Laney’s eyes widen. “That’s a huge number. Are you that confident?”
“Baby.” I put my hand on her leg and run it up her thigh. “Football is what I know. So yes, you’ll be mine tonight.”
Chapter Two
The roar of the crowd is deafening. The smell of fresh cut grass intoxicating. The feel of the ball in my hands exhilarating.
I thrive on all of it. It’s what causes my heart to beat and blood to flow through my veins. It’s my vitality. I have lived football for as long I can remember. My mother says I was born to play. She knew the instant I threw my binky across the room at three months old. She’s always said I was special, and I have always believed her. When I was a freshman, Sports Illustrated did a top ten article on football prodigies in the US, and I was number one. My whole life I have been compared to the likes of Tiger Woods and LeBron James. Descriptions like speed, power, and pinpoint accuracy have followed me everywhere. I have trained at the best football camps in the US with the most well-known names in the NFL. I broke the record for most passing attempts, most completions, and most passing yards my sophomore year. And have continued to crush those numbers into the ground. I was recruited by over fifty colleges and given full rides to all of them. Football is not only my future, it’s my life. I dominate in the arena; no one can touch me.
The cheerleaders are shouting on the sidelines and the announcer’s voice is echoing into the clear night sky. I glance at the score board. Wolverines 35; Visitor 10. I told Laney we would spank them. Looks like I won that bet, and I fully intend to collect. But right now, I have to keep my head in the game and not think of Laney naked under the stars. Just the way I’ve always wanted her.
There’s forty-five seconds left.
This is the last pass of my high school career. It has to be a good one, not just for me, but for my brothers-in-arms. These ten guys have looked to me the last four years to lead them, and in doing so they have protected me, bled with me, and allowed me to thrive.
I call the play in the huddle: Gun south right, X flash on two.
Break!
We take formation up on the thirty yard line. My center, Bugger, crouches down. He’s a big-as-life black dude, snarling at the opposing team. I take one last look around the stadium. This is the start and the end of my legacy. Miranda flies twenty feet in the air as the cheerleaders below chant blue and white. The clock feels like it’s ticking down in slow motion, and the monstrous defensive lineman who has had my number all night looks like he wants to rip my head off. It’s an adrenaline rush.
“I’m coming for you, Q,” number sixty-seven growls.
“You’ll have to get through me first,” Bugger rumbles. I just smile. “Might as well go home. We wiped your ass with the field. Again.”
Sixty-seven howls. The guy actually howls like a freakin’ injured coyote.
It’s time to finish this.
“Blue forty-two!” I scream out. “Blue forty-two! Hike! Hike!” Bugger snaps the ball right into my hands, a perfect exchange, and everyone disperses in a frenzy. The lines collide like Spartans going to war as I scan the field for my receiver. I watch Duce burn grass down the center and everything inside me ignites. It’s the same feeling every time. A tingly sensation under my skin, like pins and needles. This, right here, this second, is pure control. An untouchable feeling. I see my opening and take it, firing the ball. A perfect spiral headed straight for the end zone. I watch it spin and land right into Duce’s hands. The crowd explodes. “TOUCHDOWN, Wolverines!” the announcer yells, “And new Alabama State Champions!”
I break out in goose bumps right before everything goes black.
Sack!
Chapter Three
I blink my eyes. They feel heavy.
I look around trying to figure out where I am. There’s muted florescent light and a bleachy smell. I try to move, but my limbs feel like lead.
I groan, and it vibrates roughly through my whole body. Where am I? What’s happening?
“Well, good morning,” a pleasant voice says from above me. A woman I don’t recognize comes into my eye-line. My heart palpitates, and I hear quick beeping in the room. “It’s okay, Mr. Ellis, you’re fine.” The older woman with kind brown eyes tries to soothe me.
“Where am I?” I croak. What the fuck is wrong with my voice?
“You’re at County State Hospital, darlin’.” She fluffs up my pillow.
Hospital?
“What happened?” I can barely push the words out.
She pours me some water. “Here, drink this. Your mouth is dry.” The water is cold and quenches my thirst. It feels like I’ve been sleeping in the desert. “I’m going to get the doctor and your mama.”
“What happened?” I ask again.
“They’ll explain everything, sugar.”