I put on my shirt. He stood in front of me, still completely naked.
“I love you, Austin. That’s why we have to do this.”
“Think about it some more tonight.”
“I will.”
He kissed me again, the most passionate kiss we’d shared up to that point. As I walked out of his room and headed downstairs, tears filled my eyes. His roommate Teddy glanced up at me from the couch as I passed, but he said nothing.
I opened the door, walked out, then shut it behind me. It sounded final, like I’d never see Austin again. You’re making the right decision, I told myself as I walked home to my apartment. Jocelyn was still MIA, which was a plus. All I had to do was get Austin out of my mind.
THIRTY-THREE
Austin
On my run the next morning, she called me. I was hoping for good news, but somehow knew I’d be disappointed. She was stubborn.
“Hey, Brooke.”
“Austin, I’ve been thinking about this all morning. Don’t try to stop me.”
“Stop you?”
“I’m breaking up with you.”
“You can’t. I won’t let you.”
“You can’t stop me. It only takes one person to break-up.”
“No,” I said, at a loss for words.
What could I say to explain to her the way I felt? I would give up football and everything else I held dear for her. Coach and others might think me young and foolish, but how I felt about Brooke had blinded me to reason.
“Goodbye, Austin. I’ll talk to you around Christmas.”
I had no words. She ended the call. Nothing made sense to me in that moment. Why the hell was I so into this woman? Did she really mean more to me than football?
She thought she was the only one who has a decision in this? I don’t think so.
I ran back to the house, hoping to catch Teddy before he left for the day. He was in the kitchen, eating a bowl of oatmeal. Brian sat next to him, watching intently.
“Hey,” I said. “Got a minute?”
Teddy looked up.
“Sure.”
“If I write a letter to the editor, can you get into the paper tomorrow?”
He picked up his phone and glanced at the screen.
“It’s a bit late, but maybe. What’s up?”
“I want to write something about Brooke and clear her name. She doesn’t need to be dealing with legal problems while trying to go to school.”
“Won’t that mess up…”
“Yeah,” I said, cutting him off. “But I need to do this.”