Page 57 of Always Choosing You

Rory placed her phone on her nightstand as she mentally played through the conversation again. He was fine with her kissing someone else—even though he had no idea who—and she gave him the go-ahead to do whatever he wanted, as well. All of it felt sticky and complicated, and she wasn’t sure how much more of it she could take.

Chapter Sixteen

The game was held on neutral turf, giving neither Haverport nor Westford the home-field advantage. The temperatures were now low enough that Rory had to reach deep into her closet for her down jacket that morning. She wrapped her navy-and-white scarf around her face, the green bandana tied tightly to her head. Her stomach was knotted all morning, thinking about how Tyler was doing. There was so much riding on this game for their town, and she wondered if scouts would be there to watch him play. She was thankful that Blake and Zach didn’t say much when she picked them up, the three of them remaining in comfortable silence as they drove the thirty minutes to the stadium.

The parking lot was packed, but Rory was able to squeeze into a spot close to the exit. The nervous energy was palpable as they walked toward the stands, the north side already covered in a sea of navy and white, while the south side donned black and yellow.

They paused for a moment at the bottom of the stands. Blake shivered, causing Zach to reach an arm around him and tuck Blake into his jacket, his hand playing with Blake’s red curls. Rory rolled her eyes at the dramatics.

“This could be you, you know,” Blake teased. “But you didn’t force him to come.”

“He had a thing,” Rory replied. She ignored his gaze and turned to find Melanie.

They eventually found her and Calvin, and the five of them squeezed onto a bench. Rory gave Melanie a hug, her eyes darting to Calvin’s face. To her surprise, he smiled at her, his features soft and relaxed. She pulled away from her friend’s grasp, too stunned to smile back.

Does he know? she wondered.

The crowd roared as the Haverport team jogged onto the field, the cheerleaders at their heels, jumping up and down with new sparkly pom-poms glistening under the bright autumn sun. Zoe was at the front of the helm, her hair curled and tied into that signature cheerleader ponytail, a small corsage tied around her wrist. Another Haverport tradition for the senior cheerleaders—wearing flowers with the team colors on their wrists for the last game of the year.

Rory scanned the jerseys, finding number 17. Instead of jumping up and down and hyping his team up like he always did, Tyler was pacing back and forth, his gait taut and nervous. Rory glanced around the stands to see if she could find the Chapmans, but before she could eye them, the whistle was blown, the captains shook hands, and the boys lined up for kickoff.

She watched as Tyler clicked on his helmet as he walked by the cheerleaders. Zoe held out a fist to him and he bumped it like they were pals, which seemed strange. But she instantly forgot it as she watched him scan the stands, his gaze landing in her direction. She was too far to actually see his features, but he’d definitely found her green bandana. His chest visibly expanded, and then he was jogging up the field, ready for the game to begin.

* * *

The teams were neck-and-neck by halftime. Even though Tyler was able to escape their grasp and score a touchdown, Westford’s defense was strong as steel. Walker and Tyler worked together seamlessly, keeping up team spirits and executing each play flawlessly. But it couldn’t stop the clever strategy of their competing team, the score at a stubborn seven to seven when the halftime buzzer went off.

Rory snuck away from the group to use the bathroom. Her nerves were running rampant, every facet of her body tense as she wondered how Tyler was doing right now, how he and his team were feeling in the locker room during their pep talk.

She stood in a line that snaked out of the bathroom building when she saw Tyler’s father walk by with a man she’d never seen before. Mr. Chapman didn’t notice Rory as he got on the line for the snack stand, the two men talking just loud enough for her to hear.

“Well, we appreciate you coming out to watch our boy,” Mr. Chapman said.

“He’s a solid player,” the man responded. “I’m surprised no one has snatched him up yet.”

Her spine zipped up when she realized what was going on. A scout. This had to be the reason why Tyler was nervous for today’s game, despite it being the state championship and all.

“I can’t guarantee anything, but I will advocate hard for him,” the man continued. “And maybe we’ll see you in the stadium next year.”

Mr. Chapman grinned. “Thank you. He’s wanted this for a long time. Although it will be weird to have him so far away if all goes to plan.”

So…far away?

Rory felt like someone was wringing her insides dry. Her vision blurred as she sucked in small, short breaths, realizing what Mr. Chapman was saying.

Tyler would leave her. He would go off to college to play football, and he wouldn’t need Rory or Scoops or any of them anymore.

She stepped out of the line and walked around the bathrooms so no one would see her spiral.

He would have no need for her after graduation. Tyler would leave, and they would probably grow distant, the days of playing football and soccer in their backyards slowly fading into lost, forgotten memories. Maybe that’s why he didn’t want to be with her, why he wouldn’t break it off with Zoe. The pain of leaving would be too great, so why go through it at all?

Rory’s panic switched to anger. Anger that he was going to leave her behind. Anger that he didn’t want to take a chance on her despite their history. Anger that he didn’t even tell her about this, about the scout and what was happening at this game and his next steps toward college. He was pulling away from her, and he hadn’t even left yet.

She tore off the green handkerchief tied to her head and walked out the gates, chucking it in the trash without looking back.

* * *

Rory was veering off the highway, taking the exit toward Haverport, when Melanie called her. She answered, turning on the speakerphone. “Yes?”