After The Snap

by Peyton Miller

  “Okay, we’re wrapping for the day. Go hit the showers,” Maddox called out.

  Seth started to head to the locker room but Maddox stopped him. “Thank you for inviting me.”

  “It was nice having you there.”

  “This press thing, you okay with it?”

  Seth nodded and glanced over to Colby. His heart started beating wildly as he thought about the press knowing who Colby was.

  “You do know, they don’t have to know anything about you or Colby,” Maddox said.

  “I know. With the Channing thing and getting married, I need to say something so they stop bugging us during the playoffs.”

  Maddox nodded. “I get that.”

  “Yes, I just got married and I love Colby more than anything, but he understands football is my focus right now. After this, I’m ignoring the press and all of their crazy stuff.”

  “Do you think Colby is ready for this?”

  “No one is ever ready for stuff like this. He’ll do fine though. He’s smart and charming, and he’s good. He’ll have them eating out of his hands.”

  Seth headed into the locker room and showered quickly before calling his parents. His mom answered and he felt bad about not telling them yesterday. “Hey Mom, could you get Dad on the phone too?”

  “Sure, just a second.” He could hear his mom yelling in the background and then he heard his dad’s voice.

  “Hey, son, what’s up?” his dad asked.

  “Colby and I got married yesterday.”

  “What? You didn’t even invite us?” his mom asked.

  “I hadn’t planned on the press finding out, but someone in the office where we were signing the documents spilled it and the press came running. We were going to do a formal ceremony later, after the playoffs. I just wanted to tell you because it’s out there now. Don’t think that we didn’t want you there, we did, but we couldn’t wait.”

  “Why not?” his dad shot back. “It’s not like he’s pregnant.”

  Seth chuckled and shook his head. “Dad, I know you don’t understand how I could even be gay, but I love Colby. He’s been amazing and I couldn’t allow any of the press stuff to get in the way. I didn’t want him to ever leave me and the best way to make sure that didn’t happen was to marry him.”

  “We’re fine with it, son, just shocked,” his dad said.

  “We like Colby,” his mom added.

  “I need to go, there’s a press conference about to start.”

  “We’ll talk to you later.”

  The line disconnected and Seth finished dressing. Colby stepped into the locker room, a smile on his face as he laughed at something the press liaison was saying. His man was awesome and their love made everything complete for Seth.

  Amy led Colby over and the smile on Colby’s face warmed him.

  “You ready?” Amy asked.

  “I think so.” Seth leaned in and gave Colby a quick kiss on the cheek. “There’s the statement Justin sent this morning and then we’ll make a statement about our marriage, but no questions. You okay with that?”

  “Sure.”

  They stepped into the room the press had taken over. Colby drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Cameras clicked and Seth wondered if Colby was going to freak out but he seemed so calm. Once the reporters were quiet, Seth stepped up to the microphone and cleared his throat.

  “Thank you all for coming today. On Saturday night, my former coach, Channing Harris, made a false statement about me and what type of relationship we had. I’m saddened to hear that others have been harmed by Mr. Harris’s actions.” Seth paused and looked at Colby. The smile he got was enough to encourage him to keep going. “I am gay and my husband, Colby, is the most amazing man I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I’m lucky that he agreed to become a part of my life and marry me. Thank you for coming today.”

  Seth stepped away from the microphones and the reporters started spewing question after question. One was shouted louder than the rest. “Isn’t this just a diversionary tactic. You two aren’t really a couple, are you? I mean, you’re gay but you can’t really love another man.”

  Colby stiffened and turned, stepping close to the microphone before Seth could stop him.

  “I can’t let that go, sorry Seth, but I have to respond to the assumption that gay men don’t love. Who was it that asked that question?”

  “Blaine Stewart, from FOX sports.” Blaine was grinning from ear to ear, acting like he’d caught them, with what, Seth didn’t know.

  “Mr. Stewart, are you married?” Colby asked.

  “No.” Blaine’s smile started to fade.

