God's Field |COMPLETED|

Chapter Three- Running Boy

         "Green, care to participate?" Coach Gibbons said, rolling his eyes as his football boys rushed out to the football field, helmets in hand.  I shrugged, "I'm not a baller Coach."  He shrugged back at me in a mocking way, "and I don't like any kids that Coach Sanders favors, but here we are.  Get your butt out there and work with my boys, I pulled a muscle last night and can't get out there in their face or yours for that matter, so, Green, you just going to stand there or?"  There goes my 'low-key' motive for this afternoon. 
     I huffed, jogging out there on the field with the built boys.  If there was one thing I knew for sure, it was that I was not built to be any type of blocker, strictly a runner and nothing more.  Apparently, God had other plans in store, specifically Coach Gibbons had other plans in store.  I joined the group of padded guys, feeling out of place as I wore a lean, thin, jacket and some shorts.  I noticed the boy from the other day that had a bit of an attitude acknowledge my arrival first, a slight head nod. 
     Maybe this wouldn't be too bad as long as I wasn't dressed out in football gear by the end of this.  He came up to me, "you helpin' Gibbons now?"  I shrugged, "to be honest, I don't really know."  He laughed, "that's Gibbons, welcome to the group, Green, you'll be here all season."  I frowned, I was anything but a football player.  Surely, Coach Gibbons could understand and see that based on my build.  I wasn't packing muscle like these other guys, big and bulky, no, I was lean and tall with muscle, sure, but not prominent.  "Four suicides, let's go!"  Coach yelled, a whistle blaring throughout the field. 
    I began my descent from an easy day and shifted into the soon sweaty skin that would infiltrate the scent of fresh cut grass.  Sighing, I stayed in the back of the boys not really into the whole "socializing" business.  Plus, I hardly knew anyone on this team- especially since I wasn't even out to be a football player. 
     Freaking Gibbons... maybe Coach Sanders and I really would get along.  "Green, you should be smoking everyone, you were a soccer player after all!"  My heart stopped.  What?  How would he know that?  Just as I was about to collapse onto the turf at the realization- I heard my name from the only person that could pull me away.  "Jacob, hey man, I haven't seen you all summer." 
     I slowed my gait to an even pace, the breath swelling in my throat.  Coach shouted at my depleted pace, fellow football players cursed at my abrupt change in speed barely managing to dodge me.  Tears threatened to break through my barriers as a sharp knife impaled my abdomen.  Why did he keep coming back?  Putting me through this pain of having to see his face over and over, relive the pain over and over, and feel unresolved emotions again and again, crashing into me, crushing my air flow, choking me, and weakening my limbs. 
     I wanted to drown, I wanted to fall beneath the waves and disappear somewhere at the sea's bottom where no one could ever find me and give me air left to ignite my heart.  To give me the urge to live, I didn't want it, I could only wait until the water dragged me to its depths. 
    Fisher, for the first time, vacant of a smile as he said the second phrase of this dreadful occurrence, "run, Jake, keep up!"  I didn't even wait for him to take off and instead, sprinted towards him in a blinding fury of pain.  He shot me a sad smile before he, too, took off at an almost supernatural rate. 
     My legs ran like wildfire, my arms moving rapidly, I had to catch up.  I ran head first into the fire that was my best friend, I would always run into the flames, if it meant just bringing him back- even if, just for a moment.  I was warmed up, but barely, my slightly trembling legs reminded me of that.  I couldn't stop, not in a million years, I'd never stop. 
     He ran through the chain link fence as if he were a ghost.  I knew my legs weren't ready for such a risk, but the adrenaline coursed through my veins, leaving me no choice but to leap; and leap I did.  As soon as my shoes touched the soil, I knew something was wrong.  It felt as if lightning struck my legs, dissembling my bones, and opening my skin for boiled blood to spill. 
     I tried to get back up, but my legs didn't do as much as slightly stretch before a burning pang lit up below my waist.  It felt like I was being burned alive from the waist down.  "Green!"  A voice shouted, footsteps thumping against near ground.  I screamed in torment, the pain only intensified causing tears to prick my eyes.  My vision cluttered, Coach Sanders bent down over me. 
