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The recruiter shook his head, causing the color to drain from my face. “That’s not what I’m referring to, Blade.”
“Oh.”
Of course, that wasn’t what he was referring to. Why would he give a shit if my parents supported me?
“Look, college rumor mills can run rampant. Hell, the rumor mill wherever you are can get out of hand. Call centers, cookie-cutter neighborhoods, and even the national football teams are riddled with them.”
“Yes, sir.”
He leaned even closer to me, to the point where I could clearly make out the pores in his face. “But the pictures on social media are telling, Blade. On the one hand, I’m glad that you’re single as girlfriends can suck the life out of football players. But on the other hand, well, look.”
He showed me the pictures on his cell phone of Isabella buying the pregnancy test and me waiting for her in the car, which I had seen dozens of times.
I cleared my throat as I watched my future go down the toilet. “I’m not going to be a father, sir. The test came back negative.”
“Is that what she told you, or did you see the test for yourself?”
I didn’t want to think that Isabella would ever lie to me, but the recruiter made a good point. I wasn’t there with her when she took the test, even though I should have been. Maybe if she’d been comfortable enough to be honest with me in the first place, none of this would be happening.
But regardless of what the recruiter was suggesting, one thing was for sure. I was confident that Isabella was being honest about the pregnancy test results. “I mean, I didn’t see it, but I trust her, sir.”
The recruiter eyed me suspiciously before putting his cell phone away. Whether he believed me or not, I didn’t know. “Okay, good. Because being a young dad can really interfere with a professional football career. We’ll be in touch, son.”
He firmly shook my hand before walking away, leaving me sitting there alone with my thoughts.
I watched the rest of our football team practice on the playing field, wondering what I would do. I was emotionally invested in Isabella, even though we hadn’t spoken since our big fight. It was a miracle I’d even been able to perform well for the recruiter that day.
I headed back to the fraternity house when practice was over, where several of my brothers high-fived me the second I walked into the door.
“Hey, guys. What’s going on?”
All of them spoke at once, congratulating me on getting signed by the California Lions. They wanted to know if they’d get season tickets. They wondered if I would remember them when I was famous, and if they should throw a party for me.
I held my hands up to stop all of them from talking. The meaningless chatter verged on driving me insane. I had enough voices in my head to fill a stadium. “Look, guys. I barely spoke with the recruiter a little while ago and won’t know anything for another few weeks. So no, please don’t throw me a party.”
They must have realized I was emotionally drained and dispersed as I headed upstairs. I pondered the idea that our relationships as brothers and friends were more shallow than I’d ever expected. Not long after, I could hear the partying begin. The thought of partying, knowing that Isabella could be out there dating another guy, made me sick to my stomach. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep the rest of the day away.
That wouldn’t happen, though, since Aiden had music blaring through his headphones.
I slammed the door shut so he’d know I was there, causing him to yank them off and spin around in his chair.
“Bro, what the fuck?”
“Sorry, but I thought that’d be better than sneaking up on you.”
“Whatever man.” He pulled the headphones off his head. “So, how’d it go with the recruiter?”
I sat down on the edge of my bed and ran my hands through my hair. “I think the California Lions will sign me, but now it’s a waiting game.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re still thinking about Isabella, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a little.”
He didn’t believe in having romantic feelings for girls, so he was the last person to talk to about what was running through my mind. “Dude, that girl is bad news. She tried trapping you into a relationship by getting pregnant.”
“She wouldn’t do that. And I was there when it happened. Trust me, that’s not what went down.”
He didn’t believe me, though. Aiden had also been through his fair share of pregnancy scares and had always blamed the girl. Even though he and I both knew how much he despised condoms. He had the mentality that it was up to a woman to prevent herself from getting pregnant since all they had to do was take a pill.
