Ty returned to his family's suite only after he was sure everyone would be asleep. He'd been at the gym for hours, working on his full body so no one muscle was strained. It'd worked off most of his anger, though a rage continued to burn deep within him, and a hunger for sustenance had grown alongside his hunger for revenge and glory; A chocolate bar from a vending machine he spotted on the way to the suite was his only dinner.
In the suite, he didn't bother crawling into any bed, and instead fell upon the couch, resting there for the night. When morning came, and he awoke with the sun, he realised the dastardly trap the suite itself was. It was like a snare within a pitfall; breakfast was served with a side of familial guilt and a heavy heaping of expectations.
He ate his cereal silently as his parents berated him about how much he'd embarrassed them yesterday, how he better not do so on the field tonight. It was up to him personally to ensure the Samuels name was revered in history rather than despised and reviled.
He couldn't wait until the rest of the team arrived, or for the game to start. Unfortunately, the latter was going to be a long wait, starting only after sunset, leaving him in purgatory for many hours yet.
A touch of relief came when Mother, Precious, and Victoria decided to go "hit the town". Whatever that truly meant, Ty didn't care, even when they insisted Megan join them, and left her with no choice in the matter, practically dragging her out of the room.
That left just the boys in the room. Father was quite pleased with the result, though Ty wasn't sure how long that'd last with Father having to look after the twins. Devon had stayed behind also, but Ty was sure he'd find some excuse to run off until game time. For now, the oldest son sat beside Ty.
'That rich nigga you facing, he's an even bigger asshole than you, huh?' Devon said. 'And his daddy's little bitch, too.'
'He could be a saint and it wouldn't make a difference,' Ty said. 'I'd still beat him.'
'Good. Just remember this shit's way fuckin' bigger than your pride or whatever bullshit, 'ight?' Devon leaned close, one hand going to the back of Ty's neck. 'There's way more ridin' on this shit, so don't fuck it up.'
Ty turned his head the little it could move in Devon's harsh grip. The furious fire within him blazed brighter in his eyes.
'Wipe that fuckin' look off ya face,' Devon hissed. 'Or you'll be playin' with a black eye.'
Ty stared, unblinking, unspeaking, until Devon stood, grabbing a jacket before heading for the door. When Father asked where he was going, all Devon answered with was "out". Father shook his head, scoffing.
'Goddamn brat.'
But he didn't leave the couch, and his focus soon settled back on the TV as he mumbled to himself, trying to decide whether room service would have to come out of his pocket, and even if it did, did he really care that much.
Yes, Ty couldn't wait until the other Dons arrived.
###
Thaddeus Long stared up at the imposing skyscraper before him. It'd been a stressful twenty-four hours for the high school coach, and the worst of it was yet to come. He'd been prepared for the stress of the National Championship game, but what had shocked—doubling his anxiety—was the news Tyrese Samuels had been brought along to Texas ahead of the team.
Of course, Ty wasn't alone, his family had come with him, but still. Ty had only come to Texas for football, and when it came to these boys and football, they were Coach Long's responsibility; it was his duty to protect him from the corporate media vultures who wanted nothing more than to suck out any value they could from athletes, then cast them aside.
So yes, when he finally arrived in Texas with the rest of the Dons—despite the smooth flight, and the comfortable shuttle ride to the hotel—he was anxious, and incensed.
Supposedly a "Mr Rice" had been behind everything, and when Coach Long met the man, he would give Mr Rice a piece of his mind. One thing dealing with a lot of testosterone-fuelled, mid-pubescent boys all at one time—the most reckless and short-sighted of all people, he thought—had taught Thaddeus was a lot of the adults he dealt with weren't any more wise or rational than those boys. The good thing about these idiotic adults who had never grown up was you didn't have to treat them with the respect and care a child who didn't know any better needed.
Coaches Norman and Hoang came out of the busses following Coach Long's shuttle. Three large buses had been needed for the all the Dons' players and their families. Maybe Mr Rice was hoping the good will of providing travel and tickets for the boys' families would off-set his mistake of bringing the Samuels family out early and alone. It wouldn't.
Still, as Thaddeus watched his boys and their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and even grandmothers and grandfathers, he couldn't fathom how much it would've cost to bring out so many people, house them in such a luxurious hotel—even if only for a single night—and give them high-end box seats at an NFL stadium, all just for one game played between high-schoolers.
Why would someone go to all that trouble? He had no idea. But then again, why was he trying to understand someone so rich they practically lived in an entirely different world?
