Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: She Broke Her Own Heart

The campus journalism office was completely empty except for two people. It was Saturday morning, and the room smelled heavily of old printer ink and stale coffee.

Ben stood in front of the massive corkboard on the back wall. He held a handful of sharp red pushpins in his mouth. He was aggressively pinning printed articles to the board, trying to organize the layout for the Sunday edition.

Daisy sat at her desk near the window. She had a soft pink sweater pulled over her hands. She was carefully cleaning the glass lens of her camera with a small microfiber cloth.

Ben pulled a pin out of his mouth. He stabbed a piece of paper onto the board. He let out a loud, frustrated groan.

"This is a complete disaster," Ben announced to the empty room.

Daisy did not look up from her camera lens. "It is just a layout board, Ben. It is not a disaster."

"No, Daisy, it is a literal tragedy," Ben argued. He waved his hands wildly at the corkboard. "Look at this front page. We have three prime slots for the sports section. And do you know what Audrey submitted for the main headline?"

"The tennis team?" Daisy guessed softly.

"Worse," Ben groaned. "She submitted a massive, four-page tactical breakdown of the women’s volleyball defensive rotations. She interviewed the coach for three hours. Who reads a four-page article about volleyball rotations?"

"I think it sounds very interesting," Daisy said nicely.

Ben dropped his arms to his sides. He walked over to his desk and collapsed heavily into his rolling chair. He spun around to face Daisy.

"I am trying to run a highly competitive college newspaper," Ben complained loudly. "Football is our main seller. Mason Calloway just secured the biggest draft prospect spot in the country. He is literally dating the billionaire sponsor’s daughter. It is the biggest gossip story of the year. And my lead sports reporter refuses to even say the word Florida."

Daisy finally set her camera down. She looked at Ben.

Ben was completely oblivious to human emotions. He only cared about headlines, deadlines, and print circulation numbers. He was not trying to be mean. He genuinely just did not understand people.

"You have to leave Audrey alone," Daisy said. Her sweet voice was surprisingly firm.

Ben frowned. He ran a hand through his messy hair. "I am not bothering her! I just do not understand her. She is acting completely crazy."

"She is not acting crazy, Ben. She is heartbroken."

"But she dumped him!" Ben pointed out. He threw his hands up in total confusion. "I was right there when she was talking to Chloe. She sent the breakup text. She ended it. And Mason obviously did not care because he got a new girlfriend two seconds later. So why is Audrey the one acting like the entire world just ended?"

Daisy looked at Ben for a long, quiet moment.

She was a naive freshman, but she spent hours sitting next to Audrey every single day. She watched the way Audrey worked. She watched the way Audrey protected her friends. Daisy understood Audrey’s heart perfectly.

"Ben," Daisy said gently. "Do you actually think Audrey wanted to break up with him?"

Ben blinked. "Well, yes. She sent the text."

"She sent the text because she saw the photo," Daisy explained patiently. "She saw Mason with that glamorous girl in Miami. She saw him stepping into this massive, wealthy professional world."

"So she was jealous," Ben nodded, feeling very smart for figuring it out.

"No," Daisy sighed. She shook her head. "Not because she was jealous. Because she was terrified she was not good enough for his new life. Audrey carries so much terrible baggage from her ex-boyfriend. She thinks she is a burden. When she saw that photo, she probably convinced herself she was holding Mason back from his dream."

Ben stopped spinning in his chair. He frowned deeply. "What do you mean?"

"Audrey loves Mason. She really loves him," Daisy continued softly. "I think she used that photo as an excuse to step aside. She let him go so he could have his perfect new life in Florida without a stressed-out college student dragging him down. She sacrificed her own happiness for him, Ben."

The loud, bustling energy completely drained out of Ben. He slumped back into his chair. He stared blankly at his messy desk.

"Wait," Ben muttered. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Daisy said.

"She broke her own heart on purpose?" Ben asked. He sounded genuinely shocked.

"She did," Daisy nodded. "And it completely destroyed her. Look at her, Ben. She has not slept in weeks. She wears baggy sweaters every single day. She comes into this office at midnight just to type articles about volleyball because if she stops working, she starts crying."

