All Chapters of The Captain Wants Me Back!: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

78 Chapters

41 - Ryder Finds Out

Gabriel's POVMy shoes hit the track in a steady rhythm.I kept my eyes ahead, refusing to slow even as pain spread from my shoulder down my arm. One lap became three, then four. My lungs burned, sweat soaked my shirt, but I didn’t stop.I threw myself into training the next morning as if it might fix something, running routes until my lungs burned, pushing through every rep even as my shoulder screamed louder with each hit.I didn't talk much. Didn't want to. Every time someone tried to make conversation, I gave them the shortest answer I could manage and kept moving. Moving was easier than sitting still with everything currently crowding my head.Anna walked past the field around midmorning, cutting across toward the science building with a friend. She glanced over, caught my eye for a second, and looked away without a single change of expression, like I was nothing more than scenery.I deserved that.I hadn't meant to leave the way I had the night before. We had finished, and I had

Last Updated : 2026-09-04

42 - Jeremiah Is At The Club

Joey's POVA woman I had never met pressed cool fingers under my chin and tilted my face toward the light as she applied dark eyeshadow into the crease of my eyelid. Another woman knelt at my feet, slipping a pair of heels higher than anything I owned onto them, fastening the straps.Neither of them talked much. They didn't need to. I sat still and let them work.The dress came last.It was a black fitted dress with stretchy fabric that hugged my body without restricting me. The skirt stopped high on my thighs, and the sides had small cutouts that showed just enough skin. It was made to move with me. The back was cut so low that I felt air linger unhurried in unnatural places.When they finally stepped back and let me see everything in the mirror, I barely recognized myself.I had dark lips... every part of me dressed to look dangerous, like I had been sent to ruin a man's night on purpose.A diva straight from hell, polished until she shone, with my black mask in place.But I didn't

Last Updated : 2026-09-05

43 - Gabriel Signs Up For Tutoring, Again

Joey's POVI blinked, shocked and scared.Juan went on, his voice low and dangerous. "You had no right to walk off with that boy the other night. None. I don't care what you do with your life during the day—school, reading, whatever little world you've built for yourself. But at night, you belong to me. You understand?"I didn't say anything. My jaw was held too tight to speak even if I wanted to.He let go, sitting back and straightening his jacket like nothing had happened."I've been trying to play nice," he said, pulling back onto the road. "Give you room, let you feel comfortable. Seems like that's not working the way I hoped."I remained silent, my heart thundering inside of me."Don't get comfortable enough to forget who I am." His voice had gone flat now. "And if you have forgotten, maybe you should visit your mother. Ask her about me. She'll remind you."I remained silent the rest of the drive… even too scared to think.It was a little past midnight when Juan pulled to a stop

Last Updated : 2026-09-05

44 - Gabriel's Shoulder Is Hurt More

Gabriel's POVThe locker room was noisy, the same way it usually was before a game everyone had been waiting weeks for.Pads clattered against benches. Someone's cleats squeaked against the tile too.I sat at my locker, taping my wrist, trying not to think about the ache sitting deep in my shoulder like a stone lodged under the joint.Coach walked in with his clipboard tucked under one arm, and the room quieted almost on its own."Big one tonight," he said, scanning the room. "You all know it, and I know it." He turned towards everyone, then his eyes landed on me. "Davenport, get up here and say something to your team."My eyes widened slightly. I had not expected it.I stood, rolled my shoulders once out of habit, and immediately regretted it when pain shot down my arm. I kept my face still and walked to the front of the room.Every eye in the room landed on me. Roland leaned forward on the bench, elbows on hi

Last Updated : 2026-09-06

45 - Gabriel Finally Goes To The Hospital

Gabriel's POVPain filled every part of me, spreading from my shoulder into my chest with every breath. The turf felt cold against my back. Above me, the stadium lights blurred into white circles.Players rushed over, their cleats pounding against the ground.“You good, Davenport?”“Someone, call the trainer!”Their voices blended, and I couldn't bring myself to answer. I tried to push up with my good arm, gritting my teeth, but the moment I shifted my weight, pain shot through my shoulder and down into my ribs.I dropped back onto the turf, breathing hard through my teeth.Roland reached me, dropping to his knees beside me.“Hey. Hey, look at me.” His hands hovered near my shoulders, unsure where it was safe to touch. “What happened? Talk to me.”Ryder was right behind him. He reached under my good arm, trying to help me up.“Easy,” Ryder said, his voice tight. “Easy. Take it slow.”With b

