Soccer Meet Cheer

Varsity

~Kristen~

My stomach is in my throat as I flip through the air, reaching for the stars as they grow ever closer. Right as my fingers feel their radiant glow, my breath is taken away as their warmth is ripped from my grasp. My hair whips me in the face as I tumble and turn back down to earth. I fight the urge to close my eyes as the ground quickly approaches my face, but before I could make contact, I felt six arms wrap around me.

"Ugh!" I groan as the boys put me back on my feet.

"Patience, Kiddo. You're getting there." a warm voice chuckled at me.

"Again. We're going again." I demand as I hop onto the three boys' hands.

"Ready? One, two, three." One of them counts down before throwing me back into the air. I grunt as I flip myself through the air, reaching the gymnasium lights once more before my rapid descent. On my way down, my stomach drops, noticing my sudden shift in trajectory. 

"Shit!" I close my eyes as I approach the matted floor, ready for impact, but I'm caught by strong arms.

"Well, you finished the rotation this time." He chuckles out of breath.

I squeeze open an eye to see my dad gazing back down at me. I let out a sigh of relief before jumping out of his arms.

"I don't get why I can't land this." I huff as I take a sip from my water bottle.

"You're in your own head... Maybe we should stop for the day."  he recommends.

"I don't think I could sleep tonight if I don't land this."

"Kris, you're wobbly out there. You're not even landing in the basket half the time." He sighs, obviously tired from having to spot me.

"Pleaseeeee, just one more." I beg him.

He sighs and nods before getting back into position.

I take a deep breath as I climb into the foot holds the boys made for me. My dad gives me an encouraging wink as the boys count down from 3, ready to hoist me up as high as they can. I leap out of the foothold with perfect timing as I delicately flip through the air. I felt the smoothness of the stunt flow throughout my body as I began my descent. But once I took a glance at the floor, I noticed an empty spot where my father should be. My stomach dropped as I quickly fell to the ground. The boys reached out to catch me, but their arms dissolved as I touched them, allowing me to hit the floor with a slam.

I woke up with a jolt, heaving shallow breaths. My hair stuck to my feverish face as I whipped my head around the room. Once I ensured that I was in reality, I dropped back down on my damp bed sheets, attempting to calm my racing heart. I stared at the dark ceiling as I lightly rubbed my wrist. I could feel the ache in my bones as if it had happened just yesterday. A slam so bad my career was over then and there.

I let out a long sigh before pulling the covers off of me, accepting that I would not be falling asleep again any time soon. I climbed out of bed and stumbled down the dark staircase to the kitchen. I squinted as I opened the fridge, flooding half of the first floor with light. I quickly grabbed the Brita and a cup from the cupboard and poured myself a cold glass of water.

"Can't sleep?" A voice from the corner of the room asked before flicking on a lamp. I shook my head as I took a long swig of water, a blessing to my dry throat. "Me neither." my mother sighed as she slumped down on one of the island bar stools.

"Hot flashes were too intense?" I teased with an amused smile.

She rolled her eyes, "One day this will be you, and I'll be the one laughing."