There's More to Soccer Then That

Chapter 19

// Kelley's P.O.V \\

Day two of the girls in the hospital. I approach Scarlet's room, Hope inside with the sleeping forward. I smile slightly as I tiptoe inside, setting a bag of food very silently on the end table. "Hey." I whisper to the Keeper, sitting down beside her. "Hey Kel." She replied to me, returning the smile as she watches me sit down. "How is she?" I ask softly, looking towards the purplish looking girl laying, snoring softly in the bed. "The doctor is suppose to come in, he said he had news so... We'll have to see." It didn't even seem like 5 minutes later, Scar's doctor came in. He was a middle aged man, maybe in his mid 30's. Salt and pepper well cut hair with a trimmed full beard. Not bad looking, but too old for my taste. The man striding in the room offered us a smile, but there was something behind the grin. "Good evening ladies. How are you?" He asked softly, making sure not to wake the resting girl. "Good." I replied with a smile, Hope simply nodding. We sat silently as he looked through his clipboard, then gave us a glance. "I'm afraid to bare both good and bad news. So I'll start with the good news first." I tensed up, and instinctively my right hand shot for Hope's left arm. She rested her right hand over mine, and I simply wrapped my arms around hers before swallowing hard, bracing myself. "Ms. Jade has made significant progress. With such serious injuries, her body is getting use to the severity and is already in the stages of the healing process." A slight happiness spread over me, but the fact that there was bad news made me keep my guard up. "And the bad news?" Hope said, her voice rather cold. The muscles in her forearm tensed, so I gently rubbing her arm with my thumb to attempt to sooth her. "Bad news is, her injuries are of such severity, she may not be able to play soccer..." The doctor said it simply, which made me furrow my eyebrows. "For how long?" I ask, feeling my hands slightly shaking. "Permanently." The way he said the word was so brutally cold, it made a breath get caught in my throat. "Wh-what?" Hope stuttered, and she shifted in her seat. My eyes stared at the doctor, slightly wide eyes as words were stuck in my throat, my hands now trembling. "Y-you can't be serious..." Hope continued, now slowly standing, leaving me frozen in my seat. "I'm afraid it's true. There's a slim chance Ms.Jade could possibly return one day, but her injuries are just far too severe, it'd be stupid for her to put herself into unneeded danger. One more blow to the ribs, it could puncture her lungs. One more blow to the head could kill her." The doctor explained, and it was all a bit much. My eyes widened further at the words being said, and I could feel my anxiety raising- until Jade spoke. "I understand." She said softly. I turned my gaze to the black haired female, facing the door. "But you must understand, I'm stupid anyways. So, just a fair warning. I don't go down easily." A slight smile formed on my face, and I saw Hope loosen up as the Doctor offered a smirk. "I don't doubt that Ms.Jade. Ms Brian is being released as we speak, once you sign these papers you're free to leave as well. Just make sure you spend the next 4 weeks on bed rest, only move within wheel chair. After the 4th week, you may use crutches. Just make sure to get the rest you need." With that, he gave us the papers which we signed, and I wheeled Jade out to my car. During the drive, I had contacted Carli and explained to her what the situation was. Every bit of it. We agreed to discuss the soccer part of it another time, right now we were just focused on getting both Scar and Moe settled back into a hotel room. Coach had agreed to get us rooms, and would look into getting us housing for our time before we could go back to America. Since Jade has such serious injuries, it wouldn't be good for her to fly, at least for the next month.

// Carli's POV \\

I stand with coach at the front desk of a nicer hotel, a bit away from the city. I just sent directions to the girls, and coach talked with the lady at the front desk. She got 5 rooms total. I had said I wanted to stay with Jade, and we figured Morgan and Julie could stay in a room. Hope and Alex would share, then Kelley and Tobin. Then of course Jill had a room to herself.

The girls arrived, and I offered Hope a smile as her and Kelley walked in together. They smiled back, and as they passed to speak to Jill, I walked outside. I stood beside Scarlet with my arms crossed, biting my lip as I watched her struggle to lift herself out of the car, but she had demanded to do it alone. Julie and Tobin walked in with Morgan, who appeared to be doing pretty well. As I continued to stand, watching her finally get herself to her feet, she turned and offered me a smile as if to say "I told you so." I gave her a smile, then slowly stepped back. "I can use your help now." She said, a slight change in her expression. It broke my heart, the way she looked at me. It looked as if she had thought I had walked away from her, for forever. "Scarlet, don't look at me like that. You can kill someone from guilt with that time of glare you know." I told her, quickly walking to her. "I thought you were gonna leave me here." She said softly, and for the first time, I heard fear in her voice. My eyes trailed over the trembling forward as she stood, glancing back at me with fear filled eyes. Was she scared that she'd be put back in jail again? Or be bombed again by the country itself? "Come on." I soothe her, wrapping an arm around her waist as she hooks her closest arm around my neck.

Once I've helped her inside, I helped her situate her dressers and such. I sat on one bed, she sat on the other. Her smile was back, which was a plus. And every now and then I'd get small giggles from her. I was about to ask if she wanted to watch a movie, but she suddenly asked to be excused for a moment. I nodded, figuring she wanted to take a moment for herself. So I simply handed her the crutches Ellis had brought for her, and watched her leave the room.

// Scarlet's POV \\
I hop down the hall to the conference room. There's a large dark oak table with 7 black office chairs on each side, then 2 on each end. The furthest wall is actually made out of glass, and it shields a balcony that overlooks the sea. I go through, and make my way out on the balcony. The sky is a orangish purple, and just above, the stars are beginning to peer through. I take a deep breath in, resting my fists on the railing as I close my eyes for a moment. Everything begins to rush at me. All the events that have taken place, from when I was just a little girl to when I graduated high school. From when I first started on the team, up until now. The events that have happened since I arrived here... and now the unsettling fact that I may never play the beloved sport I've grown so much in, it makes my jaws clench and my teeth show. "DAMMIT!" I scream, slamming one of my fists down. "Dammit dammit dammit!!" I shout out, kicking my crutches away. I slam my other fist into the metal railing. I begin to scream out, my voice growing hoarse the more I yell. I can feel the redness fill my face as my anger is unleashed, tears of frustration and stress pouring from my crystal optics like a running faucet. I was just about to do something with this railing- but strong arms wrapped around both of mine, and I'm very lightly taken to my knees. "No!! Let me- GO!" I yell, struggling against the person leaning against me from behind. "Ssshhh Jade, it's okay." The voice soothes me slightly, as I turn slightly, I realize it's Tobin. Without hesitation, I wrap my arms around her and bury my face in the right side of her neck, and end up just balling. One of her hands rubs against my back, the other hugging my head. I shake now, as tears soak into the midfielder's maroon sweatshirt. I then realize perhaps part of the reason I'm shaking so badly is because I'm wearing shorts and a tank top in 48 degree weather. "It's gonna be okay Jade.... I'll be here for you. No matter what." She says into my ear, and I simply continue to cry. It's seems like only a few minutes, but I guess it's more then that, because by the time I slump fully to the ground and into her arms, the sky is completely dark. I ended up crying myself to sleep, but Tobin never stopped holding me.

OMG So Tobin won Female Soccer Player Of The Year!!! I'm sooo happy for her! I mean, I feel sad Carli didn't win but, TOBIN DID!!! I'm so excited, she had such a fantastic year, and she definitely deserved it! I can't wait to see what next year brings. And as a Christian, seeing her display her own Christian faith makes me love her even more. So it's super cool seeing her get the recognition she oh so needed. What do you guys think?