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The referee blows the whistle to immediately end the play. The middle-aged man jogs over to the dirty blonde cradled out on the field like a baby, wretchedly clutching onto her right calf with her hand. The whites of her knuckles are visible as she tries hard to theoretically squeeze the pain out of her leg. Anything seems logical at this moment to relieve the pain she bears. But, that only makes things worse as the tension in her leg refuses to cease.
The added pressure makes her muscles pulsate, even more, throbbing with each second that passes.
Involuntary tears brim Kinsey's eyes as she lies on the cold, wet field, delirious. Her mind fogs up with feelings of shame, embarrassment, and resentment. Reality ceases to exist for the blonde as she focuses solely on her pain. She limits her thoughts to revolve around the pain she feels.
What the fuck happened? Why now?
That is all she can ask herself as muffled, outside voices threaten to clog her mind.
Jade is already hopping down bleachers, skipping steps, and nearly tumbling down a couple of them as she misses a few. All she hopes to accomplish is to be closer to Kinsey to see what is going on.
Her heart races along with her mind. Everything happened so suddenly, allotting Jade limited time to assess what she can do for the blonde once she gets down there.
Kinsey's vision blurs in and out, leaving her incapable of distinguishing between the dozens of people around her. She feels nothing but pain so the voices asking if she is okay fall on deaf ears. Her dolor is enough to distract her from the grief she feels from being injured and disrupting the game.
The reality of the situation appears grim. Fans on both sides go silent. Some players on the opposing team decide to kneel in honor of the fallen player. Some choose not to, disregarding the woman groaning in agony.
Amid her distress, the blonde feels her body suddenly jolt before being lifted from the ground. Through her blurred vision, she recognizes James' face. Her eyes meet his. There is sorrow and solemnity in them as he carries his former best friend to the sidelines in a modified bridle-style position. The wrinkles at the corner of his eyes make Kinsey feel slightly at ease since they are familiar.
Anything to distract her from this pain is better than nothing at all. She misses the way those eyes used to look at her as though she deserved to be admired. What could possibly be admirable about her at this moment?
The players sitting on the sideline bench quickly stand at attention upon Kinsey's arrival. James gently but quickly places Kinsey down on the steel bench as she continues to hold onto her calf. She clenches her teeth and pants, grunting every few seconds as the throbbing continues endlessly.
"I-It hurts so fucking bad," the blonde whimpers with warm tears painting her face. Coach Ronald suddenly appears and Kinsey immediately looks up at the man with pleading eyes. He gently nudges her shoulder back, directly her to lie back onto the bench.
