The summer break keepsake

Touchdown (35)

Kelly's POV

School had been... steady. Not easy, not perfect, but steady. Stella kept me on track more than I'd ever admit out loud. reminding me about homework, dragging me out of bed when I wanted to skip first period, and somehow making everything feel lighter just by being around.

This year, in my final year of high school was all about trying to figure out who the hell I was supposed to be in this new version of my life, and doing all that I could just to make sure I graduate, especially with the added responsibility of summer, football had been the last thing on my mind.

Or that's what I would have said at the start of the semester, since Summer came along, responsibility was the only word echoing in our heads, and alongside everything that came with being teenage parents it all felt like there wouldn't be room left for anything else. but if me and Stella have proven anything it's that we can handle more than we let on for so as the year went on, we proved ourselves wrong.

We figured out how to balance it

It wasn't easy, but nothing worth it ever is, and slowly, we learned there was no shame in being parents while still chasing the senior year experiences everyone else dreams about. We didn't have to give one up for the other.

For me, that meant football.

Now here I was, helmet in my hands, watching the scoreboard glare down at us. As the score changed once more meaning we were now 3 touchdowns behind, loosing to none other than, the Knoxville knights,  my previous school team, and it felt like I'd been hit more times than I'd managed to hit back.

As the halftime whistle blew I made my way over to the bench throwing my helmet down to the ground in frustration and replacing it with my water bottle, squeezing a stream into my mouth as I drown out every bit of disappointed calls that spat out from the coaches mouth.

I heard the coach shout my name as I lift my head up and see him directly speaking to me as he points to his clipboard, using his pen to trace along the lines he drew to help explain the switched field of play he wishes for us to try in the final half.

After the team does a hands in and breaks I pick up my helmet and run back onto the field with everyone else, getting myself back into position, hands on my knees, ready for the snap.

My eyes focused on the opponents as they too got back into position.

Just as I was about to bring the guard of my helmet down I heard the echo of my name come from the sidelines, Stella's voice, carried by her entire cheer squad as I turned my head as they all appeared to have helped Stella to get my attention.

My eyes focused now on Stella as she began to point not at me but at the bleachers.

I followed her hand and that's when I saw them. My mom, my dad, and Summer sat on my dad's shoulders wrapped in a tiny jersey.

They made it!

My dad faced away a little as my mum pointed to the back of summers shirt, my number, nineteen, stretched across her back as I chuckled.

As my dad turned back round he took hold of summers hands and held her little fist in the air and bounced her slightly, and even through the loud cheers and chants from the rest of the crowd, her laugh and squeal was the one I allowed my ears to focus on.

Summer's smile hit me harder than any tackle out here on the field ever could, and for a second the pressure of the game disappeared, and whatever happens on this field today doesn't matter, I didn't care if we won or lost. I didn't care what the scoreboard said at the end of it because this was Summer's first football game, and I was playing, and knowing she was in the stands, wearing my number, was a win I'd carry forever.