USWNT - High School

Chapter 19

Carli's POV

"She's asking for a Judy." At the mention of that name, I felt my entire body tense. As much as hearing the words that Hope's awake made me relieved beyond anything, I saw the horror in Kelley's eyes. Something was not right and that name made it all too complicated to grasp in that moment.

I've heard that name before in association with Hope, one time. I don't think she meant to, it came as an insignificant detail in a different setting, but I took notice of the name still. Simply because I had never heard it before, and I wondered why.
Hope was talking about how she got into soccer, and that she started out as a forward, something I found strange to think about to this day. You'd think she was made for that goalkeeper position and never done anything else in her life looking at how incredible she's playing now. Anyways, her father had been a forward, and that's why she started.
Once he died, she couldn't play that position anymore, but wanted to continue playing the game to honor her father. Also because she loved the game more than anything.
I never heard anything more from that story. It's like Hope's life got put on hold from the age of nine to sixteen. Whatever happened in those years is a mystery to us all.

Judy. The sentence I heard her name in was something along the lines off 'Judy never liked me playing'. Her voice had trailed off, sounding distant and distracted. Then she had almost woken up from whatever she was spacing out about, and quickly talked about something else. I tried asking, but she made it clear it was a slip on her part, and that the topic was very much off-topic. She made it incredibly hard to bring it up, so I never did.

**

Kelley's POV

"I was so embarrassed that I missed that shot, I was afraid you'd get really mad. You looked like someone that could get really mad, so fierce on the field. You can come of as scary to strangers, you know. But I think you mean to do that.
Anyways, you remember that? When I missed that shot on the first practice? You walked over to me after and I was so sure you were gonna yell at me, but you didn't. You were the sweetest ever, and I think I knew already then that you'd be special to me." I felt a smile creep on my lips as I told the story. It was a good memory from one of the first times we met. It felt like a million years ago in that moment to be honest. So much has changed since then.

"I- I remember." My heart stopped at the sound of another voice beside me. I felt my entire body tense and I was scared to move in case I would wake up from the vivid dream I immediately thought I must be having.
My gaze flew to the sight of the goalkeeper on the bed, and a few itches appeared on her face as she seemed to be whispering something inaudible under her breath.

"Hope? Hope, can you hear me?" I quickly moved to bend down next to her, begging for her to answer me. I swear I heard her talk, it can't have been all in my head.

No response. She seemed peacefully asleep again, and for a second I thought I'd imagined it. It just felt so real.

"Wha- where am I?" Again, the weak and trembling voice could be heard, and this time I knew it wasn't it my head. Hope now opened her eyes and looked directly at me.
For a second I froze, unable to move a muscle as I was just taking in her eyes looking at me again. I loved seeing her eyes look at me again, but at the same time I didn't quite love the look in them.

"Hope." I said quiet, afraid she wasn't going to respond once more. She reacted at my words, but got a somewhat skeptical look on her face. I assumed she was just shocked and confused as to where she was, so I continued talking, getting myself together the best I could.

"You're at the hospital, you were in an accident, do you remember?" I spoke careful and slow, hoping she'd remember everything. She didn't seem to have heard much of what Carli and I had been saying to her earlier, something that made me both relieved and slightly disappointed at the very same time.
Hope just looked confused at me, a look I hadn't seen before. It was something unfamiliar in her eyes, which is strange because there's never been. Not even the very first time we met eyes was there ever any sign of anything unfamiliar, that's what I always loved about her. The fact that even when we were strangers, I felt like I'd always known her somehow.

"I don't- no." Hope spoke, but she sounded frustrated for not remembering. I felt my heart ache in pain as I saw the still so very strange look and how she clearly was so distant.
"It's okay. I'll got get Carli and some doctors, okay? Let you know you're awake. You wanna see Carli?" In a terrible attempt at holding back my tears, I found myself speaking to her the way I would speak to a child, but it seemed as if that was all I was getting out from her.
I didn't know what I had expected honestly, but I just knew it wasn't this.

"Where's my dad? Is Melody okay? They weren't in the accident, were they?" Hope looked directly at me, and in that moment I felt my insides shatter. The mentioning of her father, her sister, she's far from okay. It was like she had some kind of realization of a past and twisted reality.
Her eyes grew wide and intense all of a sudden and and a furious expression evolved. For a moment there I found myself slowly and unintentionally backing away from the bed. I didn't know what to say.

"Judy did this." Hope breathed out between her teeth. A hiss almost, followed by a deadly glare. I gulped hard.
"It's her fault, it's all her fault." Hope raised her voice now, and I flinched as she spoke.
"She killed him!" She suddenly yelled out, and I felt everything inside me break as she spoke. There was nothing about this moment that made me feel the kind of safe that Hope usually brings. Nothing of what she was saying made any sense, she was just rambling words like a crazy person.

"I need to see her. Get Judy in here." Hope demanded, but I didn't move. I was frozen in my spot a couple of steps from the door, terrified to move at all. I didn't want to look at Hope, but at the same time I couldn't take my eyes off her.
"Where's Judy?" She asked again, and this time I got the idea that she wasn't going to ask nicely one more time. Without saying anything, I moved towards the door. Heck, I pretty much ran.

**

(A/N: Y'all figured out who Judy is by now?

Thank you for reading my story, it's definitely taken a darker turn, but hopefully you're still enjoying it;) Comments and votes always appreciated!