Chapter Sixteen: The Return of Trev Davila

****Trev****

I woke up the next morning feeling like I was on top of the world. For the first time since my accident, it didn’t matter to me that my career was up in the air because I knew that no matter what happened, Pam would be by my side.

It was the furthest thing from my mind when we finally made our way to the kitchen, when I successfully distracted her from making coffee, or as we drank some an hour later while we looked out the windows at the busy noonday city. 

It was rare that we had a quiet moment alone which was why I didn’t look at my phone when a message came through. Who knows how long I would’ve gone without checking it if Pam hadn’t brought it up and I lazily picked it up, figuring it was Ryan or maybe Stan.

“What is it?” Pam asked after she saw my double take at seeing my agent’s name on the screen.

“It’s David. He wants me to call him: ‘ASAP’.” I looked down at her and without saying a word, she kissed my cheek, grabbed her coffee and walked back up stairs to the bedroom. Giving me the privacy she thought I needed.  

She might’ve been half way up the stairs before I selected his number and started pacing around the kitchen as I waited to hear it ring in my ear. 


“Hey, Trev. Sorry to bother you on the weekend.” He greeted me after only one ring and I stopped pacing.

“No big deal.” It was since he never contacted me unless it was important, which was why I felt jumpy. Like I’d drunk a whole pot of coffee instead of my one cup. “What’s up?”

He chuckled and I heard his squeaky chair move in the background. “A lot, actually. I was contacted this morning about presenting you with a possible job offer and considering who it’s from, I didn’t want to sit on it for very long.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a quarterback coaching position and ASU.”

“You’re shitting me.” I said more out of shock than anything and glanced up at the living room ceiling, wondering how much Pam knew about it.  

“I’m not. Apparently the previous quarterback’s coach has moved on to be offensive coordinator at another school. If you’re interested, they’d like to meet with you as soon as possible.”

It’s not every day that you get a chance at your dream job, so when it comes out of the blue it’s hard to wrap your head around it. Especially when you’re wondering how much a certain person walking around on the floor above you knew about it. 

“Let me call you back in a minute.” He started to protest but I hung up on him and made my way over to the stairs to get some answers.

Chapter Fifteen: The Worst and Best Kept Secrets

****Trev****

“The car will be here in about five minutes.” I yelled up the stairs in my apartment and smiled at the sound of her rushed footsteps on the floor above. 

“I’m almost ready. Just getting my shoes.” She yelled back down and I kept pacing between the stairs and the doorway. I didn’t know why though; it didn’t help get rid of any of the anxiousness I felt about the night ahead. 

It was our big moment, the night when we were going public with our relationship and we’d picked a doozy to do it with. It was the Bucks’ annual postseason banquet that was hosted by the organization to celebrate its accomplishments and thank those who made them possible. 

It was extra special that year since we’d won the Super Bowl and the organization had planned an over the top celebration that was getting a lot of attention from local and some national press. Which meant that a lot of media would be there when we finally let the secret out of the bag. 

Not that it was the best kept secret. Our families, closest friends, Bucks’ management, and Pam’s boss all knew. The later I’d learned about while we were still at the cabin when it dawned on me that she should’ve been working instead of taking care of me. That’s when she let me know about her conversation with Roger and how she was taking time off.

Her hiatus lasted until a couple days before the Bucks’ event. She’d gone back to work and explained why her reporting on the Bucks wouldn’t be an issue anymore. It wasn’t a secret that I didn’t like most journalists, at least the pushy sports ones, but I came to respect Roger after he had gone out of his way help Pam and kept the news of my retirement quiet until I announced it.

My retirement press conference was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. It wasn’t pretty; I choked up and cried, but what made it doable was the support that I had there: my Mom, Will, Ryan, the rest of my teammates, Pam’s dad and Pam. 

She’d done exactly what she’d said she would do. She‘d stayed by my side through the weeks since my injury and I owed a lot of why I was able to do the press conference and start down the road to recovery and acceptance, to her. And it was one reason why I was anxious to finally go out with her; because it meant I could reveal how I’d made it through everything.

