𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 ⤷ JAMIE TARTT

8 - Reflections

Roy grabbed Jamie by the front of his shirt, pulling him to his feet with a grunt before pushing at his chest with a finger. "I said, your head's—" jab "—not in the—" jab "—fucking—" jab "—game!"

"I'm . . ." He flinched as Roy's hand faltered.

Maybe it was all the talk about his father today, but this was a familiar scene.

Jamie fell back at his father's shove. His father's finger dug into his chest with a pointed jab.

"Do you think she's with you for your heart, boy? Don't be stupid," his father said. He wore alcohol like cologne, and right now he reeked of it.

"Don't talk about her like that," Jamie said quietly.

James let out a loud haughty laugh before he took ahold of Jamie by his tie. He tugged harshly, and Jamie's hand came up quickly to stop it from closing in any further. He gasped for what little air he could make, and his heart drummed against his chest as he stared into a reflection of himself in his father's eyes.

"One year anniversary?" James scoffed. "She'll rob you blind."

He choked out, "She's not like—"

"Of course she is!" He roared, and his grip tightened on the tie until Jamie was a spluttering mess. Leaning in, James spoke quietly into his ear. "Don't you trust your father, son?"

Air flooded back into Jamie's lungs, and Roy's hand immediately fell to his side.

"Are you . . . okay?"

He blinked. "I'm fine." Jamie looked down at the scratches on his palm. They'd scab over, and Ted would probably throw a fit about him not properly taking care of himself.

"You're not fine," Roy said.

Had he been in a better mood he'd probably respond with something sarcastic, but exhaustion had finally caught up to him. All he could see was the disgusted look on his father's face from that night. "Is it that obvious?"

Roy made a sound of agreement, and Jamie sighed. "It's about Kate."

Roy rolled his eyes. That much he (and the rest of the team) had already figured out. Jamie had gone from talking about her nearly every minute to looking like a kicked puppy and not saying anything about her at all. Even today, with how he was bouncing off the walls, something was off.

Jamie cleared his throat. He couldn't bring himself to look at Roy while he talked, so he focused his eyes on the darkening sky. The stars were beginning to shine as the sun finally faded.

"I thought I was going to marry her one day. She wasn't my first girlfriend by any means, and I never really thought about settling down before. I was young, and she was finishing up school, but when I met her, I knew she was it for me," he said quietly. "Actually, she's the one that made sure I stayed with football when I wanted to quit. It was before I was anything, and everything felt like shit. She kept me afloat, but . . ."

Roy looked uncomfortable but pressed on. "What happened?"

He sighed. "My dad tried to tell me that she wasn't good enough for me, but all I realized was that I would never be good enough for her. I'm as much me mum's son as I am me dad's, so I left. I didn't show up, and I cut myself out of her life."

Roy remembered James. He was an ass. "You're not your father."

Jamie laughed off the remark, awkwardly. It wasn't an unbelievable thing to say. He just wasn't sure how to feel anymore, so he teased. "Gone soft on me, have you old man?"