Fine Line ✸ Sam Kerr

XIII. I'll Be Cleaning Up Bottles With You On New Years Day

★ twenty - three ,
i'll be cleaning up bottles
with you on new year's day.

MELBOURNE
    december 2022 / january 2023

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ THEY WERE not on a date.

they were just two ex-girlfriends, completely alone, hanging out one on one, on new year's eve.

they were not on a date.

they were at geelong beach, not a place where they wouldn't be spotted at all. but they had nothing to worry about now, they weren't together, and kat had no say in anything. the second she opened her horrible mouth, sam wasn't afraid to take her down.

sam passed odessa a cup of lemon ice cream, placing a small spoon in the middle of the hundreds of sprinkles decorating the ice cream. "you've got the worst taste." she complained.

odessa scrunched up her face "not everyone can like everything you do, queen samantha kerr."

"i know, but. . . lemon?" sam questioned, the pair took a seat on the rocky edge. dangling their legs over the edge, water rippling below them.

odessa shrugged "my father always liked lemon flavoured things, i liked it. didn't eat it much though, it feels like a part of him was passed onto me."

sam hummed "how was he.  .  . your father? you don't talk about him often."

"he was the best" odessa smiled at the memories "he was an amazing father up until he was taken away, always loving. he came to nearly every single one of my games, no matter if they were in england, or here, in melbourne. it was very rare for him to miss one.   .   . he stayed my biggest fan for life."

"he had been sick for awhile, he tried telling me he would be fine. but deep down i always had that feeling he wouldn't make it, and i hated that i was right." odessa chewed on the side of her lip, a small bubble forming in her throat "he didn't die in the hospital, he wasn't in pain. but he knew he was going on die that night."

"i remember that he had called me down to melbourne a few days before hand. saying he wanted to spend as much time with me as he could before i started back at netball. i didn't think anything bad of it, until his last night. he refused to go to bed, he didn't want mum and i to leave either. mum stayed up for a little longer, but she couldn't fight her sleep. she fell asleep, leaving dad and i. i knew it, the moment he told us to stay with him. it felt like a shot in the heart, he was going to be gone when i woke back up."

"i stayed up almost all night, i remember laying on his shoulder, watching the goddamn little mermaid before i fell asleep." odessa stopped, trying not to let a tear slip "when i woke up, i didn't want to open my eyes." she starred outwards, towards the lining of the city buildings "so i didn't, but my mother had. and she screamed when she saw him. dead."

"he was the best person i had ever met" odessa smiled with teary eyes "he's the only reason i followed my dreams, why i worked as hard as i did to play netball, professionally. why i continued to fight against that stupid ACL injury. it wasn't just my dream, it became his."

"every stadium in australia that i've played in, behind the goals near the home players entrance, seven rows up. third seat to the left. ever since he passed, no one's been allowed in those seats. they aren't even up for grabs, because he always sat there. every single game, and now, they put a swifts scarf there whenever i play. the swift scarf he used to own."