain. My vision blurred for a second, but I kept my eyes on the end-zone as the ball landed in LeBlanc’s hands.
Touchdown !
The stands erupted, and my teammates pulled me from the turf as they jumped and slapped me. Happiness filled me, but it wasn’t over yet. Coach called for a two-point conversion, wanting to ensure they weren’t able to score in the last seconds of the game.
We lined up, the ball was snapped, and I handed it off to Evans. He leaped through the air over bodies, his arm reaching out and breaking the plane.
“Two-point conversion is good!” the announcer shouted.
Feeling smug, I strutted off the field to stand by Colter. He shook his head but smiled. I crossed my arms over my chest as the Royals took the field. There were only thirty seconds left, but they couldn’t win unless they scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
“You just had to get the two points.”
“Hey, it was Coach’s idea, but I can’t deny it and say it doesn’t help my cause.”
“It barely counts,” he huffed.
“Don’t be salty.” I smirked. We were up by eight points. A touchdown and PAT wouldn’t cut it. In my book, it counted as two.
The Royals tried to rally, but our defense held them. The clock wound down to zero, making it official. We’d won!
The team surged, jumping up and down in cheers. Gatorade and water were dumped like we’d just won a championship. Hayward students and alumni converged onto the field in celebration, filling the turf with bodies.
The only person I cared to see was my girl. I had a question to ask her.
Smiling wide, I scanned the Wolfettes but came up blank.
“I can’t see her,” I said to Colter. He frowned and searched for himself. When he came up empty, too, fear stole my breath. Did she not want to say yes? I thought her hesitation was from shock, not that she would say no.
Colter and I shared a look, breaking away from the guys and running to the Wolfettes. I spotted the girl Emerson hung out with and tapped her shoulder.
“Where’s Emerson?”
“Huh?” She looked around, her brow creasing when she didn’t find her. “She was just here.”
I spun around, searching the crowd. In all the exhilaration of the game and the halftime crowning, I’d forgotten about the threat against her.
But no matter how many times I looked, it never changed. She wasn’t here.
“She’s gone. He’s got her.”
Falling to my knees, fear engulfed me at the thought of losing her. I couldn’t do it. Having just found her, I didn’t want to live without her.
“You son-of-a bitch,” someone screamed, shocking me out of my daze.
My father stood nearby, held back by a few of my teammates. “You always have to ruin everything.”
“The only one who ruins things is you. Speaking of, I informed the NCAA about your history. I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t have a job by the time you returned to Virginia.”
“You’ll pay for this! I’ll tell everyone.”
“What? That you emotionally berated me before games so I’d lose? Yeah, go ahead and let everyone know you’re an emotionally abusive asshole. I’m tired of keeping your secrets. You’re dead to me. I don’t ever want to see your face again. That goes for Mom and Hope, too.”
I turned on my heel and ran off the field, Colter at my side. We had our woman to find.