Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
Kyon Shoulders
Two Weeks Later
I had been waiting for the moment I could finally address a situation that had been plaguing me for weeks. Laikyn tried to talk me out of going off the deep end, but it was too late for any negotiations. I needed answers, and I wasn’t going to stop until I got them.
Our season wouldn’t start for another six weeks, but we were in our conditioning phase to make sure our bodies were ready. I pulled up to our facility dressed for a workout, but the answers I received would determine what kind of workout I would be having.
“What’s up, Ky?” Ameer, my teammate, greeted me.
“What’s good with you? Is John here yet?” I questioned. My mind was so laser-focused, I never thought to check the parking lot to see if he had made it to practice yet.
“Yeah, he’s in the weight room with Lucas and Devondre.”
“Good lookin’ out.” I walked away without another word.
My hands were balled up before I even made it inside, and it didn’t matter how much I tried to calm myself down; I simply couldn’t.
It took less than fifteen seconds to find John standing next to Lucas while Devondre was on the bench press in front of them.
The moment my eyes locked in on him, I wasted no time heading over there.
The logical part of me knew I couldn’t walk up and beat his ass without even getting any of the facts straight, but the emotional side of me wasn’t running on logic.
My mind was at war, and no final decisions were made until I got close to him.
“Hey, what’s up, bro?” John held his hand out for me to shake, but I wasn’t there for pleasantries.
“We need to talk,” I replied, leaving his pale hand hanging in the balance.
“Umm, okay, sure. We can go over there by the mats.” John nodded and began walking toward the area where we used to do things like meditation and stretching.
“What’s on your mind, brother?” John smiled nervously as the two of us stood face to face.
“I need to ask you something, and I need you to be completely honest with me.”
I started, then reached into my sweats to retrieve my phone. Once I had what I was looking for, I held the phone up for him to see. His eyes grew wide as saucers as he examined the photos. Any thoughts I had of him not being involved were shattered the moment recognition flashed across his face.
“L-Look, man. I didn’t mean for things to go as far as they—”
My mind snapped before he could even finish. Rage took over, and before I knew it, he was on the floor while I beat his ass until someone was finally able to pull me off. I broke free and tried to get to him again, but a few more teammates stepped in the way.
“Hey, what the fuck is going on, Ky? You know the rules around here. We’re supposed to be a brotherhood. There’s no fighting in the brotherhood,” Lucas declared.
“Brotherhood, huh? Is the brotherhood supposed to set up their fellow brother and ruin their fucking lives? Huh?” I roared, trying to break free from Big Tay.
“Calm down, Ky. You don’t want to fuck up your career over something trivial,” Lucas commented.
“You helped him, didn’t you? I can look at your face and tell you did.”
“We were only trying to have fun. We never expected things to get out of hand.”
“Bitch! You sent a picture to my fiancée of a half-naked woman in my bed and didn’t think that would cause any lasting effects? You must think I’m a fucking dummy!” I shouted. Breaking free from Big Tay, I tackled Lucas to the ground.
I only got a few hits in when I was grabbed once again.
The two of them were both bleeding, but I still wasn’t satisfied.
What they took from me was irreplaceable, and the fact that they never said anything after all this time disgusted me.
If it wasn’t for my run-in with Laikyn, who knows how long I would have gone on being in the dark.
“Hey, what the hell is going on?” Coach Parker shouted as he stepped between us. His eyes darted between us before he focused his attention on me.
“Ask these mothafuckas,” I spoke through gritted teeth.
“Lucas, John. In my office now! I’ll be back to talk to you, Kyon.” Coach turned to walk away while I waited for Big Tay to let me go.
“You cool now?” he asked with hesitation in his movements.
“Yeah, I’m straight.” I fixed my clothes and then headed toward the coach’s office. Something told me to follow after them, and what I heard damn near took my breath away. As I stood outside the door, I could feel the rage inside me boiling all over again.
“What the hell was that?” Coach asked them.
“He found out the truth about that night in Nashville a few years back. I don’t know how, but he somehow put two and two together. He’s pissed off, and he has every right to be. You told us it would be harmless, but you were wrong,” John complained.
Coach was quiet for a moment, but when he spoke, it knocked the air out of me.
“Listen, I was wrong for telling you to put those drugs in his water, but I don’t regret what happened.
He was too in love with that girl, and it affected his focus.
I needed him to be a dog on that field, and being in love was a hindrance.
I mean, look at how it paid off. After he got past the initial heartbreak, he turned into a demon on the field.
“Yeah, but he lost his woman, and we’ve had to stand by his side for years pretending we knew nothing about it,” John voiced.
“Coach is right, John. We’ve had some of our best seasons since we got rid of that girl. Kyon was thinking about leaving the team once he became a free agent, and it was all because of her. If we hadn’t done what we did, we wouldn’t have a championship under our belt.” Lucas rationalized.
“Exactly. He may be upset now, but we did him a favor. Listen, I need you two to keep my involvement a secret. Right now, he’s sensitive, and we don’t need him making any impulsive decisions when the season is about to start.
Give him some time to cool off, and he’ll be back to normal,” Coach advised.
Having heard enough, I pushed the door open and stood there with my arms folded. The devil on my shoulder told me to lay hands on all three of them, but I was trying not to leave in handcuffs. With the level of anger coursing through my body, I wasn’t sure I would be able to calm myself down.
“K-Kyon. W-What are you doing? I told you I would come get you once I was done with them,” Coach stuttered, rubbing his hands down the sides of his slacks.
“Damn, you too, Coach?” I chuckled angrily as I witnessed the fear in his eyes.
“Son, you don’t understand. I was just—” He stepped around his desk, but I held my hand up.
“If you come near me, I’ma put you on your ass. The best thing for you to do is keep your distance, because I’ll beat your ass until you’re unrecognizable,” I warned.
His eyes widened, but he had enough sense to take heed to my warning.
“Son, I need you to underst—”
“You can save your breath. I heard everything I needed to hear out there. You all tried to play God in my life in order to get what you wanted from me. For three years, you sat in my face, encouraged me, and patted me on the back, knowing you all had a hand in destroying my life. And you want to call this a brotherhood? What a fucking joke. I’m gonna make this quick, because if I stand here too much longer, I’m bound to tear this office up and beat y’all ass until I get tired.
I hope the decision you made was worth it because I’m done with this team.
You’ll be hearing from my management team soon. ”
I carried no remorse for my actions, so there wasn’t anything left for me to say.
Turning around, I headed out of his office and out of the facility.
I was eligible to be traded to another team, and for the first time in my career, the decision weighed heavily on me.
Our team would never be the same, and there was nothing they could do to fix things.