Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 70: Chapter 70 : He Never Got the Chance to Explain

Audrey stared at her bedroom ceiling. Her eyes burned terribly. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her sleeve.

She sat up and grabbed her phone from the mattress. She opened the sports blog again. She looked at the picture.

Mason was laughing. The girl in the red dress had her hand resting perfectly flat on his broad chest.

It made absolutely no sense.

"We did not even break up," Audrey whispered to the empty room.

She stared at the photo. Her chest ached incredibly bad. But her analytical brain started working overtime to protect her.

He could not just move on without telling her. They had a promise. They had a real connection.

But did they actually have one?

Audrey locked her phone screen. She looked at her bottom dresser drawer. The massive black football jersey was still folded neatly inside. She pulled her knees to her chest.

Maybe they did not actually like each other that much. Maybe it was just the wild adrenaline of the fake relationship. They spent three months pretending to be in love to fool Logan and the entire campus. They were constantly performing. Maybe the lines just got too blurry for both of them.

Florida was thousands of miles away. The long distance was clearly not working. He was a star athlete destined for professional leagues. She was a quiet journalism student who hated loud crowds. They were completely different people.

"It was just a temporary thing," Audrey lied to herself out loud. Her voice shook.

She unlocked her phone again. She opened her text messages with Mason.

She wanted to demand answers. She wanted to ask him exactly who the girl in the red dress was. She typed the question out with shaking fingers.

Who is she, Mason?

Audrey stared at the words. She felt a sharp, burning sting of humiliation.

She could not send that. She had absolutely no right to ask. She was the one who told him not to call. She pushed him away and ignored his last message. She forced this total silence between them to protect his contract.

She hit the backspace button. She deleted the question completely.

She had to end this officially. It was the only logical step left to protect whatever pride she had left.

Audrey walked out of her bedroom.

The apartment living room was dark. Chloe was sitting on the sofa. She held a cold cup of black coffee. She stared blankly at the television screen. Zoya was sitting at the small dining table, sorting through a pile of legal notes.

"You look terrible," Chloe noted quietly.

"I feel terrible," Audrey admitted. She sat down on the other end of the soft sofa.

"Join the club," Chloe muttered. "What happened?"

"I saw a picture of Mason online," Audrey said. She kept her voice very steady. "He is in Miami. He was sitting with another girl. She had her hand flat on his chest."

Chloe finally looked away from the television. Her dark eyes widened slightly. "Mason? Are you absolutely sure?"

"I am positive. Ben showed it to me in the office."

Zoya put her pen down. She looked across the room. "That does not fit his established behavioral pattern. He literally fought a guy for you in the mud. He is highly protective. He does not just move on like that."

"It has been a month, Zoya. We have not spoken a single word in four weeks."

"Because you told him to leave you alone," Chloe reminded her sharply.

"I did it to protect his professional contract," Audrey argued. "And it worked perfectly. He is the top prospect in the country right now. He is doing amazingly well without me."

Chloe took a slow sip of her cold coffee. "So what are you going to do about the picture?"

"I am going to break up with him."

Chloe actually choked on her coffee. She coughed loudly into her hand. "What? Why?"

"Because it is not working," Audrey explained. She grabbed a throw pillow and hugged it tightly against her stomach. "The long distance is awful. We barely knew each other before he left for camp. Maybe we just got caught up in the fake dating game. Maybe we did not really like each other that much."

"You are lying to me right now," Chloe said bluntly. "And you are lying to yourself. You are completely in love with him."

"I am being realistic," Audrey insisted.

"You are running away," Chloe countered. She set her mug down heavily on the coffee table. "You are looking for an excuse to quit because you are terrified of getting hurt."

"Look who is talking," Audrey shot back quickly.

The living room went completely dead silent.

Chloe flinched. The words hit her incredibly hard.

"I am sorry," Audrey whispered instantly. She covered her face with her trembling hands. "I did not mean that. I am just really upset."

"It is fine," Chloe said quietly. She looked back at the blank television. "You are right. I ran away from Leo because I was scared. And now I am completely miserable. Do not make the exact same mistake I did, Audrey. Just call Mason and ask him about the picture."

"I cannot ask him," Audrey said. Her voice cracked painfully. "I gave up my right to ask questions when I told him to focus on camp. If I ask him now, I will just sound like a jealous, crazy ex."

"You are not crazy," Zoya stated firmly from the table.

"I am going to send the text," Audrey decided firmly.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket. Her hands were shaking violently.

She opened Mason’s contact.

Mason. I think we need to be honest with ourselves. The long distance is not working. We are very different people, and we have completely different lives now. We should just officially break up. I hope you get the contract. Take care.

She read it twice. It was cold. It was logical. It was completely final.

She pressed send.

The message delivered immediately.

Audrey dropped her phone onto the sofa cushion. She let out a long, shaky breath. It was done. She was officially single. She was no longer the football captain’s girlfriend.

She waited for the relief to wash over her. She waited to feel safe again.

It never came. Her heart just physically ached more than ever before.

The apartment was suffocatingly quiet. There was no incoming call. There was no immediate text back.

Just absolute, empty silence from a thousand miles away.