Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
~MAC~
We’re back from the road, and it was another loss.
Danny may not have written any articles, but the press was not very gracious about it.
It was a big one too. We lost five to nothing.
I’ve been so grumpy lately that I don’t want to be around anyone, even Danny, but I know he’s coming to our game tonight.
My parents sent me a lovely text telling me it was probably good they didn’t come to the game, because it didn’t go well.
I just ignored it and didn’t reply. It will be another thing my mom can use to say I don’t communicate with her as much as she would like.
But when she communicates like that, what else am I supposed to do?
But today is a new day and a new game. As I’m warming up, I notice we have less fans.
“Where is everyone?” Cassie asks. Clearly, she noticed too.
“I don’t know. It’s a Saturday night. Maybe they’re doing something else.” I try to sound more positive than I actually feel. But I know I’m failing, based on her expression.
“Maybe they’re home fucking,” Hendrix reasons before taking a drink of water. She’s taking a break from her training with Jase.
“Hendrix,” Coach Watts calls in her direction. “Some decorum, please.”
“I don’t think she knows what that word means,” Amelia teases.
Hendrix just sticks her tongue out at her.
“We gotta focus,” Coach Watts exclaims. “The goal is to get a win tonight, okay? Let’s do that. Let’s focus on that.”
August is standing by the ledge. His mouth opens and closes as he watches us.
“Do you need something?” I ask him.
He looks over at me and smiles. “Thank you for yielding the floor to me, Captain. Yes, I would like to say something. Let’s try and put the ball in the net, ladies. We gotta get a win!”
I roll my eyes. I want to say we know, but I don’t. I just let it slide.
“Cap, can you come here for a second?” August calls to me.
I walk over to the railing and look up at him. “What’s up, Auggie?” I use the nickname I’ve heard so many others say.
“What’s happening with the article? Are you and Danny spending some time together? Is that going okay?”
“We are and it’s going fine. I’m not sure when he’ll decide if he has enough information from me yet.”
“Okay. I think he’s coming tonight.”
“He is,” I say a little too eagerly.
“Oh, okay. Good. Then I’ll just ask him and see if he wants to sit in the box with me.”
I nod because he’s not really talking to me. He’s more focused on finding Danny. I walk back over to where Cassie is standing.
“I’m not sure why you think he’s so attractive, Cas. He’s, like, not even a person,” I tell her.
“Are you ever going to let me live that down? I said one thing about him one time. And that was before he ever spoke.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Come on, everyone, gather around,” Coach Watts says. “I want to make sure everyone understands the lineup and what we’re doing tonight.” He says the same thing every time we play, even though the lineup hasn’t changed and we’re running the same formation.
I look up and see that Danny is, in fact, in the box with August. He holds his hand up and waves.
I just nod in his direction. He’s sent a couple of messages since our night together, before I left for Utah, but I haven’t given him much of a response, just a few words here and there.
It hasn’t slowed him down, though. He keeps on reaching out.
The national anthem plays, then we take the field. San Diego has a tough defense. They’re also the first ones to strike. Their striker, Crawford is amazing. I watch her carry the ball up the field straight past Cassie and Amelia. She finds a gap and sends it past Hendrix.
And we’re down by one.
The game has barely started, and I can see the fans aren’t going to be very forgiving to us tonight. Some of them are shaking their heads. I can’t decide if it’s because we’re losing or if they’re blaming the players for it. Something has to turn it around.
I do my best over the next forty-five minutes to make something happen. I get a few good shots off, but nothing goes in. We go into the tunnel, and everyone’s heads are down. No one likes to lose, but the morale is definitely different from the other losses we’ve sustained.
Coach Watts goes through the normal pep talk, but no one is looking up to meet his eyes.
“Coach, may I please say something?” I ask him.
He looks over and says, “Of course. Please, come on up.”
I stand in front of the team, and no one is looking up at me.
I clear my throat, and only a few of the girls are looking in my direction.
“Guys, I need you all to look at me, please.” Once they look up, I start talking.
“Yeah, we’re down, but it’s only by one.
I know some of you are thinking this is how it starts for us, and you would be right.
But this isn’t how it has to end for us.
We can still win this. We have forty-five minutes to turn this around and we’re going to. ”
I sigh. “If you’re sitting here thinking we’re going to lose again, then that’s how it’s going to end.
