Dirty Player - A Football Romance (A Maxwell Family Romance)

by Alycia Taylor

  I sighed. “Yeah. That was Axel. I turned my phone on and I had so many missed calls and messages from him and my father. Apparently, they’ve all been worried about us because both of our phones were off. Your father called the cops, and they are now looking for me.”

  “The cops?”

  “Yeah, he thinks I abducted you,” I said.

  Candice sat down. “He thinks you abducted me? Seriously? Why the hell would he automatically jump to that conclusion?” Then she shook her head. “Because that’s what he wants to believe, of course,” she said as she answered her own question. “He wants everyone to think that you’re the bad guy here. Shit.”

  “Didn’t you send your mom a message when you arrived?”

  She nodded. “I did. That’s why I wasn’t worried. I sent her a message just before I turned off my phone.”

  She got up and picked up her phone from the side of the bed and turned it on. Like mine, her phone immediately started buzzing from all the unanswered calls and messages. She shook her head and then scrolled through her phone.

  “Here it is. Although, what the hell? Only one tick next to it. It’s like I sent it, but she didn’t receive it. That’s strange. But I have calls from her, so she must’ve used her phone since then. Oh, great. So she didn’t get the message? I probably should’ve waited to see if she messaged me back . . . .”

  “No, you had no idea. Ah, this is all just one big mess. Axel seems pretty convinced that your dad is out to get me. I think he wants to have me arrested.”

  “What? Arrested? He can’t do that. Dominic, I won’t let him do that. I swear. I will just explain that the whole thing was just a misunderstanding. They might get cross, but they can’t arrest you. Come on, let’s go home before they worry even more.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, let’s go sort this out.”

  I wasn’t nearly as confident as Candice was, though. She was right. They couldn’t really do anything to me, not when they saw that I had done nothing wrong and that Candice was safe. And anyway, she would just tell them that I didn’t abduct her. But I had this nagging suspicion that Lionel held more power than I could imagine. If he was upset with me, then he was going to do everything that he could to make sure that I paid for it. I watched my NFL aspirations slowly falling away. After everything that I had worked toward, I was now almost sure that I wasn’t going to get what I wanted in life. I just hoped I wasn’t going to lose Candice too.

  We walked downstairs and handed in the keys. The woman at reception seemed sad to see us go and concerned as to why we both looked upset. We contemplated going for a last cup of coffee, but we both knew that we couldn’t delay the inevitable any longer. We had to go back and face everyone.

  Candice climbed onto the back of the bike, and we drove off. This time, the bike ride wasn’t nearly as pleasant as it had been the times before. She held on tight, and neither one of us bothered looking at the beautiful scenery around us. It was a long ride, and I had no idea what was going to be waiting for us when we got back. But the last thing I expected was to see the cop cars lined up outside. Why were they still there? I was sure that Axel would’ve called to make sure that everyone knew we were fine. My heart pounded in my chest at the sight of them.

  We climbed off and made our way toward everyone. Candice’s father was standing outside, next to a cop, and shook his head when he saw us coming. I saw her mom standing nearby, with a look of relief on her face. She came forward and gave Candice a hug.

  “Mom, I sent you a message. I told you that we were staying the night. What is going on?”

  “Candice,” her father interrupted. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Dad. Of course I’m fine. I’m sorry we worried you, but I did let you know. I did.”

  “Are you sure? Or did Dominic do something that you don’t want to tell us about? You can tell us now. You’re safe here.”

  “Sir, I—” I started, but Lionel interrupted me.

  “Please, I’m talking to my daughter,” he said curtly. He didn’t even want to look at me. I had flashbacks to him as a child now. I had forgotten how stern he could look. How scary he could seem. But I wasn’t scared of him anymore. I knew I could do nothing against him, but I definitely wasn’t afraid of him.

  “Dad, don’t talk to him like that. And of course he didn’t do anything to hurt me. Why are you saying all these things? You know that he’s a good guy. I’ve told you that so many times. There was nothing to worry about. Certainly no reason for cops. Why are they still here?”