However, he'd have to wait for his confrontation with the affluent Mr Rice, as more staff greeted them at the hotel. Thaddeus hoped he'd find Mr Rice before the game. There was still several hours before the game began, though with one as important as the National Championship, a lot of that time would be needed for final preparations.
The hotel staff graciously led the many families to their rooms, and the madness continued as the Dons were given a whole damn floor to themselves. Unfortunately, Ty was not on that floor, and when Thaddeus asked where he could find the Samuels, he was informed they had a "Paradise Suite".
His fears and worries weren't assuaged by this news. Ty was getting preferential treatment? Perhaps, but what had the conference he'd supposedly attended been about? He asked for Ty to be brought to his room, or at least informed all his teammates had arrived, and the staff were more than happy to oblige.
When Ty appeared at Coach Long's door, it was clear the boy had been working out, despite his and Coach Hoang's suggestions to take it easy during the week; they may as well have told a scorpion not to sting.
Coach Long was just relieved to see him again, for reasons even he wasn't entirely sure of. He hugged Ty, pulling him into the large, comfortable, hotel room.
'It's good to see you, Tyrese. You been alright out here?'
Ty hugged back awkwardly, lightly tapping Coach Long's broad back. 'Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just pumped for the game, Coach. I'm so excited I've been sweating just thinking about it.'
Coach Long laughed. 'You've been working out, it's fine. How are you holding up, any soreness or tightness?'
'None,' Ty said, adamant.
Coach Long held Ty at arm's length, but saw no deceit in his face. 'Good. Come in. We need to talk with you.'
As Coach Long turned around and walked further into the room, Ty looked around for the "we" Coach Long spoke of. The room was small only in comparison to the suite Ty was used to, even then it was just like a shrunken down version, still with similar amenities, but a worse view.
Waiting in the living room was the Dons' two coordinators, Coach Hoang and Coach Norman.
'We're sorry we couldn't be here with you before, Tyrese,' Coach Long said, gesturing for Ty to take a seat on the couch. 'Just know we're mad at the people who organised all this, and not you.'
Ty sat down, looking around at all the faces. 'Mad?' It sounded like they already knew what had happened, yet he saw no recognition on their faces, no pity or outrage, just curiosity. 'Why?'
'You never should've had to take that meeting without one, if not all, of us present,' Coach Long said.
'We know you weren't alone,' Coach Hoang said, jumping in just as Ty opened his mouth, 'but when it comes to football, and this WAS football-related even if it was off the field, we're the ones responsible for you.'
'Which is why we're eager to know how it all went,' Coach Long said, smiling wide, 'and if they've been looking after you before we got here.'
Ty sat back, quiet, thoughtful, choosing his next words carefully. It was clear, whatever broadcast the conference went to, none of them had watched it. Good.
'I've been fine. Anxious, yeah, but that's only natural with the most important game of my life so far ahead of me. The press conference thing, I mean it's stupid to do that for football, but it wasn't anything weird. They were just asking generic crap about how excited we are for the game, how we plan to win. Things to hype everyone up for it.'
Coach Long looked at his fellow coaches as they contemplated Ty's words, parsed them for truth or falsehood. Ty kept a neutral expression throughout. They didn't need to know he'd fallen for Kentavious's trap. It didn't matter. He'd beat Junior, and embarrass Senior in the end. That was his battle; they had a game plan to perfect.
Finally, Coach Long nodded. 'Alright, Ty. I hope I didn't disrupt your pre-game flow or anything, I know some of you boys have your rituals and routines you like doing. You can go back to that now if you like.'
Ty stood, but he didn't get very far before Coach Hoang's voice stopped him. 'Hey, but no more training. I want you resting from now until we're at the stadium. Go say hi to all your teammates and tell them how much of a spoiled prima donna you are by getting a suite all to yourself.'
Ty smiled back at him, but left without a retort. Maybe he'd check in with the others—it could be a way to pass the time—but even they didn't need to hear of his embarrassment from his mouth.
###
Finally the Dons were ready to make their way to the stadium …almost ready. The players and their families would be getting different shuttles to the stadium. The next time they'd see each other, their sons would either be National Champions or… it wasn't worth thinking of the other possibility.
Each family stood in a little huddle of their own, giving their final wishes of luck, and hugs. Ty stood before his parents and siblings, bouncing on his toes. His focus was on the team bus, rather than his mother and father; game time was approaching, but not fast enough for him.
'Don't you embarrass us again like you did yesterday,' Mother said. 'I didn't raise no quitter.'
