Falling helplessly episode 12

🔥 FALLING
HELPLESSLY 👠

( For his brother’s friend …. 😇 )
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Written by:- Williams Kendall____✍🏽
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🏈 CHAPTER TWELVE🏈
ARCHER’S POV:

“Look alive Johnson!” Coach barked at me from the sidelines. We had about an hour before our game began, so as usual, we were out on the field warming up. My teammates swarmed around me, running drills and passing balls around—but I couldn’t focus.

Looking up into the stands, I made eye contact with my father for the hundredth time since we took to the field. It’s hærd not to when he hasn’t taken his eyes off of me since he sat down. With a grimace, I tried to focus on calling plays for the boys to practice. No matter how hærd I blocked it out though, I felt like I was on a stage.

This is why I hated it when my dad came to my games. He an-lyzed every play I called, every throw, every catch. No matter the outcome of the game, I knew he’d have a list of things I did wrong.

High school had been a miserable time for me. Dad came to every game I played and never held back on his criticisms or his disregard for causing scenes. More than a few times, he stormed onto the sidelines to yell at me between plays—or came into the locker room at half time. Thankfully, since I came to play for USC, that all stopped.

A small smile played on my l-ips as I thought about the first—and only—time Dad had tried to come to yell at me during half-time. Coach wasn’t having any of it. I think his exact words were along the lines of telling Dad to pull his head out of his ass and walk his beer gut out of the stadium. Now, I only had to deal with Dad coming to a few games a season, but it still set my teeth on edge knowing he was watching me.

“Hey, Johnson! Your girlfriend’s got eyes on you!” Tyler goaded me. Without looking up I knew he meant Charlotte. Ever since I brought her to the house, I hadn’t heard the end of it. It probably didn’t help that I also made her off-limits to the entire team.

Turning towards the stands again I saw that the crowd had gotten thicker. My mom sat next to my dad now, with Charlotte and her roommate on the other side. When Charlotte caught my eye she wiggled excitedly while smiling and giving me two thumbs up. God damn it, she’s cute.

Nodding my head in acknowledgement I couldn’t help but smile at her excitement. The smile dropped though when my eyes moved over to my mom and saw her smug face watching Charlotte and I.

I turned back towards my team to finish warming up and tried to ignore the stands from that point on. I knew what my mom was thinking. She’d mentioned how great Charlotte would be for me several times over the years. But we weren’t together—we were just friends.

I don’t know exactly what my plan had been going to Charlotte’s room that night—but becoming friends with her wasn’t it. I’d spent a month trying to shake her out of my mind and I just couldn’t. I’d always been content in my own company. Sure I partied with my team, or spent the night with random girls. But besides that, I was happy just being on my own.

Then suddenly, after spending a day with Charlotte—I find myself missing her company. I craved her quiet voice and soft laugh. I wanted to see her roll her eyes and say something sassy—which was a side of her I didn’t even know existed before. I even missed watching her dumb movies.

Soon, I was walking to the center of the field for the coin flip. James and Tyler flagged either side of me as we walked in perfect step—all with our heads high, and our faces devoid of emotion. With every step I took, I hærdened myself to anything that could make me weak. This was war and I was expected to lead the troops.

Three-and-a-half hours later I was hopping in the shower while my teammates roared behind me in celebration. I’d celebrated too, hell, I’d even let James hug me after our game-winning touchdown. But the second we walked off the field, I remembered my dad in the stands and any happiness from the win seeped away.

“Hey, baby! You did so well!” My mom cooed when I walked out of the locker room. She latched herself onto me in a hug as she continued praising me. I knew what she was doing, but no amount of platitudes was going to outweigh dad’s oncoming critiques.

‘Thanks, Ma,” I said as I looked over her head at Charlotte. She had stayed back, talking to her roommate, but she must have felt my eyes on her because she looked up and smiled at me. She looked hesitant to come over, her eyes kept flitting from me to my mom. I guess our relationsh¡p had changed a lot since she came to USC. We barely ever even intEr×¢ted before, and then like a tidal wave this new friendsh¡p emerged.

A magnetic pull made me want to walk over to Charlotte and get a hug from her as well. I didn’t know what it was about the tiny girl but I’d become a s-cker for her affection. Most people were risking their lives when they touched me, but from her, I wanted it.

God if the guys could hear the shit in my head they’d give me so much crap for being p-ssy-wh¡pped—and I’m not even getting laid. Not that I hadn’t thought about it of course, but I doubted Charlotte’s friendsh¡p extended that far.

Later that night, I sat across from my parents at the restaurant as we celebrated my mom’s birthday. Well, tried to. Dad had been on a constant monologue since we left the field, making sure I knew every mistake I’d made. I didn’t even care anymore that he was annoying the shit out of me, but he was ruining Mom’s night.

“So,” I said loudly, cutting him off mid-sentence. “Here’s your gift, Mom, Happy Birthday,” I said as I passed her the gift bag. I didn’t miss the look of shock that passed over her face as she took it. I hated buying gifts, so normally she got gift cards from me. I felt like a piece of shit for that though, as I watched her pick up each bath product with a huge smile on her face—thanking me profusely.

“Right anyways. As I was saying, twice you were on the 3rd down and made a shit call. You think your gonna get into the NFL making plays like that? You almost sacked!”

“Yes, Dad,” I replied stiffly. “But I didn’t did I? Most people consider that a pretty successful f-cking game.”

“Don’t you talk like that in front of your mother!” Dad’s raised voice made my mom fidgety, only stoking my own anger.