  I watched as her father nodded to the cop next to him. After that, it felt like everything was happening in slow motion. The cop came up to me and handcuffed me behind my back. Then, ignoring our pleas, he walked me to his car and pushed me inside. From the window, I could see Candice crying and yelling for them to take me out. But it was no use. I had known it from the minute I spoke to Axel that something like this was going to happen. And, as we drove off, I watched Candice’s retreating figure in the distance. I said goodbye to all hopes of a future with her, and all hopes of a career in football.

  “You shouldn’t have messed with that guy,” the cop said from the front.

  I didn’t answer.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Candice

  I watched as Dominic got taken away. It was like I was in the middle of some awful movie, where I could do nothing but watch as the events unfolded. I couldn’t believe that my father would go to the lengths that he did. When the cop car drove off, my father told me that he was only doing this for his own good. To ‘protect me’ he said. I was angry. I knew this had nothing to do with me. This had everything to do with himself. He didn’t want me to be around Dominic. He was worried because he could see just how much the two of us loved each other. So he did what only he knew how to do. He took Dominic away from me. He ruined Dominic’s chances of a good life. I knew what this meant for his football career and I felt sick that my father was the one that did it to him.

  “How can you do this?” I said to him. Where was the kind and happy father that I had glimpsed that one glorious evening? Where was the man that I had always believed was looking out for my best interest? When had he turned into this man? Someone so harsh, so cold, someone who only thought about himself. I knew exactly what was going to happen. My father was going to turn this around to make himself look like the good guy. We would become a news story. Our faces would be flashed all over the newspapers and magazines. Dominic would be the bad guy. I would be the poor helpless daughter who had been swayed by this predator. And my father would be the hero.

  “Come on darling, you know we were only worried about you. You know that.”

  “I know Mom was worried about me. But you weren’t. You just saw this as an opportunity to turn things around for yourself. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have Derek waiting by. Well, if you think I’m going to go back to him then, you are mistaken. I’m in love with Dominic, Dad. That is the truth. And yeah, maybe you should’ve been worried about us, but you should not have gotten the cops involved. You’re a horrible man.”

  My father shook his head. “No, I’m not. I’m doing what I know is right. And you’re not in love with Dominic.”

  “Excuse me?” I said. “What do you mean by that? Since when do you know what I’m feeling?” I asked. I sounded like a teenager. But perhaps it was because I had always listened to everything that my father had ever told me. I had never fought back against him. Perhaps all of this was coming out now because it had never happened before.

  “You don’t love him,” he said again. “You just think that you do. You just want to rebel against me. It’s okay. I know what it’s like. You’re at that age and you don’t like me telling you want to do. I understand that. And I know that you just feel like going against me. But you’ll see one day. You’ll see that I’m right. I know what’s best for you. One day you will turn around and thank me for all of this.”

  “No. I won’t ever thank you for this. And you ha
ve no idea what’s going on in my life. One day you will be the one to realize this,” I said with anger and stormed off.

  I ignored both my mother and my father and made my way to my room. I slammed the door for effect and paced the room. I got out my phone and tried to call Dominic, but of course, his phone just rang. I felt angry. Where was he? What were they doing to him? I wished now that I hadn’t gotten involved with him. Only because I knew that I was the reason why his life was falling apart. He had risked everything for me, and now his future was ruined and was sitting in a jail cell. I should never have gone to college. I should’ve stayed home. I lay on the bed fuming, and then heard a key turning in my door.

  “I’m sorry, Candice. This is for your own good. I just want you to calm down and to not do anything stupid. I’ll bring you some food a little later. Maybe take a nap or something.” My father’s voice was calm. He was speaking to me like he would to a young child.

  I ran to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked.

  “You locked me in? Are you serious? Dad, open this door,” I shouted. “You can’t do this to me. Open the door. I have every right to come out there.”

  “Candice. Just calm down. No good is going to come from you screaming. I will open the door eventually of course. I’m not a monster. I just want you to calm down so that we can talk like rational human beings. I just want to talk to you like an adult. But right now you are acting like a child.”