"You didn't raise anything," Ty thought.
Father stepped closer, hands clasping Ty's shoulders roughly. 'Don't listen to her, boy. I know you'll make me proud. You'll wipe those smug looks of those rich niggas faces even if you have to slap them off. We'll be watching, so don't screw this up for us.'
Us. The word filled his head like a ten-ton weight. Why had he been so blind before? They were just like the kids at school. Those who knew nothing of him, who had never cared, only when he was successful, important, only when it looked as if that success and importance could rub off on them by association.
'Whoa, this is your family, Ty?' JJ asked, standing before Ty, grinning wide.
JJ beamed at everyone, contagious warmth and kindness radiating off of him. He greeted Devon with a fistbump; each sister, along with Mother, got a hug, which Vicky lingered in overlong; the twins got picked up and tossed into the air, giggling gleefully; and Father shared a firm handshake.
'So that's where Ty gets his strength from,' JJ said, laughing.
It was uncanny how quickly and well he fit in with them all. He was fascinated by them, eager to learn all he could as quickly as he could, and always circled the conversation back to Ty somehow. Precious was flourishing in college, and Meg was top of her class? That's where Ty got his smarts and quick-thinking from. The twins' boundless energy? They took after Ty who was always training. Mother's charm was somehow Ty's as well in a comparison that confused even Ty himself, but was said so genuinely.
'It's a shame he didn't share in the good looks,' Devon said, laughing at his own joke. JJ made sure he wasn't laughing alone, even as he shook his head.
'Ty's smile is different but I can see the same goodness in all of your smiles, too. And he definitely has your humour.'
'Our little Ty must be very different in your locker room,' Mother said, raising a brow at Ty.
'It's good he's found somewhere he can be himself and step out of that super thick shell he's always hiding in,' Precious said.
They were all smiling at him. But unlike the press conference last night, he wasn't the butt of some joke. JJ meant what he said, and even if it didn't line up with what Ty thought, it wasn't untrue. He was just the type of guy to see good in everyone.
'Haha. You've no idea how happy I've been to have Ty as part of our second family in the Dons,' JJ said. 'But speaking of family, you don't mind if I borrow your hermanito for a second, right?'
With everyone's consent, JJ led Ty to a kindly couple standing on their lonesome. Immediately, Ty felt the same warmth from them he did JJ, and saw the same kindness in their smiles and bright eyes.
The similarities between JJ and his parents were undeniable, though they hardly looked old enough to be his parents in the first place, and neither were as tall as him. Yet when they smiled, they could've all been twins.
They'd supposedly heard so much about Ty and were happy to meet him finally. Yet Ty had to wonder what kind of stories JJ had been telling them of him, he had to wonder just how JJ saw him and all the other Dons. How did Ty see them? Could he even picture them outside of their uniforms?
He looked around. All around him, spreading across the footpath in front of the hotel were dozens of little gatherings and families.
Stephen stood out easily, though beside him were two athletic-looking women, one matching him for height while the other was only just shorter. His sister smirked up at him as their mother, standing eye-to-eye with him, admonished and fussed over him. Never before had Ty seen such a large child, but how else could he think of Stephen with his cheeks pinched between his mother's fingers as she wiped his face clean through his protests. There was a twinkle of delight in the red eyes she shared with her son, and a much shorter bald man, who could only be Stephen's father, stood beside them, chuckling as he watched the motherly display. Eventually Stephen broke free of his mother's cloying grip.
Deshaun stepped back from his parents after giving them both a hug. 'I'm gonna win this game,' he promised. 'After that, the phone line'll be blocked with all the colleges calling.'
'I hope not,' his dad said sharply, though there was a proud grin on his face.
'Then when I tear through college it'll be on to the league,' Deshaun said, grin widening. 'When that first paycheck comes in, imma buy you a real big house, and a proper store, with a big-ass kitchen, so you can get whoever you want to run it.'
His mom hugged him again, shushing him. 'Don't worry about that. Just focus on the game and having fun. You're already a champion in our hearts.'
Cole stood before his parents, and a frail old grandmother. He was flanked by three brothers, one older, two younger, though each one seemed blonder with brighter eyes than the last. There were smiles all around.
Benny's only family were a grandmother and grandfather, both hunched and grey. They were tiny next to him, but love exuded from them whenever they looked at him.
Chris and Cam stood together with a squat, dark, brick shit-house of a man beside them, talking to a lithe, fair-skinned woman, the only companions either boy had, but they almost seemed a combined family themselves.
