Game On the Verge

by Jamie Summer

“That sweet young lady, Betty, told us about it. Even showed us those horrendous pictures in the newspaper. I can’t believe they still print those lies.”

  He sighed. “It’s a tabloid, Mom. It’s what they do.” He hung his head, his focus anywhere but with us.

  “But that’s absolute and utter bullshit.”

  The use of a curse word finally made Tyler look up, even cracking the hint of a smile. “Mom… Language.”

  “Seriously. Those paparazzi really need to get a life. Disturbing a christening, then a wedding. Do they have no shame?”

  I didn’t miss the glance Tyler threw my way. Considering it was most likely somebody in my life who orchestrated the whole thing, I expected him to look at me with distaste and hate, but all I saw in his soft gaze were guilt and pain.

  Why? He should be thinking I had cost him his career. Or at least that was what it looked like.

  “Mom, let’s not talk about it, okay? Let’s just eat.”

  Tyler’s parents were only too happy to oblige, but I couldn’t let it go. Something told me this whole tabloid thing wasn’t the only thing on his mind.

  Something else was going on.

  Before I could press further, the waiter brought the menus. Everyone was so immersed in what they would order, I knew bringing anything up at this point would be useless. Instead, I focused on the menu.

  Five minutes later, we had placed our order and I sipped the Coke in front of me. I had wanted a beer, but something made me decide against it. Something told me I needed to keep a clear head.

  While I tried to keep up with the conversation Tyler and his parents were having about their upcoming return home, I kept throwing sideways glances at Tyler next to me. If he noticed, he didn’t let it show. Instead, his sole focus was on his parents. Almost as if he were ignoring me on purpose.

  The thought made my stomach churn. But that wouldn’t explain why he looked at me with pain in his eyes earlier.

  “Jo, are you okay?” Tyler’s mom asked, and I gave her a sweet smile.

  “Sure am, Mrs. Portsmith.”

  “You don’t look like it.”

  “I’m okay,” I emphasized, but she continued to watch me with a scrutinizing gaze. “Did I miss something?” I looked around the table, thinking maybe that was why she continued to stare at over my shoulder.

  “It’s nothing.”

  Something about the way she said it told me it was definitely something. Tyler must have picked up on it, as well.

  “What is it, Mom?” he asked, but she waved him off.

  “Nothing. Sorry. I’m already paranoid, so I’m just seeing ghosts now.”

  Tyler’s head spun toward the door so fast, I feared it was going to pop off. “What did you see?”

  “Nothing. I told you.”

  He looked back at his mom, eyebrows raised. “You’ve never been a very good liar.” I had to agree. The way she refused to meet his eyes said it all.

  “Well, I just thought I saw this weird gentleman again. The one who’s ruining your life,” she whispered, her voice full of regret and pain.

  “Charly?” I couldn’t help but chime in.

  “Yes.”

  Tyler jumped out of his seat, almost running toward the entrance.

  “What is he doing?” his mom asked.

  “I’m gonna go check.” I pushed my chair back.

  “I got this,” Tyler said, and I glanced up. He stood a few feet away, shaking his head. “This isn’t your problem.” The words made me furious.

  “Of course it is. He’s the reason you’re in trouble and is only doing this because of me. So like hell it’s not my issue.”

  Tyler watched me for a few seconds, then he closed the distance between us and kissed me. His lips moved urgently against mine, and I sank into the kiss with everything I had. The warmth spreading within me made me forget everything going on around us. I forgot what we were talking about or that I was mad. The only thing that existed were Tyler and me.

  As he pulled away, the same look as earlier was back in his eyes. Guilt, pain, regret.

  “What is it?” I asked in a quiet voice, not wanting to spoil our moment.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, then walked out the door.

  In a daze, I just stood there. Before long Tyler came back through the door, his whole demeanor different. His shoulders were tight, his lips pressed together. It was something I had seen him do only a few times before. Usually nothing good came from it.

