The Ten-Year Game Plan

Chapter 16- Donovan / Josie

DONOVAN'S POV—

"Thanks Mom. Tell Danny to watch for me. I'll try and send him a signal," I said into the phone.

Mom gave a tired laugh on the other end of the line. "I will, sweetie. He'll look out for it I'm sure. Good luck."

I said my thanks and bid her goodbye. She sounded tired, but she was always sounding tired these days. It was a familiar feeling.

"They coming to the game?" Winston asked, unpacking some of his things out of his team bag and into his locker. The roar of our teammates made it hard to hear anyone, even if they were standing right next to you.

I shook my head. "Not this one."

Not any of them, actually. My mom and Danny would watch the game on tv, but there's no way they would come to the stadium.

Winston gave me a sympathetic look and clapped me on the shoulder. He wasn't the only one on the team who knew, but he was the only one who I would let talk to me about it.

But not right now. Right now needed to be about football. It needed to be about the game. About focus. About—

Fish: Good luck! Make sure you throw the ball in the right direction.

I chuckled, typing out a quick response.

Me: That's a good game plan, coach. I'll keep that in mind.

Fish: That's why they pay me the big bucks.

Me: They don't pay you anything.

Fish: Sadly ):

I shoved the phone back into my locker, my mood considerably less focused but lighter. Winston shot me a look.

"What?" I asked.

"You ever gonna tell her?"

"Dunno what you're talking about."

Winston rolled his eyes again, sighing. However, he seemed to let the matter go and we both pretended like I had no idea what he was talking about. Those types of questions were definitely not going to help me get my focus back.

The two of us went to the athletic trainers to get wrapped before the game: my wrist and Winston's knee. There were a few players already waiting in line and we jumped in behind them, a few of them greeting us.

I fell in with most of the guys with no problem apart from a few exceptions—

"We need more athletic trainers if it's going to take this long to wait to get wrapped," Hayden's voice floated through the training room and I cringed. If I could hear it, then so could our trainers.

"Why the fuck is he getting wrapped?" Shawn, our friend, leaned over muttering to the two of us. "He's not going to see a second on the field."

Winston snorted and I couldn't help but smile.

"I hope it's his mouth."

"Or his dick—"

Winston's painful dig at the other quarterback was cut off by my attention snapping to the conversation that was happening toward the front of the line. It was hard not to eavesdrop on the conversation when it was loud enough for everyone waiting to hear it. And her name was enough to make me strain to hear what was being said, even if it hadn't echoed on the walls.

I couldn't hear the question that was asked, but I could hear Hayden's response clear as day.

"Josie's been a bitch lately, so I don't know what's up, but she said she's going to the party afterward so we'll see if maybe she's a little nicer when she's drunk."