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"I just dont get why you have to go" Patrick mutters through the phone, hes sat curled up in his bed, he should be doing something, planning for the superbowl maybe, but Aaron had just told him hes going on some retreat and he might be gone for a few weeks, the few weeks that Patrick could need Aaron, whether he wins of loses.
Aaron sighs, it feels so loud compared to the quietness of Patricks room "i need to do it Pat-" "-you dont need to, you want to" he huffs "what if i lose? What then? Im just left alone while you do what? Hide out in some cave?" Hes annoyed, him and Aaron had a plan. Get through the season then have the off season just to themselves, nothing else, no other people or events, just the two of them doing what they want.
Aaron sighs again, it feels like its all he does now "no Pat, i need to" he pauses for a moment, despite being in different cities the air is still thick between them. "Look...I gotta go, ill talk later."
The phone makes a noise to say the call ended. Patrick stays curled up. First Aaron didn't want to go to the superbowl, which Patrick was annoyed about, why wouldnt he be? His boyfriend, the man who mattered most to him, wasnt going to be going to the biggest game of his career. But he learned to deal with it, its fine. But then he said hes probably not even gonna watch it at all? Not even in the comfort of his own home, instead he decided it was a good time to mention the darkness retreat hes doing.
Recently it feels like hes been avoiding Patrick, they dont call as often as they used to, he takes hours to text him back, barely even ends any calls with a simple "i love you".
So yeah, Patricks annoyed. No actually, hes pissed, Patrick is 100% purely pissed off at Aaron.
They won, they won their second superbowl, he won.
It feels like Patricks on top of the world, he cant wipe the grin off his face, hugging teammates and coaches, his parents, siblings, friends. He feels like hes floating.
But something knocks him down, no Aaron. He knows their relationship is secret, not like they can just parade around at the superbowl, Aarons making enough headlines as it is, he doesnt need more.
So Patrick pushes it back, keeps celebrating.
When he gets back to the locker room to change he quickly checks his phone, texts from college friends, ex teammates, random celebrities. But none from Aaron, not even a little congratulations, nothing. He tries not to feel hurt, but he cant help it. His own boyfriend doesnt even seem to care that he just achieved his second superbowl win.
He waits, and waits, and does some more waiting. Aaron said hed text when he got back from the darkness retreat, he was meant to be home two days ago and still nothing. No text, no call, no visit. Nothing.
So finally he calls Aaron, hes sick of waiting around. It goes to his voicemail.
"Hey, uh...are you home yet? Cause i really wanna talk, i wanna see you, i...i miss you...so just call me when you get this, yeah?"
Patrick doesnt know how to feel, well he does but theres just too many emotions to narrow it down, hes pissed, angry, annoyed, sad, confused, and about a billion other things all at the same time as he reads the gossip magazine headline.
"Aaron Rodgers dating Mallory Edens: Source confirms"
His phone is fired across the room, hitting the wall next to his fireplace. The loud noise echoes around the quiet house.
He sits in silence for hours, glaring at the phone thats still on the floor, tears stream down his face every few minutes. How the fuck could he do this to me?
After a few hours he grabs his phone again, tries to call Aaron, straight to voicemail.
"Y-you really...i...you're such a fucking asshole, c-couldnt even fucking break up with me yourself, you had to go and find someone else? Youre a fucking piece of shit Aaron, youre a horrible fucking person"
His voice shakes as he talks, anger and sadness clear in his voice.
He stands in front of Aarons door in Green Bay, not because he thinks its where the older man is but because its where he left all his things. Theres no car in the driveway, he doesnt know whether to be thankful or angry.
He lets himself in and calls out, just in case "Aaron? You home?"...silence.
He huffs and makes his way upstairs to their room, Aarons room, he corrects his own thoughts. It looks the same, besides the bed sheets being changed since the last time he slept here. A part of him wonders if she was here before, if she slept on the same side that Patrick did, if she wore the same hoodie from Aaron that Patrick did.
He manages to pull himself away and to the closet, grabbing anything thats his and firing it into a bag, the only sound being clothes rustling and his own breathing.
It takes less time than he expected to clear his things from Aarons place, when hes done he just wanders around, memories flooding his head of all the time they spent together. He gets to the kitchen and sees the cabinet Aaron kept all the alcohol.
Looking through them he tries to find the most expensive one, or the rarest. He ends up taking 4 expensive bottles of whiskey and a wine that Aaron was 'saving for a special occasion', cause fuck him, if hes gonna cheat and not even tell Patrick that theyre not together anymore then Patricks gonna steal his shit.
He decides to walk around the house again, grabbing a few things he knows Aaron loves and putting them into his bag, random pictures, decorations, gifts from people, Patrick grabs whatever.
"So...i seen the news" Travis starts out slow and wary, theyre sat in the older mans house, hes been here an hour and hes just now bringing it up. Patrick hums and nods "yep" he says, looking down at his hands "youre probably relieved right? Cause you didn't really like him."
Travis shakes his head "i didn't like him...but you did" he pauses for a moment "i didn't even know you two broke up, why didn't you tell me?"
Patrick sighs "we didn't" he says quietly. The room is silent, Travis just staring at Patrick "...you mean he...?" At Patricks nod Travis huffs "that dick," Patrick nods again "i found out through a fucking gossip magazine that he was with whatever the fuck her name is."
Travis sighs "i swear to God ill punch him if i see him Pat, i dont care if i get fined or suspended, im dropping his ass," Patrick snorts "thanks Trav" "no, im serious Pat, i will knock his ass out".
Patrick nods "i want to, i wanna just...i dont know...punch him, hit him, scream at him, ask him why he fucking cheated on me" he sighs and leans his head back against the couch. "Why dont you?" Travis asks, Patrick sighs "cause...he wont answer my texts or my calls, goes straight to voicemail, hes not at his house, i dont even know where the fuck he is."
They go back to silence again for a few minutes before Patrick starts talking about the next season.
September 2023
Patrick is good, hes better, hes moved on. None of Aarons things are in his house, he doesnt even think of the man...well he doesnt think of him often, its kind of hard to not think about him when hes constantly making headlines.
He was worried when Aaron got injured, but he had to remind himself that him and Aaron arent together anymore, that he shouldnt care about him being injured.
Its been hard to not think of him these past few weeks, especially with their teams playing against each other. It just feels like the universe is against him moving on.
"Patrick" he freezes where hes stood on the sidelines, he'd seen Aaron before but decided its better to ignore him, watch out for him and never be too close. But now here he is, Aaron stood right beside him. "Rodgers" he nods in greeting, he can see a flicker of something in Aarons eyes, maybe shame, he hopes its shame.
"Look...about what happened-" "-with your foot? Yeah, seen it happen, looked bad, hope you recover soon" he goes to walk away but Aaron puts a hand on his elbow "Pat-" "-Dont call me that" his voice is lower now, not wanting anyone else to hear, especially those who dont have to.
They stare at each other for a moment "...you stole my wine" Aaron mutters, Patrick hums "yeah well, you cheated on me, seems fair."
"...i didn't want it to end that way" Patrick scoffs "i really didn't, i love you Pat, i really do, i just...we'd never be able to go public, to get married and have kids...im sorry"
"So you just decided to cheat instead of breaking up with me?" Patrick asks, then shakes his bead before the older man can answer "yknow what, have a good life Rodgers."
December 2023
"Aaron Rodgers and Mallory Edens breakup: Source confirms"
The phone rings, goes to voicemail "...hey Pat, its me"
-fin.