City of Champions

by Barlow, Chloe T.

  Aubrey was standing up, her finger in Trey's face. It looked like she was releasing all her pent up frustrations on him, and it made Jenna feel terribly guilty.

  "Enough!" Jenna shouted, finally finding her voice. "I have a lumpectomy scheduled for tomorrow to remove several tumors."

  Everyone in the room, except for Trey, looked shocked. He put his hand back on her shoulder reassuringly.

  "Oh God, Jenna. What? Do they think it's cancer?"

  "They can't be sure until they remove them tomorrow. I have to go through radiation, too."

  "But you are the same age your mother was when she found out she was sick," Aubrey said, her voice choking with emotion.

  "I know. She died four months later. So, no, I can't miss this appointment." Jenna flopped against the back of her seat, trying to ignore the queasy anxiety in her stomach.

  "Why didn't you tell us?" Griffen asked, his voice rough with frustration.

  "I didn't want to worry you guys. I didn't tell my father for the same reason."

  "Your dad needs to know, Jenna," Aubrey remarked.

  "No, he doesn't. It would tear him apart. Besides, I have enough to worry about today. I got a voicemail from Richard. I have to go meet with whatever members of the ethics board they could pull together on such short notice this afternoon. I mean, the meeting was already leaked on Deadspin, so I should probably get going." Jenna felt so defeated, but it was time to face the music — the very loud and depressing music.

  "Jenna, you shouldn't go alone. Let me take you," Trey whispered.

  "Sure, that would be nice, Trey, thanks."

  "Jenna, I'm not done worrying about you," Aubrey said, breaking into their conversation.

  "Griffen?" Tea whispered. Jenna was able to catch her meaningful glance at him.

  "Yeah, got it. Trey, come with me. Let's give these three some privacy."

  "Jenna, I can stay if you need me," Trey offered.

  "No, Trey, I'm good, I need to talk with my girls. I really appreciate you going with me today, though."

  Trey and Griffen walked out and two sets of anxious eyes immediately focused on her.

  "I don't know why you would keep the news about these tumors from us," Aubrey huffed out.

  "Ease off a bit, Aubrey. I know we're hurt, but you have to understand where Jenna is coming from."

  "Thank you, Tea," Jenna whispered.

  "Don't thank me, yet. It doesn't change that we're really worried about you."

  "Please don't be. This is my problem."

  "That's not how this works, honey. We're family. That means we are each other's problems. Nothing you could ever do would ever change that," Tea said, crouching in front of her and clutching Jenna's knees. "I wished you’d told us about all of it. We want to be here for you. Plus, Aubrey and I are really nosy."

  "Seriously, Jenna, after all we've been through together, how could you keep that secret from us?"

  "I'm sure each of us has secrets," Tea said, and Jenna was shocked to see Brey finally shut up, for once.

  "I know, you guys. I should've told you. I'm sorry."

  "You were going to tell us when you were ready. We won't torture you anymore. Right, Brey?"

  "Right. We're here for you. It's not about us."

  "Wow, Brey, you're really growing," Jenna teased.

  "I know. Go figure. I still want to beat up this Olivia chick, so I'm not fully matured."

  "If maturity means not wanting to boob-punch that bitch, then I'm a little brat, too," Tea exclaimed.

  They laughed and Jenna finally felt the fear in her chest ease slightly as they sat together in silence. Aubrey and Tea gently stroked her back and she forced herself to be okay with how nice it felt to let other people comfort her for a change.

  "I love you both so much," Jenna whispered.

  "We love you, too. And we promise, this is all going to be okay," Tea added, just as softly.

  "When?"

  "Now that we can't say. Sorry," Aubrey answered.

  "But we promise we'll be here for you the whole time," Tea added quickly.

  "Thanks, you guys," Jenna answered with a sigh.

  Wyatt paced back and forth on the linoleum floor of the hospital hallway, well out of sight of the conference room he'd left half an hour before. His legs wouldn't stop moving. He felt like a caged lion, desperate for freedom. Inside that room was a collection of doctors designated to decide Jenna's fate, and he couldn't do anything else to help her.

