bet on it - odell beckham jr.

chapter thirty-two

the sob that i've been holding in escapes me and his grip tightens.

"baby, please. you have to hear me out. it's not what you think, not what you think at all. just let me explain it all to you. ira, please. i meant what i said when i told you that i loved you. i love you, please. listen to me."

"i was a bet?" i force out, through clenched teeth, finally able to compose myself enough to speak. "i was just a fucking bet to you?"

"baby–"

"just stop, odell. let me go. don't–" i pull away from him, almost knocking back into otto as i try to run away from odells' grasp.

"ira, you weren't supposed to find out like this!"

"no?" i whip my head back around, as i break free and scoff. "when were you gonna tell me, right before i got fired? or right after you got me pregnant? or right before you had me burying into your bullshit plans for the future? i thought you were different, odell. i knew something like this would happen. i thought maybe you actually cared about me, now i see that all you cared about was winning some pathetic bet!"

i swivel back around to face alex, who secures an arm around me as he begins to shuttle me out of the now silent gym. every member of the team just witnessed this ignominious spectacle, including the coach, which obviously means i'm fired.

except, i can't handle going to my office right now to clean it out. i just need to get the hell out of here, far away from all of this.

☯︎

two days later, i have managed to compose myself enough to face the ongoing nightmare. mr. ellis called me first thing yesterday morning, giving me the day off, but also informing me that i had to come in and meet with him today.

my heart races as i make the trek from the parking lot to the building attached to the stadium that houses all the offices. my office, or at least, what used to be my office. i've brought a box with me so that i can collect my things after the meeting, and my resignation letter which i typed up last night.

the last two days have been torture, with my emotions running high all over the spectrum. my mood seems to change from broken-hearted, to incredibly pissed, back to that of sheer embarrassment in a matter of seconds. the very night that all of this came to light, i cried myself to sleep. but after that, i haven't allowed any tears to fall.

i'm stronger than this. i've been through way worse situations, and i've come out on top. and i'll be damned if i let some jackass try to wreck me now.

in all honesty, this is my fault. i should have known better, should have never allowed myself to get messed up in this whole situation. i was warned from the get go, and i knew from day one that these guys were gonna try and get me fired no matter how nice i tried to be.

i guess i didn't think odell would turn out to be like that, especially when he seemed to care about me. but, i was a dick. and now i gotta pay the price for my own mistakes.

odell has tried to contact me, there's no denial, but i've ignored him at every turn. i even ended up blocking his phone number. after that, he showed up at my house and beat on my door for almost an hour.

i didn't bother dressing for work today, it's not like i needed to. so instead, i chose to wear a pair of a hoodie, sweatpants and some beat up air forces. no sense in dressing up to get fired.

i keep my eyes down as i make my way through the hallways. i can hear the faint sounds of the guys laughing and showers running, but luckily not one of them are out anywhere.