The sound of an alert from my phone told me that the car had arrived and I turned to call up the stairs again but stopped when I caught sight of her coming down them. She had on a short, tight, black dress, stiletto heels and her hair was styled like it was the night she’d gone out with Paisley, all those months ago at her parents’ house.

Chapter Fourteen: The Reasons Why

****Trev****

I couldn’t remember ever being in that much pain. My chest and the back of my head ached from the hit but that wasn’t anything compared to my neck. The insane pain was enough to tell me that there wasn’t going to be an easy fix for whatever was wrong, but as I laid there the next morning with Pam I told myself that the worst I was probably looking at was having surgery.

All I wanted was for someone to give me answers and tell me how I could fix it. I thought that might happen when the whoosh of the door hinted that someone was coming in the room, but the small footsteps on the linoleum floor told me I was in for another round with my nurse. 

“Good morning.” She chipperly smiled down at me and I grunted, waking Pam up. “Glad to see you’re in a better mood.” She grinned, completely ignoring my scowl and checked my IV. I’d run out of pain medicine about an hour before but hadn’t pushed the button for more and after noticing it, she looked back down at me. 

“Do you want any more?” She dropped the happy nurse act and seemed genuinely concerned.

“No.” I firmly stated, but they looked at me like I was crazy.

“Are you sure?” Pam asked as she sat up and placed a hand on my arm.

“No.” I repeated and scowled at her. “I don’t like how it makes me feel.” I didn’t feel in control of myself with them and decided that normal  pain medicine would have to do; no matter how much it hurt. Pam nodded and after the nurse brought me something else, she stood up and walked over to my side of the bed.

“Do you remember what happened?” She whispered as her fingers brushed a strand of my hair off my forehead.


“I remember getting hit, nothing after that until seeing you walk through that door,” I pointed to the one that everyone kept going out of, “and then it’s blank again until I woke up earlier in pain.” I knew that there was a lot more in between and it looked like she was about to fill me in when there was a knock on the door.

My stomach dropped as my eyes followed a doctor, Randy (one of the Buck’s trainers), Coach, and Jimmy. Seeing the last two removed any doubt about it being bad but even more telling was the fact that they wouldn’t look at me as they walked to other side of the room.

“Mr. Davila, I’m Dr. Fraser.” The doctor started after Pam helped me adjust the bed and pillows so I could sit up. It took a ton out of me to move and his forehead wrinkled with worry. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like something else for the pain.”

I gave him a look that left little doubt about my determination to not change my mind and he nodded. “We’ve taken a look at the x-rays that we took last night. . .”

“Perhaps we should discuss this in private.” Jimmy interrupted and motioned to Pam. Her weight shifted to the foot closer to the door, like she was getting ready to take Jimmy’s hint about leaving and I grabbed her hand.

“She stays. Anything you want to say to me, you say it in front of her.” My eyes darted sideways at her, worried for a moment that she’d be upset that in one fell swoop I’d outed our relationship to everyone in the room. She gave me a small smile and placed her other hand over mine. Knowing we were on the same page, I turned my attention back to them.

Chapter Thirteen: The Moment the World Stopped Moving

****Pamela****

Maybe my hatred of winter comes from the fact that I’ve spent years standing and sitting on sidelines in freezing weather.  It seemed a real possibility as I stood on the field watching the Bucks and Panthers play in the Conference Championship. 

From childhood, I’d gone with Mom and my sisters to watch Dad coach games and while I loved seeing him and watching the players, there’d been many times that I wished that the stadiums were indoor, something that I found myself wishing for at that moment as a teeth chattering wind blew across the field.

I stuffed my hands even further in my pockets, hoping that it would help me find some warmth but deep down I knew it wouldn’t do any good. The cold had seeped into my bones and wouldn’t go away no matter how many cups of coffee or cocoa I drank or how many layers of clothes I wore.  

The fact that I couldn’t move around didn’t help much either and I felt a brief flash of envy as I watched the players on the field who I knew were warmer because they could. But any envy soon turned to sympathy as I witnessed Trev misread the Panthers’ defense, almost throwing an interception.  