  He and Gabe had made every call, and pulled every string, they could think of to get him in front of that ethics panel before Jenna faced them. In the end, his head coach had come through. It filled him with a sense of gratitude and loyalty that had rarely invaded his heart related to the game of football.

  When he'd walked into the room, three older men stared back at him. He'd never been very good with words, but he had no choice but to try.

  "Mr. McCoy, I'm Dr. Richard West, head of Dr. Sutherland's department. I've been informed you wanted to meet with us first."

  "I do, sir. Dr. Sutherland did nothing wrong. Her opinion was delivered to my team well before anything happened between us — romantically."

  "Those pictures imply a relationship began much earlier."

  "I pursued her from the first second I met her. That's no lie. But she was always professional. If you could punish me somehow instead, I would jump at that chance, because she did nothing wrong."

  "Fine. Then why does the article say you were scheduled to have a meeting with your team this week that would 'change their minds'?" an elderly doctor asked.

  "She had nothing to do with that. I had my agent schedule it. I have no clue how it made it into that article. Trust me, I'd love to know. I was going to tell the team I was willing to make sacrifices to stay in Pittsburgh. I'd given up on changing Dr. Sutherland's mind. She never would've compromised herself that way. I shouldn't have even considered she would."

  "Yes, let's talk about your desire to change her opinion. Seeing as you were quoted in the article to that effect…"

  "I never approved that article. I didn't even know it was being written."

  "But you don't deny that you said it?"

  His heart nose-dived into his stomach. It took a quick swim with the shame already swirling around in there, before he found his voice again.

  "No, I don't. I did hope to persuade Dr. Sutherland to change her mind, but she would never do something like that. If anyone is the problem here, it's me."

  "The issue is, you're clearly biased in this situation, and that article doesn't establish you as very trustworthy. Though, it does seem quite unlike Dr. Sutherland to do anything of this nature with a patient. Consult or otherwise," Dr. West mused.

  "Correct," Wyatt answered.

  "But even the appearance of impropriety is a risk. We can't have this kind of negative attention."

  "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make this right. I'll do free advertising for the department. I’ll volunteer my time. Whatever you need."

  "That certainly is an intriguing offer," Dr. West added. "Our relationship with the Roughnecks is a source of great pride to the department."

  "Thank you, Mr. McCoy," the oldest one added. "We will take your comments under consideration."

  He’d then waited in the hall for Jenna to have her meeting with them, only briefly catching sight of her as she walked into the room. She hadn't spotted him, but he could tell from the straight line of her shoulders and stern set of her jaw, she was trying to hide deep sadness — hurt he had put there.

  Jenna finally emerged from the room. Her perfectly sculpted face was twisted in grief and pain. He'd let her down, made her feel wounded and betrayed. That knowledge twisted in his gut, making every breath more painful than the last. He stalked toward her, feeling a moment of relief when she didn't immediately sprint in the other direction.

  "Hi, Wyatt," she said faintly. Her blue eyes lacked some of their usual brightness, but she held his gaze.
>
  He slowed his steps, walking to her carefully, fighting the urge to grab her and hold her close to him. Wyatt didn't want to risk pushing what little luck he might have left with her.

  "You look so beautiful, Jenna. I’ve missed you." She was wearing the earrings he gave her and his heart felt like pure oxygen had just been released on a dying fire. He could hear her breath catch in her throat. She looked away from him as she shrugged on her coat and smoothed back some hair that had escaped from her sensible bun.

  Finally, she asked, "So, I guess you helped me in there?"

  "Yes. Are you able to go back to work right away?"

  "No, but I think my medical license may be safe. I've been asked to take a brief leave of absence. Richard — Dr. West — knows about my surgery tomorrow. He'll have my leave overlap with my recovery. Not sure what that will do to my fellowship hopes, but that's the least of my concerns right now," she replied, looking away from him again, and his whole chest tightened at how lost she appeared.

