Once he started talking, the words just seemed to flow out of him. She found herself wondering if he’d ever had the chance to get all this off his chest. Was she the first to bring him back to the scene of the accident? Nothing she read indicated anyone had tried but just because it wasn’t mentioned didn’t mean no one had tried.<br/><br/>Claire lowered her phone a bit as he began to spin. Hopefully this new angle, capturing him from below, would make him seem taller and more imposing. Maybe even majestic. Then he said something that caught her attention.<br/><br/><i>I had to be a leader in that locker room despite being a young quarterback</i><br/><br/>Didn’t he realize that he could still be a leader? Claire couldn’t for the life of her wrap her head around why he would have just given up. Her lips parted as she prepared to say something but closed when he continued to talk.<br/><br/>She focused on what he was saying, curious as to what he would reveal next. She visibly winced when he described five hundred pounds crashing down onto his leg. It must have been excruciating.<br/><br/>And then there it was. What he yearned for but never got to have. His moment in the sun.<br/><br/>She ended the recording and tucked her phone into her back pocket. “You can still be a leader, Mark, and you can have your moment in the sun. It’s not going to be the same. It’s never going to be the same. What’s done is done but maybe now it’s time to pick yourself up and try something different.” Her voice was different than it had been in the diner. Softer. Sweeter. Claire moved closer as her eyes roamed his face. “What you’ve been doing isn’t working. Try it my way? What’s the worst that could happen? Everything goes back to the way it was?”<br/><br/>Her eyes flicked to the stands than traveled upward to the highest levels before meeting his once more. “Please?”