Bounce Back

Chapter 46

Ryan's POV

I was nervous about our first game outside of the State. Not only was it the first game that we really had to travel for but it was against the top ranked North Carolina team. It meant that I had to travel with the team and spending more time with Tyler than I had in the last week.

I made sure that I had a lot of work to get done so that I could have something to focus on. I was lucky that it was a Saturday game because it meant that I wasn't going to miss much class time. The flight wasn't too bad. I sat away from the team on the flight and started to work.

The team was loud but I put my headphones and started to work. Most of it was on my laptop which made it easier when we were travelling. I pretty much didn't talk at all and was glad when we got to the hotel and I was alone.

Playing a top college made finding tape about them easier. North Carolina games were easy to find stats on as well and it meant that I already had a bit of knowledge about the players. I had already sent Coach a few notes about some of the players and what plays I thought they were likely to run and what plays we should run.

I didn't feel like doing more work so I continued to work through the tapes and stats that I had. I continued to type about it but I probably wasn't going to send it to Coach. I wasn't sure if he wanted more information.

It was just another thing to keep me distracted. I heard some of the players talking as my walked past at one point but other than that it was silent. Around eleven I headed for bed and didn't wake up until seven the next morning.

The game wasn't until eight so I don't really know why we flew out the day before but I wasn't going to question it. I joined the rest of the team at breakfast and most of them were already there. I couldn't help but listen to their conversations.

The players sitting closest to me were discussing some party that they went to. Most of them were discussing that but I couldn't help but notice that Tyler and Luke were having their own discussion and eventually I figured out that it was about the upcoming game.

They had practice before the game but the time flew by and once again I was sitting on the end of the bench and preparing for the start of the game.

I watched the North Carolina players warmed up and I was already seeing some of the things that I had noticed on the tape. It was completely different playing somewhere where the fans weren't cheering for us.

It made it seem louder when it wasn't our names being called but I knew that all the players could deal with it.

The game finally started and both teams started well. The scores were tight all through the first quarter. Neither team got further away than a couple of points and each time the other team would pull them back in again.

I had seen a few of my plays working so far but I didn't have much more to say. Instead I stayed on the end of the bench so that I didn't have to talk to the team. The next period started much of the same until about three minutes in.

Tyler had the ball and one of the North Carolina players barrelled into him and pushed him into their bench. A scrum started in front of the bench and out of habit I looked for Tyler and couldn't see him. At last all the players were cleared and Tyler was helped off the ground.

He hobbled slightly towards the bench with the help of Jackson. Medics moved straight over to him and he was helped down into the locker room. The game continued on and I had to refocus on what I was doing.

"Seen anything new?" Coach asked.

I then told him a couple knew things but nothing mind blowing. He nodded before returning his attention to the game. Not even five minutes after he left Tyler was back on the side of the court.

"Matthews, I'm not letting you back on the court," Coach said.

"Coach, I'm fine, please let me back in," Tyler said.

They stared at each other for a minute and then Coach sighed.

"Fine, but if it starts to hurt more you come to me and you come off," he told her.

Tyler nodded furiously and was allowed back onto the court a minute later. Immediately he started well and Coach smiled slightly.

Halftime came quickly after and I began summarising the things that I have seen so far. At the end of the break Coach came over and read my notes.

"You have a really good mind for the game," he said.

"Thanks."

"I think that this is a good potential career for you. Personally I'd like to keep you for longer," he smiled.

I smiled brighter because it was nice to get from a comment like that from Coach. The players joined us and the game started again not long later. The rest of the game flew by and luckily it finished with a close UCLA win.

All the players were still energetic once it was finished, buoyed by the fact that they had beaten the top team in the country. We were spending another night in the hotel and we headed straight back there. I think that a lot of the players were heading to one of their rooms but I headed straight to mind.

I noticed that Luke was following me but I didn't stop until I reached my room.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"How come you and Tyler broke up?" he asked.

"Wow, that's blunt. Ask him?" I told him.

"He won't talk about it but I can see that he is upset and so are you."

"I'm not talking to you about it."

"Seriously, you and Tyler need to talk more about it."

"We did and that's when we broke up," I snapped.

He shook his head and I wasn't sure what to say to him. I don't think that he knew either because he sighed slightly.

"I'll talk to you later," he said.

I nodded and slipped into my room and shut the door quickly behind me. I hadn't thought about our break up yet. I hadn't given myself the time. I knew that Tyler hadn't really want to break up with me and I still wasn't completely sure of his reasons in the end but I don't want to talk about it.

I couldn't talk about it with Tyler again because it would hurt me more. At this point, no matter what Luke says, I think that I will just have to continue and try to move on.

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The Wise One