Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Too Late to Stop Him

The taxi ride back to campus was a complete blur.

Audrey rested her head against the cold window. She didn’t cry anymore. She didn’t have any tears left. Her eyes just felt dry, hot, and completely empty. She watched the city lights flash by, but she wasn’t really seeing them.

She just kept hearing that automated voice in her head.

The number you have dialed is switched off.

She had told him his world was too messy, and he had finally listened. He took himself out of her world entirely.

The taxi pulled up to the curb outside her apartment building.

Audrey paid the driver with the last of her cash. She stepped out onto the sidewalk. Her legs felt incredibly heavy, like she was walking through wet concrete. The evening air was freezing, but she didn’t even shiver. She was totally numb.

She walked up the stairs to her floor. She didn’t have to dig for her keys this time. She just reached out, turned the knob, and pushed the door open.

The apartment was warm and smelled like burnt toast.

Chloe was sitting cross-legged on the rug in front of the television, painting her fingernails bright red. Zoya was sitting at the kitchen counter, typing aggressively on her laptop.

The door clicked shut.

Chloe looked up.

She completely froze. The tiny brush full of red nail polish hovered in the air.

"Audrey?" Chloe asked. Her voice instantly dropped the casual tone. She scrambled to her feet, completely ignoring the wet paint on her nails. "Oh my god. What happened? You look like a ghost."

Zoya stopped typing. She looked over the screen of her laptop. She immediately frowned.

Audrey stood in the entryway. She didn’t take off her coat. She didn’t take off her shoes. She just looked at her two best friends.

"He’s gone," Audrey whispered. Her voice sounded like dry leaves.

Chloe walked quickly across the room. She grabbed Audrey’s cold hands. "Who is gone? Mason?"

Audrey nodded slowly.

"I tried to stop him," Audrey said. Her voice started to shake again. The numbness was wearing off, leaving behind a sharp, agonizing pain. "I realized I was an idiot. I realized I wanted him. I ran to the athletic pitch to find him."

"And?" Chloe pushed gently.

"And Jackson told me he signed his early release papers," Audrey choked out. "The London club called him. They wanted him for medical exams. He went straight to the airport."

Chloe’s eyes went completely wide. "Wait. He left today? Right now?"

"I took a taxi," Audrey cried, the tears finally returning. "I ran into the terminal, Chloe. I looked at the departure board. His flight was already gone. I missed him."

Zoya stood up from the counter. She walked over to them. She did not quote a textbook. She did not offer a statistical analysis on airport delays.

"You can just call him when he lands, Audrey," Zoya suggested quietly. "You can tell him over the phone. He will buy another ticket. He is entirely irrational when it comes to you."

Audrey shook her head violently. She pulled her hands away from Chloe and wrapped her arms tightly around her own stomach.

"I can’t call him," Audrey sobbed.

"Why not?" Chloe asked desperately.

"Because I tried!" Audrey yelled, completely breaking down in the middle of the living room. "I sat in the airport and I called him! His phone’s switched off. Chloe!"

The apartment fell dead silent.

The finality of the words crashed over the room.

He didn’t just leave for a weekend. He didn’t just leave for a tournament. He packed his entire life into a duffel bag and left the country, and he made absolutely sure nobody from his old life could drag him back.

Chloe stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Audrey.

Audrey buried her face in Chloe’s shoulder. She cried so hard her knees completely buckled. Chloe didn’t let her fall. She just slowly sank to the wooden floor with her, holding her tightly.

"I told him to leave me alone," Audrey cried into Chloe’s shirt. "I looked him in the eyes and I told him his life was too messy. I told him I wanted a normal guy. Why did I do that? What was I thinking?"

"You were scared," Chloe whispered, rubbing her back soothingly. "You were just trying to protect yourself."

"But I hurt him!" Audrey sobbed. "He fought so hard for me, and I just threw it back in his face. And now he is completely gone. I can’t even tell him I am sorry."

Zoya stood above them. She looked down at Audrey.

For the first time since they moved in together, Zoya did not look clinically detached. She looked genuinely, deeply sad.

She slowly sat down on the floor next to them. She didn’t like hugs. She didn’t like physical comfort. But she gently rested her hand on Audrey’s shaking shoulder.