  “Let’s sit,” Tyler’s mom suggested, looking at the people in the restaurant watching us. Her son followed suit while it took me a little longer. My thoughts were a scrambled mess.

  “Was it him?” Mrs. Portsmith asked, and Tyler shook his head.

  “I didn’t see anything.”

  “Such a prick.”

  “Mom.” Tyler gave her a look that clearly told her to give it a rest.

  “She’s right,” I said. “He is, and we need to do something about it. We can’t let him get away with it. I’m gonna talk to him and my parents and make them see reason. I can’t believe they even went there in the first place. I’ll do that right—”

  “Stop.” Tyler’s voice was eerily quiet and calm.

  “What?” I asked, confused.

  “Stop it. You’re not going to do anything.”

  “Why? They can make him stop. Easy as that.” I was certain I would be able to convince them to see reason.

  “You just won’t.” The vehemence in his voice irritated me even more.

  “Tyler, what’s going on?”

  I saw him inhale deeply. “You don’t need to talk to your parents because there will be nothing you need to talk to them about.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “This thing between us…” He gestured between our bodies. “It was nice and all, but it’s over now. I’m sorry, but I don’t love you the way I thought I did. I tried, I truly did, but it’s just not there.”

  I felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over me. The words slowly worked their way into my head and heart, peeling away the soft layers one by one, leaving it open and bleeding on the floor.

  “Tyler, what are you doing?” his mom whispered, seemingly as shocked as I felt.

  “I know you want me to be happy, Mom, but that needs to be with someone I love. Not someone I only like a lot.”

  His mom didn’t know how truthful his words really were. This whole thing had been a charade from the start. We were nothing more than acquaintances. So why did it hurt so much to hear he didn’t love me and was breaking up with me? I should be relieved at being let out of this game we played.

  “I need to go,” I said, the tears threatening to fall. I didn’t want him to see how much his words had hurt me. Didn’t want him to see I cared.

  “Jo—”

  “It’s okay, Mrs. Portsmith. I wish you all the best. It was a pleasure getting to know you,” I managed to croak out and even added a small smile. I avoided looking at Tyler, knowing the tears would fall freely if I did.

  “Jo, please…”

  “Goodbye.” With that, I left them, and my heart, behind.

  Tyler

  After practice the next day, I opened to door to my place. I had somehow made it through the session without my game being too off. The last thing I needed right now was for my performance to suffer. I saw how hard Gavin had to fight for his spot, so I wasn’t going to go down that road.

  After Jo left the restaurant last night, dinner was pretty much over. Our food came, but I barely managed to eat anything. The same with my parents. I said goodbye, promising to see them off Monday. I could tell my mom wanted to say something, but she refrained, for which I was grateful. The last thing I wanted to deal with was my mom asking questions. Questions I knew I wouldn’t have any answers to.

  I had just started pouring myself a cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. I knew Devon and Gavin were going to stop by, but since both had a key, I knew it wasn’t them.

  I pul
led open the door.

  “Mom?” I said in surprise.

  “Hi. Do you mind if I come in?” she asked. With the timid sound of her voice echoing along my hallway, it was clear she wasn’t sure what I would think of her impromptu visit.

  “Sure. Coffee? I just made some.”

  She followed me into the kitchen. “I’ll take some, yes.”

  I pulled out another cup from the cupboard and poured some coffee for my mom. I watched her sit down on the couch, getting comfortable. It was clear she had something on her mind. After yesterday, I didn’t blame her. I should have known she wouldn’t let this go. It wasn’t in my mom to not get to the bottom of things.

  Even when those things were better left unsaid.

  I carried the coffee over and set my mom’s on the coffee table, then sat on the chair across from her. I thought about asking her why she was here, but I had a feeling I already knew.