  “Serious boyfriend?” Colby didn’t pull any punches and Seth loved him for it.

  “I’m not gay,” Blaine spit back, his nostrils flared and his lips curled up in disgust. A few of the other reporters laughed and that seemed to make Blaine even angrier.

  “Have you ever been in a serious relationship?”

  Seth was impressed with how Colby had the entire audience eating out of his hands. Every single reporter was paying attention to him. It was amazing and frightening that he held so much command of the room though he’d never done anything like this before, at least Seth thought Colby hadn’t done anything like this.

  “I have a fiancée.”

  “Do you love her?”

  “Of course, what type of question is that?” Blaine had lost his cool and was no longer the calm reporter he tried to portray.

  The corner of Colby’s lips turned up and he lifted his brows. “The same type of question you asked. I love Seth and he loves me. It’s that easy for two guys to love each other. Love isn’t something you can dictate, control, or try to force. When Seth and I decided to get married, we didn’t do it because of anything anyone here in this room did. It was a decision we made because we care greatly about each other. Seth is my heart and the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. He’s an amazing man and I don’t think I could have ever found anyone better for me than Seth Mercer.”

  More than half of the reporters jumped up and clapped, the others slowly came to their feet and joined in the applause. Colby stepped away from the mic and took Seth’s hand. Seth couldn’t be prouder of his guy.

  They left the briefing and stopped by the locker room, grabbing his things before heading out to the parking lot. He leaned in to kiss Colby when he heard someone screeching at them. Seth looked up to see Channing coming their way. The shock froze him and he wasn’t sure what to do.

  “You fucking bastard. You can’t be happy if I’m not happy,” Channing yelled.

  Seth froze and tried to suck in a breath. He realized something bad was about to go down. Channing pulled a gun from his pocket and fired before Seth could stop him. He stilled as he searched for the pain, but there wasn’t any. Time slowed and Seth saw someone tackled Channing as Colby started falling right beside him.

  Seth turned and his head filled with pain as he saw red spreading over Colby’s shirt. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak as people dropped to the ground beside Colby, their hands moving quickly. Someone was holding Seth but he had no clue who had their hands on him as he watched an ambulance pull into the parking lot.

  A lot of things happened all at once. The cops had Channing in handcuffs. The guys in the ambulance had Colby loaded into the back of the vehicle, and someone was dragging Seth across the parking lot.

  “Seth, get in,” Wayne yelled at him.

  “What?” His head pounded and his throat was so dry. Pain filled him as he stumbled toward Wayne.

  “Get in my car. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

  “Colby?”

  Wayne nodded. “He’s alive, but we can’t just stand here.”

  “Oh God,” Seth choked out a sob. “What happened?”

  “Get in.” Wayne helped him with the seatbelt before they drove out of the lot.

  Luckily the hospital wasn’t that far and they were there in minutes. Seth had pulled it together enou
gh to call his parents and tell them that Colby had been shot. His parents’ were going to get a flight out to be with him.

  “Wayne, is he going to survive?” Seth needed to know.

  “I don’t know, Seth. I don’t know.” Wayne shook his head slowly.

  Nothing mattered now other than Colby. “When he was shot I don’t know what happened to me. I couldn’t think.”

  “Come on. Let’s get in there and see what’s going on.”

  Seth followed Wayne into the ER lobby and was immediately led to a conference room to get away from the reporters who were already there. Maddox showed up and sat with him and Wayne while they waited for news. Time seemed to stall. Finally, about two hours later a woman stepped into the room.

  “Hello, I’m Doctor Phillips. I performed the surgery on your husband. He’s lost a lot of blood and we’ve had to do a transfusion. It’s good that he’s healthy. Colby is lucky. We were able to repair the damage to his kidney that was nicked by the bullet. His intestines were repaired too and it will be a few days before he can start eating again, but if we can stave off infection, he’ll eventually recover fully.”

  Seth let out an explosive breath. “So he’s going to be okay?”