  "Jenna, talk to me," Wyatt said softly, reaching for her, but hesitating before actually touching her.

  "It appears I'm not cut out for risk-taking after all," she mused over a mirthless laugh.

  "It'll be okay…I promise. Whatever I can do to get you back on track for that fellowship…" he declared, finally allowing himself to touch her shoulders and wrap her in his embrace.

  At first, she let him hold her. He could feel her relax against him. She breathed him in, while he inhaled the familiar scent of her hair. Yet, just as quickly, she shook him off and stepped backwards from him.

  "Wyatt, I need you to be honest with me. Is it true? The article? Was that why you went after me so hard? To sway my opinion about your shoulder?"

  His mouth started working its way around a lie, but he fought it back.

  "I had nothing to do with that article, or those pictures. You have to believe me about that."

  "You didn't answer my questions. Is the article accurate?"

  "What the article said was true, about my plans. What I hoped I could get you to do. But I never intended to hurt you. It wasn't about that."

  "What was it about, then? Was your plan to fuck me then discredit me? Make me look like some kind of spurned psycho, so you could keep your precious position?"

  "No. It wasn't like that at all. You really think that of me?" he said, so low that it was unclear even to him if he was growling or talking.

  "I don't know what to think, Wyatt! Don't you get it?" she shouted, and he immediately saw her try to calm herself down.

  He turned and roughly ran his hands through his hair. When he looked back, her expression had relaxed slightly and it made his heart soar with hope, only to crash down when he had to speak again.

  "I just thought that with more time, Jenna, you’d decide on your own to help me out."

  "How could you even imagine I would do that? Compromise my medical opinion?"

  "I'm stubborn and stupid. I figured you just needed to know me better. Spend some time with me. See me in action."

  "And that I'd care about you?"

  "If that helped you see clearly, I guess I would've been okay with that. I know that sounds awful, but I was desperate. I feel so terrible to see you hurt now. It's killing me. Initially, I wanted everything — to stay on the team so I could get the best contract possible to look after my family for as long as I could. But then I wanted you, too, so I did whatever I could to have you."

  "Oh, so you wanted it all? Well that makes it all okay."

  "It’s not okay, I know that. Come on, stop being sarcastic."

  "All those times you wanted to talk about surgery, and my knee injury…it was all part of the plan?"

  "Yes." She cringed at his brutal honesty, but he went on, "But I know we can get through this. We can take that leave of absence and I'll help you recover. After your surgery, we can start over."

  "I don’t think there is a we anymore," she muttered, looking down.

  "Jenna…"

  "I don't think I can start over, Wyatt. How can I trust you after all of this? I wish I didn't love you. That I could say I don't want to see you again. That I don't want to know you, but…"

  "You can't say it because it's not true. You're the most honest person I know."

  "And I honestly feel like I'm dying inside. You thought you could will your shoulder into feeling better. Now you think you can will me into forgiving you. You want to call an audible — adjust the play on the field and everything will be better. That's not going to work this time. Those pictures? They were every moment we were together."

  "Olivia did that all on her own. We can't let one person's actions take what we have from us."

  "Even if I believe that to be true, it wasn't her actions that broke my heart. It was yours. Your words gave her the lead she needed."

  "Jenna, I hate that you're in pain, but you have to listen…"

  "No, Wyatt. I've been listening, but I haven't heard you once say you regret what you did. You just hate that you got caught. You can't even imagine how much it hurts to have the whole world laugh at me like this. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get here? How much more I have to do? This isn't a game!" Jenna finally shouted, only to breathe out slowly and let her shoulders slump down.

  "Believe me, people will lose interest. A new story will come along."

  "It'll never be the same for me. I'm always going to be that lady doctor you used. That's how the world will see me forever. You've lived your whole life in the spotlight, but I haven't. I'm not cut out for this."

  "I don't want to give up whatever chance we may have to be happy together."

