Chapter Four: Day Four
That night I dreamt that I got married to a man, a handsome, tall, muscular, man. I was just mortified when I saw that the man was Wyatt, with his dorky, slimy, greased slicked back hair.
If there was ever a time in my life where I thought things absolutely couldn't get any worse, then this was it. However, as most know it to be true, everything gets so much worse if a person thinks or says that.
When we arrived at the stadium I was told that I wasn't really needed until tomorrow. Which, to me, basically meant that I could've slept in today. So I just sat on a bench and then the next worst thing happened to me; a wild Wyatt appeared.
"Hi Ellie!" He smiled, his voice so energetic and full of life; I cringed.
"Hey Wyatt, what are you doing here again so soon?" I asked, trying to seem as pleasant as possible. He smiled, a goofy white grin, before plopping onto the seat next to me.
"The coaches thought it'd be best for some of the players to comeback and continue to help for a while." He explained, sheepishly rubbing the back of his tan neck.
"Of course you were one of the 'chosen' players..." I muttered softly to myself, mentally strangling my cousin and the other coaches.
In all honesty Wyatt wasn't really a bad guy, he just didn't seem like the stereotypical football player. Then again most of the people that have been at this camp, except for a few, have been quite the opposite. It was just that Wyatt was...well...he just was different, in a he-could-be-my-friend type way. Everyone knows before they befriend someone that in the beginning they think that the person is weird; it's like that stage friendship feeling.
"I'm actually really hyped about being here again! I really like this team, the coaches are freaking boss!" He laughed, a fiery glint in his eyes. I studied him for a moment before I shook my head and gave a faint laugh.
"Hyped? Who says that anymore?"
"Well I do, so it's gotta be popular." He smirked, a joking tone ruling his voice. I stared at him like he was crazy before laughing once again. "I know, I know. I'm hilarious. Don't be jelly."
"Oh my gosh! This just keeps getting better and better!" I cried, holding on my aching stomach. Wyatt laughed, much harder than I was, falling off of the bench and onto the turf.
"Ellie you're freaking amazing! "He cheered, trying to stand up. I rolled my eyes and did a little bow.
"Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week. Make sure to tip your servers." The sarcasm in my voice might've been a little much but I'm pretty sure at that moment he thought I was playing still.
"Hey Ellie." Another voice added, the person walking into my line of vision. I stopped laughing for a moment to acknowledge them.
"Hi Gates." I smiled, placing my hands on the turf and pushing myself up and back onto the bench. Wyatt bid him a good morning before he began to ramble on and on about how he was so exited to be helping again today.
"Well we need all the help we can get so, please, come help out anytime." Gates laughed, the two of them doing a man hug-thing. I tried not to roll my eyes at them but it was so difficult not to do so. Instead I settled for playing on my phone while everyone left to warm up. It was then something dawned on me, after a couple of days of 'being the ball' I still didn't even know most of the players names. For instance all I knew of Gates was that his last name was Gates, and that was it. So I guess it's time for me to start learning some names, oh joy.
"ELLIE WATCH OUT!" I peered up from my phone only for a football to hit me dead on. The pain from the impact was not immediate but it did come shortly after, as well as my cousin. He frowned, checking me for an injury, his hands patting my forehead before stopping to pick up the ball. With a twist to his wrist the ball went soaring through the air and into the hands of an awaiting Wyatt, a twinkle in his eyes.
"Get back to practicing!" Another coach yelled, smacking his hands together. Gavin bent my head back, muttered a 'stay' and then left to return to coaching. I frowned, moving my head to its upright position; my nose throbbing in pain.
"That was...painful." I muttered to myself, as I went to wipe my runny nose with the back of my hand; there were no tissues around. When I saw the red liquid on my hand my mind began to go at an extremely fast pace, my nose was bleeding.
I jumped up from the bench, sending my phone to fall on the ground. I bite my lip and gave a light groan, wasn't this just my day. Where was Knox when you need him, I thought bitterly.
"I got it." A feminine voice said, a hand reaching for my phone; a girl almost half a head taller than me smiled, while handing me my phone.
