In Fate's Hands

His palms were sweating, his knees were shaking, and he could feel the sweat pouring down his back. His heart was pounding so hard that he wouldn’t have been surprised if it just popped out of his chest and he didn’t get a wink of sleep last night. The State Championship was tonight and Jesse had never been more nervous about anything in his life; he was the best player on his team, therefore most of the pressure was on him and he knew that. He looked over at the alarm clock on the night table. It was 6:23pm: almost time to go. The game would begin at 8:00pm and Jesse had to be at the school to warm up by 6:45pm. He was in deep thought when he felt his cell phone start to buzz in his pocket. When he took it out and saw who it was, he flipped it open and held it up to his ear smiling.

“Hey, Beautiful,” he said into the phone.

“Hey yourself,” responded Elizabeth. “I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Honestly, I’ve never been more nervous.”

“I’m sure. Don’t forget that it’s just a game and it’s not the end of the world if you don’t win. You are already into a good college and your future as a basketball player is basically set. It’s not worth giving yourself a heart attack.”

“I know what you are saying, but I really want this. This game is what I have been working toward ever since I joined the Lions back in freshman year.”

“Everything will be fine and I know that you will be amazing as always so you have nothing to worry about. And, as I said, it’s not the end of the world if you lose, just as long as you play your best.”

“Thanks. I think I’ll be ok as long as you are there to cheer me on.”

“I wouldn’t think of missing it. What are we doing after the game?”

“Jeremy is having a party at his house after the game, so I was thinking maybe we could go to that. Is that cool?”

“Whatever you want to do.”

“You are the best. I have to go now though because I have to be at school soon to warm up.”

“I know I am! I can’t wait to see you later. Good luck and break a leg and I’ll be cheering for you in the audience. Oh and Jesse?”

“Thanks. I can’t wait to see you either. What?”

“Don’t forget to have fun out there.”

“I’ll try not to. See you later.”

He closed his phone, grabbed his keys and left for the game, his heart still beating rapidly in his chest.

Meanwhile across town, Elizabeth shut her phone and sighed. She could tell that he was really nervous and she wished that she could help him more. Things had been pretty rough lately with his family and she knew that he really needed her. They changed the locks to their house so that John could not get in any more, which he tried to do plenty of times on top of calling the house at least once every hour. Jesse told her how worried he was about his mom, who had a history of addiction of some kind in her family.

“Hey, are you ok?” Jayden said as she came into their room. “You look like your mind is somewhere else.”

“Yeah I’m fine. I’m just worried about Jesse with this divorce. He told me the other day that he’s really worried about his mom because he knows that his dad will not stop fighting; he’s afraid she’s going to do something stupid. With the State Championship on top of that, I’m afraid it’s going to be too much pressure.”

“Jesse’s mom is a smart woman. I don’t think she’ll do anything stupid. And, if she does, she won’t do it tonight because she would never want to ruin this for her son. Jesse’s a pretty strong kid. I’m sure he’ll pull through this.”

“I know. I guess I just want everything to be ok for once and not have this constant drama that seems to be drawn to both of our lives. Anyway, I think I should probably go now. I want to get the best possible seats and I’m supposed to save one for Karen. Do you want to come to the game with me?”

“Sure, I’d love to. Let’s go.”

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the school. A few people were already there trying to get good seats. Surprisingly, Elizabeth and Jayden located 3 front row seats in the middle of the court.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to run to the bathroom and get a drink. You want anything?” asked Elizabeth as they put their stuff down on the chairs and Jayden sat down. She shook her head, so Elizabeth made her way back out of the stadium.

A few minutes later, as she was on her way to get a drink, she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Well, would you look who it is,” said John as he stopped right in front of Elizabeth, “it’s my son’s intolerable girlfriend.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to see my son play like I always do.”

“He doesn’t want you here, don’t you get that?”

“And since when do you speak for him?”

“Since he’s not here to speak for himself. But, I’m sure if he was here, he would tell you how ashamed he is of you, kind of like he did last time he saw you and then he would ask you to leave.”

“You’d better watch yourself. Don’t act like you know my son better than I do. I love him and I only want what’s best for him.”

“Since when? You’ve been pressuring him ever since he was little and you never gave a damn about what he wanted; you were hell-bent on making him into the ‘perfect son’ and now you’re pissed because it all backfired and you are taking it out on everyone around you.”

“Yet despite all of that, I know my son still loves me.”