  The doctor nodded. “It looks good. Of course the first twenty-four hours are critical. Like I said, he’s lost a lot of blood. His intestine was perforated and his kidney was damaged. He’ll be sedated for the rest of today and through most of tomorrow. We will need to manage his pain and keep him quiet. He needs his rest. I suggest you go home and sleep. He’ll be in ICU and you can’t stay with him.”

  Seth stared at the doctor, not looking away from her even while Wayne hugged him. Maddox was on his other side, pulling him into a hug as soon as Wayne’s arms were gone.

  “Can I see him?” Seth asked.

  “Sure, but just for a few minutes. We have him hooked up to a lot of machines, so don’t be frightened by what you see.”

  Seth said goodbye to Wayne and Maddox, then followed the doctor to an elevator. They got off the elevator and stepped into the ICU which was very well organized and amazingly clean. He felt out of place as the doctor led him into a private room where machines beeped and whirred. Seth’s heart stuttered as he stared at his husband with tubes and way too many wires hooked up to his body. Doctor Phillips placed a hand on his arm.

  “It only looks bad. We’re monitoring everything and I promise we’ll take very good care of him.”

  Seth nodded, not trusting his voice. He moved closer to Colby and reached out to touch him but he wasn’t sure where he could touch Colby and not hurt him. “Can I hold his hand?”

  “Yes. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Phillips left him alone with Colby and the tears fell immediately.

  “I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I didn’t know.” He stared down at Colby’s unmoving form and his heart shattered. Colby could have died and it was his fault. There wasn’t any way Colby would want to stay with him now.

  He didn’t know how long he stood by Colby’s bed, but eventually he left when the nurses told him he needed to go. He caught a cab home and slumped on the couch, passing out from exhaustion. At some point he woke starving and began eating a dish of leftovers until he realized that Colby had cooked the food. That made him cry and he slid to the floor, bawling his eyes out. He eventually headed into his bedroom and tried to sleep but it was difficult. When he couldn’t stand being away from Colby for one more minute he showered, dressed, and caught a cab to the hospital. The nurses in the ICU were kind and allowed him to sit in Colby’s room. Someone brought him coffee and something to eat. He prayed like he’d never prayed before.

  At noon, Doctor Phillips came in. “His labs all look good. He’s doing great. We’re going to allow him to wake up by reducing the medicine we’ve given him. He’ll be groggy.”

  Seth nodded and watched as the doctor and nurses changed settings and adjusted his medicine. Colby moaned and Seth’s gaze shot to him. Seth held his breath but Colby didn’t open his eyes. Worry spun through him and he looked at Phillips who smiled and nodded.

  “Give it a few more minutes. Maybe you could say something. That might be enough to bring him out of his fog.”

  “Colby, it’s Seth. I miss you. I need to see your eyes.”

  It took Colby more than a minute to struggle awake and when he opened his eyes, they were cloudy with exhaustion and a thick haze of drugs. Eventually he focused on Seth’s face and gave him a small smile.

  “Hey. He missed,” Colby choked out.

  Seth laughed and shook his head. “No, he was aiming for you. I’m glad he was a bad shot though. You’re still here.”

  “Hi, I’m Doctor Phillips. Can you tell me your name?”

  “Colby Mercer. Why do I hurt so much?”

  “We’ll help you with the pain, but it might make you fall asleep. We just needed to wake you up and chat for a while.”

  “How long?” Colby asked.

  “You were shot yesterday,” Seth said.

  “God, I missed a whole day. When can I go home? I have a new husband to care for.”

  The nurses and doctor laughed and Seth blew out a breath. Colby would survive. “You’ll be here for a few days,” the doctor said.

  Seth was eventually left alone with Colby. He stared down at his man, sadness filling him. “I’m so sorry.”

  “For what?” Colby asked.

  “It’s my fault. How can you ever forgive me?”

  Colby moved his hand and Seth reached over, taking his fingers and squeezing gently. His heart squeezed and he was sure he wouldn’t make it if Colby had died.

  “Babe, you didn’t do this.”

