The Skeletøn Bøy

THIRTY-FIVE

++ C H A P T E R | T H I R T Y - F I V E ++      

Elliott rocked on the heels of her feet, waiting for the game to start. Brent was beside her, but he wasn't looking all the ready. In fact, Brent had been acting strangely for the past few days, and coach had noticed. But, he put Brent in as center left anyway, probably hoping for the best.

Elliott couldn't focus on Brent. No, she needed to focus on the game.The starting whistle blew, and Elliott was racing down the field, the ball in her possession. She looked left, but Brent was nowhere to be seen. So, she looked right and passed it to her other teammate.

She looked behind her, finding Brent a few paces behind. His head was clearly not in the game.

Elliott stopped a pass, dodged players, and scored a goal. 1-0.

The rest of the game seemed to be going just as easily. This team was easy and lacked concentration. The team also wasn't together like a good team should be. Passes were made to the wrong team, players seemed distant, and no one knew how to stop Elliott.

It made Elliott's mind wander, as easy games usually do. She could shake the feeling that Mother was here, watching. Waiting. Just like she had been in Kenzie's den.

Elliott shook her head. No, she wasn't there. It was just a dream.Totally normal.

Only, it wasn't. Nothing concerning Elliott was normal. Not the fact that she was raised a boy. Not the fact that she hallucinated Mother's presence. Not the fact that she had urges to hurt people. There was absolutely nothing normal about her.

It was a miracle she even escaped. Even more of a miracle she rescued Mat and Adrian. But, she wasn't a hero anymore. She was broken. Damaged. Crazy.

She was insane. She had to be.  

Elliott passed the ball into the net again, and she could hear the distinct cheer of Natasha. Elliott looked to the sidelines, then stopped moving entirely, because beside Natasha stood Wes, his smile bright.

Wes is here! Wes is here!

Elliott couldn't seem to contain her excitement as she waved to him. She couldn't believe that he'd come. It made up for the fact that Adrian and Mat weren't.

Still. Elliott couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her lips at the fact that Wes remembered she had a game today, and he had shown up. Even if he was beside Natasha. 

After a few more goals, Elliott was still feeling elated. The other team, not so much. And with the last few minutes ticking down, the other team started getting aggressive.

It happened all so fast that Elliott didn't see it coming. One moment, she was running with the ball, the next she was flat on her back with her chest aching and burning and tears running down her cheeks.

Pain. She was in pain.

She could hear the sirens, and she could hear Brent beside her. "Elliott, can you hear me? You're going to be alright, I promise!"

Elliott couldn't seem to focus on anything but the pain. She ignored the blood seeping through her uniform, but she couldn't ignore the pain that ran through her body every time she took a breath. Something was very wrong with her ribs.

Brent was still beside her, bending into her line of vision. "Elliott, everything will be fine. The ambulance is here, and they're going to take you to the hospital. And I'll be there with you."