Chapter 32

I spent the rest of the day relaxing, went to bed early, TV was terrible. I woke up sometime around nine o’clock. I ate breakfast, drove over to Children’s Hospital making a quick visit to the children making sure everything was going well. I was back at my place around two o’clock in the afternoon, since we were back at practice the next day, I decided to relax, then go to bed early. I ordered a pizza around six o’clock that evening, around twenty minutes later there was a knock on the door. I grabbed my wallet and made my way to the door, opening it. I was shocked to see Paige standing there, although the wine glass in her hand was not a surprise.

“What are you doing?’, she asked.

“Nothing, I thought you were the pizza guy.” I responded.

“You ordered a pizza? Good I’m hungry.” she said, slipping past me.

I closed the door behind me, following her into the main room. She sat down on the sofa, looked over at the TV.

“Is football all you watch?” she asked.

“No, but we’re in the playoffs this year, it’s important.” I replied.

Thankfully, there was another knock at the door, this time it was the pizza. I paid the delivery boy, then walked back into the main room setting the box on the coffee table. I realized that if I was going to be close to Alexis, I was going to try and somehow have to learn to accept Paige, they had been friends a long time.

“Help yourself.” I told her, going to the kitchen for a bottle of water.

By the time I arrived back, she had did just that. I sat down, grabbed a piece and went back to watching the program. I felt Paige’s eyes on me, but I made sure not to look her way. I knew the silence was too good to be true.

“You don’t like me much, do you Brian?” she asked.

“Paige, I barely know you, but I think you’re ok.” I answered.

“Just ok?” she asked, a grin on her face.

“You know what I mean.” I replied.

“Look, I know you got a bit upset with me last night, I’m sorry. It’s just I’m hurting right now, I feel so alone.” she stated, sadly.

“Things will get better Paige. I have been there myself.” I answered.

“Then you know what I’m feeling right now.” she asked.

“Yes, I do.” I responded.

She took another long sip on the wine, like maybe she was trying to summon up the courage for something. I was hoping, she was about ready to go back down the hall. Unfortunately, I was wrong, dead wrong.

“Brian, could I asked you something personal?” she asked.

“I ... uh ... I don’t know Paige, I mean...” I started.

“Look I promise it will never leave this room.” she interrupted.

“I guess so.” I answered.

“Would you go to bed with me tonight. I need to feel wanted ... I need to be loved, even if it’s only for one night. I promise, I would never say a word to Alexis.” she offered.

I sat there stunned, I had no words to reply. This was Alexis’ best friend, was she really being serious? I sat up in my seat, leaning forward a bit, trying to collect my thoughts.

“Paige, first of all, I really care for Alexis, more than I think you know. I would never do anything in the world, that I thought would hurt her. I think Alexis is the most beautiful and caring woman in the world, obviously your friendship with her is not that important.” I replied.

“She will never know Brian. It will be our secret.” Paige answered, starting to unbutton her shirt.

“Paige, I will know. Please get out, now.” I demanded, pointing at the front door.

“Oh please, where the fuck do you get off?” she hissed, angrily.

“Right about here.” I said opening the door.

She stormed out of the door, back to Alexis’ unit, I heard her door slam. I quickly cleaned up the mess, undressed and got into bed. I started to think of how to break this to Alexis, I mean this was her best friend. Then I wondered, if I should even say a word. It wasn’t likely Paige would bring it up, maybe it was best to not say anything. Although it would be very hard to be around Paige from now on. The more I thought about it, the more confused I became, I guess I finally fell asleep.

Monday’s practice was intense, you could see both the urgency and the finality in the preparation. We would be playing Houston, who won their first round game quite easily. By far this was the longest first two days of the week that I have ever been through. We were spending close to eight hours a day at the practice facility. I was looking forward to seeing Alexis tonight, I just hoped it would be alone. I certainly didn’t want to see Paige again, not after the other night. When I arrived back at the condo, I saw Alexis’ car in her spot, unfortunately so was Paige’s as well. I went upstairs, took a shower and changed, then made my way down to the pool area. I had been laying out there for maybe thirty minutes when the phone rang. I looked at the screen, it was Alexis.

“Where are you?’, she asked.

“I’m down by the pool. I just got back from practice about an hour ago.” I replied.

“Oh, well I will talk to you later then.” she responded.

“I have missed you Alexis, more than I think you know.” I told her.

She didn’t respond, didn’t say a word. I found that very strange, not like her at all. I thought maybe she was just tired from her trip.

“Can I see you later tonight, just for a while?” I asked.

“I’ll call you later.” she said, hanging up the phone.