"Thank you so much!" I smiled, grabbing my phone and slipping it into my back pocket. The girl gave a small smile before turning on her heel and running towards a group of people. It was then that it dawned on me, why was she here? No one, unless they were staff, was allowed to be here watching the boys practice.
"KNOX! I'm here baby!" She screamed, jumping on the back of Knox. My eyebrow twitched, blood still running down from my nose, as I began to grow agitated with the girl. Just those few words from her mouth and I already had a dying sense of hatred toward her, well maybe not hate but certainly dislike toward her.
"Juliet, babe, what are you doing here?" Knox asked, letting her jump off of his back. She quickly gave him a peck on his lips before responding to him.
"I just wanted to visit; Daddy said I could come, so here I am!" I practically barfed at the word 'Daddy', that wasn't the point though; who was her Daddy?
"He did? Okay then, why don't you go sit next to Ellie and watch us practice then. Behave." Knox commented, pointing over toward me; I rolled my eyes. He was almost treating her like a dog, which in a way was really funny.
"Okay, love you!" She smiled, giving him one last kiss before sashaying her way back over to where I was sitting. Most of the players were staring at her until Knox began to call out the play. She smirked as soon as she walked passed me, an aura of arrogance surrounding her; she is the definition of a she-devil.
I hastily walked to the closest bathroom in order to clean my face from all the blood. My reflection in the mirror looked not as bad as I had thought but was still far from good. Blood caked my upper lip and the bottom of my nose, I sighed and ran to a stall for toilet tissue. Returning to the mirror I plugged my nose up, tilted my head back and prayed for the nose bleed to end fairly soon. I'd probably been in there for around 10 minutes trying to stop the bleeding when Juliet walked in.
"OH! I had no clue you were in here!" The fake surprise in her voice irritated me; I gave a hum as a reply, trying to keep my contact with her to a minimal. But the girl just had no desire for the talk to end just with the lack of words.
"I don't think we met earlier, I'm Juliet Scott, the head coach's daughter." She stated, tossing her hair off her shoulder and posing in front of the mirror. Suddenly the air in the small bathroom began to reek of expensive fruity perfume, along with her arrogance.
"Ellie," I replied, biting my tongue, a sarcastic remark just begging to be said.
"Okay, Ellie," She stressed, her tone becoming serious, the atmosphere thick and murky. "Stay away from Knox, he's mine." The comment wouldn't have irked me so much, if only she hadn't claimed him as if he were her property.
"He's yours? I don't believe I've seen you name on him, maybe your foul stench, but most certainly not your name." I remarked, turning to look at her face to face. She frowned, eyebrows furrowing as she began to scowl at me.
"Listen here Miss Priss, I can ruin you in a minute. Don't cross me, Knox is mine. Can you get that through your thick skull or do I need to speak slower?" She smirked, crossing her arms over her chest before she turned and walked out of the restroom. I stared at her retreating figure with my mouth hanging open, this little wench just called me stupid. I balled my hands up into fist before I turned to look at my reflection.
"Karma is going to get her back, Karma is going to get her." I repeated to myself until I felt calm enough to return to the field.
I walked over to where the coaches were and glared at Juliet from a far. She cheered and shouted whenever Knox did something, anything really. If I am being perfectly honest, he just has to say good job to some other player and she cheers like he just threw the winning touch down. I cringe when H.C Bobby looks over at me, waving me to come towards him. With a large amount of reluctance my feet slowly lead me to him.
"Ellie, would you mind telling my daughter that if she doesn't keep calm and quiet, I will send her out of practice." He phrased it as a question but it was more of a command. I nodded my head, a small smile trying to make its way to my face. Quickly I walked over to her, begging myself to at least try to be civilized. Kill 'em with kindness, I thought to myself, smiling on my way over to her.
"What do you want?" She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Your dad wants me to tell you, if you don't keep quiet then you gonna have to leave." I stated, trying not to seem like a royal sassy female dog. She gave me a fake smile, shooing me away with her left hand whilst her right hand texted away on her phone.