No, I don’t really envy any of them. I thought to myself as I watched Trev and the others return to the sideline. Both teams were under a huge amount of pressure to win the game, but the Bucks felt it more so than the Panthers. They’d met two other times, once during preseason and again during regular season with the Bucks losing both games. 


It was something that gnawed at Trev, and throughout the season he watched countless hours of video of the Panthers’ defense and offense, trying to get an advantage on them. He wholeheartedly believed in the team’s motto, We don’t win or lose games by what one person does, we win or lose as a team, but he also believed that each player was accountable for their performance on and off the field and I knew he would beat himself up about his mistake.

The roar of another cutting wind blew over the field, adding to the already deafening noise level of the crowd and players, which was why the sound of a single voice cutting through the thickness of all others astonished me.  “God damnit!! What the fuck was that?” The sound of Trev’s frustrations caught mine and several other reporter’s attention.

“Trev, chill! We’ll get them next time.” Tiny tried to reason with, him but it was no use. Once Trev made a mistake no one could convince him otherwise. He wouldn’t “chill” but would go over and over his mistake, figuring out a way to fix it, and then make sure it never happened again, willing himself to perfection. 

Chapter Twelve: Things Happen When They're Supposed To - Part Two

****Trev****

In all my travels with teams, friends and family one thing always held true: it never took long before you learned people’s quirks.  Like how Ryan didn’t want to sit next to the window on planes because it reminded him that only inches of metal were what kept him from plummeting to his death. Or learning that Coach White liked to pass time by doing crossword puzzles and whispered “yes” every time he successfully solved a clue.

It didn’t have to be a long trip either. Anything over thirty minutes and people start to get comfortable. Which was why I learned all kinds of interesting things about Pam on our hour and a half trip to ASU.

Like how she liked to remove her shoes and socks and put her feet up on the dash, curling and straightening her toes to the beat of the music. And if it wasn’t her toes moving it was some other part of her body because sitting still for more than a second seemed to be impossible for her.

There were other things besides bare feet and fidgeting that I learned about her during that trip, but the one that made me do a double take was her chattiness. With nothing else to do, she talked way more than normal. Which wasn’t a bad thing, it was just that before that trip I never would’ve put her name and the word chattiness in the same sentence.   

She started with telling me that I was acting suspicious and that it must mean that I had some surprise planned. It was completely laughable, since it was obvious that she was hiding things too and a debate followed about who was acting the most secretive.

Having no luck with prying surprises from me, she moved on to how Mom knew about us before we arrived at George’s. Providing evidence by pointing out that Mom greeted us, that I led her to sit between Mom and me and that I winked at Mom when we succeeded.

I worried for a second that she was upset about it, that she felt like I had betrayed her since we’d agreed not to tell anyone before. But her reassuring smile convinced me that she wasn’t and I let out a sigh of relief before revealing how it happened.

I told her about my talk with Mom in October, when I went home for Dad’s service. That Mom probably would’ve guessed who my guest was from that conversation. But it was my phone call to her a couple days before, when I recruited her to help make sure that introductions went smoothly, that she really learned the truth.    

When she asked me to tell her the embarrassing stories about my siblings, the ones I hinted at when we were at George’s, I was all too willing to share. Will’s first date was a disaster because he was running late and didn’t have time to look for his lost belt. Instead of changing his pants, which were too big, he risked wearing them and regretted it when they fell down around his ankles; right as he pushed his date’s chair in at a fancy restaurant.

George’s embarrassing story also involved his pants, but unlike Will’s, his stayed on. At least until he was forced to change them. In the months leading up to George and Charlotte’s fifth birthday, they begged for new bikes; ones that had removable training wheels. When Mom and Dad led them outside on their birthday and they saw the new, shiny bikes, George got so excited that he literally pissed his pants.


