Living With My Ex Who Hates Me

Game On

(Gabi's POV)
It's Saturday, January 7th. A month and two weeks remain til' Kyndel moves out. I have a new objective in mind. To befriend him. If I can do that, then it's guaranteed that any chance of more taunting will be minimal. He has been pretty nice since that talk with his mom after he tried to blame me for you know, what happened.

I put on my uniform, put my hair up, brush my teeth, and gather up my stuff. IT'S GAME DAY!!!
With all this drama, I haven't been able to appreciate soccer much, but now I'm ready to win.
I get in the running car, my mom already at wheel. To my surprise, I find Kyndel in the seat next to mine. I sit down after I put my soccer bag in the trunk.
"What are you doing?" I ask with a small smile.

"I came to see you take another L." He says with a smile.

"Bitch get out." I say so my mom can't hear it.

"I'm just kidding. I just wanna see you play again. No big deal." He says expressionlessly. My mom begins to drive us to the field.

"Hey by the way, what happened on that cruise? I just remember drinking a lot then nothing." He says in a whisper. My eyes pop open. I was hoping this would yet wouldn't pop up. I just never really got to thinking of an answer.

"Um-well. You kinda almost pushed me off the rail but then you caught me then I took you to a room so you could sober up. After that, at midnight you came out to the balcony and said some things then uh-kissed me." I say hesitantly. With nothing to lose, I might as well say it.

"Oh. Well- what things did I say?" He asks nervously.

"Well-uh-you said you uh-still kinda love me and the only reason you dumped me is because you thought I was too good for you." I say quietly. He looks forward and doesn't say a word. Shit I probably blew it. I should've lied.
No time to think about it too much though. I must focus on my game.

We arrive at the soccer park. I immediately get out, grab my bag, and walk to the field where I meet up with the team. It's freezing from the moment I step out of the car. Kyndel and my mom get chairs and head over to the spectators side.
We have an hour til kickoff. We begin our pregame warm up when Kyndel and my mom set their seats down with the parents.

"Um Gabi?" Morgan begins, "Is that Kyndel?" She asks.

"Uh yeah he wanted to watch." I respond.

"Why? I thought he absolutely hates you and you hate him?" Another girl on my team asks.

"It's a very long, complicated story." I say.

"Well I don't trust him. If he bothers you, let me know and I'll deal with him." Morgan says. She would deal with him pretty well. She is a tower and she works out all the time. It would actually be an interesting match to see.
We continue our warm ups. The team does their warm ups and I do my keeper warm ups with my coach.
After a few shots, as I'm getting up I notice Kyndel watching. Why not spice it up a little? Maybe show off.

"Ok I'm ready for harder shots." I say to my coach. He strikes the ball to the top left corner. I dive in the air for the ball, but I don't reach the ball. To my surprise, it hits the side post and rebounds...to my face. I look up to see if he saw, and go figure, he and all the parents watching are laughing.
I shake it off and continue. But for real, why every time I try to be cool or good at something, I end up embarrassing myself.
The referees come to our side and check us in, then we go to the bench and talk about the game plan.
Our coach goes over the starting lineup. As soon as we finish, we do our cheer and take the field.
The game begins and we almost instantly lose the ball. Crap. The other team quickly dribbles past my defenders. I wait for the forward to take her next touch, she over takes it and I quickly run up and dive into the ball. The parents cheer as I get up. I punt the ball as hard as I can. It goes to the edge of the other keepers box.
Morgan runs to it and takes the ball. She takes a touch and shoots. Goal.
We reset and continue playing. It's a back and forth game, but mostly the ball is on our side. This team is good.
After a while, the whistle is blown for half time. The score is 1-0.
My coach begins to talk.

"Ok girls, we are up by one but that can easily change. This team only needs to tie us to take over 1st place in the league. They will do anything for one goal. Play how you know to play. Be technical." He says. He then goes on with the second half lineup.
Five minutes later, we return to the field. They start with the ball. Once again, it goes back and forth. I've made atleast 7 saves by now. I hit another shot over the crossbar and the ball goes out. Corner kick. I look to Kyndel who looks impressed. A smile pulls at my face.
"One play left! You know what to do!" A parent from the other team shouts. The girl takes the kick. The ball comes in high and close enough to jump on. I take a step up and jump as high as I can at the ball. The ball lands in my gloves. Before I can land, I feel an elbow in my left rib cage. I fall to the ground and pain fills my body. I breathe hard and fight tears. I open my eyes and see my team surrounding me.

"Come on, Gabi. You have to stay with us. Only 30 seconds left in the game." One girl says.

"Gabi, Kyndel is at the edge of his seat. Show him how strong you are. You took his bullshit now you can take this too." Morgan encourages me. I try to get up. I fall at first, but then I try again and get up.
Everyone claps and the ref hands me the ball. I take it and I punt it upfield. Once the ball hits the ground, the whistle is blown and game over. I stumble back to the bench with the help of my team. Coach congratulates us on the win and everyone begins to leave. I wabble back to the parents, still in pain. Kyndel quickly walks up to me.
"Are you ok?" He asks in a worried tone.

"Yeah nothing I can't take." I say holding my ribs.

"Damn, you took that like a bitch." He says.

"Yeah I guess."

"Did you even cry?"

"Nah"

"Ok Mrs. ToughGirl" he says. He takes my bag and water bottle and carries it for me.
We walk to the car. It's freezing again. I played in a short sleeve shirt and padded pants.
I sit in the very back row of the mini van, tired and shivering. Kyndel joins me. He takes off his sweatshirt, raising his undershirt which reveals his nice toned abs. I smile as he gives me his sweatshirt. I put it on and lean against his shoulder.

"If you wanna lay down, that's fine." He suggests. I lay down on his lap and he rests his arms around me.
"I guess we can be friends." He says to me. I smile and rest my eyes until we get home.