“Yeah because he has something you don’t: a heart.”

“There lies his weakness. No matter what, he still wants to find a way to make me proud or show me up in basketball records. Soon, he will come to realize that you will come in the way of that and then he’ll squash you like a bug and I can’t wait to stand by and watch.”

“I can see that you are threatened by me and I don’t blame you. You feel the need to try to scare me because you know that Jesse listens to me and you just can’t stand that, but it won’t work. If anything changes in our relationship, it will be from our own volition, not your influence. If you want to stay than I can’t stop you, but I can guarantee you that Jesse will not be happy to see you.”

“If my family is ever going to get past this, then we will have to see each other.”

“But do you really have to do this tonight? This is Jesse’s night and you are about to ruin it. He doesn’t need any more reminders of what he’s going through right now and neither does Karen. They both deserve so much better than you.”

“I could say the same about you. Thank God you only spent one night at my house. I wouldn’t want you living off my money how you are living off your friend’s money. In fact, how do I know you aren’t taking advantage of my son? You have no money and he just so happens to be one of the richest kids in town. That looks a little suspicious to me.”

“The fact that you would even suggest that I would do something like that is beyond me. Unlike you, I truly care about Jesse and it has never been about money for me. Jesse really cares about me and that bothers you.”

“He’s only known you for a couple of weeks, yet he has known me and looked up to me his whole life. I have always been the one with the most influence over him, so who do you think he would pick if he had to choose between you and me? Would he choose his father or his latest fling because that’s all you will ever be?”

“See, that’s the thing: he looked up to you, but you let him down and he’s just now coming to terms with that and finally seeing you for the terrible person you really are. And Jesse and I are anything but a fling.”

“If that’s what you need to believe...”

“It’s what I believe with my whole heart, but I’m sure you wouldn’t know what that feels like. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I came here to support my boyfriend and that’s what I’m going to go do. If you really want to do what’s best for your son, you’ll leave before he sees you.”

She turned on her heal and walked hastily back to the gym to find her seat. John followed and sat in the middle of the same section she was in.

“What took you so long? Did you fall in the toilet?” asked Jayden as Elizabeth took her seat. Karen had arrived and was sitting in the seat on the other side of Jayden.

“No. Actually, I ran into John. He says he came to watch Jesse play, but I think he’s here to intimidate Jesse more than anything.”

‘I wouldn’t put it past him. I don’t know what happened to him. When we first got married, he was so happy and then he completely lost the person he used to be,” said Karen. “He’s become so hateful and bitter that it’s like I don’t even know him anymore. The man I married would never have cheated on me. I never would have married him if I knew this was going to happen.”

“I don’t know. I guess people just change sometimes and there’s really nothing we can do about it besides tell them how much they are hurting us.”

“Yeah. It seems to me like he’s blaming everyone else because his dreams didn’t come true and that’s why he pressures Jesse so much; he thinks that his dreams can still come true through Jesse.”

“You are both right and I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. I can’t believe I let my son be treated that way for all this time.”

“Better late than never, right? Besides, John seems like the type of guy who would be very good at charming women, so I could see how you would fall for him,” responded Jayden.

“I’m just glad you realize now the kind of person he is,” agreed Elizabeth. “But, enough about him. Tonight is about Jesse.”

Just as she finished saying that, the announcer’s voice came over the speaker and the whole stadium fell quiet. Every seat was filled and everyone waited expectantly for the game to begin. The announcer began introducing each player as he ran in. The opposing team, the Tenafly Tigers, was introduced first and then came the East High Lions.

“And now, the Lions most valuable player, Jesse McCartney!” The whole stadium cheered as Jesse ran out onto the court and high-fived all of his teammates.

Elizabeth strained to get a good luck at Jesse’s face. The game hadn’t even begun and he was already flushed; he was obviously still nervous. She shifted anxiously in her seat as she watched both teams line up in the middle of the court. The ref blew his whistle and threw the ball up in the air and the MVP of the other team jumped and hit the ball before Jesse could get to it. The game began.

Elizabeth noticed Jesse’s eyes wandering into the stands probably looking for her, but then she saw his eyes stop and fixate on one person in particular a few rows up from her. She turned around and immediately noticed John sitting about 5 rows above her; he smiled and waved maliciously down at her as if to say, “I have the power to ruin everything.”

“Oh no,” worried Elizabeth.

“What?” asked Jayden.

