Loving Carter (BWWM/INTERRACIAL)

Chapter Two

My mood instantly lightened when I saw my nephew running towards me.

I had been waiting in the airport for Hunter and Aniya to arrive for the longest. I had to wake up early enough to meet them at the airport because I wanted to see them before they went to their hotel, and before my day got busy. I would have to be at the soccer stadium a couple of hours before the game was supposed to start. Our coach liked for us to be in the mood and prepared for the team we were going to go against. Seeing my family gave me bright spirits.

"Uncle Carter!" Troy exclaimed, wrapping his arms around me. I laughed and embraced his small frame in a hug. He might have been in the fifth grade, but he would always be my 'little bugger'. At least that was what I used to call him when he was little. He told me that was cramping his style now, so I had to opt for calling him Troy. What did he know about something 'cramping his style' anyway?

"What's up, man." I pulled away from the hug and ruffled his hair. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." He said and we both turned our attention towards Hunter and Aniya—who finally made it to where I was standing, which was by the baggage claim.

"Hey, Aniya." I smiled, pulling her into a hug. "How was the flight?"

"Hey, Car! It was pretty good besides that annoyin' ass little kid sittin' in front of us." She chuckled, hugging me back.

"Mom! That's a dollar in the swear jar!" Troy exclaimed.

"You guys still do the swear jar thing?" I laughed, pulling away from the hug.

"Unfortunately, yes." Hunter laughed, as he pulled me into a hug and patted my back.

Aniya and Hunter started to put a dollar into a jar every time they cursed, when Troy was young and could understand what they were saying. One day he cursed at them and they scolded him, saying he was not allowed to say bad words. He spoke to them in reverse psychology when he asked them why they were allowed to curse. So, they had been giving Troy measly dollars ever since then because they were useless when it came to not cursing.

"I'll put it in the jar when we get back home." Aniya waved her son off.

"I'ma be counting too." Troy nodded his head, pointing at her.

We stood around baggage claim for about twenty minutes, before their luggage came out and we were ready to leave. I couldn't own a car because it was my first year at my university, so I had to take an Uber to the airport. We had to take an Uber to their hotel, as well.

When we arrived to their hotel, I got out of the car to help them get their bags out of the trunk. I didn't help them take their bags to their room because I was on a tight schedule and needed to head back to campus. My coach would be livid, if I showed up to the soccer stadium late. I was one of the starting players, so he would definitely be angry.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later." I waved to them. They bid their goodbyes and we went our separate ways.

~

The crowd was roaring.

I wasn't paying attention to anyone in the stands, yet I knew people were on their feet, watching the game with wide eyes. They were on the edge of their seats because they didn't know who was going to win the game. The game was tied and the time was passing as we played.

I knew my brother, Aniya, and my nephew were in the crowd, so I could not let them down. I had to keep my head in the game because I wanted to win and show them that they did not fly all the way out here for no reason. I wanted to make them proud, and also my coach and my team. But most of all, I wanted to make myself proud. I wanted to prove to myself that all the hard work was worth it.

This was what my team had been preparing for. We needed to win this game in order to win the championship. We won all of our games this season and this was our last one. We had never played a team that was so dedicated as ours. It was like every time we scored a goal they would turn it back around and do the exact same thing, so we really needed to win this game.

Our focus broke when the coaches called a time out. I quickly jogged over to the side lines and the team formed a huddle.

"Alright boys, we don't have a lot of time left," he said seriously, "so I want you guys to pass the ball to Worthington and let him take it to the net."

My eyes widened when I realized that this was it—the team was going to depend on me. This moment was do or die and it was completely up to me to win the game.

"Yes, coach." We all nodded our heads.

The referees blew their whistles, signaling that our time out was over. As we jogged back onto the field, I noticed that my teammates looked just as anxious as me. We had to win this game because losing was not an option. As we all got in our positions, I looked for my teammate who was going to be passing the ball to me from the sidelines.

The next thing I knew, the ball was at my feet and I was heading towards the goal, fully concentrated on keeping the ball in my possession. I went past so many players, and I was being very careful, but I didn't see a player from the opposite team running straight towards me.

He tried to kick the ball, but he ended up kicking my shin, making both of us fall. His body fell hard on top of mine and I was smushed between him and the ground. I heard something pop, but I did not think anything of it. I just wanted to continue taking the ball to the goal.

The referees blew their whistles again and hustled over to us.

I didn't think anything of the popping sound before, but I surely did when the guy that ran into me stood up from the ground. I tried to stand up, but felt an immense pain at my ankle. Then, I looked and noticed my ankle was dislocated.

A shriek of pain emitted from my lips.

•••

here's the second chapter, i hope you guys enjoyed it!