     I reached up and latched onto his arms, shaking, "help me!  Help me, please."  His arms wrapped around my shoulders, picking me up while Coach Gibbons grabbed my legs.  I yelled, trying to break free from their hold.  Every ounce of moment sent my legs into an endless furnace placed on the highest level of heat.  I looked to my left and cried out, "Fisher!  I'm soh- I'm sorry... Fish!  Come back, please, I can't..." My head sagged to the side, my entire body void of strength. 
     The pain began to soar into unbearable lengths, I couldn't feel anything other than the blistering heat that lived inside of me.  Only then, did I hear the voices of both coaches as they frantically ran me to the nurse's room.  "Hold on, Green, hold on, " Coach Sanders whispered, laying me on the nurse's table.
    I tensed at her cold hands feeling my fiery legs, she gasped, "get the ice please, his legs are burning up!" 
     My hands came to my face, covering my eyes from view.  I focused on my breathing as best I could, pressing my eyes.  My hands were pried from my face, "we need to cool you off, okay Jacob?"  I nodded, tears dripping down my eyes only to escape down the slope of my cheeks.  I slammed by fist on the table, big bags of ice were placed on my legs.
     "Jacob, breathe, baby, you need to breathe," I heard her voice, I understood her, and yet I couldn't force the air into my lungs.  A cry ripped through my throat, piercing the thick air; what was happening to me?  Why?  I've collapsed and have been thrown to the ground by a car, so why now did my legs refuse to extinguish the overwhelming pain I always felt?  Why now, did it intensify so much I couldn't stop the tear flow? 
     Coach Green held something up to my face, "God, this better help."  I felt the throbbing in my head instantly subside as a rush of oxygen expanded my lungs.  I knew what this was and I also knew who must have been here.  Like I had been commanded of it, my breathing calmed and my heart rate slowed.  Sweaty and exhausted, I glanced down at my legs only to see tons of plastic ice bags.  Sighing, my gaze averted to Coach Sanders who looked terrified and relieved.  "You alright?" 
     I nodded, an ache in my neck.  "Had us worried for a bit there- forty-five minutes actually."  Forty-five minutes?  It felt only a couple minutes muchless near an hour.  The nurse fell into my line of sight, "have you been in an accident recently or involved in a lot of leg activity?  Your legs are unnaturally weak and strained, they've been overworked."  As if my day couldn't get any worse. 
     "Both."  She hummed, "what was the extent of leg damage?"  The hits just keep on hitting.  Maybe I should just stop now while I'm ahead, leave without ever coming back to this place.  Yet, another place to haunt my memories.
    "I don't feel like explaining much, ma'am, but I was temporarily paralized from the waist down."  My gaze was now focused on the ceiling, no way was I looking toward the nurse and seeing how Coach Sanders, Gibbons, and possibly Kelsey were taking this.  "When was this?" She asked, checking the ice packs. 
     "Right before school let out for the summer... this year."  She hummed again, taking the packs off before smiling at me, then fixing me with a serious gaze, "Jacob, you need to not only hear me, but listen to me when I say this, okay?  You cannot do anything above a walk for at least four weeks.  Okay?  Your legs aren't fully healed from the accident.  You understand?"  I did, but she didn't. 
     She didn't understand what running did for me- what it meant for me.  Running helped me escape my mind, get to school, and sometimes... It even let me see my best friend.  I wouldn't tell her that, though, what good would it do?  She'd look at me like I was crazy, send me to therapy, and nothing would work.  Nothing would work because I couldn't run and if I couldn't run, I couldn't breathe.  "I do," and I did, but that wasn't changing my mind.  
     She nodded to herself before looking at the three other occupants in the room, "one of you take this boy home and make sure he does as told."  Coach Sanders quickly took up the command, "I got it- I'll let his parents know too."  With that, I managed to stand up- the ice had done fairly well to numb the pain- and stumbled along with Coach Sanders.  Just as I was about to hop in his car, "Jacob."  I turned around, almost not catching the inhaler Kelsey threw at me, "keep that."  I raised the inhaler to say "thanks'' before I slid into Coach Sanders' passenger seat. 
     He was already in the driver's.  "Where exactly do you live?"  Right, I probably needed to give him directions.  "Uh, just a few miles out of town.  You know where that white-ish house is with the big apple tree?"  He nodded, "Sarah- Max's wife- loves that tree.  She swears it's the prettiest one she'll ever see."  I smiled at this, "that's where I live." 