  “And locking me in my room is going to calm me down?” I yelled. But it was too late. My father had walked away. I heard the familiar sound of his shoes as they hit the wooden floor.

  I almost laughed. Almost. It was just so unbelievably crazy. My father had locked me inside my own room. I was in my own sort of jail. I looked around at the room that was once my own. It felt different now. I wished I was back in my dorm room. That felt more like home than this did now. I sat down on the bed, then stood up, then sat back down again. I couldn’t believe what was going on. I reached my phone wishing that I could talk to Dominic. Instead, I sent Lily a message, detailing as much as I could. I wanted to phone her, but I knew I didn’t have enough credit to phone her all the way in Japan. Thankfully, I didn’t have to, though. She called me back almost immediately.

  “Oh my god, I didn’t expect you to call me,” I said.

  “I can’t talk long otherwise my dad will freak, but I had to talk to you. Are you really locked inside your room right now?”

  It was so good to hear a friendly voice again that I almost cried. I hated that she was so far away. The phone call made it sound like she was right next to me. I hadn’t known her for very long, but already she had become someone that knew me more than most people did in this world. I felt so close to her.

  “Yep. Can you believe it? And poor Dominic is in jail. It’s all such a mess. You’re missing out on some serious drama here,” I said. I laughed, but the sound came out a little maniacally.

  “That’s not the kind of drama I want you to be a part of, though. Ah man, I feel so bad for you. I wish I was there. What are you going to do?”

  I sighed. “I have no idea. I wish I had a plan. I just want to get out and talk to Dominic.”

  “What about your mom? Can’t you talk to her? You said the two of you were close. Maybe you can get her to understand.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, maybe. I just hope I’m not stuck in here too long.”

  “Can’t you get out? I used to know this trick to open doors.”

  I laughed. “Actually, so do I. It’s worth a try. I haven’t done it in ages. I used to practice for fun when I was bored as a kid. As you can tell, I didn’t have the most fun childhood.”

  “Neither did I, it seems. Okay, I better go. But send me a message later and let me know what’s going on. I’ll be back soon anyway.”

  “I will. And thanks for calling me. I miss you.”

  “I miss you too,” she said.

  I looked at the door. Why should I stay in this room? Who knew that my years of being bored would pay off? I pulled a hairclip out my hair and rushed over to the door. It took a while for me to remember what to do but if there was one thing I had going for me, it was pure determination and drive. I turned the hairclip in the lock and finally got it open. I stepped out and listened for sounds of my father. It was a big house, so he could be anywhere, but as I walked around, I decided he might not even be home anymore. I did, however, find my mother. She was sitting in the kitchen with her face in her hands, the weight of the world on her shoulders. She looked surprised when she saw me.

  “Hey, darling. Are you okay? Dad said you took a nap.”

  I laughed. “He did? No, I didn’t take a nap. Dad locked me in my room.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean exactly that. He locked me in. I managed to get out, though. Mom, what’s going on? Why is Dad being this way? How could he take Dominic away like that?”

  I sat down and looked at her. She looked tired. Exhausted. She’d lost a lot of weight these last few weeks too. Why had I only noticed that now?

  “I don’t know,” she said. “You know what he’s like.”

  “Mom, how can you let him do this to me?”

  “He’s just trying to protect you,” she said, but the words fell flat. She sounded like she didn’t mean a word that she was saying.

  “Protect me? No, he’s not. He’s trying to protect himself. Mom, I’m sorry that I had you worried. I really am. I did send you a message. I still have the message on my phone to prove it to you. I don’t know why it didn’t go through.”

  She sighed. “It’s not your fault, darling. My phone has been messing up for a long time. It’s time I got a new one. I was worried, though.”

  I nodded. “I know. I really am sorry. I feel so bad about it. The last thing I wanted to do was to make you worry about me. But still, Dad has taken this all too far. I can’t believe he would go to these lengths. Please, Mom, can’t you do something about it? For me? Please, Mom. I . . . I love him.”

