Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 58: Chapter 58: No More Fake Smiles

The athletic complex felt completely empty without Coach Miller.

Coach Miller was attending a regional meeting, which meant Assistant Coach Davies was in charge of Tuesday afternoon training.

Audrey walked out onto the grass with her clipboard. She walked toward her usual spot near the benches.

"Ellis."

The sharp voice stopped her in her tracks.

Audrey turned. Coach Davies was marching toward her. He did not look friendly. He held a whistle in one hand and pointed at the stadium exit with the other.

"Get off the grass," Coach Davies commanded loudly.

A few players stopped jogging and turned to watch.

Audrey froze. "Coach Miller said I could take notes from the touchline."

"Miller is not here today," Coach Davies said coldly. "I am. And I do not want a journalism student distracting my defense. You are not a coach. You are not a player. Go sit in the bleachers with the spectators where you belong."

Audrey’s face burned. The humiliation was hot and instant.

She looked at the team. Jackson and Leo were watching, but Coach Davies glared at them, and they quickly went back to their drills. Mason wasn’t here to stand in front of her. She was entirely alone.

Audrey swallowed the heavy lump in her throat. She did not argue. She turned around, gripped her clipboard tightly, and walked up the metal stairs to the very top row of the empty bleachers.

She sat in the cold wind, completely isolated.

---

That night, Audrey lay in bed. Her phone buzzed.

It was a video call from Mason’s brand new number. She answered it immediately, forcing a bright, completely fake smile onto her face.

"Hi," Audrey said brightly.

Mason was sitting on his hotel bed in Florida. He looked incredibly pale. His hair was damp, and he was leaning heavily against the headboard.

"Hey," Mason said. He tried to smile, but it looked tight. "How was training today?"

Audrey hated lying. But he was in Florida fighting for his entire future. He was finally in Tier One. If she told him about Coach Davies, Mason would lose his mind. He would get distracted. He might even call Davies and start a massive fight. She had to protect his focus.

"It was great," Audrey lied smoothly. "Jackson did a good job leading the backline. Everyone was really nice."

Mason nodded slowly. "Good. I am glad."

Suddenly, Mason shifted his weight on the bed. He let out a sharp, painful hiss through his teeth. His face twisted in genuine pain for a split second before he quickly hid it.

Audrey sat up. Her fake smile vanished instantly. "Mason? Are you okay?"

"I am fine," Mason said quickly. He adjusted the camera so she could only see his face. "Just stiff from the drills. Florida is a breeze. The workouts are actually pretty easy."

Audrey frowned. He was clearly lying. Mason Calloway never complained about being stiff.

"Are you sure?" Audrey pressed gently. "You look really pale."

"I am completely fine, Ellis," Mason promised. He forced a lazy grin. "Stop worrying. Just focus on your articles."

They talked for another ten minutes, but the conversation felt heavy. It felt forced. They were both holding something back.

When they hung up, Audrey stared at her phone. The physical distance between them had never felt so massive.

---

The next morning, Audrey was walking to the journalism office when her phone rang.

It was Leo.

"Hey, Leo," Audrey answered.

"Audrey," Leo said. His voice sounded frantic. "I need you to tell me the truth. Is Mason’s ankle broken?"

Audrey stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk. Her heart completely stopped. "What? What ankle?"

Leo groaned loudly through the speaker. "He didn’t tell you? I knew it. He texted me this morning asking about recovery tape. He took a brutal slide tackle in practice yesterday. He said his ankle is swollen to twice its normal size, but he is hiding it from the academy coaches so they do not cut him from Tier One."

Audrey’s blood ran completely cold.

He was hurt. He was sitting on that bed last night in agonizing pain, and he lied directly to her face.

"He told me Florida was a breeze," Audrey whispered. Her chest felt tight with hurt and rising anger.

"He is an idiot," Leo said. "He is playing on a bad ankle. If he tears a ligament, his career is over."

"Thank you for telling me, Leo," Audrey said sharply.

"Wait," Leo said quickly. "Since we are being honest... why did Davies ban you from the pitch yesterday?"

Audrey froze again. "How do you know about that?"

"I am the acting captain, Audrey. I saw him yell at you," Leo said gently. "Why didn’t you tell Mason? Mason texted me last night to ask if you were doing okay, and he had absolutely no idea you got kicked into the bleachers."