"Actions have permanent consequences," Zoya said softly. Her voice was not harsh. It was just quietly honest. "You made a choice based on fear. Now you have a new data point. You know exactly what happens when you let fear make your decisions."

Audrey looked up, wiping her wet face.

"It hurts," Audrey whispered.

"I know," Zoya nodded slowly. She thought about Jackson. She thought about her own stupid rules and contracts. "But you cannot fix this today, Audrey. He is on a plane. He is in a different time zone. You just have to survive tonight and maybe try calling him the next day."

Chloe squeezed Audrey tighter. "Yeah and we are going to order terrible takeout. We are going to sit on this floor until you can breathe again."

Audrey leaned her head back against the wall. She closed her eyes.

She was surrounded by her best friends. She was safe in her apartment. But her heart was currently flying thousands of miles over the Atlantic ocean, and she had absolutely no idea how to get it back.

The athletic dorm felt entirely like a graveyard.

Leo sat on the edge of his bed. The digital game console was turned completely off. The television screen was black.

He was staring directly at the opposite corner of the room.

Mason’s bed was completely stripped. The heavy blankets were gone. The pillows were gone. The small wooden desk was totally empty. The massive black duffel bag was no longer sitting on the floor.

It looked like Mason Calloway had never lived there at all.

The heavy wooden door clicked open.

Jackson walked into the room. He wore his dark team sweatpants and a damp white t-shirt. He had just finished running brutal drills in the cold.

He looked at Leo. Then he looked at the empty bed in the corner.

Jackson shut the door quietly. He walked over to his own desk and tossed his keys down.

"Stop staring at the mattress, Leo," Jackson commanded quietly.

"I can’t," Leo muttered. He didn’t look away. "It feels completely wrong, Jackson. He is the captain. He is supposed to be here."

"He is not the captain anymore," Jackson corrected flatly. "He graduated to the professional leagues. He did exactly what we are all trying to do."

"He didn’t want to leave like this," Leo argued softly. He finally looked at Jackson. "You saw his face on the pitch today. He looked completely dead. He didn’t say goodbye to the coach. He didn’t even joke with the junior players. He just ran drills until the taxi arrived."

Jackson crossed his arms over his chest. He leaned back against the wall.

"He was completely heartbroken, Leo," Jackson said. "What did you want him to do? Throw a party?"

"I wanted him to stay!" Leo pleaded. "I wanted him to fight for her again."

"He did fight for her," Jackson pointed out logically. "He took down Director Hayes. He flew back early. And she pushed him away. You cannot force someone to be brave, Leo. Audrey wasn’t brave enough for his world."

Leo dropped his head into his hands. He rubbed his face aggressively.

"I just feel like I failed him," Leo whispered. "He asked me to watch out for her. And I just watched the entire thing fall apart."

Jackson let out a heavy sigh. He walked over and clapped a large hand onto Leo’s broad shoulder. He squeezed firmly.

"You didn’t fail anyone," Jackson told him strictly. "This is not your fault. They are adults. They made their own choices. Our job is to play football."

Leo looked up. "How are we supposed to play without him? The defense is entirely built around him."

"We rebuild it," Jackson stated coldly. But his eyes betrayed his own sadness. "We have a game on Saturday. You are the senior center-back now, Leo. You have to step up. If you sit here crying over an empty bed, the coach is going to bench you."

Leo swallowed hard. He nodded slowly.

"Yeah," Leo agreed softly. "You’re right."

Jackson let go of his shoulder. He walked over to his bed and picked up his phone from the nightstand.

He unlocked the screen. He opened his messages.

He looked at the empty text thread with Zoya. He thought about texting her. He wanted to ask how Audrey was doing. He wanted to make sure Zoya was okay dealing with the absolute emotional disaster happening in her apartment.

But he stopped himself.

He remembered what Zoya had said about maintaining boundaries. He remembered how scared she got when things felt too chaotic.

Mason had just lost everything because his world was too loud. Jackson did not want to make the same mistake.

He locked his phone and tossed it back onto the bed.

"Come on," Jackson said to Leo. "Get up. We are going to the campus diner. I am buying you a burger. And then we are not talking about Mason Calloway anymore."

Leo slowly stood up from his bed. He grabbed his hoodie from the back of his chair.

He took one last look at the empty corner of the room. The silence was completely deafening.