  She took a sip, then set her cup down again, looking at me. “What happened last night, Ty? That wasn’t you. I have never seen you so…confused. One minute you’re mad; the next, your eyes are full of pain, then you call off your engagement and break up with your girlfriend. Is this whole ordeal with this Charly guy getting to you? I wouldn’t blame you, but Jo has been nothing but supportive. You should’ve seen her when Betty told us about the articles. She was furious.” My mom took a short breath before continuing. “This woman truly loves you, yet even though you love her, too, you broke up with her. I just don’t understand.”

  “I don’t love her.”

  I wasn’t sure why I had picked that out from everything my mom said, but somehow, it felt important to point out I wasn’t in love with my fake fiancée.

  “The hell you don’t. I don’t know why you would even try to tell me that, but it’s been clear to me from the start. There’s something about the way you gravitate toward her, always making sure to stay close. You have put her needs first every time I have seen you together. So yes, you are very much in love with her. Why would you lie to me?”

  I took a sip from my coffee, pondering my next words. Telling my mom the truth, the whole truth, was something I wasn’t sure I could do. I wasn’t prepared to see the disappointment on her face once she found out how Jo and I really got together.

  “Tyler, you have always been able to talk to me about anything, and while I know how guys are, talking about whatever is going on is still ten times better than it eating you up.”

  “It’s not that easy, Mom.”

  “Of course it is. You open your mouth and tell me what the hell is really going on.”

  I watched her for a few more seconds, then sighed. “Jo was never actually my girlfriend. Or fiancée for that matter.”

  The surprise was clear on my mom’s face, her eyes widening. “What do you mean?”

  I glanced down at my hands and continued. “For years, all I heard from you and dad was ‘Tyler, where is your girlfriend? When are you going to present us with a daughter-in-law?’ I got so sick and tired of it, when the christening came around, I asked Jo if she could pretend to be my girlfriend. I only wanted all this talk to stop. I felt like a complete failure every time the girlfriend conversation came up.”

  “We never looked at you as a failure.”

  “That may be true, but it doesn’t erase the way all those questions made me feel. Jo agreed, and everything just snowballed from there. Before I knew it, we were in deep. Her parents thought we were engaged, then I got into the fight with Jo’s supposed husband—”

  “Supposed husband?” my mom interrupted, brows furrowed.

  “Well, according to her parents, who want her to marry him and no one else.”

  “That’s absurd.”

  “Doesn’t change the fact it’s what they want. Hence all the pictures of me in the tabloids.”

  She sat back. “So Jo is right and they want to destroy your career?”

  I nodded. “That’s only half of the story.”

  She waited for me to continue, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to. All this was my mess, something I should be able to deal with on my own.

  “I’m your mother, Tyler. I’m here for these kind of things. People always think they get too old to rely on their parents for help, but the truth is, you never do.” As I looked up at her, there was a soft smile on her lips. “Go on.”

  “Charly searched me out after the game yesterday. Told me if I didn’t break things off with Jo, he would make sure I could never play soccer again.”

  She clenched her fists. “What?! How dare he. What an ass.”

  I laughed at the exclamation from my mom.

  “Seriously, Tyler. This isn’t kindergarten. This is your life. He’s a grown adult and should not be playing these sick games with you.”

  I agreed, but didn’t voice it. Something told me my mom wasn’t finished.

  “But all of this doesn’t explain why you said you didn’t love her.”

  “Mom, did you not listen to what I just said? She was never actually my girlfriend.”

  “You listen to me. I did listen to what you told me. And while I’m disappointed you thought we would think less of you without a girlfriend, I am also very sure about what I said earlier. You love this woman. I don’t know how or when it happened, but it was clear to everyone at the family functions. It’s also the reason this Charly guy is going to such extreme measures to get you out of the picture. He wouldn’t need to if it were all fake. He saw the way you two looked at each other, same as we all did. You love her. Which brings me to the most important question. Why did you break up with her?”