Zayden carried a young girl piggy-back style, her face, stretched by a grin, had a large splotch of pale skin stretching from one brow, down her check, along her jaw, and even down her neck. A boy who looked Meg's age, and bore no sign of his siblings' shared condition stood beside a tall, regal-looking woman. An older, well-dressed gentleman stood on her other side, taking photos and securing fond memories of the day.
A veritable horde of young children ran about Donte's legs as he stood before a sniffling, rotund woman, and an aged, but straight-backed older couple. Sunlight gleamed brightly in Donte's own tear-filled eyes.
Everywhere there were happy families of various sizes. More took photos, some were shedding proud, joyful tears, others were sharing long, tight, group hugs. And then there was Jay and his father, standing off to the side, watching the whole procession.
'It's quite the show old Kent has put on,' Mr Breechwood said.
Jay sighed. The day had been horrible. The last thing he needed before his biggest game ever—an already stupidly stressful and bothersome occasion, but one important enough to his brothers that even HE could care about it—was being dragged back into his father's hellish and soulless corporate world. Yet that's exactly what this trip had done.
And all for some stupid display of power. Look what strings I can pull, it said. Look how important I am. Look how much sway I hold. Look as my son becomes a household name with one game. Look and despair as I crush dozens of families' hearts with one casual stomp.
Jay knew why all these families had been brought out, even if his father couldn't see it. Refused to see it simply because it was illogical from a business stand point. But this wasn't about business—not in the financial sense anyway—it was about sending a message.
You dare to compete with my son? Be destroyed for your insolence. Have your families witness your ultimate failure up close and personal.
That's how arrogant the Longhorns and Kentavious Rice Senior were. They were sure of their victory, and they wanted it to be a loss the Dons would remember for the rest of their lives. A loss so bad no-one would ever make the mistake of thinking they were above the Longhorns again.
It was sickening, but it was a world Jay knew all too well. It was the world outside the gridiron.
'Truly, Kent's greed and idiocy knows no bounds,' Mr Breechwood said. 'I can't wait to see the look on his face after you and these pitiful "friends" of yours dismantle his precious team. You better win this game, Jay. Honestly, it's about time this tragic school provided something of worth to us. If you want to prove you're worthy of starting in your freshman year in college, you need to win this game.'
'Shut the fuck up!' Jay whirled, glaring at his father, almost pushing him back a step.
'…What did you—'
'SHUT UP! For once in your life take a step back and understand when NO-ONE wants to hear a single word out of your mouth. Or are you too idiotic to see that no-one has ever wanted to have a conversation with you?'
Jameson Breechwood stared down at his son. The contempt he usually held when doing such intensified. When he opened his mouth to respond, Jay cut him off again.
'You're done talking, and I'm done listening to you. I don't give a fuck what petty bullshit rivalry you have with your old cunt Kent.'
It was all coming out. Today had been too much for even Jay's patient limits. It was the sight of all the families before him, what families SHOULD be, and to hear them reduced to nothing but pawns in his father's petty squabbles… he wouldn't stand for that. His brothers—his REAL family—deserved better.
'I'm going to win today, but I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this IN SPITE of you. Everything you have ever done for me has done nothing but hold me back. I am not you, I am not a vessel for you to live out of your glory days again and right the mistakes you made back then when you were an even bigger unaware dumbass than you are now—if that's even possible—and I will NOT have you thinking you have had ANYTHING to do with the success me and my brothers have EARNED. Not given. You have never given me ANYTHING.
'When I win today, know I did it for the family I actually care about. The one that actually supports and loves me. Me and my brothers are champions. You and Kent can suck it.'
Jay turned, striding away. Encroaching on someone else's family moment, no matter how awkward that'd be, would be infinitely better than spending another second in his father's company.
'Don't you walk away from me, Jay—we're not done here!' Jameson snapped.
Jay stopped, looked back over his shoulder. 'Oh yeah… I'm not done. I almost forgot …' A smile spread across Jay's lips. Being angry and hasty was too much of a hassle, and way more effort than a pathetic loser like his father deserved. Plus, nothing else infuriated his father quite like Jay's "retarded" speech pattern, as Jameson had so eloquently put it so many times in the past. '…I should tell you … I'm taking … a gap year.'
Jay had never seen such fury on his father's face. He turned away, smiling wider than ever, and walked right into JJ's welcoming arms who introduced him to his mom and dad, and showed Jay he was truly a part of a real, loving, happy family.