Last Updated : 2026-09-06

46 - Ryder Walks Away

Gabriel's POVThe imaging room was cold enough that I felt it through the thin paper gown. Goosebumps covered my good arm as the technician moved my injured shoulder from one position after another.Every movement sent a fresh wave of pain through the joint.“Almost done,” she said each time.It took another twenty minutes before she finally stepped back and told me we were finished.I followed her back to the exam room and waited for Dr. Conrad.An hour later, he walked in with a folder under his arm. I took one look at his face and already knew. It was not good news.“It is not a strain,” he said.He placed the scans on the screen beside the bed. Then he pointed to a spot near my shoulder where something looked wrong, even to me. The tissue looked torn instead of smooth.“This is a partial tear. Rotator cuff.” He paused, studying the scan. “And because you have been playing on it without treatment for this long, it is worse than it should be.”I stared at the screen.Something heavy

Last Updated : 2026-09-08

47 - Ryder Talks To Joey About Gabriel

Joey's POVRed and gold lights moved slowly across the room as I went through the routine, keeping my eyes just above the crowd the way I was taught. But then I caught sight of someone familiar near the back of the room before I fully realized who it was.Ryder.He sat alone at a table near the wall, his drink, untouched, in front of him. He watched the stage without any of his usual energy.I heard from the tutoring group earlier that the team had a game tonight and won.He should have been out celebrating with everyone else. Instead, he sat there looking like a lost dog.Something tightened in my chest when I saw him.Something had to be wrong.I kept dancing, letting my body follow the routine without thinking much. Slowly, I moved toward his side of the room without making it obvious.When I got close enough, his eyes met mine through the mask.I watched his face change as he recognized me.He looked shocked.I understood why.Usually, as part of my routine, I could move around th

Last Updated : 2026-09-08

48 - Joey Cooks For Gabriel

Gabriel's POVCoach pulled into the driveway and parked, but he did not unlock the doors right away.I sat beside him, waiting, my sling pressing against my chest.“Before you go in,” he said, staring through the windshield, “I want to say something.”“Okay,” I said, waiting.“I overheard your conversation with Ryder, and I have to say: what you need right now are your friends,” he said, turning to me, something tired in his eyes. “Do not push them away. I know you are angry, hurt, and probably embarrassed about how tonight went. But do not push them away because of it.”I said nothing, so he continued.“I did that once, back in college. I had good friends. Real ones. The kind you do not find twice in a lifetime. But I wanted to be a star more than I wanted to be a good friend, so I cut them all off one by one. I told myself I did not have room for anyone who was not helping me get where I wanted to go.”He let out a short breath that almost sounded like a laugh.“But here I am, coach

Last Updated : 2026-09-09

49 - Gabriel Finally Understands

Joey's POVI was still at home, trying to push away the longing for his voice.I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at his name on the phone in my hand. It might disappear if I looked long enough.I was still angry and hurt. Still tired of being the one who always ended up chasing answers he never gave freely. But somewhere underneath, something else started pulling at me the moment I heard about his shoulder.I was worried.I mean, it was normal, right? He got hurt during a game. Anyone would worry about someone they used to care about, even if things between them were complicated now.But still, I was sure that something so normal wouldn't keep a person pacing their bedroom at 11 at night, checking their phone every few minutes for a text that they knew would never come.So, I decided to call. But not him, though.I tried Ryder first. It felt safer that way, less like I was reaching out to Gabriel directly and more like I was checking on a friend through someone else.I dialled his n

Last Updated : 2026-09-09

50 - Joey Sleeps Out

Joey's POV"I am sorry," Gabriel said after a brief silence, and I could tell he meant it. "For all of it."I stared at him, hating what his words did to me, what that softness and vulnerability in his eyes made me want to do to him.I cleared my throat."How did this happen?" I asked, nodding toward the sling.I had to change the topic. I didn't need his apology. Not when I was sure he would do the same thing again, or that the only reason he was apologizing was that I brought it up.Gabriel glanced down at his shoulder like he almost forgot it was there."Practice," he said. "One of my... teammates hit me hard during a drill. It was both a wrong angle and wrong timing. Bad luck, mostly—" He smiled. "I guess I got on the Naughty List."I didn't find his joke funny, not when it seemed like he was trying to cover up something.Something in the way he had said teammate had made my ears perk up. He did not say a name. He said the word carefully, like he was choosing it on purpose to answ

Last Updated : 2026-09-09

...

3 4 5 6 7 8

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP