House Divided Read Online Free PDF Page A

was reported they were
engaged. During each game, the cameras would pan over to where she and his
family sat, and there was a ring on her left finger. She gushed to all the
papers about how much she loved him and couldn’t wait for his career to start
in the NFL, and how wonderful their lives were going to be together. It was
really nauseating. I tried not to pay attention to it, but it was everywhere.
    Then the Iron Bowl came. The Iron Bowl is
an unofficial holiday in Alabama. The stores close early, the streets are
empty, and everyone is home watching Alabama and Auburn battle it out. We all
knew it was a long shot for Auburn to win that year. Brady had made Alabama’s offense almost invincible. Alabama was ahead the entire game. I didn’t want to
watch, but my aunt expected me to watch all Auburn games; she didn’t care that
Brady Jackson was playing, but I don’t think she ever realized how in love with
him I had been and that it still hurt, or maybe she had and she thought the
reminder would ensure I would keep the rules in the future. During the third
quarter, Alabama was on the fifty yard line, and it was second down. Their
quarterback threw a perfect spiral that landed in Brady’s hands almost
flawlessly. He was at the forty yard line and turned to run, and then it
happened. I couldn’t believe it. As he turned, he was hit from behind by a
cornerback at the same time a linebacker slammed into his front. His leg was
twisted all wrong, and when they came down on him, it broke. It broke for the
whole world to see. Compound fracture, bone protruding from the skin, it was a
horrific sight. And, of course, they kept replaying it over and over again. I
remember gasping alone in my apartment. I cried as I saw Brady’s face and the
horrible pain he was in.
    In a matter of seconds, his NFL dreams
were over. It was the kind of injury you don’t fully recover from, at least not
well enough to play football. Alabama still won, but Brady lost. Brady also
lost the Heisman and his fiancé. Amber was once again excoriated in the news
for leaving her injured fiancé for the quarterback, Doug Abrams. He ended up
being the first round draft pick for the NFL. I wanted to say that Brady
deserved it, but I couldn’t. I wanted to feel delight that she left him, but I
couldn’t muster that up either. I hated him, but only because I loved him.
    As the sun began to peak over the horizon,
I came back to my senses and the present. Thankfully, I was almost to my
destination. I hated being alone with only my thoughts for company. Too often
they drifted to the past, and too often they landed on Brady Jackson. You may
be able to run away from home, but memories follow you everywhere.
    I came to a hard stop in the hospital
parking lot; I was out my door before I even turned off the ignition. I
practically sprinted across the pavement. I just needed to see my Aunt Lu. As I
entered the ICU, I didn’t even need to ask what room she was in. I could hear
her raised voice yelling at some poor physician. His only crime was where he
earned his degree.
    I checked in at the nurse’s station and
tried not to laugh; she had the whole floor in a tizzy over her behavior. I
quickly made my way down to her room before they restrained her or sedated her.
At least I knew she was well enough to throw a fit. I walked into her room, and
there were two nurses and one poor, harried doctor. They were all trying their
best to calm her down, but every time the doctor approached her, she started
back in about the incompetence of the University of Alabama. She was being
ridiculous, but I couldn’t help but smile.
    “Aunt Lu.”
    All heads turned toward me.
    Aunt Lu looked pale, even for being all
worked up. She was hooked up to all sorts of machines that were beeping
frantically—I’m sure in response to her unseemly behavior. For an old dame, she
was still feisty, but I hated seeing her like that. She was approaching seventy,
but could still pass for someone in