To say that Charlotte loved her favorite mirror would be an understatement. It was a handheld one that she carried around her room, talking to it like it was her boyfriend. But that wasn’t the most embarrassing part. The fact that she also used it to practice her kissing, was. I only knew about it because she left her door cracked open one day and I heard her making kissing noises. She had no idea I’d ever seen her until hours before, when I threatened to tell everyone.

My reward for sharing was Pam’s responses as she listened to each story. More than once it looked like she couldn’t decide if she should laugh or scold me and her facial expressions flip-flopped between disbelief, horror and amusement.

When I was finished, she mentioned how glad she was that her family didn’t go around sharing embarrassing stories or photos. I must have looked guilty because she started smacking my arm until I confessed the habit I picked up in the summer of skimming through photo albums in her parents’ family room.

Chapter Twelve: Things Happen When They're Supposed To - Part One

****Pamela****

He turned the wrapped present around in his hands, inspecting certain spots more than others, like he was trying to find a hole that would reveal a clue about what laid underneath the shiny, red paper. My wrapping skills were legendary. I could wrap any shape or size and was an expert at taping all gaps, making it almost impossible for anyone to open.

“Give it up, Trev. You’ll never figure it out until you open it.” Dad tried to convince him and Trev first looked up at him and then glanced at me. His raised eyebrow asked me if I’d give him any hints but I smiled and shrugged back, refusing to give in. It seemed so fitting that he’d approach opening presents like an excited child and as he began trying to find a corner or edge to rip, we all started to laugh at his theatrics.

The smirk that appeared on his lips gave away that he somehow found a place to begin ripping and I held my breath as more and more of his present was revealed. I thought my heart might explode from the anticipation when he released the last of the tape from the paper and bit my lip as his hand started to pull it back to see. . .

The images were instantly gone and I felt my heart sink as I realized that I’d woken up, again. Every single time, something would wake me up before I could witness his reaction and I wondered what the culprit was that morning.   

Chapter Eleven: Keeping the Obvious Hidden

Couple Notes for this chapter:

- NSFW

- I've included the song that's mentioned in the chapter.

- Thanks for reading!

****Pamela****

The rays of the rising sun peeked through the blinds, filling the room with slivers of warm light. One was particularly relentless in its attempts to wake me up, honing in on my closed eyelids, warming them and tempting me to open them up to see the golden, happy hue it cast throughout the room. They were deceiving though, hinting at a warmth that didn’t exist if I ventured out from under the covers and I declared my defiance by pulling the covers over my head and turning my back on the determined ray.

But its absence brought back the cold that I wanted to escape and I snuggled closer to the middle of the bed, reaching my arm and leg over for the heat that usually radiated from Trev’s body. Usually. . .But that morning the coldness of the sheets seeped into my skin and jostled me further from sleep, pushing away any remaining grogginess, and brought to my mind the still blurry image of Trev kissing my cheek as he got out of bed. It was enough to make me finally give in and fling the covers back, sighing as I swung my legs over the side of the bed and shivering as my bare feet touched the freezing wood floor.

“I hate winter.” I mumbled to myself as I walked across the room to the dresser. It was mostly true. The beauty of a freshly fallen snow could make me smile, but eventually its beauty always faded and only gray slush, bare trees, and freezing temperatures remained. Along with cold wooden floors. . .the thought made me shiver again and I quickened my effort to find something warm to wear.

The cold that remained in my bones as I left the bedroom made me sneak a quick glance at the thermostat; one moment wishing that it wasn’t working so I could blame it for my inability to get warm and then the next relieved that it was so I could turn it up a couple degrees. It was one subject that we hadn’t agreed on and I had little hope we ever would: What temperature the apartment should be.

We were polar opposites; he always warm, me always cold, and no matter how much I protested, the first couple of nights he insisted that the temperature stay where I liked it. The tossing and turning throughout the first nights and sweaty sheets in the mornings were the last straw though, and on the third night I snuck back into the hallway when Trev got ready for bed and turned the temperature back down.

