BALLER FROM BULGARIA // a UCONN story

8. The boy called JJ

Paige's pov

'I don't know coach, she wasn't really here or anything.' I sat on the couch talking to coach. Nika was reading her book in Nat's room, just in case the girl woke up distraught. KK and Aubrey went out to get the girl some comfort snacks, meaning I was left with Geno, who arrived just 10 minutes after KK called.

'I mean, we all try to help, but we just don't know what is truly going on. We just don't know that much about her, let alone what set her off today.' I lean back in the pillows on the couch. It was tough having to see the young girl struggle this much. A few weeks ago, she was cold towards her team, but even since she was opening up more, she was a mystery.

'To be honest kid, all you can do is offer her help and support. If she doesn't want to talk about her problems, that is up to her. I will talk to her one of the following days, and I will urge her to talk about the difficult things, but she is her own person, if she isn't ready, she doesn't have to be.' Coach patted his player on the back before getting up, it was time for him to go home.

'thanks coach, I'll keep you updated on her.'

Nataliya's Pov

A hear a sound coming from the living room, waking me up. I stretch under the covers, before eventually opening my eyes. I immediately see Nika, sitting at my desk, looking up from a book. Right after, the memories of a few hours ago come flooding back. Damn.

'Hey, how you feeling?' Nika asks, as she puts down her book.

'Yeah alright. Sorry about before. What time is it?' I say, as I get out of bed. I feel fine now, if not just a little embarrassed.

'Don't worry about it. It's only 11 now.' She studies me, as if I could drop down any second. I only now notice I can hear Nika, even though I can remember pulling off my aids. I am about to ask her as Paige walks in.

'thought I heard you, if you want, I heated up your food.' I nod thankfully and follow her to the kitchen. I feel a bit uncomfortable, knowing I have to address the situation, as there is no way anyone is going to forget what happened.

'So about what happened,' I say, as I look at Paige and Nika, who are sitting across from me, 'I'm really sorry. Something like that hadn't happened in a while and I thought I had figured it out.' I quickly take another bite, hoping they don't see how uncomfortable I am.

'You don't have to apologise for anything,' Nika started, after exchanging a look with Paige, 'but we were thinking, maybe we should talk about what set it off? Just so we know how to help you if it ever happens again?'

I knew conversations like this were necessary. Living together, I can't expect my housemates to ignore it whenever I'm about to fall apart.

'It sounds stupid, and I truly am getting better at controlling stuff like that. I was just a bit tired and with the media day and stuff, I was a bit overwhelmed.' They both stay silent, waiting for me to continue.

'As you know, back home the punishments could be pretty tough. Usually, if you messed up you would have to spend some time in the basement.' I take a little pause to gather my thoughts. 'When I was younger, I wasn't that good at following rules, so I was down there a lot. At one point, I was told they would let me sleep outside if I messed up one more time. But I'm scared of the dark, and Boyan knew that. One night, Boyan and I were in charge of getting all the kids their food, when I dropped a plate. Boyan told the misses that it was him. He got send down, but they left hem there too long... he died.' I want to continue, but my voice gets stuck behind the rock that seemed to have appeared in my throat.