Leah Archer was just 12 years old when she hit her head on a rock and fell into a coma, one that doctors weren't sure she'd ever come back from. But when she wakes up four years later, she faces the struggle of recovery and fights to regain any hint...
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AS SOON AS Coach's whistle blows, everyone slows to a jog with a sigh of relief. Caleb pants next to me, holding his hands up on his head as he gulps in air.
"If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were the one that was out for nearly a year with an injury," I teased. He gives me the middle finger as we slow to a walk, his eyes closed and head tilted towards the sky. His face is red and drenched in sweat, but I don't think I look any better.
"If I wasn't exhausted, I would punch you right now," He huffs, and I chuckle, hearing similar groans from the other players. School starts in a month, and with the upcoming season looming over our heads the team is working harder than ever. If preparing for the season meant running three miles after practice, then so be it.
As a group, we all slowly make our way towards the bench and our water bottles. Caleb chooses to pour his over his head and I chuckle, squirting my own in my mouth.
"Okay, boys," Coach starts, walking away from the bleachers and towards us. We all huddle around him, most of us collapsing on the ground around his feet. "School starts up again soon, but we still have a little under a month after that before our first league game. Once we get closer to the first day, I'll let you know the schedule changes that will be happening in terms of practices, but know that we'll have two workouts a day; weight room before school, field practice after."
He continues on, telling us the usual speech about how hard we've been working and that if we continue, it will all pay off eventually. Most of us stretch out our muscles as we listen, knowing we would feel like hell tomorrow if we didn't.
After a few more minutes of talking, Coach releases us all to the locker rooms to shower before we leave. Many of us groan as we stand up on weak legs, our exhausted muscles protesting against the action.
Once we're in the locker room, I walk over to my stuff to grab a towel, change of clothes, and soap before claiming a shower stall. All I really need to do is rinse off the sweat and dirt before heading home.
I see Caleb digging through his bag for something as I walk back towards my locker. "You got anything going on tonight?" I ask him, shoving my practice clothes into the plastic bag I often used for dirty laundry. "My family was planning to go for some wings tonight and my mom suggested inviting your family too. I know she wants to catch up with your mom and, hey, it's wings."
Caleb pauses what he's doing his eyes straying to the ceiling as he thinks. "What day is it?"
"Uh," I start, pulling out my phone and checking the lock screen. "Wednesday. July 12th. Why?"
He thinks for a few seconds before his eyes wide. "Oh, shit, I completely forgot! Leah comes home today."
My own eyes widen in shock. "What? Like, home permanently?" He nods his head. "How the hell did you forget about that?"
