Explosions

Everything was fine. That’s what J.J. had told Charlie. Everything was fine or was going to be fine, and she believed him. When he told her something like that, she always believed him. He knew what was going on in his own mind, and she trusted him.

She had felt a lot better in the few days after they’d made up. There was still a little tension between them, but at least he had talked to her about it. Her daily life was now continuing as it should have, and she could go back to focusing on marketing the offseason.

J.J. had said everything was fine, but he didn’t know really what was going on. He loved Charlie. He never doubted that he loved her. His heart ached to be with her every day, and he knew he would always love her. In his mind, though, he couldn’t stop thinking about her and Ryan. He knew he shouldn’t be worried. After all, she apologized for it daily. He just couldn’t help but think of it when he was alone.

He called up Brian a few days after the Super Bowl. Charlie’s Patriots had won, and she was beyond ecstatic. She shouldn’t have been this excited after a turn of events like they’d just had, but he let her be. He needed a little time to get back into the swing of his normal routine, though, and Brian was the best way to do that.

They’d planned on meeting at the stadium for some typical workouts, him, Brian, Brice, and Whit. They were in the training room for a good portion of the day, and when they got back to the locker room, J.J. hadn’t expected to be there much longer. He turned the corner, though, and came face to face with Ryan Fitzpatrick.

He stopped, and Brian almost ran into him. Ryan was packing up his bag, J.J. noted, and he walked by him.

“Hey, man,” said Ryan.

J.J. barely nodded to him, and Ryan immediately knew that Charlie had told him. Ryan closed his eyes for a second and shook his head.

“Okay, that’s how that is,” he said.

J.J. sat down across the locker room, his back to Ryan. Ryan watched him take a drink from his water bottle. The locker room was eerily silent, and he pulled himself up off his chair.

J.J. could hear Brice asking about Ryan’s leg, then Whit asking a question about the healing process. Brian glanced over at J.J. and watched his friend aggressively toss his water bottle back into his locker.

“This is a shocking turn of events,” said Brian.

“What?” said J.J., looking over.

“You and Ryan were inseparable for the last six months,” said Brian. “It was kind of weird, but now you’re not speaking?”

“Basically,” replied J.J.

“That’s even weirder,” Brian added.

Ryan turned to leave.

“You don’t have anything you want to tell me?” said J.J., his back still to him.

Ryan stopped, and he looked back at J.J. The silence cut into the room a little deeper, and Brice, Brian, and Whit all waited patiently.

“I have a feeling you already know,” said Ryan. “Would it make a difference if I said anything now?”

J.J. turned to him, his eyes full of hatred and distrust. Ryan adjusted his bag.

“You don’t have anything you want to say to me?” he said.

J.J. stood up and said, “I have plenty I want to say to you, Fitz.”

“Then say it,” said Ryan.

J.J. shook his head and said, “For some stupid fucking reason, Charlie defends you. I’m not about to get into this right now.”

“Well, Charlie’s not here right now, is she?”

“You don’t get to say her name.”

“Why? She’s never going to leave you, so what’s the fucking harm?”

“You’d fucking like that, wouldn’t you?”

“No, J.J., I wouldn’t. She wouldn’t be happy like she is now, so whatever delusions you’ve created, just stop.”

“You know, I fucking trusted you,” said J.J. “I left you guys alone when people called me stupid for it, and maybe I shouldn’t have. I fucking trusted you after you told me you still loved her. I fucking trusted you after you told me you would never get over her. You went behind my back.”

“I know that, and I’m sorry,” said Ryan.

“Yeah, you and her both.”

“If I could go back in time and change it, I would, but I can’t do that. I’m not asking you to forgive me right now, but say your peace and tell me what I need to do to fix this.”

“You can’t fix it, Fitz.”

“Well, I’m fucking trying,” said Ryan.

“Well stop fucking trying, okay?” said J.J. “You’ve fucked everything up.”

Ryan shook his head and turned to leave again, but J.J. took a few steps towards him and shouted his name. Brian jumped up and put his hand on J.J.’s chest, stopping him.

“Don’t fucking get involved in this, Cush,” said J.J.

“J.J., don’t do something you’re going to regret later,” Brian said.

Ryan turned back around and looked at J.J. He tossed his bag down and held his arms out.

“No, you know what?” he said. “Do it. Fucking do it. If you’re going to hurt me, you have every right to. I fucked up. I can’t say it enough, but I did. I’m never going to stop being sorry for it either. So if you’re going to hit me, just fucking do it.”

Everyone was rooted in their places. Brice and Whit looked between the two of them awkwardly, and Brian kept his hand on J.J.’s chest. Ryan’s eyes showed no signs he was bluffing, and J.J. almost took him up on the offer.