Chapter Ten: Leaps of Faith

NSFW at the very beginning

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****Trev****

Chocolate and incredibly soft skin; those were the first thoughts that entered my mind as I became more conscious after dozing, and the combination of the two made me smile because it meant that what happened before was real. But just in case, I kept my eyes closed and took big breath, once again smelling sweet chocolate on her skin.  What does she do that makes her smell that way? I wondered as I continued to enjoy the scent, along with the feeling of her long arm draped over my chest and her toned leg laying over mine, making every inch of my body that hers touched burn.

I'd dreamt many times about her touching me and imagined what I would feel if it ever became a reality. Dreams that seemed so vivid that when I woke up my stomach and heart would sink from the anguish of it being a figment of my imagination. I always welcomed those dreams though, because for so long they were all I had.

They were my only hope of ever experiencing that closeness with her and I gladly experienced the moments of agony if for only a moment, I could convince myself that they were real. But somehow, that night, my dreams became a reality and as I continued to lay with her my mind replayed what happened from the moment she walked off the elevator to her laying on me.

Many moments in between were so unbelievable that I wondered at the probability of them, but they’d all somehow happened.  Her showing up at the apartment, sharing dinner, me playing the piano for her and telling her how I felt, all led to the explosion of our feelings and us sleeping together not once, but twice. And as I remembered specific moments from each time, the powerful, overwhelming and incredible emotions I felt seemed to bombard me again; emotions that I’d never experienced when sleeping with someone before.

They were feelings that I had an inkling of from witnessing the happy relationships of my parents and siblings, but because I hadn’t been in any meaningful or real relationships, I had never experienced them before. It sounded cliché as I thought it, but the only way I could describe how it felt when our bodies joined was that it made me feel whole. Like she completed the part of me that was empty and in all honesty, it scared me; because it made me realize how much I really needed her and I worried that knowing me, I’d do something someday that would push her or make her turn away from me.

In my worry of losing her, I pulled her closer, rousing her from her light sleep. The sleepy smile she gave me as her head lifted off my shoulder helped me to ignore my feelings of self-doubt and the dread of my sabotaging shortcomings and instead, I smiled back at her. “Did we both fall asleep?” Her eyes quizzically looked around the room before returning to mine.

I nodded. “Not for very long.” She continued to look around the room for evidence that could backup what I said, until she spotted the clock.

“We should probably get dressed though. It’s getting late.” The decisiveness in her voice and the flash of determination in her eyes made me worry.  Was she wanting to leave, or was she simply expressing her opinion on the time? To me, it sounded more like she wanted to go, which was the last thing I wanted, but I worried that if I said so she’d feel pressured to stay and my uneasiness about what to say or do grew as we started to search the room for our clothes.

Chapter Nine: On the Verge of Losing Consciousness

A warning beforehand that this chapter is NSFW. . . 

Also, the songs that are played by Trev and Pamela can be found at the end. Thanks for reading!

****Pamela****

Writing the article about Trev and the Bucks was easy. I had more than enough material and after talking with him and the whole team, I knew what approach I wanted to take for it to have the message that Trev wanted. What wasn’t easy and was often times excruciating was not talking to Trev during the two days that it took me to write the article. Knowing that I’d be busy and focused on writing, he offered to leave me alone until I gave it to him. And while I appreciated his thoughtfulness and originally thought that having no contact with him would make it easier for me to concentrate, I soon found out the opposite was true.

My thoughts regularly went to him and what he could be doing, wondering if he was thinking of me and the day we shared together, sometimes even to the previous weeks and how much had occurred between us. Him going to Appaloosa, which led to us texting, that led to us meeting in Riverview and then him comforting me at the stadium and my hotel room. His request to have me write the article and then following him around and him opening up about his dad and seeing him. The touches that we shared between the two of us and wondering if more would occur when we saw each other again. . . It was all the motivation I needed to work as fast and as long as I could to get the article done and into his hands.

But there was one roadblock in the way before it could happen. I hadn’t told my boss about the agreement that Trev and I had about him approving the final article. With it being done I was forced to face the music and I spent the third morning trying to think of ways to tell Roger. The sound of my phone buzzing served as another reminder that my time had run out and seeing Roger’s name appear on its screen made my heart start to race.