Audrey closed her eyes. She felt entirely stupid.

"Because I didn’t want him to worry," Audrey admitted quietly.

"Yeah," Leo sighed. "And he didn’t tell you about his ankle because he didn’t want you to worry. You two are driving me absolutely insane."

Audrey hung up the phone. She didn’t walk to the office. She turned around and walked straight back to her apartment.

She slammed her bedroom door shut and dialed Mason’s number.

He picked up on the third ring.

"Audrey?" Mason asked. He sounded surprised. "You usually have class right now."

"Take a picture of your ankle and send it to me right now," Audrey commanded. Her voice was trembling with anger.

Silence fell over the line.

"Mason," Audrey warned. "Do not lie to me again."

"Leo has a big mouth," Mason finally muttered. He sounded incredibly frustrated. "Audrey, it is just a sprain. I wrapped it. It is fine."

"You lied to me!" Audrey yelled. She paced across her small bedroom. "I asked you if you were okay, and you smiled and told me it was easy! If you are hurt, you could ruin your entire career by playing on it!"

"I cannot tell the coaches!" Mason shot back. His voice rose in defense. "If I go to the medical tent, they drop me from Tier One. I have to play through it."

"You could have told me!" Audrey argued.

"Why?!" Mason demanded. "So you could sit in your room and panic? I am supposed to take care of you, Audrey. I am not going to call you just to complain and make you worry when you are a thousand miles away!"

Audrey stopped pacing. Her hands shook.

"I am not a child, Mason," Audrey said quietly. Her voice was sharp and hurt. "I am your girlfriend. You are supposed to tell me when you are in pain."

"Oh, really?" Mason challenged coldly. "Because I just got a text from Leo. Do you want to explain why Coach Davies screamed at you in front of the entire team yesterday?"

Audrey flinched. The words hit her like a physical slap.

"That is different," Audrey defended weakly.

"How is it different?!" Mason yelled. He wasn’t mad at her; he was terrified for her. "You sat on the phone with me last night and smiled! You told me everyone was nice! While Davies humiliated you!"

"I wanted to protect your focus!" Audrey shouted back. Tears burned her eyes. "You are fighting for a pro contract! I am not going to distract you with my stupid stadium drama!"

"You are not a distraction!" Mason roared.

The volume of his voice echoed through the phone speaker. It forced them both into sudden, heavy silence.

Audrey breathed heavily. She gripped the phone tightly.

"You are not a distraction, Audrey," Mason repeated. His voice dropped into a rough, desperate whisper. "You are the only reason I am surviving this horrible camp. If people are disrespecting you, I need to know."

"If you are hurt, I need to know," Audrey whispered back. A tear finally spilled over and rolled down her cheek.

They sat in silence for a long time. The anger completely vanished, leaving behind nothing but pure exhaustion.

The long distance was finally testing them. It was forcing them to realize that protecting someone with a lie was still a lie.

"I cannot do this," Mason said quietly.

Audrey felt her heart completely stop. "You cannot do what?"

"I cannot pretend everything is perfect just to make the distance easier," Mason explained softly. "It hurts too much. I sat on my bed last night in agony, and I just wanted to tell you. But I wanted to be strong for you."

"I wanted to be strong for you too," Audrey admitted. "Sitting in the bleachers felt terrible. I felt completely invisible again."

"You are not invisible," Mason promised fiercely. "I will call Davies myself. He will never disrespect you again."

"No," Audrey stopped him. "Do not call him. I will handle Davies. You just focus on wrapping your ankle with ice. Promise me you will go to the medics if it gets worse."

Mason let out a long, heavy sigh. "I promise."

"We cannot hide things anymore, Calloway," Audrey said firmly. "If it hurts, we say it hurts. If we have a bad day, we say it was a bad day. No more fake smiles."

"No more fake smiles," Mason agreed. His voice sounded infinitely lighter. "I am sorry I lied, Ellis."

"I am sorry too," Audrey said. She wiped her cheek and smiled a real, genuine smile.

They were thousands of miles apart. They were both completely stressed out.

But as they stayed on the phone for another hour, talking through the pain and the frustration, their foundation grew stronger than ever. The distance could not break them. It just proved exactly how much they needed each other.