I'll Always Love You

Chapter 39

Saturday, May 28th

Jennifer woke up to her alarm, feeling completely energised. No, not because she was on some special drug (Jennifer wasn't a morning person) but because today was the day of the championship final. The brunette was excited and nervous at the same time but she honestly couldn't wait to get back out on the field.

She put her glasses on before heading downstairs to get something to eat before her shower.

"You ready for today girls?" Caitlin asked as Jennifer climbed up onto the counter to reach a bowl. Eliza answered with a nervous 'yeah'.

"Not everyone in this house is sixteen feet tall, you know." The eighteen-year-old hopped off the counter with a bowl in her hand.

"She probably didn't hear what you said, honey." John chuckled, pointing out the fact Jennifer wasn't wearing her hearing aid.

"Of course, I can hear you guys." Jennifer turned around with narrowed eyes. "Wait..." Her eyes then widened when the realisation hit her. "Talk again." The teenager asked as she covered up her good ear.

"Can you hear us?" John asked and Jennifer heard it crystal clear.

"Oh my god." Was all she said and John stood up and slowly walked towards her. "I can hear." Jennifer said quietly and a huge grin spread across her father's face.

"Jennifer, this is amazing!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms around his daughter.

"I'll call Dr Jackson." Caitlin said as Eliza smiled at her sister and stepfather.

"This is a sign, we're totally gonna win." The sixteen-year-old (Eliza's sixteenth birthday was the beginning of May) said knowingly with a giggle.

"Can you still not see?" John chuckled when he pulled away, pulling Jennifer's glasses off.

"Still need them, dad." Jennifer laughed, taking her glasses back off her father. "I'm gonna call Alex."

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Unfortunately, Alex had a physiotherapy session so she had told Jennifer that she might only make it back to see the second half of the match. This knocked Jennifer's confidence a little knowing Alex was up there would've really helped her out. She just had to get her head down and win this game.

Things definitely weren't going to plan though, when halftime was quickly approaching, Westover High were already down by three- yes three- goals. It was all going horribly wrong and as captain, Jennifer automatically blamed herself.

When Ally scored a goal just before the whistle, the girls didn't even celebrate, they were all too shocked and deflated to. They were all pretty much accepting of their fate. As soon as the referee blew his whistle, Jennifer sat back down on the pitch as she covered her face. They were already 3-1 down at halftime, Jennifer felt completely responsible and humiliated.

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Everyone was silent in the locker room, a deafening silence.

"Hey, Jennifer, don't blame yourself." Eliza came and sat next to her sister who was staring at the ground.

"Of course it's my fault, I'm the captain." Jennifer muttered.

"Right, that's it." Ally announced, clapping her hands together to grab everyone's attention as she stood up from the bench. "Girls, we're letting the pressure getting to us, it's going straight to our heads and we're losing it. You know better than that, we can all focus and come back in this game. Of course we can, we have the player of the season on our squad." The tall brunette pointed at Jennifer who looked up to find everyone looking at her. "This is mine and Jennifer's last chance to do this, we're asking for your help to make our time on this team meaningful. Get up here, captain." Ally held out her hand and pulled Jennifer to her feet. "Make every opportunity you can for her and she'll score, trust me."