“I think Jesse just saw John; he knows that he’s here and now he’s going to be even more nervous, but I guess there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

They watched as Jesse missed most of his shots; his heart just wasn’t in the game tonight, which could prove to be lethal for the rest of the team. By half-time, the score was 37-53 with the Tigers in the lead. The Lions walked dejectedly back to their locker room. Elizabeth got up out of her seat. “I have to go talk to him,” she said and she rushed off to find the boys’ locker room.

Five minutes later, she arrived right outside the door. She hesitated for a second before she went in because she knew she could get in big trouble for this, but she decided to chance it for Jesse and entered. Each player was at his locker either wiping the sweat from his face or gulping down water. When she came in, everyone turned to look at her in surprise. “I’m only here to talk to Jesse. I’ll be out of your way in a second.” She walked up and down the aisles searching for Jesse.

“Elizabeth, what are you doing here?”

Elizabeth turned around and saw Jesse standing there in his Lions uniform looking confused.

“I wanted to talk to you,” she said. “Can we step outside for a moment?”

Elizabeth took his arm and led him out the door, not bothering to wait for an answer.

“What’s up?” asked Jesse.

“I’m a little worried about you. No one has ever seen you play like that before. What’s the matter? I can tell that something is wrong and it’s more than what you told me before.”

“It’s my dad.”

“What about him?”

“Basically everything he does. I feel like he has some kind of power over me and I can’t exactly explain it. Before the game started, I got myself pumped and I finally felt ready, but then I came out and I saw his face watching me from the audience and it all came back and now for some reason, I just can’t seem to shake it. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

“It’s probably because you finally figured out what he has been doing to you, but you don’t quite know how to stop it.”

“You are probably right. I just don’t want to let my teammates down.”

“Then don’t. You have to find a way to shut your dad out. Focus on how good it would feel to win that title, and, if you find yourself looking at the audience, look at me and Jayden and your mom cheering you on from the front row.”

“I’m not sure if I can do that, but I’ll try.”

“Can you honestly tell me that you are playing your best?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well you should change that answer because I don’t want you to look back on this game wondering what could have been. You will always regret it if you let your father get the best of you. Now is the time to show him who’s the better player and the better person.”

“You are absolutely right.”

“Of course I am! And remember that I’ll love you whether you win or lose.”

“Wait, what did you say?”

“What?”

“You just said you love me.”

“Oh wow, I guess I did. I never really thought about it, but now that I said it, I know that it’s true; I fell in love with you.”

“Good because I love you too.”

“Really? You mean it? You aren’t just saying it because I said it?”

“Of course I’m not just saying it! I’m saying it because it’s true. I love you.”

“I love you too!”

Jesse gently pulled her toward him and kissed her passionately on the lips. All too soon, one of his teammates came out to find him and he had to go back in so that the game could start up again. Elizabeth returned to her seat as the players ran back out on the court. The ref blew his whistle and the second half of the game began.

Finally, Jesse began to play like his old self again, maybe a little better than that even. He found that he couldn’t stop smiling, no matter how hard he tried.

“Looks like Jesse McCartney is back in the game and this time he is on fire! Those Tigers had better watch the scoreboard,” said the announcer.

The announcer was right; the Lions were catching up to the Tigers at an alarming rate. Now, there was 2 minutes left in the game and the Lions were down by only 5 points. Jesse got the ball and scored a basket; now they were only down by 3. He passed it to one of his other teammates who scored another 2 points; only 2 more points to go and they would be state champions. With 20 seconds left in the game, the other player passed the ball back to Jesse, who was in the perfect position to make a 3-pointer. By this time, the whole audience rose to their feet. Jesse threw the ball and there was a good 10 seconds of dead silence as the audience watched the ball swoosh through the hoop and then there were deafening cheers all around the stadium; the Lions had won the State Championship.

Colourful confetti began to fall from the ceiling as Elizabeth, Jayden, and Karen jumped up and down with joy and rushed out onto the court to find Jesse. The ref walked over and handed him the trophy and his team lifted him into the air in complete triumph; they finally did it. When they let him down, he made his way over to the three girls and hugged them each individually, but then led Elizabeth over to the side.

“I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here,” he admitted.

“I’ll always be here for you.”

“And that’s part of the reason why I love you because I do and it feels so good to say it.”

“Ditto.”

They kissed as the confetti continued to fall from above them. Jesse won the State Championship and found out that the girl he was in love with loved him back. What could be better than that?