reasons - louis tomlinson

iii. the question

While she waited, she took in the bland, white walls and the few pictures that decorated the room. The mayor did not have a family, but there were pictures of him and his buddies on a fishing trip. He must have just come back from fishing because there was a fowl smell and there was an ice chest in the corner of the room.

“Shay, how are you?” The mayor stuck his hand out for her to shake.

“I’m great. How are you, sir?” She shook his hand, and he offered her a seat across from his desk.

Shay sat down in the black, leather chairs, and she instantly wanted to take one home; of course taking one home was not the reason why she called in. She did make a note to herself to make sure that they bought one for her room though.

“I’m wonderful, especially because of the game last night. You had a hell of a game.” He congratulated her.

She smiled in response and waited for him to explain why she got called into his office. Shay ran through the last couple months in her head to make sure she did not do anything bad, but since she had been so busy with softball, she has not had the time to fool around.

“Now I know you must be wondering why I wanted you here, but Shay I have to ask you for something. Whatever we say here stays between us, you understand? You can’t tell Chris, your team, or even your family.” He got up to pour himself a glass of water. He gestured to her as if he was asking if she wanted one, but she politely declined.

Shay kept rubbing her hands together – a nervous habit that she always did. She talked to the mayor many times, but never was it this formal. He was asking her to keep secrets from everyone, and she knew she was horrible at keeping secrets.

“What do you need?” She nervously asked him.

“The state finals are this weekend, and I need you to do something. If you didn’t know, I’m in a lot of debt.”

The rumor was the mayor had a gambling problem, but no one had ever seen him gamble, so it was just a rumor. He would disappear for days end, and no one would know where he was, just to appear the next day.

“I love this town Shay, please don’t forget that, but I need some money to support myself. While I was on vacation a couple weeks ago, I made a friend who will give me a large amount of money. There is a catch though, you’d have to throw the game.” The mayor had a nervous look on his face as he watched Shay process the information.

A million thoughts were running through Shay’s mind once the mayor asked her to do that. He wanted her to throw the game – a game that meant so much to her friends, her team, her family, and the town. How could she do that to so many people?

“No disrespect sir, but I could never do that. My team and I have put so much effort into getting this far, and it would not be fair to any of us if I threw that down the drain.” Shay stood up for the chair, and was ready to pounce on him.

“I’ll give you half the money. I’m getting $40,000, so you would get $20,000.” He tried to bargain with her.

The more Shay thought about it, the more she got angry. The fact that he had the nerve to put her in that position was appalling. Shay did not want to get in the middle of the mayor and his gambling problems because even though she was a top athlete, she still had her own problems. The burden of throwing the game for him would be too much for her.

“No. I’m sorry sir, but I really can’t do that. If you want, I can find you someplace to get help for your gambling addiction. Everyone respects you sir, and I don’t think you would want this getting out.” Shay tried to reason with him. Despite how mad she was, she had to respect him, and she knew that people liked him as mayor.

A look of panic washed over the mayor’s face, and she realized she had hit a rough spot. He did not say anything for a while; he just paced back and forth, rubbing his beard.

The tension was unbearable, and all Shay wanted to do was get out of the room. She felt her phone buzz in her pocket, but she did not want to check it. The mayor was in a vulnerable place, and she thought he could snap at any given moment.

“You have to do this Shayden.” The mayor threatened her.

“Don’t you remember that your father works for me? How devastated would he be if he lost his job?” Suddenly, he got an evil look on his face, and Shay became freighted for her life.

If her father lost her job, he would have no way to support her and her brothers. Even though his job did not pay much, it was enough to keep the family together. Sometimes Shay would do odd jobs, but with her schedule it was hard to keep a job.

She could not risk her father losing his job, but the game was important too. How could he make her choose between her biological family and her team, who was basically family?

 “I can ruin your whole entire life Shay, I hope you know that.” He said, nonchalantly.

Shay did not know how he could be so calm about this. She knew that the ball was in her court, especially since he held the future of her family. There was a voice inside her head that was telling her to take the offer, but she also knew it was wrong to throw the game.

The mayor chuckled at Shay’s anxiety, and got her a glass of water. His whole demeanor changed, but he knew she was going to take the deal. The mayor knew Shay was a family girl, so what kind of person would she be if she knew her father was going to get fired?

A/N: hi guys, i know this is long overdue, and i only have excuses, but you have to bear with me.. im going through a lot of stuff right now and it's hard for me to get through each day..

it's been a hard year and i just can't wait till i can get out of high school and into college

i love you all

- manda

ps: blake for the video bc im seeing him concert tomorrow (::::::