Page 108 of Redemption
So I wore the jersey, and for now, I’ll keep denying that it means anything more than supporting a friend.
There’s a long line at the ticket box when I get there. I wait, shivering against the cold. Once I’m inside the stadium and my blood starts pumping from the excitement, I won’t be so cold, but right now, the wind slices right through my clothes.
“Next,” the attendant working the box calls.
Stepping up, I place my hands on the counter and rub them together to ward off the cold. The girl on the other side of the counter is pretty, with long blonde hair and a sorority look to her. She looks down her nose, waiting for me to tell her why I’m here.
A slice of doubt runs through my veins as I imagine Hayes’s arms around a girl who looked like her two years ago.
My stomach threatens to revolt, but it’s not two years ago. We’ve both grown up a lot since then.
“Hayes Miller left a ticket here for me,” I say, and I don’t miss the look of disbelief on the girl’s face.
“Name?” The word comes out with so much disgust that it’s clear she doesn’t like me—or maybe it’s just her job that she doesn’t like.
“Mallorie Jade Harrison.”
“Nope, only ticket here is for a guy named MJ. Next.”
The girl looks past me to the next person, and now I’m irritated.
“MJ isn’t a guy. It’s me. I’ll take my ticket now.” I refuse to budge, much to the girl’s annoyance. Rolling her eyes, she shoves the ticket into my hand.
By the time I reach my seat, the annoyance has sunk deeper, and I wonder for the second time if I should just go.
But the band starts to play, and the players exit the tunnel. The atmosphere ticks up ten notches as fans jump to their feet to welcome the boys in. Through the crowd, I hear chants of my brother’s and Hayes’s names. It’s surreal to hear strangers cheer for the two men who mean the most to me.
I’m sitting on the front row on the fifty-yard line. Hayes must have paid a fortune for me to sit here because I know the tickets that the players receive for friends and family aren’t this good.
The boys line the sideline, and suddenly I’m pretty grateful for my seats because standing right there in front of me is Hayes Miller. He has a huge smile on his face, and he’s looking back at me.
My heart flutters at that smile, and I rub my hand over my chest. The motion draws Hayes’s eyes to my jersey. When he sees the number there, he drags his gaze back to mine, his face serious now. Twirling his finger, he motions for me to turn around, and I obey, moving my hair so he can see the nameon my back. Once I’m sure he’s read it, I look back over my shoulder, and I know that our friendship is over.
Out of an entire football stadium where the noise is almost deafening, Hayes looks at me like I’m the only one he sees. There’s nothing friendly in that stare.
I giggle when one of his teammates hits his shoulder, bringing his attention back to the field.
There isn’t a lot that I’m afraid of, but I’m scared of Hayes because he has the power to crush me.
The coin is tossed, and my brother walks off the field with the rest of the captains. His shoulders are pushed back, and for a minute, he doesn’t look like the broken man I know he is.
I wish he could have loved this game for him and no one else. I think he would have been happy then. But my dad made him hate the game, and because of that, he lost himself.
The other team kicks off, and Langston and Hayes take the field together. They fist bump, the same thing they’ve done at the start of every game since middle school, and I’m thankful that Langston has Hayes.
A heaviness sits on my chest. Will Langston be hurt if he knows I’m here for someone other than him? Will it fracture their friendship if I admit I have bigger feelings than just friendship for Hayes?
The last time we tried that, we never had to explain it to Langston because we broke it before it could begin, but this is different. I’m on the fifty-yard of their football game, wearing Hayes’s last name on my back.
That’s harder to hide.
The game begins, and the worries float away as I get lost in a game I used to love, too. The roar of the crowd and the close score keeps me on my feet, jumping up and down and cheering for my boys.
When the game is down to the last minute, and our team has the ball, my heart thunders in my ears.
Langston and Hayes stand together on the field—the double duo.
The quarterback and his favorite receiver. It’s what the announcers have called them all night.
