In Striking Distance

Chapter Six | Bench

IT WAS GAME day. Thea's nerves tingled in anticipation before she was abruptly brought to reality. This was one of the games in which she would be serving her team suspension. Coach Kendra still required her to come and sit on the bench, and Thea was sure that it was another form of torture from the coach. All she could do was grit her teeth and follow the instructions she was given.

Thea walked out to see Orson was still asleep on her couch. While the two of them had talked, things were still not normal between them. Thea was worried they never would be. Would they continue being two strangers who co-habited instead of friends who had shared laughs, dreams and secrets?

Orson cracked open and eyelid and took in Thea with a yawn.

"Sorry for waking you," she said hurriedly.

"It's not like I got much sleep on this fucking couch anyways." Orson said grumpily.

She shrugged her shoulders; it was her fault that she didn't have another spare bed to offer him like Rashad did. She wasn't exactly rolling in cash and while the team gave her a stipend for rent, it wasn't enough to get a large place like she always wanted to. Instead, like always, she made do with what she had.

She slipped on her shoes, feeling the foreignness of not having to carry a bag with her.

"Where are you going?" Orson asked.

She grabbed her car keys from the hook before turning around to look at him, "I have a game."

He took in her apparel, the matching grey crewneck and sweatpants but didn't say anything. A part of her wanted to invite him, but the last thing she wanted Orson to know was that she had gotten herself suspended. So instead, she shot him a weak smile, "I made a few meals in the fridge, you can grab one for lunch. I'll be back in the evening."

He didn't say anything, and Thea took the opportunity to slip out of her apartment. Immediately it was easier to breathe.

⚽⚽⚽

It was more difficult than Thea thought. Watching her team play without her was brutal. She could have felt better if the Panthers had won but they had drawn—which was a better result than a loss, she supposed.

Her feet had been itching to run out to the pitch and assist in anyway. Instead, she'd sat back on the bench and passed around towels and water bottles to the rest of the girls that were playing.

A glorified water girl what she had become—although their team wasn't even lucky enough to have a regular water girl.

Thea had been aware of Coach Kendra's glancing her way throughout the game, and she hoped that she had managed to keep a straight face instead of displaying the frustration she felt inside. To top it all off, she'd heard from one of the girls afterwards that there had been a scout from the women's National team who had come to watch the game. It shattered her that she hadn't been able to show her skills to that scout.

Her phone buzzed, just as she finished parking her car. She dug into her pockets before putting it to her ear, "Hello?"

"Thea!" The bright voice on the other line said.

"Lina?"

Her brother's girlfriend was chirpy in her slight Spanish accent, "Yep, it's me."

Thea stepped out of the car, pressing the lock button on her fob. "Is everything okay with you?"

She began walking to the elevator, still waiting for Lina's response. "Yes, everything has been great. I was just calling to check in on you—and how your houseguest has been adjusting."