Haines! Weren’t we supposed to meet at eleven?

Shit. I cursed to myself and reached across my desk for the flash drive that contained all the article components. Striding towards his door, my thoughts raced through any number of scenarios of what his reaction could be to learning about Trev’s and my agreement but I didn’t have much time to ponder it. I came face to face with Roger’s closed office door in only a handful of strides and tried to steady my nerves and heartrate as I lifted my hand to knock on it.

“Yup.” His usual greeting traveled through the door and I held my breath as I entered it.

“Sorry I’m late.” I said and took my usual seat in one of the chairs facing him. “I was giving everything a once over before declaring it done and lost track of time.”

“Not a big deal. You’re usually early so I wondered what happened.” The expectant, gigantic smile that spread across his lips as he looked at the flash drive in my hand made my stomach sink. “So it’s done then?”

I nodded. “It is.”

His outstretched hand beckoned me to hand it over. When I didn’t make any move to place it in his hand though, his confused eyes darted up to mine, questioning why I didn’t. “Aren’t you going to hand it over?”

I shook my head and clutched the drive even more. “No. . .at least not yet.” I admitted and he looked at me like I was speaking gibberish. We sat there staring at each other for what felt like forever until he lowered his hand and sat back in his squeaky chair. 

“Care to share why you don’t want to hand it over?” Even though his voice sounded calm, I could tell that annoyance was bubbling under the surface and I knew with what I was about to admit to him, it would more than likely boil over.

Chapter Eight: A Day in the Life

I can't believe it's been so long since I published a chapter for any of my stories! That crazy thing called life kept me away, but now I'm back and will have chapters out as soon as I can get pictures for each of them. Sorry it took so long! Hope you enjoy!

****Trev****

I cursed under my breath as I walked to Jimmy’s office. Nothing good came from being summoned there. It either meant that you’d done something stupid, the organization wasn’t happy with your performance, or that they wanted you to do something for the team. I couldn’t remember doing anything stupid; although Ryan and I switched the offensive line’s helmets when they weren’t looking during practice the week before. The players thought it was funny while the coaches found it disruptive, but I saw no evidence of Ryan which eliminated it as the reason for me being summoned.

I didn’t think it was about my performance either. We were heading into week seven and won five of the six games we played; our only loss being to the Pleasantville Panthers, the team that we almost had the comeback win against during the preseason. That meant that the organization wanted me to do something, and as I turned down the hallway that led to Jimmy’s office I tried to prepare myself for whatever stupid ass thing they wanted me to do.

As I arrived at his door I smiled at several office workers that passed by and then took a moment to collect my thoughts before raising my hand to knock. “Enter!” Jimmy’s voice echoed into the hallway and I took one last deep breath before stepping into his office.

“Trev! Thanks for coming!” He greeted me before I could take two steps in the door.

“When the boss man asks you to stop by his office, it’s probably a good idea to do as he asks.” I said with a smirk and tried not to cringe at his forced laugh.

“True, very true.” He smiled and waved his hand at one of the chairs facing his desk. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

I looked at it and shook my head. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to cut to the chase. The O-line’s meeting in one of the viewing rooms in 20 minutes and I don’t want to be late.”

The huge grin that he plastered on his face made me worry about what was to come. “That’s the kind of dedication we love! And it’s one of the reasons I asked you to stop by.” He walked out from behind his desk and I impatiently waited as he paused for a moment; no doubt trying to figure out how to ask me whatever it was that he wanted.

“Because of all that hard work and dedication from you. . .” He stopped and motioned towards the door. “. . .and the team of course, there’s a lot of buzz starting to circulate about our chances of being in the playoffs this year and we’re getting more and more requests for interviews.” I nodded but wasn’t particularly thrilled with what I was hearing. I never did interviews outside of pre and post-game ones and I wasn’t going to start doing them either. My face must have given away my thoughts because Jimmy sighed and stopped the charade.