     He shook his head, amused about something.  "What?"  He pulled onto the main road, "you're something else, kid."  I rolled my eyes, "uh-huh, anyway, why were you still at school?"  He clicked his tongue, "you'd forget I'm the coach of three teams, already?"  That makes sense then, I bet he has a lot to do.  I frowned, here he was helping me home when he had a million other things he needed to do and attend too.  "Sorry about you missing practice or whatever you were doing."
    He chuckled, "kid, to tell you the truth I was dealing with a nine-player soccer team, so I wasn't in the middle of anything grand."  I completely forgot about Kelsey telling me the team was short this year, but Kansas went to Nationals last year and won. 
     They were insanely good, we'd always get nervous when we would have to face them in tournaments to decide who would advance and who wouldn't.  We only played against them twice, but we always saw them there battling other teams.  "Isn't Kansas like, super good?"  Coach Sanders sighed, "yeah, yeah, but a lot of my players joined select teams because they felt they weren't being played enough. 
     That was partly true for some, but I needed to focus on players that weren't as up in level yet and I did- hence why the nine I have now are just as good and the five others are off on other teams."  That was a tough spot.  I was fortunate enough to have the team that I did, we all grew up playing with Coach Trey, so naturally, no one strayed. 
     "Have you found someone to join?"  The man parted his lips in thought, squinting his eyes, and glanced at me, "I have someone in mind.  Say, Green, you and I both know you're not going to stop running.  I saw it from the moment Nurse Rowan said those words, you were not going to listen.  So, what if you help me look for the new recruit.  I'm having tryouts in a month, until then you can show the boys a few drills." 
     He put his gaze back on the road as if he hadn't just indirectly admitted to knowing about me.  Knowing that I used to play soccer.  The last thing I wanted to do was talk about it, but stepping on an actual soccer field again- I hadn't even thought of that.  "We're here, Green, sleep on it, okay?"  I nodded, uncertain, and got out of the car, thanking him for the ride home as I got my stuff Coach Gibbons had loaded in the back seat. 
     He winked, "I'll email your folks."  I was left dumbfounded as he drove off, his proposition still vibrant in my mind.  He knew.  How did he know?  No one knew- not even the principal which accepted me into the school.  Does that mean Kelsey knew and on top of that, the whole school? 
    Ridding my head of the endless chain of thoughts I always seemed to conjure up, I walked inside.  No one was home, I knew that, but for once, I wish someone was.  After everything with the coach and my boiling legs, I needed someone to talk to.  Running a hand through my blonde hair, I made up my mind.  I needed to get some air regardless of what Nurse Rowan has to say about it.  I dropped my bags on the kitchen tile and headed out the back door. 
     The warm air brushed against my face, relaxing my body.  I closed my eyes, taking a breath, basking in the moment.  It felt relieving to be vacant of thought- for once- but as soon as I started to do a slow jog, that was over.  Suddenly, my mind became lost in every thought I was trying to avoid.  I couldn't stop thinking; thinking of Fisher's appearances, thinking of my friends, Coach Trey, Kelsey, Coach Sanders knowing about me, the accident, what Nurse Rowan had asked of me, Coach Gibbons's comment in practice, Coach Sanders's request, even the boy that greeted me today on the football field. 
     It was like needles were poking all around my brain forcing me to remember it all- to reflect.  "Jacob!"  My thoughts finally broke and only then did I realize how much my legs were already hurting.  Nonetheless, I stayed on my feet and turned around to see Kelsey walking up from around my house, "what are you doing?"  I looked around me, praying for some type of saving salvation- finding none, "uh, running?" 
     She huffed, "you know that song, Run Boy Run?"  The chorus invaded my ears instantly, "yeah, how come?"  She shook her head amused, "all you do is run.  Someone wrote a song about you, Jacob."  I smiled and walked up to her, "what are you doing here?"  Kelsey looked down before fixing her gaze on me, "This will sound weird- I promise I'm not stalker-ish.  I just wanted to make sure you were listening to Nurse Rowan's advice... which you're not, so now it's my turn to ask... what are you doing out here?" 
     Fair enough, I was just grateful my mind stopped thinking.  "I couldn't stop thinking and usually running helps."  She sighed, "not this time?"  I shook my head, looking off towards the house.  Pondering for a moment, I flickered my attention back to Kelsey, "you want to come inside?"  Her crystal blue eyes shined with surprise before a slow smile captured her face, "any parents inside I need to impress?"  I chuckled, "no."  She nodded, flashing me a bright smile, and headed inside. 
