Page 10 of Hard Pass

He lingers for a second, like he wants to say more, then thinks better of it. Smart man.

Even with all the noise, I can hear my phone buzzing on the shelf of my stall.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

It stops, and then it starts all over again.

I don’t have to look at the screen to know who it is. But I do anyway.

Dad.

I turn the phone over and ignore not only the calls, but the dozens of one-line texts that are about to hit it.

Not now.

Not when I already know what they’re going to say.

What the hell was that?

You call that NFL worthy?

You think that’s good enough?

My jaw aches from clenching it so tight.

Do your fucking job, Valor.

I close my eyes and exhale, trying to reset, but that doesn’t do shit. Frustrated, I grab my water bottle instead and take a long drink. Nothing will wash the taste of the game out of my mouth though.

Nothing.

“Not acceptable.” The hoarse voice of Coach Brooks cuts through the locker room. It’s sharp enough to make us all glance his way.

Coach is standing just outside the locker room, and he’s laying into Marshall, one of the rookie receivers. He’s young. Still stuck in that space where college and the NFL feel like the same game.

They’re not. Far fucking from it.

“You drop that pass and then you expect to stay on the field?” Coach snaps. “You think this is college? You think that’s going to fly on my goddamn team?”

Marshall shakes his head. “No, sir.”

“No, you don’t,” Coach shouts as if he never even spoke. “Because if you did, you’d catch the damn ball.”

Marshall swallows. “Yes, sir.”

I watch for a second longer than I should, because I know that look. The mix of embarrassment and panic. That need to not screw up again. And yeah, he dropped the pass earlier, but that isn’t the whole story.

I move toward them, and a few guys nearby go quiet. Heads turn. “Hey,” I say.

Marshall glances over as I interrupt the conversation. His expression shifts slightly to acknowledge me.

“That drop’s on me, Coach.”

Both Coach and Marshall snap their heads in my direction.