But it doesn’t have to. Pick your heads up and let’s go.
We’re going to turn this around. We’re going to show the people of Tampa that we’re here because we deserve to be.
Now let’s go, family on three! One, two, three, family! ”
The morale appears to have picked up a bit. There are some smiles, and a few of the defenders are strategizing with Coach Andie.
“Good speech, Mac,” Coach Watts says. “I really appreciate it. Think I can count on one of those before every game?”
“I think you can count on me to say a few words at halftime, but I hope it’s not because we’re losing the game.”
“Agreed,” he says, patting me on the back. “I’m proud of you. I’m proud of how you’re handling everything. With the press, Danny, the team. You’re doing a great job.”
“Thanks, Coach.” I feel a little guilty that Danny and I are sleeping together, and that’s not exactly ethical of him or me.
We make our way out of the tunnel. It’s time to start the second half. There’s a bit more energy from everyone on the field and on the bench. The bench isn’t slouching and sitting back. No one is staring at the ground. They’re focused on the field again.
I jump up and down, trying to get the blood flowing in my veins. We’re going to turn this around.
And turn it around, we do.
Cassie dribbles the ball up the field and gives me a beautiful through ball. I manage to take a shot, but it goes a little wide.
“Come on, girls, we can do this!” Cassie yells. She’s pushing the defense up to leave them offsides.
The next play goes a bit better. Cassie dribbles the ball up the field after being fed a beautiful pass from Amelia.
She sends it up to Kelsey, our left wing.
Kelsey crosses it and I finish it. The ball floats into the net out of the goalies reach.
We are on the board! The girls are surrounding me and we’re all hugging.
“Let’s go!” I shout as we head back to our spots. Kelsey is walking near me, and I hurry over to her. “Nice pass. Let’s do it again.”
“You bet your ass,” she says lowly, winking at me.
The game continues to turn around. I’m able to net another. For the first time, we’re up. I can’t believe it. It feels like a long time since we’ve gotten a win, and we need this. The city needs to see us as winners.
I think it might be a one-point game, but I’m fed a beautiful ball by Kelsey. I rush in trying to shoot the ball, when I’m taken out by the opposing team’s goalie. She rushes out, knocking me to the ground. I have no idea where the ball goes. I just know that I’m on my back.
I lie there for a moment while my teammates come rushing over.
“Are you okay? Do we need the trainer?” Cassie asks.
“No, no. I’m good.” I sit up slowly and get to my feet, shaking out my legs and twisting my back in an attempt to crack it.
San Diego’s goalie looks over at me. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to take you out.”
“It’s all good,” I say to her. I’m pretty sure it was an accident, and it’s not going to do any good to be snotty to her. If it were someone else, like the Utah goalie who laughed in our faces, it would be a different story.
I get a free kick out of the foul. It’s direct and I’m able to put it in the goal. It’s a gorgeous kick from just outside the box. The girls are surrounding me, and we’re all hugging.
“You are amazing!” Lola says.
“Thank you. We freaking did it! “I tell her, hugging her. She needs to know it’s all of us. Just because I scored the goals doesn’t mean I’ll make it my win. This one is ours.
We play some tough defense because San Diego is coming for us hard, but we manage to maintain our lead and beat them 3-1. The stadium is electric. The fans are on their feet cheering for us, a sight that, at the start of the game, I didn’t think I’d see.
I walk over to the rails and give high fives to the kids and fans who are leaning over it. I look up and see Danny and August are hugging up in the box. He must catch me watching him, because he tips his hat to me. I wave at them both, and August shoots me a thumbs-up.
The team huddles up, and Coach Watts gives us a talk, congratulating us on our win and thanking us for all our efforts. “Do you wanna say anything?” he asks me.
“Way to go, team. That wasn’t just one person out there. That was all of us. Thank you for your hard work! Now let’s go celebrate this win!”
The huddle erupts with cheers. There’s music blaring in the locker room, and the girls are dancing around. You would have thought we had just won some championship game. But for a team that has been down and out for a while, one win is worth celebrating.
Everyone heads out to The Backwoods to celebrate, but not me. I go home to spend some time with my rebounder. It’s a celebration of another kind.