Page 14 of Linebacker
“What do you want, Hope?” His deep, dark eyes are like pools of melted chocolate, not a hint of harshness, just soft and a bit gooey. “Where do you go from here?”
“I have no idea but for now I’d be happy to have my freedom and the chance to make my own choices.” I snuggle into his warmth a little more and he moves, taking me with him until we’re almost laid flat on the bed.
“You mention that you have an auntie. Why don’t you ring her and maybe she could help you?”
“My mum’s sister. I barely know her.” What I remember from my younger years was that she was my mother’s double. I also vaguely remember that when she was due to leave after a visit, I overheard her trying to convince my mother to grab me and anything important to her and go with her. But even though I knew even at that young age that my mother feared my father, she refused. I can’t have been the only one that had heard their conversation, because later that day my father lost it and the evidence of his anger marked my mother’s skin. I never saw or heard anything of my aunt after that day.
“I don’t have her number or even her address.” I slap my hand over my mouth as I let out an enormous yawn. I feel the safest and most relaxed I’ve ever been in Mars’s arms and a wave of tiredness suddenly rolls over me. “All I know is her name and that when I last saw her, she lived in the Finchley area of London,” I mumble, struggling to keep my eyes open.
“Then I’ll help you track her down,” he exhales, his hand caressing the back of my head. “It’s worth a try. No what-ifs?”
“You don’t have to do that; you’ve already done so much,” I say around another yawn.
“Hope, now that I’ve had the balls to be honest and tell you how I feel about you,” He places a gentle kiss on my forehead, “and that you feel it too, I can’t walk away from this. No chance in hell.”
“Mhm,” is all I manage to say before a blanket of sleep takes me under.
CHAPTER11
Isit on the chair with my back to the desk as I watch a sleeping Mars. His usual hard and serious features, now soft and almost angelic, his dark lashes flutter occasionally while he dreams. Yet he seems to sleep like the dead because when I prised myself from his hold, he didn’t budge an inch.
I’ve been sitting here for at least an hour, my mind working overtime. Options considered. Consequences calculated. Decisions made.
I spin around to face the desk, grab the hotel notepad and pen with a clear and determined mind and I begin to write. Once done, I place the two twenty-pound notes on top and weigh it down with five-pound coins, the rough amount for the room and what he must have spent on snacks from the vending machine.
I pull the backpack onto my back and allow myself to take one last glimpse of beautiful, sleeping Mars. I exhale hard because although my heart aches a little, my head is convinced. I quietly slip out of the room and take my leave.
Mars,
I’m sorry that I left without saying goodbye, but I couldn’t stay however much I wanted to. That wouldn’t be right.
My leaving has nothing to do with forgiveness because I do forgive you. How could I not? You saved me and now I’m on the path to freedom. I’m not sure where that path will lead, but I’m going to take it anyway.
You are one special and determined person, Mars, and I don’t doubt for one minute that if you put your mind to it, you will achieve your dream. But it’s because of that, that I must walk away. I cannot and will not be a distraction that could risk your chance of an amazing future.
Grab every opportunity with both hands, Mars.
No what-ifs. No regrets.
Hope.
CHAPTER12
“And just when you thought you’d seen the best of this guy. Pow! Marshall surprises us yet again.”
“I have to agree with you, Cory.”
“Hell, Jeff (laughing) that doesn’t happen very often.”
“Too true. Too True. This guy always brings his ‘A’ game on match day. Not only is Vance Marshall one of the highest rated, if not the top, defensive Linebackers of this time, but his adaptability on the field is mind blowing.”
“Quite remarkable Jeff, considering the continued news reports about the player.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing how, despite the bad press coverage and damning photos that have been plastered all over the news, he is the epitome of professionalism when on the field.”
“So far, Cory, but I can’t help but think that eventually, the bubble is going to burst and the behaviour we’re seeing in his private life is going to bleed over and start to affect his game.”
Listening to the game commentators on the radio does nothing to dampen down the nervousness that’s been building over the past week. Since I received the news of my temporary position I was about to embark on, I’d had a knot as heavy as a ten-kilo weight sitting in the pit of my stomach.