I laid out by the pool for about another hour, then went back to my condo and make some dinner. I was on the sofa watching TV when a heard a knock on the door. I jumped up and made my way to the door quickly, it was Alexis. She walked past me into the main room with no greeting at all, I closed the door behind her. She sat down on the sofa, her hand folded in her lap.

“Brian, we need to talk.” she said, no emotion in her voice.

“Sure Alexis, what’s wrong?” I asked.

She took a deep breath, then looked up at me for the first time. I saw tears forming in her eyes, I knew something wasn’t right.

“I told you when we first ... I mean you know how hard it is for me to trust men.” she started.

“Yes, I know.” I replied.

“Well I trusted you, for the first time in a long time, I trusted a man.

Then this happens.” she finished, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Oh come on, Paige is my best friend, you really think she wouldn’t tell me?” she said, loudly.

“She told you?” I asked, very surprised.

“Of course she told me, she is my best friend. Apparently my only friend now.” she snapped.

“I’m sorry Alexis, but I’m lost here. Your best friend comes over here, asks me to sleep with her, starts unbuttoning her shirt, I throw her out, then I’m the bad guy?” I asked, astonished.

“That’s exactly what she said you would say.” Alexis, replied.

“Because that’s what really happened.” I told her.

“Brian, don’t lie to me, you promised you would never lie to me.” she pleaded.

“Alexis, I have never lied to you even once. I have told you things no one else in this world knows. I am falling head over heels in love with you, I would never hurt you.” I answered.

“It’s over Brian, just please leave me alone.” she said, getting up and walking to the door.

I jumped up and ran after her, catching her before she opened the door. I turned her around to face me, looking her right in the eyes.

“Alexis, I swear to you what I told you is the truth. Paige came on to me.” I told her.

She pulled away from me and opened the door, walking down the corridor. I was determined to get this sorted out, I followed her. As she opened the door to her condo, I followed her in. She was protesting, trying to get me to leave. I was determined to confront Paige. Fortunately, she was standing in the hallway waiting for Alexis to come back.

“Paige, you claim to be Alexis’ best friend. You look her in the eye and tell her you didn’t come on to me, that I didn’t throw you out of my place that night.” I demanded.

“I already told her what happened Brian. You’re just mad because I turned you down and now you’re busted.” she hissed, looking at me.

“You look her in the eye Paige, tell her that.” I asked again.

“She knows I wouldn’t lie to her, I love her like a sister.” she said, wrapping her arms around Alexis.

I stood there dumbfounded, a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, not knowing what to do. Alexis was crying on her friend’s shoulder, I was outside looking in, the bad guy. I finally decided that this was going nowhere, it was time to retreat.

“Alexis, I will say this one last time. You mean the world to me, I have never lied to you, nor did anything inappropriate since we have been spending time together. I think I am in love with you. But if you choose to believe her over me, there’s nothing I can do about it. But if so, if you believe Paige, and as you say, she’s your best friend in the world, then I feel very sorry for you, you deserve a hell of a lot better friend than what you have.” I ended, tears in my eyes.

“Get out of here.” Paige screamed at me.

“Not a problem.” I said, softly closing the door behind me.

I went straight back home, getting directly into bed. I felt horrible, I was sick to my stomach. After several minutes, I jumped up and ran to the bathroom, I had to throw up. I was sitting on the cold ceramic tile in the bathroom, my head over the toilet, wondering what I had ever done so horrible in this life. Every time it seemed I had worked things out, I lost the one person who made everything make sense.

My dad took me from my mom years ago, things were great, he was killed. Then on again and off again with Courtney, then she died. Why even toss the Ashley predicament in the mix, that was hopeless. And now finally, Alexis.

I had seen other guys go through women like they changed their underwear, they always seemed happy. I, on the other hand, tried to do exactly as my father had taught me, but somehow, things always blew up. As I went to lay back down, I made myself a solemn promise, never again, I was done with relationships.

I woke the next morning early, had some breakfast then went to practice. My heart wasn’t into it, everyone could tell. I made the excuse I wasn’t feeling well, they seemed to buy it. I pretty much followed routine for the rest of the week, making sure I left before Alexis in the morning, then after she got home in the afternoon. I took the back staircase up to my place, not having to pass in front of her door.

We won our game against Houston, the score was 34-28, I did manage to catch a touchdown, although I dropped one that would have been my second. We were on our way to a Conference Championship, one game away from the Superbowl, but somehow, I couldn’t get excited about it. All I could think about was Alexis, I wanted so much to call her.

We began the following week preparing for the Conference Championship, we would be facing Pittsburgh for the first time this year. You couldn’t enter or leave practice without a reporter trying to interview you for the paper or television. It was absolutely crazy around town, everyone had the fever.