I stared at her for a moment in disbelief, did this girl really just shoo me away? I was not one of her personal servants; she needs to rethink the way she acts, before someone has to fix that attitude for her. Turning on my heel I marched back towards the stands, with all intent to flop onto the hard surface.
Fate can be so cruel.
"GO KNOX! YOU CAN DO IT BABY!" Juliet screamed, jumping up and down, thrusting her hands up in the air. I rolled my eyes and glared at her.
"Be quiet, you nasty little..."I mumbled, pulling my phone out of my pocket to block out her annoying voice, and self. Sadly, nothing can be perfect and everything has to go and get interrupted.
"Juliet, come here. Now." Coach Bobby yelled, he sounded partly angry yet partly emotionless; doesn't wanna get mad at his little princess, excuse me while I gag.
"Coming Daddy." She replied, flipping hair over her shoulder before skipping over to him.
Oh yeah she's a major bimbo and strumpet.
The players continued practicing, their bodies slamming into one another while Knox threw the ball to the running back, Apollo Wilson. Less than five steps after getting the ball very large high school football player threw him to the ground, the ball tumbling out of his hands; Six players rushed to get the ball, some for our team and then some for the high school team, visibly the coaches cringed. Everyone wrestled for the ball, it wasn't until a very unmanly scream that everything stopped. In an instant all the coaches rushed forward to the large pile of boys, even I jumped off the stands just to see what was wrong. All of the players got off of the person who was moaning and crying out in pain; almost as if they'd been shocked.
If there was ever a time where I wished that I could've unseen something, I wish I could've unseen this picture in front of me. Wyatt was on the ground with his leg bent at an unnatural angle, a small portion of the bone sticking out from his skin; His cries of agony were getting louder by the second. I pulled my phone out and my fingers fumbled around to dial 911. Bile had risen up my throat, everything looked like it was spinning, and I could've sworn that I felt myself pale in horror.
It was twenty minutes later that the ambulance arrived and took Wyatt away to the hospital to get his leg looked at; the diagnosis was plainly obvious. With his leg broken he'd be not only out of the summer camp but also for part of his football season at school. All of the coaches apologized to him while he was being loaded onto the stretcher and ambulance, but being the goof ball he is Wyatt said 'it was nothing'. It was at that moment when my cousin proposed the idea that Wyatt come to their university and play on their team; Coach Bobby said they'd discuss it privately later on.
All of the coaches decided to end the practice early after that event, claiming that it was too much excitement for one day and they'll meet back at the stadium tomorrow at the same time, without Juliet. Gavin told me to try and ask one of the players for a ride home, mentioning for me to stay away from Justin. I'd laughed and told him there was nothing to worry about, I wasn't interested in players; what was Knox then?
"Ellie, are you okay?" Gates asked, looking at me whilst grabbing his stuff from his locker. I nodded my head and peered over at Knox, who was talking to his girlfriend outside of the building.
"I think I'll live."
"Good, I still need my ball." He joked, trying to lighten the tense mood that lingered. I smiled shaking my head at him and following him out.
"Yeah right, your ball." I sarcastically remarked, hopping down the steps, far away from the now kissing couple; gag me with a spoon.
"Hey be nice now." He smiled, flashing his perfect teeth; are the majority of the players on this time so handsome?
"I will if you wanna give me a ride, please?" I bargained, giving him my best kicked puppy look, trying to get him to say yes. He looked like he was in deep thought; he was such a jokester like that, before he put on a very somber appearance on his face.
"I guess I can." He begrudgingly sighed, a smile tugging at his lips. I playfully smiled and slapped his arm in mock outrage; his façade falling to pieces.
"That's not very nice Gates!"
"It's Nathan, not gates missy." Justin smirked, walking over to us in a predator type manner. Gates shook his head and muttered something I couldn't hear before doing a handshake with Justin.
"I know his name is Nathan, but I prefer to call him Gates." I responded as peacefully as I could muster, my patience once gain being tested for the day.
"Sure thing Mama." He mocked, causing me to give him a pointed look. I was not ever going to be in the mood to be sexually harassed by this guy, he was a total tool.
"Can we go Gates?" I asked, pulling on his arm a little, urging him to move. He nodded his head slowly before saying good-bye to his teammate until tomorrow.
