The early evening sun was killing him. They've been at it for hours and coach was not relenting anytime soon, the man seems to have all the time in the whole world.

"Okay guys, that's it!, Let's take it one more time!", Coach shouted.

He has been shouting that for five times now, they would do a full drill and run, then he would clap, yell something to correct a player who was too fast or too slow for his liking and then ask them to repeat it again.

"I could faint at this rate", Anthony whined next to him.

Silver groaned, walking over to take his  position. It was even worse since the guy playing the QB1 position transferred Schools, leaving just him to play in the position throughout a full game.

He was exhausted even as he lifted his hand to throw the ball, it didn't go that far. It stopped right in front of the fifty yard, even before the wide receiver.

Coach shouted out in annoyance. They continued that way until they couldn't walk anymore before the coach announced that practice was over.

" finally!", Kim muttered, slumping on the field next to him.

Silver shook his head, beads of sweat flying off his face, " somebody, crucify me...", he muttered closing his eyes. 

He laid on the field, trying to catch his breath for few minutes before heading to the lockers, when Anthony kicked him.

“ Hey dude, isn’t that your mom?” Anthony said.

Silver snapped his eyes open, turning to the direction that Anthony was pointing to.

He saw his mother standing by the front bench and waving at him. He groaned as he got to his feet and headed in her direction.

“ What do you want mom?”  he asked her immediately he got to where she was.

“ Just because you play football like your father, doesn’t mean you should forget me Silver, I’m your mother. The only one who loves you…” she told him.

Silver sighed.

 oh, he hasn't forgotten, it was very difficult to forget that fact, she made it very difficult for him to forget that she gave birth to him while his father was busy running around the world playing ball.

she had reminded him about that fact every single day of his life.

"I haven't mom, what are you doing here? ", he asked her again.

She sighed, " I've been waiting for you to come home, but you've not come home for almost a week Silver”, she said, running her hand through her silver hair; the only feature about her that made it easy to tell that she was his mother; the silver hair.

‘Come home?’, He wanted to ask her. 

Did she just call the house home?, when she was hardly around. For all he knew, they were just mother and son living together and he would go back whenever he felt like. For now, he was squatting in the spare room of where he worked part-time and didn't want to face her.

" I'm tired mom... go back home..", he told her.

" how do you want me to go back home and spend the night alone again" she told him.

Silver snorted, he was even surprised that she had noticed his absence. There was a time that he had stayed away from home for almost two weeks and she had not  noticed. Maybe there was no man in her life now to get and give all her attention to.

He groaned, looking around. The guys had gone back in to the locker room, so he was the only one still out here.

He took that Moment to look at his mom, she looked like every mother out there, but he knew better, she was just putting up an act and had for once cleaned herself up.

She came closer to him, touching his arm, " please Silver. You can't leave me alone at home. Come back home, please..", she pleaded with him.

" You know i love you too much", she added.

Silver sighed, looking into her eyes. She looked serious, but he knew better. He knew that the word ‘love’ only meant love when she wanted something from someone.

That was what she taught him, to love someone because of what they could gain from the person.

" okay Mom. Fine, I'll come home after work. So please, go home.", he told her turning around and leaving.

He heard her shouting thanks to him as he went in.

" Is everything okay...?", Tony asked him, sitting on the bench beside him.

"Uhm...yeah... just packing up", he replied.

"Are you sure?, You were staring into space a while ago, and with your mom's visit..", Tony said.

Silver sighed, he didn't want to tell Tony what the issue was. The guy was the only person he could call a friend, and they weren't even that close. They just met during practice and sometimes when the guys went out to hang out. His mother had told him several times to focus on playing football and pleasing a father that didn't know him than hanging out with so called friends, hence his lack of friends.

" Yeah, she just came to see me practice...", he lied smiling at Tony.

The guy looked at him and then shook his head, " you guys are so lucky. Your parents are interested in the game, mine doesn't even have the time to come see me play.", Tony muttered.

Silver gave a nervous smile, his mother only came to watch him play because she thinks he plays like Jacob, his father, not because she wanted to see him play the game.

" Yeah..", he muttered, standing up from the bench and strapping his bag across his shoulders.

They both left the school together and even when Tony offered to give him a ride to his place of work, he declined, taking the bus instead. It was close to school, so he didn't need to pay much.

He climbed the stairs leading to the front entrance of the building, entering the restaurant. He went straight to the back and got changed in the staff room. When he came out, he nodded at his Co workers and took his position behind the desk. 

There was a crowd in the restaurant and he was wondering why there were a lot of persons in there.

"Two cups of coffee, latte to go..., the customer ordered.

He nodded, getting to work.

"you're here early.", the manager said behind him, he turned around and smiled.

" Finished practice early today.", he lied, it was because he didn't want to go home yet, that was why he was there early. Right now, he was tired and exhausted and could use some rest, but there was no time for that.

The manager nodded, " okay... we have a lot' of Customers today and need the extra hand" the man said.

Silver frowned," uhm. is anything happening around here?", he asked softly.

The manager nodded, "The Vikings had a game in the next city and they are passing by, that's their van out there. Football fans came out to see them...", he told silver.

Silver turned to look outside and truly, he saw the Vikings bus out there, down the street. They must have stopped to get a rest or something before they continued their journey.

He sighed, he wished Jacob was going to wander into the restaurant, if wishes were horses, he mused.

" your coffee ma'am.." he placed the order on the counter and directed the customer to pay at the counter next to him.

" It's Jacob Shepherd" he heard people say, rushing out of the shop. Silver snapped his head to look outside, he could see Jacob from where he was standing in the shop until his fans reached him and crowded him, giving him things to sign his autograph.

Silver sighed even as his manager came out to see what was causing the ruckus.

"you're a football fan right?, You play football. Won't you go out to meet him?", the man asked.

Silver blinked, even if he goes outside to meet the man, he would look at him like every other person, like he was a fan, so there was no need. He was okay watching the man on television and not going near him as his mother had warned him several times.

"I’m not a fan of the Vikings..", he replied.

The manager laughed tapping his shoulders as he left.

Silver kept on looking until Jacob walked away, back to the team bus and the bus left Newark, obviously heading for new York City.

That was his life, seeing his father, but not close enough for the man to see him or touch him. He kept on wondering if his father actually knew that he existed. What if his mother had lied to him, he thought.