Page 57 of Breakaway

This morning he wasn’t hungover. He was angry at himself. Why did he go to the bar with the guys? Holding his head in his hands, he needed to figure out how to dig himself out of this.

Practice was over and the team had left a half hour ago. He was moping, and this was as good a place as any to mope. He had nowhere else to go but to an empty apartment.

“Hey, Anderson. You look like you could use someone to talk to,” Matt Jasper, one of the Assistant Coaches for the Falcons said. He sat down next to Travis on the bench.

Matt used to play for the Renegades. Travis had heard all the stories of how he was a great professional hockey player until he focused more on alcohol and less on the game. When he turned his life around, Jasper had landed a gig here with the Falcons, and had been mentoring and coaching here ever since.

“Hi Matt.”

“Are you okay?” Matt asked.

“Not really.”

“Hungover?” Matt grimaced. “Been there, done that, and I’ll tell you there is more to life than what’s in that bottle.”

“No, I wish alcohol was my only problem.” Sobering up seemed easier than getting over a broken heart.

“You really don’t,” Matt laughed. “I recognize that look on your face. You have woman trouble.”

Travis nodded. “Yeah, that obvious? Wow.”

“I think we’ve all been there a time or two. You want to talk about it?”

“I really messed up.” Travis sighed. “I met this fantastic girl back in Pittsburgh. I knew from the second I saw her that she was the one for me.”

“I know that feeling,” Matt said with a grin.

“Man, I fell hard for her,” Travis continued, surprised at how easy it was to talk to Matt. “Then I got sent back down. We knew that could happen. But I was so stupid. You know these guys, they go out and party all the time,” he said, referring to the team.

Matt groaned. “I know. And I also know how evil alcohol can be.”

“It was between sitting at home alone and going out with the guys. So I went out. No one wants to sit at home alone all the time. I only had one beer, sat on it all night, but the guys were pretty drunk, and there were lots of bunnies taking lots of selfies.”

“Oh man, that sounds like a bad combo.”

“It was. Those selfies made it to Instagram.”

“Oh shit. Let me guess, the bunnies were just as plastered as the guys were, and there were some compromising photos posted?”

“Exactly.”

“Just about every player I know has had similar stuff happen. Drunk or not, those kinds of photos somehow make us look like we’re the wildest party animals.”

“Right?”

“A lot of guys are just that, can’t deny it. But sometimes the photos don’t tell the whole story.”

“Like the photos of me the other night. Photos where the explanation of ‘it isn’t what it looks like’ doesn’t seem to be anywhere near good enough.” Travis paused. “My girl ended it, and I can’t even get her to talk to me so I can explain.”

“I can tell you from experience, adding alcohol to any situation is a terrible idea. I’ve been to the bottom of the bottle more than once, and it never turns out well.” Matt flipped a bronze coin between his fingers. “Five years sober. And I’m here to tell you, going down that path is not something you want to do.”

“I wasn’t even drunk, and I lost everything.”

“Well then, you need a plan to win her back. And let me give you some advice. If partying with those guys is what got you into the trouble, then sitting at home alone doesn’t really sound so bad. Stick to private functions. Especially if you can get your girl back. I’d never trade my Maddy for a night out. She’s everything to me. If Morgan means as much to you, you’ll choose her over the guys every time, and that is perfectly okay. Those guys don’t have serious girls, and they still have plenty of growing up to do. When they do, they’ll understand why you chose to stay home.”

Matt’s words made sense. But Travis still didn’t know how to get Morgan to talk to him. He might need a little more help with that. And there was only one person he could ask.

TRAVIS PACED THE FLOOR, only now realizing that his apartment was way too small for adequate pacing. He had to do something to show Morgan how much he loved her. But what?