He shrugged Brian off and shook his head.

“I’m not going to hit you,” he said.

Ryan shrugged and picked his bag back up.

“You don’t know what you’ve done,” J.J. said.

“I think I know perfectly well the shit storm I’ve created,” said Ryan. “I happen to do it a lot. And unfortunately, Charlie is at the end of it all.”

“You were never good enough for her,” J.J. snarled.

“Don’t you think I fucking know that?” snapped Ryan. “I’m constantly reminded every time I look at her. She’s got you. What do you give a fuck about me for?”

“You were my friend, Ryan. You were my brother. What the hell did I ever do to you?”

“This has nothing to do with you.”

“You kissed my girlfriend! I think it has everything to do with me!”

He shoved Ryan as hard as he could, and the quarterback went stumbling backwards. Brian stood in front of J.J., but J.J. pushed him out of the way, too. He grabbed onto Ryan’s shirt, and in an effort to pull him backwards, he ripped part of it. Ryan, not wanting his leg to sustain any further injuries, took a step backwards and tried to shove J.J. away. Whit grabbed onto J.J.’s arm and attempted to pull him off.

Coach O’Brien was sitting in his office flipping through some paperwork when he heard a loud clatter from down the hall. He stood up, moving toward the door. He heard shouting next, and he took off running toward the locker room.

When he got there, he could see some equipment had been knocked over. But when he looked around, he almost thought he was seeing things. Brian Cushing and Whitney Mercilus were holding J.J. Watt back, and J.J.’s hand had ahold of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s arm.

“Hey!” shouted Coach.

Everyone looked over, and J.J. let go of Ryan.

“You and you,” Coach said, pointing at the two of them. “My office, now.”

---

Charlie was typing out an email at her desk when her phone rang. She finished typing out the sentence then picked it up.

“Texans Marketing, this is Charlotte,” she said.

“Miss Elliott, it’s Bill O’Brien,” said the voice on the other line.

“Hey, Coach,” said Charlie. “What can I do for you?”

“Do you have a minute to stop by my office?” asked Coach.

“I’ve gotta finish up one thing here, but I should be done soon,” said Charlie. “Why? Is everything okay?”

“I’ve got two problems I need to speak to you about,” said Coach. “You’ll understand when you get here.”

“Okay,” Charlie replied. “Give me fifteen minutes.”

“Sounds great,” said Coach.

He hung up the phone, and Charlie did the same. She finished up her email and sent it. She grabbed her sweater off the back of her desk chair and began the walk to the other side of the stadium.

Coach O’Brien’s door had been intimidating to Charlie from the moment she met him. He was a very intelligent man with a hard personality, but she knew he had a sense of humor and was well liked by the entire Texans community. She knocked three times, and then poked her head in.

“Coach,” she said.

“Hey, Miss Elliott, come on in and have a seat,” said Coach, indicating to the chairs in front of his desk.

She entered the room, shut the door behind her, and sat down in front of him.

“What’s the problem, Coach?” she asked.

“Problems,” replied Coach. “Two of them. Why don’t I name them first and you tell me how you want to deal with these?”

“Before you do, can I just ask why you need a Marketing Specialist to deal with these problems?” chuckled Charlie.

Coach’s face was unmoved, and she folded her hands in her lap uncomfortably.

“This is a special kind of problem that requires both you and I,” he said.

“Okay, shoot,” said Charlie.

“The first problem is J.J. Watt,” he said. “The second problem is Ryan Fitzpatrick.”

Charlie felt her face go cold and her fingers go numb almost immediately. She blinked a few times and cleared her throat.

“What happened?” she asked.

“There was a bit of an altercation, let’s call it,” said Coach. “I’ve got three guys that saw it unravel firsthand, but the part I’m most concerned about is that neither of them is telling me what it’s about. Do you have any idea what it might be involving?”

“Yes,” said Charlie.

“I thought you would,” replied Coach. “Does it involve you?”

“Yes,” said Charlie.

“See, now we’re getting somewhere. Miss Elliott, I’m going to tell you right now that I don’t allow these kinds of things to happen on my watch. Watt and Fitz will be dealt with accordingly.”

“Absolutely,” said Charlie.

“I need you to tell me anything that might affect this team right now,” said Coach. “I don’t want you to leave out anything that could come up later, and I certainly don’t want you to leave here feeling guilty about any of this.”

Before Charlie knew what she was doing, she began telling Coach about everything that had happened in the last six months. He listened intently, nodding occasionally and asking questions as needed. Her heart was pounding in her ears, but she kept talking, right up until the end of the story.