Ben looked over at Audrey’s empty desk.

Her notebooks were perfectly stacked. Her pens were lined up in a neat row. It looked highly organized, but now Ben realized it just looked like a desperate attempt to control something in her life when everything else was falling apart.

Ben suddenly felt entirely terrible.

"I am a terrible boss," Ben whispered. He rubbed his face with his hands. "I have been yelling at her to write about the Florida draft all week. I kept bringing up his new girlfriend. I am an absolute idiot."

"You are not an idiot," Daisy said kindly. "You just focus on the newspaper. But Audrey is your friend. She needs this office to be a safe place right now."

Ben slowly nodded. He sat up straight. He looked at the corkboard on the wall. He looked at the volleyball article pinned to the front page slot.

"You are right," Ben decided firmly.

He stood up from his chair. He walked over to the layout board.

"What are you doing?" Daisy asked.

"I am rearranging the Sunday edition," Ben announced. He pulled a few pushpins out. "Volleyball is going on the front page. We are going to do a massive feature on Maya and the tennis team for page two. And we are going to do a deep dive into the track and field roster for page three."

Daisy smiled brightly. "That sounds like a great sports section."

"What about football?" Ben asked, looking back at her. "Someone has to cover the team on campus. And someone has to track the Florida draft updates for the back page."

"I can do it," Daisy offered immediately.

Ben looked at the sweet, innocent freshman holding a camera cloth. "You? You do not know anything about football."

"I know that a hat-trick is exactly three goals," Daisy stated proudly. "And I almost know what the offside rule is. Plus, I know how to check the internet for the academy draft updates. I will write the Florida reports. I will track Mason’s contract. We will keep it completely off Audrey’s desk."

Ben stared at her. A massive wave of genuine respect washed over him.

"Daisy, that is actually brilliant," Ben said. He walked over and gave her a high five. "You are officially the backup sports reporter. You handle the draft. You handle the Florida drama. Audrey handles the campus stuff."

Daisy high-fived him back. "It is a perfect plan."

"We have to protect her," Ben stated seriously. He lowered his voice, even though the room was empty. "She is the best writer we have. And she is my friend. If I see anyone bringing up Florida around her, I am going to kick them out of the office."

"Thank you, Ben," Daisy smiled warmly. "I knew you were a good person."

Ben puffed his chest out slightly. "I am an excellent person. I am a great boss."

The heavy wooden doors of the office suddenly pushed open.

Audrey walked in. She was wearing a thick gray cardigan and carrying a massive stack of library books. She looked exhausted, but her jaw was locked in strict determination.

Ben immediately jumped away from Daisy’s desk. He stood perfectly straight.

Audrey walked over to her desk and dropped the heavy books onto the wood with a loud thud. She let out a long, tired breath.

"I have the research for the gymnastics piece," Audrey announced flatly. She sat down and opened her laptop. "It is going to take me a few days to draft it. Is that okay, Ben?"

Ben walked over to her desk. He looked at the dark circles under her eyes. He looked at how completely drained she was.

"Take all the time you need, Audrey," Ben said quietly. His voice was completely soft. It lacked all of his usual loud, demanding energy.

Audrey paused. Her hands hovered over the keyboard. She looked up at Ben in total surprise.

"Really?" Audrey asked suspiciously. "You are not going to yell at me about deadlines?"

"Nope," Ben smiled. It was an awkward, stiff smile, but it was entirely genuine. "The gymnastics piece sounds great. We are putting volleyball on the front page. You are doing amazing work, Audrey."

Audrey stared at him for a long moment. She slowly looked over at Daisy.

Daisy just gave her a bright, happy smile and gave her a small thumbs up.

Audrey looked back at her computer screen. A very small, very tired smile touched the corners of her mouth. The heavy pressure in her chest eased just a tiny fraction.

"Okay," Audrey whispered softly. "Thank you, Ben."

"Do not mention it," Ben said loudly, turning back to his corkboard. "Now get to work! We have a paper to print!"

Audrey started typing. For the first time in weeks, the journalism office actually felt like a safe place. She had her friends, she had her writing, and she had a quiet place to hide. She was going to survive.