“Here’s the thing, we’ve been contacted by a news organization that wants to do a story on the Buck’s; kind of a behind the scenes thing, and we’ve pretty much said that we’d be open to do it.” I sneered at the thought of some journalist following everyone around, trying to dig up dirt on all of us.

“Which publication is it? The last thing we need is some tabloid running around here, making shit up.” I complained and he held up his hands.

“Give me more credit than that. I hope you don’t seriously think that I would let someone from one of those publications in here. It’s Bridgeport Times.” He admitted and I slightly perked up from hearing the name. “You don’t seem as opposed to that. . .”

I wasn’t since Pam worked for them but I didn’t want to seem too much in favor of it. I shrugged and looked out the window, trying to seem disinterested. “It’s better than some.”

He nodded and took a deep breath before continuing. “There’s something else. They’ve also asked for the opportunity to follow you around for a day, to see how you prep for a game, even perhaps follow you around outside the stadium.” He cringed again, knowing that I wouldn’t take his last admission well.

“There’s no way in hell that I’m doing that! Everyone knows I don’t do that kind of thing and I’m not about to start! They can come to the stadium, hang with the team, and then leave!” I walked towards the door, totally convinced that the conversation was over.

“What if you could pick the writer? Someone you trust. . .like Pamela Haines.” The mention of Pam’s name made me swing around and stride towards him.

Chapter Seven: It Still Hurts - Part Two

So now we've come to part two of this chapter and I have a couple things to say before it.

First, while part one was about Trev and what he's battled to get to this point in his life, this chapter is about what Pam's dealt with and I feel like I need to put a WARNING with it. There are certain instances that some might find disturbing and might act as a trigger for you. So please proceed at your own discretion. 

Second, like many chapters, this one was influenced by a particular song which I of course have included. 

Thanks so much for reading, and continuing on this journey with both Trev and Pamela! Hope you enjoy it!

****Pam****

A gusty winter wind almost knocked me off of my feet as I walked out of Riverview stadium, making me wonder how it was possible that I stood on my balcony without a coat just three nights before.  That was the challenge of packing for away games; trying to figure out the weather and making sure that you didn’t pack clothes that didn’t stifle you but at the same time kept you warm. I thanked my lucky stars that I had enough sense when I packed to remember that Riverview tended to be colder in late October, but the frigid air still caught me by surprise and I stopped dead in my tracks.

The smart thing to do would be to turn around and head back inside, but that wasn’t what Trev and I agreed to when we talked on the phone; a conversation that I originally tried to convince myself would never happen. He asked when we texted back and forth during his visit home if he could call me, but as the next day passed and most of the next, I told myself that he forgot or hadn’t even meant it when he asked. 

I tried to distract myself with preparing for my trip to Riverview and the upcoming game but no matter how many different ways I tried to pack my suitcase or review team stats and info for both teams, I still couldn’t keep my thoughts from drifting away from the tasks at hand and to the up in the air phone call.

By the time I arrived at Riverview and walked out of the airport to find a taxi I was beating myself up about getting my hopes up. He didn’t owe me a phone call, after all. We were friends, my text was meant to encourage him, which he said it did, and in an effort to say something nice in return he offered to call me at some point. It sounded reasonable and logical, and it made perfect sense in my mind. But there was still a spot deep inside my heart where my disappointment clung to that didn’t want to listen. I tried to ignore it and shove it even further down as I arrived at my hotel room and started to unpack my things, but a part of me still knew that I was fooling myself.

That was of course the moment that my phone rang and my disappointment instantly turned into a hopeful excitement that made my hands shake a little as I reached for my phone. Which I told myself was stupid since we’d talked countless times in the years we’d known each other. He instantly apologized for not calling sooner. He mentioned staying later in Appaloosa than he originally planned, since he didn’t get to see his twin brother much, and he wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. By the time he made it back into Bridgeport, it was almost midnight and he didn’t want to bother me so late. It wasn’t a long conversation, and most of it was small talk; the exception being my inquiry about how the overall trip to Appaloosa was, but it put my mind at ease about him not calling and it ended with us agreeing to meet after the game. 

