It All Started At Tryouts

Chapter 3 "It's just a little rain"

Katelyn's POV

It's been almost two weeks, and Audrey and I have done nothing but become better friends. I could say I would put her over Sophie, but that would be rude. True, but rude.

And right now, Audrey is in my bedroom going over game plays with me. I am more of a free player, I'm not good at following guidelines. So Coach assigned Audrey to me to help with my "issues". It's currently 6:45 on a Thursday night, and, as usual, I'm exhausted! Hence, I let out a big yawn. Audrey giggled and nodded her head to the piece of copy paper she wrote and drew a play on.
"Heh. Sorry, I'm tired." I stumbled on my words.
"It's alright, I can understand that. Um, hey."
"Yeah?"
"I have to take my little brother out trick-or-treating on Halloween. Would you wanna..." She seemed to trail off into oblivion.
"Wanna?"
"Come with? You know to help keep track of Davie and all that."
"Um sure, I really don't have anything else to do that night, or ever."  My words made her laugh gently. As soon as she brought herself together we went back to the plays.

A few minutes later, my mom walked in,
"Audrey, Darling. Would you like to stay for dinner?"
"Uh, no thanks, Ms. Underwood. I'll grab some takeout on the way back."
"No no, I insist. Please. We're having spaghetti and garlic bread." My mother pushed.
"Ms. Underwood I-"
"Please just call me Maria, and stay for dinner."
"Alright, takeout can wait." Audrey gave in, making my mom smile.
"Great! Dinner will be ready in fifteen." I nodded as a reply and watched her walk out of my bedroom.
"Sorry about her; she's-"
"No no! Don't worry about it. My mom's a little insane too." This made both of us chuckle softly, and we sat in silence until dinner was served.

At the table, my mother tried to make small talk,
"So, ladies, what happened at school."
"Nothing." I replied quickly, trying not to engage in too much conversation. Audrey looked at me weirdly, clearly not knowing how my mother is. Then she began talking about our conversation at lunch. The second she mentioned James Mom went into dad mode.

I call it 'dad mode', but it's more like 'super protective mom mode'. Ever since Dad passed away, Mom has become this protective figure for me; no boys, no drama, just learning.
"James? Who's James? Is he a boy?"
"Yes, Ms- Maria. He's my friend."
"Friend?"
"Mhm." Audrey made a noise. I could already feel sweat forming.
"Ok good. Just a friend? Not a good friend?"
"Uh yes, a friend."
"Alright, then." She finished, making my face go pale and my chest tighten. We sat in silence until we were done eating.

Audrey's POV

After we finished eating, Katelyn and I headed back to her room. As I sat on her bed, thunder rumbled in the distance. Rain began to pour down hard.
"Oh no. I should probably get going before the storm gets any worse." I got up off the bed.
"No! I mean- umm... the storm might let off if you wait. What if something happens?" Katelyn said with a worried expression on her face.
I patted her on the shoulder, "Thanks for the concern, but it's just a little rain."
She looked like she wanted to say something but stopped herself. I smiled reassuringly at her and turned to get my stuff. As I headed toward the door, Katelyn's mom told me to be safe. I looked back at Katelyn.
"Don't forget to practice the game plays," I reminded her.
"Be careful out there, Audrey." She looked up at me.
"I will."

We waved goodbye as I opened the door to leave. I ran to my car to try and escape the rain. Starting the car, I backed out of their driveway and began driving home. The rain was coming down harder and harder as the minutes passed.
"It's getting really difficult to see the road now," I whispered to myself.  I turned the windshield wipers on; it didn't help much. As I rounded the curve, I saw a black shadow over the road. I squinted and looked harder. Realizing that this black shadow was a fallen tree, I slammed down on my brakes hard. My car came to a screeching halt just a couple feet from the tree.
"Ugh," I groaned, "What the hell? I guess I'll just have to go another way– stupid tree."