  "Why didn't you think about that when you kept this from me? New Year’s Eve…I thought we agreed to have no more secrets."

  "I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't risk you pushing me away with your surgery coming up. You need me."

  "Maybe I do, but I'm going to have to learn how to live without you."

  "Jenna…" He reached for her and she slapped his hand down.

  "No! I give up, Wyatt. I give up." Her voice caught again and Wyatt couldn't decide what he felt more — panic or heartache. Nausea was pretty prevalent, too.

  "Don't say that, please. I told you, I didn't have anything to do with Olivia's story."

  "Even if you didn't help her with it, at the least you set this horrible machine in motion. And that tank just rolled right over me."

  "I can make it okay. Let's just go back to New Year’s morning."

  "That's simply not possible."

  "How can you be so matter-of-fact about all this?"

  "Because these are the facts, Wyatt!" Her voice raised an octave and there was something about the hint of hysteria in it that made him think he had a chance. It was when he broke her cool demeanor that he was most able to get through to her.

  "The fact is that I'm crazy about you and I want to make this better. Don't you want to see what we can be? We can fight this. I can fight this. I will make it right."

  Jenna swallowed hard and said roughly, "We don't always get what we want in life. Fighting just makes it hurt more."

  "You don't want me?"

  "I wish that were true, but you know it's not. It would be easier if I could go back to the day before I met you. But I don't want that. So, I'm screwed, because how can you think I would just move on from this? What you did was so wrong. So humiliating! I was so scared you would break my heart, Wyatt. I suppose I had this coming. I knew better."

  "Stop it. Don't be like that. Please. I'm not giving up on us. I'll do whatever it takes to stay here and be near you. I promise."

  "I want to believe you, but it feels like us…this, it was all fool's gold, shiny on the outside, but inside just a sham. And I'm the sucker who believed it was real — believed you loved me."

  "You're not a fool and it wasn't a sham. I do love you," he growled.

  Tears welled in her eyes. This time, she did run. He hurried after her to the parking lot.

>   "Jenna, stop." He grabbed her arm, and when she looked down at his hand, her bottom lip quivered, either from cold or emotion, he couldn't tell. Though he was sure his own insides were on fire. "You know I'm in love with you. I’m crazy about you."

  "Wyatt, you've lied to me so much. How can I trust you again? Any time I've loved someone, I got so hurt. My mom, Cha—"

  Wyatt swallowed hard at the realization she could equate him with a monster like Chase, that he thought he'd digested his own Adam's apple.

  "Jenna, I promise…"

  "No more promises, Wyatt. This is my career. My heart. My life. And you ruined it. You ruined us…you ruined everything," she added with a desolate whisper.

  "I'll figure something out. I'm a part of your life."

  "You'll always be a part of me, but I don't think I can let you be in my life."

  "Jenna. Please. You need me. Let me be there for you. Just a couple more days — at least until the surgery is all done. You kept secrets from me, too. You waited forever to tell me you're sick."

  The sadness left her eyes, with rage quickly replacing it.

  "You son of a bitch. How dare you compare the fact I could have the same disease that killed my mother, to your selfish obsession with playing this fucking game on your own goddamn terms?"

  She brought her hand back and swung at his face to slap him, but he grabbed her wrist and yanked her to him quickly. He whispered roughly in her ear.

  "It's not like that, belleza. It's not. I just mean we do things to protect the ones we love. Maybe my actions were wrong, and my motives, too, at the beginning. But I'll do anything to keep you. That's why I kept lying. You didn't want to hurt me, that's why you kept yours."

  She was letting go like she'd done every time he held her. He breathed in her incredible fresh scent and began to press her completely against him. "I need you, Jenna."

  "No! Let me go. I can't…" she cried out, pushing him away, almost knocking the wind out of him.

  "Belleza." She shook him off, but before he could grab for her again, he felt a strong hand pull him back.

  "What the hell?" Wyatt yelled.

  "Let her go, man. Haven't you hurt her enough?"