Interlinked- Kyra Cooney-Cross

*ELEVEN*

Time stood still, frozen in a forever nightmare, plaguing my brain completely.

The world turned black except for one shining spotlight, illuminating my Kyra kissing the annoying gorgeous Grace Clinton.

It's like my eyes were broken, unable to peel away even though my brain was screaming to go blind.

Tears pricked my eyes but were soon burnt away by pure anger. Raging anger.

How can someone so pretty commit a crime so ugly?

I turned, my boots squeaking on the polished floor and I sprinted right back the way I came, unsure and uncaring if they caught me watching.

My hand covered my mouth, desperately trying to control shedding my tears, worried I would drown myself if I let them all out.

"Evie." Katie was stood outside the changing rooms, half dressed, as if she had been anticipating my upset return.

"Did you know?" I scream out, gesturing down the tunnel and jabbing my finger in her chest.

"I.." the Irish women hesitated and took a deep breath, "I had a feeling."

I let out a shaky cry and that's when my world collapsed in half, finally allowing the cascade of tears to roll down my cheeks. The cheeks that once hurt from the never-ending laughter I shared with Kyra and the secret smiles from across the room.

"It's okay." Katie hummed into my shoulder as she brought me against her chest, allowing my tears to dampen her shirt.

"I don't understand.." I pull away and try to splutter before Katie pressed a soft finger to my lips, "Shush...neither....this is just a mistake, on her behalf."

When I got home, it was late, Chris was asleep and Brendon was out with his rugby boys.

I dragged my heavy feet too the living room, sitting on the sofas and wallowing in the dark.

Taking out my phone to distract my busy mind, I opened up instagram, mindlessly scrolling through millions of meaningless stories.

My finger paused on Kyra's story. Pretty sure my heart paused as well.

There she was, smug as fuck, her arm drooped around grace's shoulder after a kit swap between them. Grace, her hair pulled into a low bun, was delicately pressing a kiss to Kyra's cheek. A confirmation post.

I wanted to throw up, even before I saw the large red heart next to Grace's tagged user.

Was I just not good enough, was that the problem?

Maybe I didn't look good enough, talk good enough, walk good enough.

Maybe I didn't make Kyra feel good enough.

Everything was pointless.

Maybe If I played for Manchester United, wore my hair in a bun and had an accent she would recognize me.

Maybe If I didn't wake up tomorrow, she'd recognize me.

No, don't think like that over some stupid girl.

That's all she was, some stupid girl who played with my heart and threw it around like a toy.

A couple weeks went by, couple of games, but everything was just a blank. I couldn't even remember who we were playing or what the score was, I was so lost.

"You going to Kyra's birthday thing?" Vic came over to me as I was tying my shoelaces of my boots up. It was a cold Wednesday morning, pre-training.

"What?" I ask, confused as I took out an airpod, my warm breath letting out a puff of steam.

"I said-" Vic, started to say again as she patted my back.

"No I heard." I say, straightening up, my brows furrowing, " I mean, I haven't been invited."

"No way." She chuckled, misunderstanding the seriousness of the situation. I couldn't explain to anyone except Katie why I had been so short-tempered and miserable recently, "She like messaged the whole team separately, everyone is going."

"Okay." I chewed my bottom lip as my brain came to a quick decision, "I'll see you after training vic."

Her eyes widened in surprise but she responded quickly, "Yeah...see ya."

The drill was simple, a two on one drill. One player would dribble in a looping run to the backline, crossing it to their player in the middle who was heavily marked by a singular defender.

A few turns in, I found myself in the position I had been waiting for.

Leah had been pulled by a coach to correct her technique for crossing, leaving me, dressed in an attacking red bib, and Kyra, dressed in a defending orange bib stranded in the middle.

"Having a little birthday party, I heard." I spoke, brushing my damp hair out of my face, trying my best not to let on how anxious I was.

"Yeah." Kyra grunted back. Shit, I hadn't heard that voice properly in what felt like forever.

She was addictive, no matter how much she was bad for my health, I couldn't stop letting her in.

"Guess I'm not coming." I shrug, looking back over my shoulder at her.

"You can....I just didn't think you would want too." She responded, in a truthful manner.

But she had lost my trust.

"You thought wrong." I spoke, an undertone of hatred, "Where and when?"

"Friday at 7, the white rabbit." She responded, coming up to hiss in my ear, her breath sending tingles down my spine.

"I'll be there." I answer defiantly and start to move around as I catch Leah approaching, the ball to her feet.

Then I rose above Kyra, receiving the ball on my head, netting it sweetly into the bottom corner.

Game on Cooney-Cross.