    I couldn't stop the smile that eased on my face.  Maybe it was because Kelsey was my first friend after everything, her social aurora, or the fact that she was unlike any girl I had ever met, but I found myself following after her unable to suppress my smile.  Her brown hair looked so soft, her skin smooth, she was the prettiest girl I'd ever met.  The back door took her into the kitchen. 
     She skimmed over our wooden cabinets, marble countertops, and tiled floor before she opened cabinet after cabinet until she stopped at the cups.  Her light eyes sparkled as she peered inside the cabinet, "which cup is yours?"  I leaned back on the wall confused as to her question.  Kelsey's lips pulled into a coy smile, "c'mon, everyone has a cup."  I smirked, "you're forgetting I just moved here in a furnished house."  She raised a brow, closing the cabinet, "we'll have to change that." 
     I then proceeded to show her the living room, bathroom, guest bedroom (usually for my grandma when she visited), and a brief introduction of my parents' room.  "So, your room is upstairs then?"  I nodded, beginning to tell her it was off limits but she was upstairs and swinging my door open before I got a breath in.  Crap.  Clenching my jaw, I dashed upstairs and into my room to see Kelsey lingering on a photo of Fisher and I.  "Is this your friend?" 
     I bowed my head, kicking my feet at nothing in particular, "best friend."  I watched her cautiously pick the framed photo up, memorizing every detail, "what's his name?"  Sorrow filled within me at her question.  I hadn't consciously spoken Fisher's name since the accident- and I say consciously due to the earlier events of today.  A quiet name expelled from my lips as if it was a forbidden word, "Fisher." 
     Her delicate hands placed the photo back on my dresser, eyes scanned the room- no doubt spotting the soccer trophies my mother put up in my room.  She hoped for me to play again and she thought reminding me of the team's achievements would coax me too, but I wanted nothing more than to burn them all.  They reminded me of the good times before my legs hurt, before I moved, and before the funerals. 
     I was so wrapped around my thoughts I hadn't noticed that Kelsey was standing right in front of me; my hand was warmer than I felt only because Kelsey was holding it.  Our eyes locked the moment I noticed, her blue orbs glistening urging for a response.  I gave none.  I didn't know what to say, but that was okay- her relaxed smile told me so.  "So, my dad says he asked you to help out with the treacherous soccer replacement, what're you going to say, running boy?"  My brows raised at the nickname, I didn't mind it, it just caught me off guard.  "Uh, I don't really do soccer anymore." 
    The girl's smile never faltered, "I know- which is why you should do it.  Technically you're not doing soccer anymore than I'm speaking Spanish in Spanish class.  You're simply there for the ride or shall I say run?"  I tilted my head, "you can't speak Spanish?"  She shrugged, "we can't all have a tongue that rolls r's."  That was true, Alejandro tried so hard to teach Ravi how to roll his r's, but his Hindu accent got in the way of his wanna-be hispanic bilingual-self. 
     Alexander made fun of Ravi for a solid week after he tried to say Alejandro's full name rather than the nickname we gave him, Al.  "Yeah, I'm not the best speaker myself."  That caught her attention, "you speak Spanish??"  "I picked some words up here and there," which was true, Alejandro and Alexander spoke fluent Spanish- their first language- so I picked up a few words they often said.  Kelsey sighed, "I want to learn French just because it sounds cool, but I don't know if I have the patience for that or mental capacity. 
     School takes up a lot of room in my brain- well, school and track.  I do the hurdles, so I have to keep flexible throughout the year."  This girl could keep a crowd of old cranks entertained; she was just that kind of person.  Suddenly her eyes widened, her hand fled from mine as she reached into her back pocket, pulling out her phone, "you mentioned earlier today running helps you stop thinking, well, since you're momentarily banned from running just text me when your mind won't shut up. 
     Or call, I have a habit of rambling even when I know someone's not listening or doesn't care, so I can definitely talk your thoughts away."  I laughed, but nonetheless I pulled out my phone and we exchanged numbers.  She took back her phone, plugged in the contacts, and showed it to me, Running Boy.  A smile slid on my features as I showed her her's, Distracción perfecta.  She raised a brow, "what does that mean?"  "Guess you'll have to pay attention in Spanish." 
