Lucas
Iused to believe there was nothing like the roar of the crowd. I could feel it deep in my bones. It was a high unlike anything I had ever experienced before in my life.
I was young. Arrogant. Stupid and naïve.
I lived for the flashes of greatness. Sweat dripping in my eyes. Heart hammering in my chest. Calves burning from running hard for forty-five minutes without stopping. Muscles would seize and my lungs were on fire. I never felt more alive.
I couldn’t stop.
Not until the whistle was blown.
I would race towards the goal, the ball gliding effortlessly between my feet. I knew that there were guys behind me shadowing my every move, waiting for me to mess up. Waiting for their chance. Their moment.
Only that moment would never come.
This was all mine.
I could see the goal in front of me. I would pause just long enough to take a deep breath. Relish the instant when I would be king.
Then I would kick the ball.
Everything would go silent. The roar of the crowd. The wild staccato of my heart. None of it mattered. There was only me. And the ball. And the goal that I knew would come.
Seconds felt like hours. The goalkeeper extending his arms. Fingers outstretched.
Reaching.
Reaching.
Missing.
The stadium would erupt into chaos. I would run towards the sidelines, pumping my fists into the air. My teammates collided into me. There would be yelling. Lots of cheers.
Just like that I was a hero.
Just like that I was loved.
I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of that feeling. Craving the adulation. Addicted to the praise.
I was a fool.
Because exaltation was finite. It didn’t last forever. And a hero one day could be the villain the next.
And I would learn the hard way that there were things—there werepeople—in life that were worth more than the worship of a fickle crowd.
This is a story of blood and sweat.
A story of heartbreak.
This is a story of what happens when fame and fortune aren’t enough to keep you from destroying everything.
Morgan
“Do you fancy a cuppa?” Hayley asked, popping her head into my office.
I looked up from the computer screen and blinked bleary eyes.
“A whata?”
