Mysterious Coaches Daughter is Now a Badass

Chapter 1-Shani

Each year in the fall I return home for the last regular season game, right before they inevitably go to the playoffs.  Not to help my dad with the games like everyone thought initially or to relive the glory of the year that I won the championship with my quick thinking.

No, I come home every year on the weekend of her anniversary, her death anniversary.  My mom was killed by a drunk driver after that memorable game.  I was even supposed to be in the truck with her when it happened but I chose to be on the field with my, borrowed, helmet kissing my then boyfriend on the 50 yard line with my dad, the team and fans in the stands all cheering us on.  It was a little known fact that the two of us were together, but was better known that we looked great together.

Matthew was a senior that year and my student. To help keep the football guys' keep their grades up and from getting their asses canned by my dad.  I offered to help tutor them as long as they actually took notes and brought their book. This later helped me throughout my remaining time in high school and ultimately saved my ass when I was applying for colleges. Without it I may not have been able to get into the program or school that I did.  That was my ticket out of that place.  The place that went from being my hometown to my dirtiest nightmarish hell.

Matthew and I shared a common fear, my dad. The night we won, all fear flew out the window. After our kiss was over we finally mustered the courage.  We approached my dad hand in hand, he only smiled towards me.  I don't think he fully realized what had been happening behind his back and under his roof.  The countless night of me sneaking him in to me sneaking out to be with him.

When he did finally realize you could see all of the emotions flashing through his eyes. Happiness, fear, sadness then anger. "What the fuck do you think you're doing boy?" My father asks, you could almost assume it was just anger if we had gone fully based off of his tone; but his eyes said something vastly differently.  It was sweet but also terrifying.

Without a second thought, Matt took off running followed by my dad and me and then the rest of the team. I was the one to catch Matt in the end. Did I cheat maybe, but when you memorize the plays as an involved coaches daughter would do. You tend to be better the players themselves. Needless to say it was all fun and games until Matt and I were finally driving to the house to tell my mom when we came up on the horrible accident.

Mom's red Chevy truck, diagonal on the only street with a stop light in town.  The other vehicle was not as noticeable but the girl sitting crying on the edge of the ambulance, told me everything I needed to know on what had happened.  I wanted to focus on that but I needed to go to my mom once I had finally located her in the wreckage.

I started looking around and finally saw her, "Mom!" I yelled before I had ran to her not knowing why she wasn't out of the truck yet. The police try to stop me but I yelled, "it's my mom, she's involved," as I ran past them.

"You need to stay back. We need to let the paramedics...." The cops voice drowned in the chaos of the sirens, flashing lights and my mom being possibly injured. When I finally pushed through them and arrived to the clearly totaled truck that's when I finally saw her. She was breathing but her eyes were closed as if she was accepting that her life was out of her hands. 

"Mom?" I question.  I had hoped that she could hear me. Her eyes fluttered open for a moment, "honey? What happened?" She asked weakly.  I held back the tears that were fighting to come out.

"You're gonna be ok." I paused for a moment to turn my head towards the paramedic that was about 200 feet away. "She's awake!" Just like that three paramedics and the cop from earlier had surrounded me and started trying to get the door open.

What we didn't know was that she had a piece of metal going through her lower right abdomen, through her spine and into the seat. My mom was a ticking time bomb, I wasn't clinical but I knew that I needed to say goodbye. Unfortunately, my body couldn't take the stress and I fainted. I never got to say goodbye but at least dad did.  But just in time, because as he told me later they shared their last kiss and she closed her eyes to never wake up again.

When I came to Matt was holding me whispering something to someone. As I opened my eyes I remembered what had happened and tried sitting up but was quickly gripped tighter and pushed back down. When my butt met the concrete, I finally awoke my dad who was crying as what a mourning husband could be described as. By his reaction, I knew I was too late. She was gone and never got to say goodbye.

A week later we had the funeral not only did the entire town show up, but so did the all of the past and present football players.  They all made a point to show up and be there for the man who made their careers in the sport but also for the role models family.  Many of them had brought their families with as support so they could say goodbye to their second mom. The mom who always brought sandwiches to practice and Gatorade jugs to games. She made sure that the guys had everything they needed and if not knew where to find it. She was a pillar of the community. She was the woman who kept the team me and my dad in check and made sure we were on the right track.

While I was grieving I pushed everyone away, including Matt. The only person that I didn't push away was my dad and even then I was no longer goofing around like I used to. I pushed through school and locked myself in my room. I did not want to be reminded of my mom and she was everywhere that I had turned. My mom was my best friend that I told her everything except that Matt and I were together. She's the only person that knew that I was falling for Matt with each tutor session.

The girl that had murdered my mom from her recklessness diving and overall stupidity was none other than Penelope Davis. She was the cheer captain who always wanted Matthew but he never had eyes for her or if he did it was before I got to freshman year. She must have left the game immediately after seeing Matthew and I start our kiss on the field.  My guess has always been that she then started drinking from her liquor stash that she kept in her car. My mom was on her way back to the game but never made it because a teenage was jealous and I never was able to look Penelope again. All the teachers/school admin knew to keep us far away from each other and thankfully it was fairly easy as she was a senior and graduated that winter.  I never did see after that time either, almost as if she never existed.
I worked as hard as I could until my graduation so I could get the fuck out of this town and stop getting the pity looks from everyone in and out of town that knew of my tragic story.

But, ever since I left this town; I have and will always make sure to come home each fall.  I guess one of the perks of being a member of the dead mom club my is that my professors and/or employers never have an issue with it me taking the same weekend off each year.

The day I left for college, I vowed to myself to never fall for another man, due to the risk of losing him or vice versa.  My dad knew this and always told me to "find you a man who will make you happy. Shit happens all the time and you will never have pull control over it." The next thing I know I was headed to the U of I for my degree in Sports Management and Physical Education a minor in Kinesiology. I also took classes so I could be a paramedic on the side as well to help pay for my college studies.

That was how mom met dad and I wanted something similar to what they had the only difference being I was going to avoid student loans as much as possible. I want the happy memories but not the reason why I'm a cold hearted bitch now, at least to everyone but my dad.  All these thoughts ran through my head as I zipped up my bag, put my gun in the back of my leggings and made my way through my apartment complex towards my car to go home and hopefully stay home for a little while longer.