UNEDITED VERSION
To break free of the stereotypical box that high school placed her in, Charlie must team up with Liam, the new soccer player on the team her dad coaches.
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Girls fall at Liam's feet - except Charlie. She...
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Desiderium (noun)
- an ardent longing, as for something lost.
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Little girls grew up believing in fairytales. Their mothers would read them bedtime stories about dashing princes rescuing their princesses from dragons. I didn't have that. My mom had passed before she even had an opportunity to hold me in her arms.
Christian and Caleb were born ten minutes apart so at least Mom had a chance to admire her beautiful baby boys. I, however, was born approximately half an hour later. By then, my mom was too frail and died the moment I'd entered this world.
Growing up, I never believed in fairytales. Why would I believe in them if I'd already endured pain at such a tender age? Instead of being read fairytales at night, my brothers and I watched a good soccer game with my dad. Those nights were my favourite.
I never believed in fairytales, not until I discovered the photo album burrowed deep in my dad's closet. When I'd first spotted it, I was twelve years old. I'd arrived home from school bawling because I was being bullied and I didn't want anyone to see the tears gushing down my face. My dad's closet was the perfect place to hibernate and it was where I'd encounter something that would encourage me to push through all of my struggles.
Currently, it was 9 pm on a Friday and I had no brothers to pester. Caleb and Christian had accompanied Jeremy and a few of their team members to a party. I chose not to go because tomorrow I had to meet with Sabrina and I preferred not to be hungover when I did.
Due to the house being so tranquil, I skulked into my dad's room and took out the familiar album before making my way back to my bed. The feathery white blanket was swaddled tightly, encompassing my shoulders and keeping me warm as I paged slowly. I'd never get accustomed to opening the album and seeing my mom's delicate face.
When people said I looked like her - they really weren't kidding. She had identical ice-blue eyes and long blonde hair. Her nose scrunched in every picture where she smiled, the same way mine did. The photos of her and dad made me the most content. You could feel genuine happiness emitting from even the pictures.
Dad and she began dating in high school, senior year but they met in freshman year. Mom was captain of the cheer squad and Dad was defending midfielder on the soccer team. They were the perfect pair. A happy ending was supposed to be inevitable for them. They were those couples you read about in fairytales.
I sniffled as I spread my fingers across a picture of mom wearing a smaller version of Dad's soccer jersey. She had an enormous grin on her face, her eyes clenched shut in delight. Dad stood next to her, the picture being taken mid-laugh. He balanced a soccer ball on her head.
