Faking It

Chapter 17: Burgers and Bargains

Text from: Jake Morris-Whittaker, 12:42 pm

Good luck today El!! ⚽️🏃‍♀️🏅

Text from: Jake Morris-Whittaker, 2:32 pm
And so????
How was your first away game??

Text from: Jake Morris-Whittaker, 3:49 pm
Helloooooo?? Earth to Ellie!

Text from: Jake Morris-Whittaker, 6:45 pm
You okay??
It's been 3 hours...if I don't hear from you soon I'm gonna start worrying

~*~

"You should've listened to me," Audra said for the thousandth time, when I finally emerged from the hotel bathroom after my shower. She'd done nothing but nag me all the way from Harcourt to the Residence Inn we were staying in for the night. "They're bloody fast and you should've been able to defend better."

"I know," I muttered, gritting my teeth against the explosion brewing inside me. I knew damn well that I'd messed up. It was my fault that we'd lost—even my sub had done a better job at defending than I had. And now she'd probably won my spot as starter.

"When they're faster, you have to stay back and inside, but without letting them get comfortable. Their strikers are bonkers if you give them space, which I thought I told you—"

"Audra, I get it!" I wadded up my dirty uniform and shoved it into my overnight bag. "It's over, okay? I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"It is not over." Audra sat up from where she'd stretched out on her bed, her tone rising to match mine. "What, you think I'm just going to let you give up? You have—"

"I am done talking about this!" I shouted, storming towards the door. When I ripped it open, I nearly ran face-first into Theo's raised fist, primed to knock. He was freshly showered and damp-haired too, wearing his soccer sweatshirt over worn-in jeans and a pair of Nike high-tops.

"What?" I snarled.

His eyebrows hopped, and he slid his hands into his pockets. "Just coming to see if you wanted to get dinner. I already cleared it with Coach." He dropped his voice to add, "And maybe a break from your roommate?"

As much as I resented him being my rescuer, I wasn't in a position to pass up an excuse to vacate the premises. "Fine." I shoved past him out the door.

"Oy! We're all eating at—" Audra shouted before the auto-closing door slammed between us.

"Wait up." Theo jogged to catch up to me.

I buried my hands in the sleeves of my sweatshirt, not slowing my steps. Mashing the elevator button, I double checked that my copy of the room key was still wedged into my back pocket with my phone. Then I checked the other pocket and pressed my eyes closed. "I hope you're buying because I left my wallet in the room and I am not going back there."

Theo let out a low whistle. "Smooth, Emdubs. Though I would've covered your dinner if you'd asked nicely, too."

I fixed him with a glare. The elevator doors pinged open.

"Ladies first," he said, with an exaggerated bow.

I huddled in the corner, a stifling silence pressing down upon us until the doors whooshed open in the lobby. I didn't wait for Theo's "after you" arm sweep before I stalked out, through the automatic glass doors, and inhaled a lungful of crisp autumn evening air. Cricketsong filled the space between the traffic sounds.

"So...do you wanna talk about it?" Theo asked, as our steps crunched on the sidewalk.

I shoved my hands into my sweatshirt pocket. "Nope."