Page 24 of Jason

“Sit your ass down back on that bench,” the little growl I could barely hear over the roar of the crowd made my heart stop for a second.

I tried to look in the direction where it came from, but with coach yelling in my face and the doc shouting his questions in my ear, I couldn't see a thing. Shaking my head to clear it, I tried to pull my focus back to where it belonged. In the game. But, as it was for the last three weeks, nothing could hold my attention anymore, not even my career. I didn't care for anything, couldn't think of anything except the fact that Rory didn't believe my and that she left me. How the fuck had I managed to be stupid enough to fuck everything up so royally?

“Harris, are you even listening to me?” the coach hollered in my face.

I gave him an automatic nod, just so we could get this over with.

“I'm going to fucking kill you.”

There it was again.

Her voice.

It was filled with so much anger that I could barely recognize it. God, did I missed her so much that I was imagining her being angry with me?

“Why in the fuck did you think it was a good idea for you to sprint to the end zone? Haven't we discussed this shit already?” The coach was now looking at me like I was a moron who couldn't even tie his shoes.

“You didn't even tape your damn ankle. If you have a repeat injury, I'm going to break your neck, you idiot!”

What the fuck? I knew she told me the biggest risk came from repeat injuries, but to actually imagine her giving me a lecture now was a little bit over the top, even for me. God, I missed her so much. Nothing made sense without her. I didn't want anything if she wasn't by my side. I didn't care about anything except her. Not even football. That was why I didn't do something Rory tried to drill in my brain. I didn't tape my ankle, and I started sprinting the moment the receiver caught the ball. I just wanted the game to be over so I could go back to her place, sit in front of her door, and beg or wait for her to give me a chance to explain. It was only when my cleat was pulled off my foot and my leg shifted to lie on someone’s leg that I looked down, prepared to tell whoever dared to manhandle me to back the fuck off. The sight of her hair all over the place, her cheeks flushed, her mouth in a straight line while she was twisting his foot, was beyond my wildest dreams.

“It took me almost two hours to get here the city is so full,” she kept with the growling, her sole focus on my foot as her frantic hands put the tape on my leg. “And then you did something this moronic before I could get here.”

I reached out and covered her hands, “Baby, stop.” She looked at me.

If she could, I was sure she would spit fire right at that moment. I have never seen her so angry. And then it penetrated that she was here. She thought I would hurt myself, and she rushed to get to me. She was so beautiful, even with the bruises still slightly visible under her makeup. I reached out and gently touched her cheek with the tip of my finger, pushing down the rage that erupted when she flinched away. If I could, I would kill Niles for what he did to her. I did however beat the shit out of Curt, so at least he did get some kind of revenge for what happened to her, and I whispered still not believing it was true and not a mirage, “You're here.”

“Of course, I'm here,” she yelled at me, her face getting red. “You're acting like an idiot and putting yourself at risk.”

She went back to work, and I burst out laughing. If I knew that was all it took for her to come out of her hiding place, I would have done it weeks ago. Fuck, I would purposely twist my ankle again if I knew it would get me a minute of her time. I reached out and gently cupped her face, aware of her bruises, and pulled her up until she was on her knees, so I could kiss her lips. With my lips still against hers, I opened my eyes.

“You're here,” I repeated, unable to believe it even though I was touching her. It was a good possibility that someone tackled him, and I had a concussion. “You came.”

We were so close that the only thing I could see were her stunned eyes, and I vividly watched as they started to go gentle. I felt under my palms when all her anger and fear melted away, and she relaxed her face.

“I'm here,” she whispered.

“I'm so sorry, Rory. I'm so sorry for what he did to you,” I rushed on to say, hoping she will let me talk. I didn't know how much time I had before she disappeared on me again, and I needed her to know the biggest regret I would ever have in my life was that I left her unprotected. And in my goddamned home. “And I promise you, nothing happened with Mindy. I threw her ass out the moment I entered my room,” I knew if I didn't get it all out now, I wouldn't get a second chance to explain.

Maybe it wasn't the right time or place, but I needed her to know everything, so that we could move on. I was also living in a hotel. I put my house on the marked the moment I came back to Denver. Going so far that I got Dylan to take out all my stuff, because I couldn't go in there and see the place where Rory got hurt. I didn’t trust my reactions, and if I saw what the place had looked like after Niles was done with her, I probably would have ended up in prison. Also, I absolutely refused to buy a new home without her. So, hotel it was. She once told me about her dream home. A farmhouse with a white picket fence, a huge lawn, and lots of trees. And I wanted to give it to her. To do that, I needed to guide us back together so she could pick out our future home.

“I know,” I could feel her biting her lip under his.

“You know?” I pulled back and looked at her. Something in my gut started twisting again, and it had nothing to do with this urgency I felt.

“Yeah, Logan came to see me and told me everything,” she said so low I had to read the words from her lips.

“Then why did you refuse to talk to me? Why have you left me?”

“At first, I didn't want you to see me all broken,” she looked to the side, gulped, and then looked back at me. “And after some time, I knew I fucked up again. I didn't believe you. Didn't believe in you. And you deserve someone who believes in you.”

“But I only want you.” How could she not see this? If it meant proving that to her day in and day out for the rest of my life, I would gladly do it. I didn't need her to believe in me anymore; I just needed her to give me the chance to prove it to her. “I don't care what you think I deserve. Nothing else matters but you.”

“Yeah, you demonstrated that tonight,” she tried to shake her head to admonish me, but with my palms still at her face, she couldn't, so she settled for a stern look she couldn't quite pull off with the small grin on her face.

“Rory, I love you,” I all but yelled so she could hear me.

“I love you too, Jason,” she shuffled on her knees to come closer to me.