More Than A Game

Chapter 1

Standing up amongst the rowdy crowd of the stadium , I began to cheer loudly as South Adelaide scored their winning goal against Central District; it was all thanks to my eighteen year old brother, Brayden Richwald. Trying to hold back my tears, the precious memories of Brayden growing up rushed through my mind as I remembered Brayden's first years playing in the Auskick and his development as an athlete through the local football club. It had all paid off. Finally, he was following his dream to become an elite footballer and it was his dedication that helped him achieve his goals. Flattening out the creases of jeans, I noticed Brayden and a couple of his teammates walking towards me.

"So sis, who got your vote for best on field? I bet you're thinking me, right?" he proudly exclaimed. "Oh please." I said, letting out a little laugh as I rolled my eyes. As much as I thought Brayden was an amazing brother, he did have the tendency to be a little arrogant at times. "But seriously, congratulations on your win. 112 - 62, what an amazing effort from all of you." Looking around, I noticed that a couple of his teammates were looking a little flustered. I smiled. "Go on boys. Go enjoy your celebrations. Brayden, I'll see you whenever you get home" As the boys made their way towards the locker rooms, Brayden turned around and gave a wave. Giving him a quick wave back, I turned on my heel and grabbed my phone out of my pocket.

4:36pm - 3 New Messages

Wonderful. I quickly scanned through the messages. One from the local coffee shop sending me the roster for the next two weeks, one from the university wishing Brayden luck for the game and one from mum asking me to come home as quickly as possible.

Re-reading the message from mum over and over, I couldn't process my thoughts properly. Why did mum ask me to come home quickly as possible if she knew I was at the footy match? Did something happen? Who really knows, maybe I was just overreacting. Putting my phone away, I jumped the fence as I made my way out of the stadium and into the car park. I couldn't help but wonder what the message from mum was about.

I suddenly stopped in my tracks. Looking into the window of my car, I stared at the reflection of myself thinking about my mum and of course, Brayden. When I was in high school, I never really was the popular type of girl. I had friends but wasn't very social when it came to certain like parties. I always had certain insecurities about myself which caused to miss out on certain social gatherings and I'm thankful my family understood the reasons behind my insecurities. I tightened my ponytail and adjusted my glasses as I made my way to my car.

I suddenly let out a frightened gasp as I found myself coming into direct contact with a stranger. I took a glance to see who I accidentally bumped into; he had a tall figure, tanned, wearing a grey hoodie and had one of the most beautiful pair of shimmering, brown eyes I had ever seen. "I'm really really sorry" I mumbled as I nervously stared into his big brown eyes. I tried to break free from my stillness, but I couldn't make my body move.

"You don't have to apologise, I should watch where I'm going next time." he laughed. His tone was raspy but soothing in a way. "I'm sorry, I'm Chad by the way, Chad Wingard" he exclaimed as he removed his hood.

I could feel my cheeks start to warm up. The stranger I had bumped into had into was actually Chad Wingard; athlete player of the Port Adelaide Football Club and one of the top players of the Australian Rules Football league. My mind began to ramble as I tried to find something logical to say. I guess Chad might have noticed that I was little tongue tied since he raised his eyebrow slightly upwards. I took a deep breath and without thinking, the words suddenly left my mouth.

"Oh sorry, I was just a little distracted, my brother just finished a football match. I'm Carmen Richwald, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am a huge fan of you Chad." Hey, that actually turned out better than expected. Alright, stay calm. He is just a human being just like you.

"Nice to meet you Carmen. You said your brother plays football?"

"Yes, actually he played for Northen Knights in grand finale this afternoon and they won. I'm so proud of all of them."

"Congratulations to your brother. Hope everything goes well for him and his football career."

"Thank you. I'll be sure to let him know. I was wondering if we could take a picture together? I mean, if that's alright with you?"

"Sure. Anything for a lovely fan for you!" He added as he smiled. I could feel my heart pound rapidly as I scrambled to grasp my phone out of my pocket. Facing the front of the screen towards us, Chad wrapped his arm around me as I let out a big smile. After hearing the camera noise, I quickly glanced at the photo and held my phone tightly as Chad and I begun to make small talk about afl. I glanced at my watch and felt my heart drop as I remembered my mothers text from earlier on.

4:52pm

"Thank you for the photo Chad. It was lovely meeting you, but I'll let you get on your way. I don't want to take up too much of your time."

"No worries Carmen, it was interesting to chat with you and it was lovely to meet you too. Please give my congrats to your brother for me Carmen."

With that, he winked, turned on his heel and began to walk towards the opposite direction until he was out of my sight. I hopped into my car and began to reverse out of the car park. I couldn't help but to think of the magical moment of meeting Chad. My thoughts about my special afternoon suddenly became interrupted as my phone began to ring. I picked up my phone not really sure what to expect. I stopped about 15 kilometers away from the stadium as I answered my phone.

"Hello sweetie." It was mum. Her tone was cheerful, which I'm guessing might have had something to do with Brayden's win. I hope she's not mad with me; she did send me a text and I accidentally ignored her message. Mum was one of the bravest women I have ever known. She has spent most of motherhood raising Brayden and myself as a single mother after my father walked out on us when I was 3 years old. I never really knew him and I doubt Brayden would remember him either.

"Hi mum. Listen, I'm really sorry I didn't reply to your message, I guess I got caught up with something."

"It's alright. How was the game today honey? I heard about Northern Knights winning. Brayden's already here. His coach offered him a ride home. Anyway, I received a letter from your university today. I believe they have some news you'll be interested in hearing. It didn't say much, but I think you should read it."

"Alright, thank you. Tell Brayden I said hi. I'll be home as soon as I can, promise. Bye mum." I looked at my photo with Chad once again and smiled. Seeing Northern Knights win and meeting Chad actually made this one of the best days of my life, but there was one thing that puzzled me; that letter. There were a lot of unanswered questions about the letter which mum refused to answer.

The only thing I knew was that, it was either going to be good news or bad news, and there was one way to find out.

By the time I arrived at the front of my mothers' house, it was already 6pm. I parked outside the front entrance, breaking the car into a halt. Sitting quietly in the car, I stared at the house. It was small and cozy. The exterior looked old but glossy. I could the sheer curtains from distance, blowing from breeze and the light shining brightly from the vintage lighting coming from the house. This is where I grew up; the place I realized I finally had a family to fight for, a place to be able to hide from my problems, a place to finally call home.

I switched on my phone and begun scrolling through the photos. I saw the one with Chad and me, there was a couple of family photos and some were of Brayden playing football. I was just about switch off my phone when a photo caught me by surprise. I didn't recall this photo. There was Brayden, mum and myself in it. I closey examined the photo when it suddenly hit me. The photo was taken on the day when Brayden was involved in a brutal attack. I could feel my eyes burn as the tears slowly dripped down my cheeks.

Whilst staring at the photo, the events of that dreadful night begun forming in my mind. I still remember the mystery surrounding horrific night which almost claimed the life of Brayden...