  I sighed deeply, about to reply when my mom interrupted. “And don’t you tell me it’s because he told you to. I’ve always thought you were smart. If that was the reason you did it, you aren’t as smart as I thought you were.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” I groaned.

  “I’m your mother. I’m not supposed to sugarcoat things for you,” she explained.

  “She doesn’t love me, Mom. So why would I risk my career for a relationship that isn’t real to begin with? That’s why I broke it off. No reason to pretend and ruin both our lives.”

  She nodded. “So not smart after all.”

  My anger slowly bubbled. “Mom, I did the only thing that made sense.”

  “Oh, you absolutely did not, my son. Jo is as much in love with you as you are with her. It’s clear to everyone…except you.”

  Her words broke through the anger and let something else through. Hope.

  “What?” I whispered.

  “She. Loves. You. Just like you love her. So you telling her it was over broke her heart. You didn’t see it because you were too busy feeling sorry for yourself. Because you love her, too.”

  All this talk about love started making my head spin. I wasn’t used to it.

  “This shouldn’t come as such a shock to you, Tyler, but since it obviously does, what is your plan to get her back?”

  “Get her back?” I asked foolishly.

  Before my mom could say anything else, I heard a key turn in the lock.

  “Hello? Anyone home?”

  “In here,” I called out. Seconds later, Gavin and Devon entered the living room.

  “Oh, Mrs. Portsmith. We didn’t know you were going to be here. If now isn’t a good time, we can leave and come back later,” Gavin explained, and my mom waved him off.

  “Nonsense. Good to see you both again.” She stood to give them a quick hug. “I take it you’re here because Tyler has some…issues to deal with?”

  Both guys turned to me, questioning gazes on their faces.

  “They heard what coach told me. They came to devise a plan on how to save my spot on the team.”

  “Wonderful,” my mom said, clasping her hands together. “Then the three of you can also figure out a way to make Jo forgive your childish behavior. That way, all your problems will be solved at once.”

  “What’s she talking about?” Devon asked, curiosity in his eyes.
/>   “Nothing,” I replied.

  “Tsk… He broke it off with Jo because he thought she didn’t love him. That way, he figured he could save his career. Only problem is that they are madly in love with each other.”

  Devon and Gavin exchanged a confused look, then both turned to me for an explanation.

  “She’s crazy,” I said with a laugh, but my friends weren’t smiling.

  “Actually, I don’t think she is. We were there when you wanted to pummel Charly to the ground for what he said about Jo. So I have to say that I think I agree with your mom. So, Mrs. Portsmith, what do you suggest he do?” Devon asked.

  “What do I suggest?” my mom asked.

  This was crazy. We were all grown men, yet we watched my mom as if she held all the answers to the world.

  “I think that you need to talk to her. Simple as that. Tell her what’s really going on, how you really feel. Once you solve the issue between the two of you, you can solve whatever’s going on with Charly. One step at a time.”

  I absorbed her words. Would it be as simple as my mom made it out to be? Talk to Jo, make her understand why I did what I did.

  Then again, did I even want to?

  My mom pointed at me, as if seeing my thoughts. “Don’t even start to question it. If you don’t apologize to that poor woman for your behavior and tell her you love her, your career won’t be the only thing you’ll cry over. Believe me.”

  “Has your mom always been this bossy?” Gavin whispered, and I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips.

  “Pretty much.”

  He grinned. “Mrs. Portsmith, consider it done.” He clapped his hands together. “I think all of us could use a drink. And I know just the place to go.”

  I wasn’t sure if cornering Jo at work was smart, but I felt myself giving in to the idea. I needed to talk to her and apologize.

  My mom smiled. “Well, it seems my work here is done. I will see you tomorrow, Tyler. I hope you will have good news for me then.” She looked at Gavin and Devon. “As for the two of you, don’t be strangers. Our door is always open for you, too.”

  “Thanks, Mrs Portsmith,” they said in unison.

  She gave them one last smile and walked to the door. I followed and we walked into the hallway.