  “But if I hadn’t been involved with that bastard. I’m so sorry.”

  “Seth, look at me.”

  He stared into his husband’s eyes, pain centering around his heart. The love he felt for Colby was even deeper than before.

  “You didn’t cause this. You’re not to blame. He acted on his own. I love you.”

  “I don’t know what I would have done if you had died.”

  Colby nodded and closed his eyes. For a moment Seth thought he was asleep but Colby opened his eyes and smiled up at him. “You’ve made my life complete. I would never change any of this. I love you. There is no question in my mind that I love you. You’re amazing and when I get out of here, we’re going to be a family.”

  Tears streamed down Seth’s cheeks and he vowed never to let Colby down again. “Thank you.”

  “Babe, I love you.”

  Colby was moved to a room outside of the ICU. Seth’s parents came and he went back to practice. He was glad they had a bye week or he wasn’t sure he would be able to play. The Monday after Colby was shot, he came home.

  With Colby in his bed again, Seth breathed a little easier. Slowly their lives returned to almost normal. Colby decided to take a leave of absence from his job. He was too tired to keep working and recover. Eventually he might return to work, but for now he would just focus on resting. Seth’s parents had gone home, so on game day Maddox’s wife and daughter came over and watched the game with Colby. Seth appreciated how helpful the team was being. The other players had been there for him, supporting him through his pain. They won the game and advanced to the next round of the playoffs. Seth couldn’t believe how well he was doing his first year in the NFL.

  The public’s viewpoint of Channing had changed drastically. No one believed the story that Channing had spun in the crazy interview he’d given. The district attorney was trying to get Channing to plead guilty but Channing was trying to cut a better deal. Seth didn’t try to keep up with the case because he knew it would make him crazy.

  The next weekend Colby traveled with him to the host city. He could tell that the trip had exhausted Colby, but his husband wouldn’t stay home. It hit Seth about midway through the game that they were most likely going to the Super Bowl. He didn’t want to get too excited, but when they hit the middle of the fourth q
uarter and they were ahead by thirty points, Seth was ready to freak out.

  Time counted down and the game was over. Nothing compared to marrying Colby, but this came close. He had post-game interviews to do, but he really wanted to see Colby. They were doing the interviews in a huge room, not the locker room, and he had to hurry through his shower. Once he settled at the press table, he spied Colby sitting at the back of the room. He smiled but didn’t wave because he didn’t want the reporters focused on his husband.

  Seth looked over the crowd and didn’t see Blaine in the mix. He took his seat beside Wayne, Maddox, Coach Louis, and Pete, who had scored two touchdowns. Tina, one of the reporters he actually liked, stood up to ask a question.

  “Mr. Mercer, you’ll be the first gay player to play in the Super Bowl, how does it feel?”

  Seth chuckled, “Well, Tina, I’m not the first gay player, just the first player who is out. I would say it feels about how the other quarterbacks in my position have felt. I can’t believe it, and I’m excited. I’m proud of my team and my coaches. We have a great group of people in San Diego. I couldn’t be happier with how everything has turned out.”

  Another reporter stood. “Jake Zabinski with the Times, how is your husband?”

  “Thank you for asking, Jake. He’s doing better. It’s been a slow recovery, but he’s taking the time to get well.”

  “Will he be traveling with you to the Super Bowl?” another reporter called out.

  “Yes, Colby will be in the box with the players’ spouses.”

  “Does he get along with the wives?”

  Maddox chuckled and spoke up. “My wife can’t say enough about how wonderful Colby is. Now, how about we talk about football?”

  The reporters laughed and Seth caught the smile on Colby’s face before he stepped out of the room. His life couldn’t get much better. He had everything. With Colby by his side, Seth knew he could accomplish anything.

  After the interviews, Seth found Colby and pulled him close, kissing the side of his head. “Thank you for supporting me.”

  Colby kissed his chin. “Babe, thank you. You have no idea how much you’ve given me. I love you so much.”

  “Having you in the stands makes me feel wonderful,” Seth whispered.