CHAPTER 10 #3
I hope in my absence you are able to redirect your life towards something that is meaningful and purposeful to you the way that football is.
This does not erase my love for you. I love you deeply.
You have been the single most important and transformative person I’ve ever met.
The ways that you improved my life are endless, and I will always cherish every second that I was privileged to spend with you.
Unfortunately, my presence in your life doesn’t seem to be as positive, and I have made the decision to remove myself for both of our sake.
The things that you will accomplish in your life will be endless. There is not a doubt in my mind that you will achieve greatness, and I can’t wait to see the ways in which you accomplish this.
Please do not reach out. I have changed my phone number and have already worked out an academic path that does not include Vanderbilt.
I will be fine, although I will miss you for the rest of my life.
I love you and I’m so sorry.
Love, Tessa
“Oh Trist…” his mother whispered beside him, her own eyes welling with tears, scared to look at her son for fear of what seeing him in such pain would do to her.
He stared at the email for several minutes, reading it over and over again.
It was elegant, poignant, and a bit dramatic.
So perfectly Tessa, and he knew she meant every word, and it felt like his soul left his body.
Tristan sighed and threw his phone across the room, where it shattered against the wall.
Diane jumped but was not shocked by her son’s outburst. She had raised him, after all.
He slumped back into bed and let the tears start flowing all over again. He had never cried like this in his life, not even when he was a little boy and their beloved family dog was hit by a car.
Diane sat next to him, holding her son’s hand, with no intention on moving at least until the tears stopped flowing.
The door to Tristan’s bedroom swung open a few minutes later, revealing a frantic Jordan.
“Trist!”
“Get the fuck out of here,” Tristan said angrily. Amber and Abigail had told Tristan about the way Jordan spoke to Tessa on the phone, and Tristan had yet to forgive his older brother.
“Listen,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender, “Coach Adams is trying to get a hold of you.”
“Smashed my stupid fucking phone,” he mumbled.
“Okay well get your ass up and dressed and go see him.”
“Why the fuck would I do that? He kicked me off the team.”
“Tristan,” Jordan said sternly, stepping towards the bed and pulling his very large younger brother out of his bed, “Get dressed. Now. I’ll be in my truck waiting for you. You’ve got 10 minutes.”
“I don’t understand,” Tristan said, staring at Coach Adams from across his desk.
“I have stipulations,” he says calmly. “Although I’m letting you back on the team you will be suspended for the rest of the season.
You will only be allowed to play again next season, but you will be required at all practices.
You will be required to two a days on Monday and Friday.
You’re also required to meet with the track and field team on Wednesdays to increase your speed. ”
Tristan sat speechless, trying to absorb what he was hearing. Back on the team? But just last week he was told he was out, no exceptions. His whole world was ripped from under him, and now it was being handed back? His head was spinning.
“Also, this does not include your scholarship. That will not be reinstated. You better find out a way to pay for school and quick. Do you have any questions?”
A thick silence fell between the men. Jordan sat in the corner nervously cracking his knuckles, silently begging Tristan to speak up, to get on his knees and plead his gratitude for this fourth chance.
“I uh…” his voice was rough and groggy, and he cleared it before speaking again, but the word “why” was the only thing that came out.
“Well, lucky for you you’re one fucking hell of a football player. The President of the school doesn’t want to lose you. She says you, quote, charmed her pants off at the Christmas party last year and also, quote, can catch a football like a Greek god.”
Jordan let out an annoyed snort and rolled his eyes. How was his annoying little brother good at everything?
“Also, I just got your grade back for the English class, the one you were failing? A - . You got a 91% on your final essay. Tristan, that’s incredible.
Not only that but overall, your grades in your other classes have improved significantly.
Whatever Smith did with you really helped.
I like seeing that kind of dedication and action.
I’m willing to watch you put that much effort into getting your starting place on the team next season. ”
He felt his heart speed up at the mention of Tessa and couldn’t help but chuckle sarcastically at the fact that she did help get him back on the team after all, despite her heart wrenching letter about not being good for him.
“Well? Are you going to say thank you at least?” Coach Adams said with a laugh.
“Of course,” Tristan said, clearing his throat and standing up tall, with his shoulders back, and reaching out to grab his coach’s hand. “I will never be able to thank you enough, coach. And I promise this time I won’t let you down.”
Tristan felt relieved when he walked out of the building, but the gaping black hole in his heart was still there. Tessa was still gone, had still told him not to reach out, and his knees still buckled at the thought of never seeing her again.
“We gotta just keep moving forward Trist,” Jordan said, patting his brother’s back. “Everything will work out in the end. This is life changing Tristan. Don’t fuck this up. Again. Promise me. Swear to me you won’t let any of this bullshit get in your way.”
Tristan stopped walking down the sidewalk and looked at his older brother. His eyes were filled with love, anxiety, genuine concern, and hope. He knew Jordan loved him desperately, and only wanted the best for him, regardless of how sideways it came out sometimes.
“I promise,” he said quietly, nodding his head, “I’ll make something of this, I swear.”
2 Years Later
Texas Tech University
Tessa sat on the couch in the living room of her apartment, the large windows overlooking the university and showing all the students running around campus. She chewed on her nails nervously and turned up the volume on the TV, her heart pounding out of her chest.
“Girl, what the hell are you watching?” Brinley asked walking into the living area, tying her long blonde hair into a ponytail. “Is this the football draft? What the hell?”
She looked over at Tessa with her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. She only knew Tessa as her sweet-as-pie roommate who liked to research news articles and play her guitar. What the hell was she doing watching ESPN?
“Ssshh!!” Tessa hissed aggressively, turning the volume up again, listening intently to the words being muttered by the gentleman on the screen.
“With the 63rd pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Titans select Tristan Kelly, Tight End, Vanderbilt University.”
She let out a long breath of relief that she had been holding in for two years, and she felt warm tears gather in the corners of her eyes before she opened them and saw his sweet face on the screen staring back at her.
She wiped her tears away quickly before continuing to listen to the man on the screen.
“Kelly is really gifted, he’s more athletic than people thought he was, and the more tape that got watched by the scouts and couches, the more this kid got pushed up.
His brother is the starting Center for the Philadelphia Eagles, and you can see that Tristan is a tough kid, he’s faster than you think, he is the best blocking tight end, and I think this kid can also catch the football incredibly well, which separates him from the other tight ends. ”
She could no longer keep the tears in and let the warm fuzzy feeling of hearing these words wash over her.
“Tessa!” Brinley said, pushing on her soccer cleats, getting ready for practice. “Tell me right now why you’re crying over this damn football draft!”
“It’s nothing,” she said quietly, wiping her tears away, “I just finally feel like I made the right decision.”