      She glared, rolling her eyes, "whatever, Green.  Now, what shall we do?"  I couldn't remember the last time I talked to a girl, much less what they liked to do. 
    She walked over to the TV in the living room, turning it on and scrolling through DVR.  Her jaw dropped, "you watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine?"  I joined her in the living room, sitting down on the three-person couch, "yeah."  Kelsey turned it on and took a seat next to me. 
     We watched amused as Jake, Terry, Gina, Rosa, Charles, and Captain Holt took turns guessing as to why Amy- an uptight cop- was running late.  Kelsey chuckled as Amy finally showed up, claiming there was a problem at the bank, "I would be so screwed if my dad caught me late anywhere."  I could imagine Coach Sanders clenching his jaw and crossing his arms.  She would be screwed and everyone else would be dead. 
     We watched four episodes before we went outside finding a deflated ball to toss around.  Kelsey laughed at her throw, watching as it landed not even halfway to me.  She was something else.  The sun gave her brown hair a golden tint, making her look all the more beautiful.  She ran up to the flat ball and kicked it with all her might, giggling as I caught it just before it hit the ground.  "Kick it here," she managed to get out through her fatal attempts to stop laughing.
     "Can you catch it?"  She shook her head, "absolutely not."  Now I wanted to throw it or kick it high just to see her try.  I reeled back my foot, charging it into the ball, watching as it flew right to Kelsey.  Her eyes widened, but as she reached to grab it, it flew right between her hands and landed three feet behind her.  Her brown waves fell into her face as she bent over, laughing like she had just witnessed an employed Santa Claus accidently take off his fake beard in front of an audience of kids. 
     She had an infectious laugh and soon enough I was doubled-over hackling along with her.  We laughed for a good ten minutes before we sobered up.  A grin stretched my lips as the girl looked over at me, mischief twinkling in her blue eyed gaze, "want to race?"  I almost said yes, but then my brain reminded me of the real reason she was asking me this and why she had come to my house in the first place. 
     "I can't, Nurse Rowan's orders."  "Good answer, now, I have to go before my dad rips my head off for being about three hours late."  My eyes widened, "crap, I'm sorry Kelsey.  I didn't mean to keep you past sundown."  She shook her head, "Jacob, I wanted to come over and I enjoyed today.  Plus, it's not sundown."  She was right, it was sunset.  My breath caught in my throat as I drank in the vibrant colors of orange, pink, gold, purple, and faded blue.  The clouds blocked out the bottom part of the sun leaving behind a defiant silver-lining.  The breeze washed over me like fresh air, taking my mind along with it as I remembered the last time I appreciated a sunset.
    Alex tore open the pizza box hurriedly stealing three pieces. "Freaking greedy," Alejandro muttered, reaching to grab one.  Carter downed his orange soda before he looked over at Alejandro's soda, pointing to it, trying to talk while swallowing. 
     The boys gave him curious looks as he struggled to finish his swallow.  "We got the same drink."  Alejandro raised a brow, "at least someone buys the best."  Protests sparked up almost as soon as Alejando finished the sentence.  Fisher just shook his head at me, amused as all the boys fought over which soda was the best.  He tilted his head towards the sunset and I looked over my shoulder. 
     It was breathtaking.  Streaks of golden decorated the orange-tinted sky, soft shades of pink reflected off of the ocean, all of the clouds had a striking silver-lining.  Seeing the sky made this moment perfect.  Here I was with my best friends, my family, sitting on a cliff overlooking the colorful sky sitting on a calm purple ocean, eating pizza, and drinking cokes.  I closed my eyes, enjoying the overwhelming sense of gratitude flowing through me, reminding me of how lucky I was to lead a life as I did with friends I considered my brothers.
    I opened my eyes to see a remarkably similar sunset; only it didn't sit on an ocean, but acres and acres of endless plain.  I sighed, wishing that I could go back and be there with them.  I felt Kelsey's head gently lay on my shoulder, her arm wrapped around mine, our hands intertwined.  I allowed myself to relax to her touch and for once enjoyed the scenery without the past clinging to me.

A/N

I said previously that the chapters were probably going to be 3K words... well, ignore that because the majority of them are 4K+ words!!

Sorry, but gotta love the long chapters that take 20 minutes to read😂

Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter.  Fisher won't come in every single one, but his appearances are pretty frequent in the beginning💙