“Oh yeah,” I said keeping my voice low and even. “Let’s not swear in front of her. Let’s just spend her wh0le god damn birthday dinner talking shit about a game that I won.”

“I’m sorry Ma, but I have to go. I can’t take this shit anymore.” I continued through gritted teeth, as I stood up to k-ss her on the cheek. Anger boiled in my blood and I was libel to explode if I didn’t get away from my father soon.

“It’s okay, baby. I was just happy I got to see you.” My mom replied softly. I knew she hated this, but she chose to be with the man, not me.

Moving to the exit a flash of dark curls caught my eye. Charlotte was sitting at a table, tucked in the corner with that idiotic little rookie. He was talking animatedly as she threw her head back in laughter. Something about it added fuel to my fire. Seeing her, so relaxed and happy with him—it infuriated me as much as my dad had.

Pushing past a waiter I made my escape outside and started walking. The cool night air filled my lungs as I charged down the street needing to put space between me and the restaurant quickly.

I saw a small urban park ahead and moved towards it. The night sky had cloaked it in darkness and it looked like the perfect place to let off steam. My fists collided with the trunk of a tall tree near the entrance, then again, and again. The repetition of my knuckles slamming against the sharp bark cooled the anger beneath my skin. With every punch, I pictured my dad’s face—and maybe for a few, it was that rookies too.

Finally, when I could barely breathe, I let myself stop. s-cking in air I moved forward, further into the park where I found a bench to sit on. My adrenaline pumped too heavily to feel the pain in my hands, but I knew it would come eventually. It always did.

“A-Archer?” A soft voice called from behind me. Turning around, I saw Charlotte standing a ways off as though she was afraid to approach me. The small light from the street hit her back, making her glow like a literal angel before me.

“What are you doing out here, Charlotte? Go back.” I snapped, thinking about her being out in the dark alone.

“I saw you… in the restaurant,” she said timidly, as she slowly walked towards me. Her actions were making me feel like a wild animal, one that could pounce at any moment. I guess—depending on how much she witnessed—that might be exactly what she thought I was. “You looked upset. I wanted to help…”

“You can’t help me Charlotte. Just go back.” I laughed as she came to a stop in front of me. I suddenly found it hærd to look her in the eye, instead, I dropped my head back and stared up at the stars.

“Archer you’re clearly upset about something. Maybe if you talked,” I didn’t let her finish before I snapped.

“I don’t need to f-cking talk Charlotte,” I barked as I sat up straighter and looked at her. “Talking isn’t going to fix anything. In fact, I think I’ve had a little too much f-cking talking tonight.” Pain flashed across her face at my words. f-ck. I knew I was being a d-ck. But the words were tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“f-ck Charlotte,” I murmured as I rubbed my knuckles into my eyes. “You should just stay away from me. I f-ck everything up. I can’t do shit right, and obviously, I can’t even be your friend without turning into a d-ck.”

Small hands pulled my own away from my eyes. I raised my face to see Charlotte had moved forward, standing almost between my legs as she gripped my hands.

“You do not mess everything up.” She demanded with a look of determination. I almost smiled at her cleaner choice of words. “You gave me great advice when I was breaking down and being a baby about school. Advice that by the way, has made my classes way easier! Not to mention, you saved me at that party, stayed with me all night, and took care of me afterwards. Plus you kept it all a secret for me.”

Charlotte lifted one hand to rest on my cheek, angling my face to ensure I looked directly at her. ” Archer, I don’t know where I’d be right now if you hadn’t been around for all of that—but I know it would be worse than where I am now.”

Staring up at her, I was lost for words. Somehow this girl made me feel… useful? Needed? Appreciated? Whatever it was, I only usually felt it on the football field. Not in my real life.

We sat like that for a long time, wrapped in each other’s arms. The tension I was holding slowly released as I matched my breathing to the slow rise and fall of her chest. It was h-rder than I ever could have imagined to keep my hands still. It was like they had a mind of their own and were itching to explore Charlotte’s body. I appeased the urge by lightly running my fingers up and down the curve of her back, feeling each individual bump of her spine.

Needing to feel close to her, I reached out and wrapped my hands around her wa-ist, pulling her into me. Charlotte stumbled a little but I caught her easily and adjusted her down onto my lap. She leant forward and encased me in her arms, pulling my head towards her chest. I felt like a damn baby but f-ck if it didn’t feel good to be held by Charlotte Avery.

I had a sudden impulse to close the distance between us, to taste her sweet l-ips. But just as I felt it, I knew I needed to push it far down. Charlotte was too good for me. She was an angel walking on this earth, and I was… well, maybe not the devil but pretty damn close. I sure as shit, did not deserve her.

Charlotte shifted on my lap so I straightened to look her in the eye. Her large brown eyes twinkled back at me, making me smile. I’d lost count of how many times I’d smiled during my short time with this girl, but it felt like astronomically more than ever before.

So instead, I brushed some hair away from her face and tucked my hand at the back of her neck. Tilting her head down slightly, I pushed my l-ips against her forehead firmly. When I pulled back she grinned softly at me, mirroring my own contentment.

“I don’t know where I’d be without you either, Sweetheart,” I said truthfully. The first few times I called her that, it just kind of slipped out. I’d never called any girl by a pet name before, but with Charlotte, it fit. She was a sweetheart. Literally. I knew someone like me had no business being around someone as good as her. But my inner darkness craved her light, and I was a selfish man.
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Tbc ..

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