   

 

But neither of us had known was how cold it would be, and as if proving my point, the cutting wind once again tried to penetrate the layers of my coat and finally persuaded me to seek a smarter option. I shivered as I whirled around and decidedly marched back towards the stadium doors, only to be halted by seeing Trev quickly striding towards me.

Chapter Seven: It Still Hurts - Part One

This chapter can be read on it's own, or can be read with George's chapter which can be found here. It's the one time that the two stories have chapters for the same event so it just made sense to me to publish them at the same time. While the event is the same, their reactions and experiences are different and I think each chapter shows just how different George and Trev are by revealing what each chose to center their thoughts and attention on.

And I'll just go ahead and say that due to one picture, this may be NSFW. What can I say? I couldn't resist taking a pic of Trev in the shower. . .lol! 

And it is part one of two, which I'm in the process of editing. Hopefully soon. . .

Hope you enjoy it! Thanks so much for reading!

****Pam****

I sat in the press room after the next game and barely noticed the loud people around me. My mind was too occupied with what happened since the last game and by the fact that I was still fighting with myself over what I felt. Trev, Paisley and I went out for dinner and he continued to wonder if I was okay, something that Paisley picked up on and I could tell she was more than a little curious by it.  I spent the whole dinner fighting with myself; he would tease me or throw a sarcastic comment my direction and I would return the favor, but then I would try to remind myself that I was silly for letting it get my hopes up. Any reasoning was dashed away though when as we left and said goodbye, I felt his hand on my back as I got in my car and I was again confused by what it meant. Was it just a friendly gesture or something more?

I sighed and Victor looked at me. "What's up with you?"

I shrugged. "Just tired tonight." I lied and was grateful that he didn't press me for anymore answers. The sound of the doors opening alerted the room that someone was coming in to answer questions and I felt my heart beat faster as I saw Trev walk up to the table. But it immediately slowed and sank as I saw his face. He should have been all smiles since they had just won against one of the best teams in the league, but he was more than a little subdued and I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Maybe he drank the same sad juice you did." Victor kidded and I kept watching Trev. He smiled, albeit not the blinding smile most were used to seeing, he was still thoughtful, but what was the most telling was that he didn't crack a single joke during the whole time he sat and answered questions. It was concerning enough that I didn't ask any and instead sat there wondering what could be troubling him so much. Was the pressure of his recovery and career becoming too much? Was there something else?

He left as quietly as he entered and I couldn't think of much else but his demeanor as Coach White answered questions. I sat there half listening to him and the others that sat at the table after him, and when the last player finished, I quickly grabbed my things and headed out to the parking lot. With the way he was acting I wondered if his car would still be there, and when I saw it sitting exactly three spots over from mine, like it had for the last three months, I let out a sigh of relief.

I was earlier than normal since I rushed out of the press room, and after placing my bag in the backseat, I leaned against my car and looked up at the moonlit sky. It did little to distract me though from feeling the worry that started when I saw him enter the pressroom; and eventually I gave up concentrating on the clouds and instead replayed every moment of the press conference. His subdued facial expressions, the lack of a smirk or blinding smile, his quiet demeanor. . .

"Aren't you cold?" He whispered as he stopped next to me and leaned against the car. The suddenness of his voice made me jump a little and conflicting feelings started to swirl around inside me. Excitement that even in his saddened state he stopped to talk to me, disgust at the fact that in my excitement I forgot about his sadness and I began to chastise myself for it. The last feeling, distress over his behavior, was what made me regain some of my wits and helped me push all other thoughts aside.

"A little." I admitted and looked over at him. His eyes were focused on the sky which gave me a moment to look at his face undetected. At that close distance there was no denying the sad expression that touched every inch of it and as he lowered his head and looked at me, I saw it in his eyes too.

"You didn't ask a question tonight." He tried to joke and while I was somewhat relieved that he did, I knew what he was trying to do. He was attempting to hide behind his quick wit, and while that might have worked in previous years, it didn't then.

"I have one now." I offered and I felt a small sense of relief when a half smile appeared on his lips.