Page 41 of Escape Velocity
Callum’s hands start to tremble. They never do. Not even during games.
“He saw you talking to him after the game. He was furious. I don’t need that, and neither do you. So whatever it is you’ve got going on there—cut it out. Got it?”
Callum gulps.
“But—I was just talking to him about his articles about the team?—”
“You think your dad cares? You think I care? I have a team to manage, and having your Dad getting spit all over my face after every game is something I’d like to avoid as often as possible!”
Callum puffs a long breath out. “Okay—okay. I get it. I screwed up. I won’t talk to him after games anymore.”
Coach relaxes. “And no more showboating for him,okay? Just—act normal, okay? You’ve been doing great, but something’s been distracting you. Figure that shit out before your dad has another hemorrhage, okay?”
Callum hangs his head and nods.
Coach walks off and Callum looks at the scoreboard.
They won in a landslide, and all he wants to do is celebrate. For some reason right after the game, he felt drawn to Mason to celebrate.
Maybe it’s the fact that he was cheering him on and watching.
Maybe it’s the words he wrote about him in the paper, but he’s feeling increasingly drawn to him.
“Cal.”
He freezes. His jaw clenches and his joints lock.
He slowly turns around to see his father standing behind him.
“Dad,” Callum replies, just as curtly.
“What were you doing talking to that Fanning kid?”
“He wrote the player profile about me, Dad. I was just thanking him.”
His dad purses his lips, his eyebrows furrowing because he’s enraged over an innocent conversation, like usual.
“I told you to stay away from him.”
“I had to do the player profile, Dad. He’s with the press. I have to work with him.”
“Work is fine, but running off to him after a game? What kind of message does that send to everyone? To the scouts? To your teammates? That you’re some kind of soft boy who associates with other soft boys?”
Callum closes his eyes. It’s a ridiculous idea that anyone would care who he talks to, but of course, his dad has this paranoid idea of the world where everyone watches and cares about his every move.
Sure, he gets a lot of attention, but he talks to all kinds of people, and his dad is just centering on Mason because he hates him and the Fannings.
“He could advance my career, Dad, don’t you think I should be nicer to him? Getting on his bad side could turn into a hit piece…”
It’s a lie. He has no need to benefit from Mason’s writing, but it’s enough of a reason to talk to him and stay in his good graces.
His dad takes a menacing step forward, and Callum immediately falls silent.
He glances at the stands, seeing people pass by, giving him some smiles as they leave.
“I told you to stay away from him, simple as that. You focus on football and football alone. Got it?”
Callum nods. “Your wish is my command.”