  She looked up at me then, and our eyes locked. I could see that she believed me. A faint smile appeared on her face, and she nodded. “I know. I know. I can tell. He’s grown up so much, hasn’t he?” she said.

  “Yeah. And he’s a good guy. The best guy I know. Look, Mom, I know that you don’t like to stand up to Dad. I know that he has some sort of weird hold on you. On the whole family. I know that you don’t want all of this to go into the newspapers. I understand. I think, for the first time, I fully understand how difficult all this must be for you. And I know Dad has a good side that you’re holding onto. I’ve seen that side. But you have to help me, Mom. You have to. Please, Mom.”

  I saw a tear fall down her face and land on her lap. She quickly wiped away the second one that appeared. “I’m going to do the best that I can,” she said.

  I nodded. There didn’t seem to be any use in asking her to do more. My father was a very domineering guy. I knew that she would do her best and that was all that I could ask of her. But I wasn’t sure that it was going to be enough. I stood up, planted a kiss on her forehead, and walked out. I stepped outside, wondering what to do with myself. I thought of just going to the police station and demanding to see Dominic, but how would that help? They didn’t care about what I thought. I felt helpless. I remembered Dominic telling me that he had spoken to Axel, so I decided to give him a call. I didn’t have his number, so I had to do some calling around until I finally found it.

  “Hello?”

  “Axel?” I asked.

  “Yes. Who is this?”

  “Axel, I’m so glad I got hold of you. It’s Candice. Dominic’s . . . uh . . . girlfriend,” I said. I wasn’t sure why I was suddenly so nervous.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked. “I talked to Dominic a few hours ago. He said he was on his way back. He said he’d call me, but I haven’t heard from him. And his phone just goes to voicemail. Are you home?”

  “I’m home. But the cops came an
d took him away.”

  “What? They arrested him? But why?”

  “Because my father told them to. I feel so awful. I don’t know what to do. Please, you have to help me. What can we do to get him out of there?”

  “You shouldn’t have gotten involved with him. Now his chances of playing in the NFL are all gone. You do realize that, don’t you? You should’ve known this would happen. You knew how your father felt about him.”

  I gulped. This was not at all what I expected to happen. I thought that he was going to be on my side. Yet, he was blaming me. Was he right? Should I be blaming myself for all this? Perhaps my earlier thoughts had been right. I should never have allowed this to happen. Was I just like my father? Thinking of myself instead of thinking of anyone else? I sighed.

  “Okay, well, I’m sorry. I really am,” I said. “I just hope this all gets figured out. I swear, Axel, I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that all of this gets straightened out. You have my word.”

  I had no idea how I was going to do that, but I was certainly going to try. There didn’t seem anything else that I could do but try.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Dominic

  I sat on the cold slab that was supposed to be some sort of bed or bench, and waited. I had never been in jail before, nor did I ever think I would. I was in some sort of holding cell while they waited to hear what the verdict was. I had no idea how long it was going to take or when I was going to get the chance to speak to someone again. I’d asked the guard, but he had just laughed at me. Apparently, I didn’t get a say at all. My phone had also been taken away, so there was nothing for me to do but sit and wait for someone to come and tell me my fate. I knew my father would be the one to do the honors, because with the one phone call that I had been allowed, I had called him. I wasn’t even sure why I had chosen him over Axel. I was still angry at my father for not sticking up for me. The last time I had spoken to my father, he had warned me against seeing Candice. The whole thing was so crazy it was almost laughable. But I was too pissed off to laugh. I couldn’t believe after all these years, our fathers were still calling the shots in our life. I made a promise to myself there and then that I wouldn’t let my kid go through the same thing. I would never dictate their fate in the way that my father and Candice’s father had done to us. I used to think that my father was the good one in all of this, but now I wasn’t so sure. Surely not sticking up for me and allowing Candice’s father to dictate orders was also the wrong thing to do. Why had my parents not stayed behind and fought for their own rights? Why had they felt it was okay to take me away from my best friend? My hands balled up into fists as I sat there. I knew I should be getting calmer, but all I was doing was getting more and more frustrated with the situation.