Football was easy to figure out. I’d known how to do that since I was in high school.
It was the relationships in my life where I always struggled most.
My father.
My nonexistent mother.
My teammates and coaches.
Remi.
I didn’t know how to do any of it, not when it mattered.
I snapped the ball a little too hard on the last go route. Williams had done his job, sprinting straight down the middle of the field about twenty-five yards, but the ball sailed over his head, easily ten yards past him.
“Fuck,” I muttered, then tapped my chest. “That’s on me.”
Williams jogged back with an easy smile on his face. “No worries, QB. I shoulda run faster.”
I pulled out an earbud and tucked it into my wristband so he knew I was paying attention. “You ran fast enough. I was distracted with my own shit.”
My QB coach glanced in my direction, his eyebrows lifting slightly at the admission. Brooks and Smith shared a look on the sideline.
Williams set his hands on his hips. “Anything you want to talk about?”
I froze.
So did Brooks and Smith.
Mitch sucked in a quick breath and held it.
“You want to talk about my problems,” I said slowly.
He shrugged. “We’re teammates, right? If you’re struggling with something, we should feel secure enough to ask if you need help.”
Brooks swiped a hand over his mouth, and Smith stared down at the ground.
I stared at Williams with narrowed eyes, my chest tightening uncomfortably.
He was trying to help.
Tell someone.
I banished the sound of Remi’s voice out of my head. Other than Coach, I couldn’t remember the last time anyone around me had offered something so simple. Not that I blamed my teammates—they were all living their own lives. It wasn’t their responsibility to fix me.
“I don’t know if you can,” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest.
He nodded. “Is it about the DUI?”
“Fucking rookies,” Smith muttered. Brooks choked on a laugh.
“What?” Williams asked. “Are we not supposed to talk about that?”
“It’s not about the DUI.” I rolled my neck until I heard a crack. “I, uh, I like someone.”
My QB coach dropped his phone. Brooks’s head snapped up and Smith’s mouth fell open.
Williams nodded eagerly. “That’s ... that’s good. What’s the problem?”