We were mid week into practice, things were going well, we were a two point favorite to win the game, due to home field advantage. I was getting back to my condo late Wednesday night, I had spent extra time in the weight room, I wanted to be in top form for the game this week. As I turned the corner, I noticed a man knocking on Alexis’ door. I took my keys out of my pocket, pushing one into the dead bolt.

“Paige, I know you’re in there. Please open the door.” he said, loudly, still knocking.

I turned the key in the lock, pushed the door open with my foot and started in.

“Excuse me. Hey, excuse me.” he shouted.

I stepped back and looked in his direction, he was walking towards me. I set my bag down in the doorway, leaning on it for support.

“Excuse me, do you know the woman who lives there?.” he asked.

“Yes, I do.” I replied.

“There’s a pretty blonde been staying with her for a while.” he continued.

“Yes, I have seen her.” I replied.

“I’m trying to find her, she’s my girl friend.” he answered.

“Well, if they’re not home, I don’t know where they would be at.” I told him.

“I really need to talk to her...” he said, looking down, “You wouldn’t by any chance know Alexis’ phone number do you, I don’t have it in my cell.” he asked.

I looked at this guy, I really felt bad for him. You could tell he was hurting, I guess when you’re in agony, you can see people who are in the same boat a whole lot easier.

“Yes, I have her number, but honestly, I don’t think she will answer it. But you can try.” I offered, finding Alexis’ number in my contacts and hitting send.

I handed him the phone, he put it to his ear waiting. I walked inside, tossed my bag on the sofa and went back towards the front door. Obviously, I was wrong, Alexis had answered the phone.

“No it’s not Brian, it’s Chad. Is Paige with you?” he asked desperately.

“Because he was coming home when I was knocking on your door, that’s all. He let me use his phone. Please can I talk to Paige.” he pleaded.

Apparently Paige didn’t want to talk to him, he was getting nowhere fast. To his credit, he continued to try.

“Alexis, please. I love her with all of my heart. I don’t care what she did, I want her back. We can work it out.” he begged.

“Wait, wait. She told you I cheated on her?” he asked, his attitude changing.

“Alexis, I have never cheated on Paige once. It’s been her both times. But I don’t care, just please let me talk to her.” he ended.

“Alright. Alright. I’ll wait here.” he said, closing the phone, handing it back to me.

“Thanks, I really appreciate man.” he thanked.

“You wanna come in and wait?” I asked.

“No thanks, I’ll just wait in my car.” he replied, walking off.

I was hoping he would have taken me up on the offer. Apparently what from little I overheard of the conversation, Paige had a penchant for lying. She obviously had convinced Alexis’ that Chad had cheated on her twice, when in fact, it was the other way around, at least if you believed her boyfriend. I was really hoping to get more details on Paige, but it didn’t work out. About an hour later, I heard voices out on the breeze way, I opened my door softly and looked out, Paige and Chad were talking in front of Alexis’ door. I quietly closed the door and went back to the show I was watching on TV.

The rest of the week flew by, soon I was on the table being taped for the Conference Championship, the game just hours away. The game was a sellout, the stadium was packed, emotions were sky high. We started slowly, they jumped out to a 14-7 lead, but with our offense, we could score three or four times in a quarter, we were never out of a game. On the next drive, we moved quickly down the field, getting a first down on their fifteen yard line.

On second and ten, I was able to get free across the middle, Josh threw a dart which I snagged at the three yard line. I remember taking a few steps, then the lights went out. The next thing I remember was being flat on my back, the trainers and team doctors hovering over me. Everything was blurry, my head was spinning, I felt nauseated. I remember several people asking me questions, none of which apparently I processed very well. I felt a board being slid under my back and legs, then I was taped down to the board at my helmet, waist and feet. I remember being lifted up, then moved quickly inside the underground facility of the stadium. By the time, I arrived at the emergency treatment area, I had begun to come around. I could move my arms and legs, although my head was still secured to the board.

Finally, I was eased out of my helmet, my head and neck area being examined. While it appeared that there were no major injuries, the fact that my head hurt, I was dizzy and nauseated, suggested I may be suffering from a concussion. Once the trauma experts were finished with me, the team doctor took over, once again asking me a series of questions, which this time, I was able to answer quickly. He patted me on the knee, getting off the stool in front of me.

“You’re ok Brian, just a little woozy.” he said, handing me several tablets.

I took the medication quickly, then turned looking for my equipment. I reached over for my pads and helmet, which were nearby.

“Whoaaa, there big fella. Calm down, you’re not going anywhere yet.” the doctor, told me.

“Come on Doc, I gotta get back out there.” I answered.

“Maybe the second half, lets see how you do for the next hour or so.” he answered.

