The Night I Woke Up Beside You

[SEASON 1] Chapter 18: Carrying The Pressure

Charles felt a little too nervous. This night started out quite differently.

He pretty much guessed that he was not in the right condition to play but he has to. He took a few deep breaths, bracing himself as he tried to mask his hesitance. He was too distracted yet he still tried his best not to be too obvious about it. His father was there. The entire school was in the crowd and he could feel the eyes of his coach behind him. He needed to loosen up. But he was too agitated as he scanned the audience across the field. He needed to see her. But there was no sign that she was there anywhere.

"Man, you okay?"

A worried voice suddenly came up beside him and Charles shifted around. He immediately saw his teammate looking at him with a concerned frown. This guy probably figured what Charles has been feeling and noticed how he was not looking quite right tonight. But despite acknowledging this all, Charles still tried to smile it all away as he pats the worried ally on the shoulder.

"Everything's fine," Charles told the guy with a reassuring tone instead, trying to be convincing, "Don't worry. I'm all good."

Even when he was not. Although that had been enough to persuade his teammate to believe his words, Charles still looked quite even more distracted. He kept diverting his attention back to the bleachers. He could see familiar faces but none of them was the person he wanted to see the most. She is not there. She said she was going, but why was she not there?

He began to feel the unwanted disappointment fill his chest. He turned around and focused his eyes instead on the opposing team from afar. This was an important game after all and he had to do all he can to win it. He might not be in the best condition but he knew he had to push himself. The pressure of his career on the line, the scrutinizing eyes of his father from the distance, and the trust of his team were all weighing over his shoulders this time. He had to win.

"Okay, boys! Come here!"

The signal of the coach quickly pulled all the players into a bubble as they gather to hear what the man would tell them. In the background, the sound of cheers and the beating of the drums filled the scene. There were shouts from the audience. The emcee of the event was now going through the rundown of the game. Charles stared blankly at their coach explaining things to them as he blabbered on about their plan for the game. But Charles was not really listening to any of it. His entire attention had been steered back to the thought of Regina and the suffocating burden of winning.

Then he was suddenly pulled back to reality when the players yelled their chant as their coach waved them to a position before the event starts and their names begin to get called. Charles waited in line until it was time for him to be introduced as the team captain. He occasionally tried to get glimpses of the crowd behind him but failed to find the person he wanted to see.

He was starting to lose confidence now but he was immediately distracted by the emcee's voice calling his name and he blindly went with the whole introduction, doing high-fives with his teammates and playing with the mascot as he stopped and stood with his team line-up facing the audience. And finally, as if answering his prayers, he saw the familiar face in the middle of the big crowd. There she was...

And he felt hopeful again. He found himself smiling as the adrenaline started to rush into his veins. It was as if he was being awakened and he was suddenly all excited to play. He gave his teammate who was standing next to him a playful slap on the shoulder as he muttered a word of encouragement. He was going to win tonight... That's for sure.

Feeling all too proud, he went with the game. The event started, everyone was too focused on what was going on. It was now turning quite physical as players bumped heavily against each other. Head on, they all clashed and persevere to get a goal. And by the middle of the game, things started to heat up. Charles was beginning to feel a little too pressured to make a good play. The opposing team was tougher than he expected. His coach was now beginning to irk him. He was getting a little too impatient and frustrated.

His temper was striking up and before he could even realize it, he was pushing forward and ended up on the ground with the opponent's ace. He heard a grunt below him and realized that he was crushing the other guy with all of his weight. He had pushed too far and he heard the whistle of the referee. The crowd reacted. There was a slight confrontation between the officials and Charles' coach but Charles already knew what will happen.

He struggled to find his balance as he stood up and faced the consequences. He was being called out for a foul. The player on the ground was still grunting in pain, Charles knew that he had injured him. This was no excuse, he heard a shout from the distance. It was the player's teammate dissing him as other players hold him back away from Charles.

Charles was still at a loss. He knew he had to apologize but before he could even do something, he was slowly being pulled by one of his teammates and he walked back to the bleachers. The coach had decided to pull him out of the game for the meantime, trying to do damage control as the medics ran to the field to retrieve the injured player.

Charles slowly turned his head around, his eyes scanning the area where he knew he would see her. She was staring back at him, her expression was unreadable but Charles immediately felt it.

She was disappointed... His stomach churned. He felt the lump in his throat. He looked away and hung his head between his knees. This was not the plan.

This was all turning into a disaster.