LET'S FORGET

288 Vouchers

LET'S FORGET

JOSH PRESENT DAY

It had been months since I felt anything close to lightness. Life had a way of pressing its weight into you until you stopped noticing just how heavy it all was. But tonight, for the first time in what felt like forever, I didn't feel the weight quite so much. We'd won. It wasn't just any win either-it was one of those gritty, hard-fought games that reminded you why you fell in love with football in the first place. The kind of game that made you forget for a second that there was anything else in the world but the field. I sat in the locker room, peeling off my gear as the guys whooped and hollered around me. Sweat slicked the air, and the locker room smelled like victory-adrenaline and exhaustion mixed with relief. For once, I didn't feel like a spectator in my own life. I felt... alive. "Saunders!" Mateo, one of our linebackers, called out from across the room. "We're heading out to grab some drinks. Celebrate the win. You coming?"

Before I could answer, one of the rookies, Jackson, laughed. "You know Saunders doesn't go out, man. He never does. Family man. Right, big guy?"

I hesitated, my usual excuse dying on my lips. Normally, I'd laugh it off, tell them I had to get back to Asha, or that I wasn't much of a drinker. But tonight... 10:52

LET'S FORGET

288 Vouchers

Tonight, something in me shifted

"Fuck it," I said, standing up and tossing my towel into my. locker. "One drink."

The room went silent for a beat, and then chaos erupted.

"YEAH!" Mateo hollered, slapping my shoulder so hard I nearly stumbled. "Saunders is in!"

"Finally!" Jackson added, throwing his arms in the air. "It's about damn time, man."

doubled as the guys rallied around me, their excitement contagious. For once, that little voice in the back of my mind-the one that always brought me back to Laura, to guilt, to everything

with Asha until midnight, and for the first time in months, I wasn't

bar on the outskirts of town a proper Texan spot, filled with cowboy hats, country music, and the smell of

rival players and argued over who had the

nudging me with his elbow, "How about that pretty brunette

10:52

LET'S FORGET

288 Vouchers

long hair cascading over her shoulders as she laughed with

mouth to brush it off, but before I could stop myself, the words

Married

table went quiet for a second, the air

It wasn't like I'd been hiding it-everyone knew about Laura, about what happened, but I didn't talk

feel their eyes on me, pity creeping into the edges of the moment. But I wasn't about to

suddenly, slamming my hand on

surprised, but it didn't take long for them to

shouted, standing up and

as it had come, and soon, the table was filled with

shot

win," Mateo added,

to keep it coming," I said,

10.52

LET'S FORGET

288 Vouchers

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Comments ()

0/255