I stayed in the locker room for the remainder of the first half, finally the team filing in for halftime. Josh came over and checked on me, I assured him I was alright. I saw Coach Cullen having a conversation with our team physician, apparently as to whether I could go or not. He didn’t seem pleased with the answers he was given. I was updated that the score was 21-14, we were trailing for the second time in the game. I got up and made my way over to where Coach Cullen was standing, he was going over some last minute preparations.

“Coach, I’m good to go, I feel fine.” I said, in a low voice.

He looked up at me with a sort of smile on his face, nodding that he was grateful for the effort. He went back to scanning his charts giving me no indication of whether or not I would play the second half. I followed the team out on the field for the second half, but Billy got the nod to start in my place. I moved to the end of the bench disappointed, I wanted to play.

We opened up the third quarter with a long drive, capped off by Scott’s ten yard run for a touchdown, the game was again tied. It stayed that way until late in the third quarter, we intercepted a deflected pass, running it back thirty yards for another score.

Early in the fourth quarter, Josh found a breakdown in coverage throwing a sixty eight yard pass for another touchdown, we were beginning to pull away. We were now up 35-21, we knew they had to start pressing to score, time was running out. On the next drive they moved down the field quickly, they had a first down on our thirty five. On third and eight, Sam Jackson, our best pass rusher, broke free and hit their quarterback from the blind side causing him to fumble. We now had the ball at our own forty, only six minutes left to play.

We were able to pickup two first downs, but had to punt with about three and a half minutes to play. They went on a long drive finally scoring with about a minute and a half to go in the game. With the score 35-28, we knew they would onside kick, there was not enough time to gamble on holding us without a first down. We put our “hands” team on the field, which consisted of players who normally handled the ball, we had to make sure we recovered the kick. Sure enough, the onside kick came but it was a terrible effort going directly to one of our wide receivers in the front row, who simply fell on the ball at our own forty eight yard line. One first down and this game was over.

They stacked the line of scrimmage, knowing we would run the ball, trying to kill the clock. We ran on both first and second, gaining very little yardage. After both downs, they called a time out killing the clock. It was third and six yards to go for a first, they were once again showing eight men in the box, committed to stopping the run. I looked up at the clock, there was a minute, three second left to play. We showed our 96 Power formation in which we would run over right tackle, it was a standard set. The ball was snapped, Josh dropped to hand off, but instead pulled the ball back on a play action pass. The defense sold out to the run, eight men attacking the line of scrimmage. Billy Huber was able to make an initial block, then slipped the linebacker into the flat. Josh threw a perfect pass, Billy pulled it in then ran twenty one yards up the field for a first down, the game was over. Josh took a knee twice, running what time was left off the clock. We were going to the Superbowl, it just didn’t seem real somehow. I headed back towards the locker room, although I was feeling a lot better, I still had a slight headache. Before I could enter the tunnel to our dressing room, a young female reporter grabbed me by the arm, pulling me into view of her camera.

“Brian, how does it feel to be going to the Superbowl?’, she asked, sticking the microphone in my face.

“I don’t think it’s even sunk in yet. But this team deserves it, we have worked hard all year.” I replied.

“Brian, you left the game in the second quarter, although you came back out, you never returned to the line up. Can you tell us what the extent of your injuries are?” she asked.

“Nothing is wrong, I just had my bell rung, that’s it. I was a bit out of it for a few minutes. I think they held me out as a precaution, but I feel fine.” I answered.

“That’s good news, congratulations on the win.” she stated.

“Thank you.” I responded, turning and running quickly into the tunnel.

I hit the showers immediately, was out quickly, then dressed and packed my things. I was not asked to be at the post game interview, which thankfully, I was grateful for. As instructed, I went to the team physician before leaving the complex, checking in with him. He asked me how I was feeling, what if any side effects I was experiencing. I told him other than a slight headache, I was feeling fine. He handed me a bottle of medication, telling me to take them as needed for the headache. He also told me, if the headache didn’t ease up by the morning, or any other symptoms occurred, to call him and he would meet me at the hospital.

I left the stadium, signed a few autographs on the way out, then drove straight home. I took two of the pills the doctor had given me and went straight to bed. The next morning when I woke, I had a slight stiff neck, but the headache was gone. I got dressed, packed my bag and headed to practice. Our opponent in the Superbowl would be New York, the game was in two weeks in New Orleans. Monday’s practice was just a series of meetings in which the coaches briefly outlined what our schedule would be in the upcoming weeks. We would be off tomorrow, then practice Wednesday through Saturday as normal. We would leave for New Orleans late Sunday evening, arriving at our hotel around midnight. This was prearranged to avoid the media, as well as the hoards of fans that might be camped out nearby.