"Hey Ellie, where are you and Gates going?" Knox asked, walking over to us; Juliet now missing in action. It's about time that she left; honestly she was getting on my nerves just by breathing.
"I'm driving her back to Coach McCain's house."
"Why can't Coach McCain do that?" Knox quizzed making eye contact with Gates, both of their shoulder squaring.
"Gavin can't drive me because all of the coaches are staying behind to discuss some of the things that happened today. He told me to go find a ride home, so I asked Gates. Gates, being the nice person he is, agreed to drive me home." I explained, trying to look Knox in the eyes, but he kept staring at Gates.
"I'll drive you home. I live closer to Coach McCain's house than Gates does. We wouldn't want him to have to go out of his way to do something, when it's on my way." Knox's sass level went through the roof in less than one minute, sending Gates into a small fit or anger.
"No way Knox. You gotta girlfriend, you need to spend time with your princess. We wouldn't want you two to have relationship problems now, would we King?" Gates spat, smirking and raising an eyebrow at the taller male.
"I don't think there'd be a problem if I dropped her off. It's not anything that could be misunderstood Gates." Knox replied, clenching his fists and grinding his teeth.
"I swear if someone doesn't drive me home I'll walk." I quickly gave my opinion, trying to ease the tensions between the two.
"I'll drive her, you can drive her another time. See you tomorrow, come on Ellie." Knox finished, walking down the steps to leave. I looked at Gates and apologized both verbally and non verbally.
"I'm sorry, maybe another time?" To which he nodded his head, and turned around and faced the other direction.
"Yeah, another time."
I quickly caught up with Knox afterward, still trying to wrap my head around the situation that had just occurred. The walk to his car was silent, minus our footsteps and the sound of the other cars leaving the parking lot.
"Knox?"
"Yeah, what's up?" He asked unlocking his car with his key fob. I waited until the passenger side was unlocked before I opened the door and got in, his car encasing me in Knox's scent. He tossed his bags into the back of his truck, slamming the door shut before getting into the drivers seat; the car started with a push of a button.
"What was so important about driving me?"
"Just trying to keep the horn dogs off you, and 'cause it's really on my way. Gates would have to go way out of his way and it just seemed like the best thing to do."
"SO arguing with your teammate is a good idea." I scoffed, this boys ignorance of the previous tension was laughable.
"NO, but I was trying to do the best thing for everyone."
"How was it the best thing Knox, please explain it to me. 'Cause it's not making any sense to me." I replied, staring at him intensely, he turned his head to look at me; his eyes softened.
"You just have to trust me on this." He stated, eyes returning to the road.
"Trust you? I hardly even know you!" I exclaimed, whipping my head to look out the window.
"That didn't seem to faze you on the first day." He muttered, just barely loud enough for me to hear him; anger pulsed through my veins.
"There is a big difference there Mister. First of all-"He slammed on the brakes, my body lurching forward but my seatbelt held me back; when did I put it on? Cars honked at his immediate stop, rushing to go around him. After a minute he calmed down and continued driving.
"No, Ellie what don't you get. I'm looking out for you, and I know what's best for you. No one on that team is what's best."
"No one, huh?" I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. He became quiet for a few seconds, his eyes appeared clouded before he replied.
"No one, so just be quiet and listen to me." I inhaled sharply at him comment, rage replacing my anger.
"Pull over."
"No."
"I swear if you don't pull over right now Knox, I'll open the door."
"NO, Ellie you're going to sit here and let me take you home."
"No, you listen here Knox. Pull over."
"No." I stared at him, his left hand moving to lock the doors. I sat there for the rest of the ride until we pulled into my cousins' neighborhood.
"I'm watching out for you by doing this. All of those boys are horn dogs for any girl that shows up." He explained, his voice cutting through the thick air.
"And you're not a horn dog?" I interrogated, giving him a pointed look.
"I'm not."
"Why aren't you?" I replied, unlocking the door and unbuckling my seatbelt, ready to run into the opened garage if needed be. He took a long time before he seemed like he was able to answer me.
"'Cause I don't find you attractive."