all stars | uswnt

All Stars: Chapter 12

[9:32- Alex Morgan] Where is Kelley?

[9:32- Hope Solo] what do you mean?

[9:33- Christen Press] Hope, I think she means "Where is Kelley?"

[9:33- Hope Solo] dont be a smart ass, Press

[9:33- Tobin Heath] Dont talk to her like that

[9:34- Hope Solo] Shut it Heath.

[9:35- Alex Morgan] Guys, be serious. Kelley is missing. Allie and I can't find her anywhere.

[9:35- Tobin Heath] And me, I can't find her either. I'm with them.

[9:36- Hope Solo] when did u see her last?

[9:37- Alex Morgan] Yesterday afternoon.

[9:37- Hope Solo] you're shitting me.

[9:38- Christen Press] What is it?

[9:40- Christen Press] Hope?

Hope set down her phone, her eyes wide. Fuck. Fuck Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She looked out the dorm window. The sun was still rising and was only slightly visible over the parallel dorm building. Still, when Hope looked at it, it made her eyes sting. Her phone buzzed with continuous messages, all probably wondering why Hope was ignoring them.

The truth was, Hope knew where the freckled defender was. Last night at the library, Kelley had walked past her, swinging her book bag over her shoulder as she headed off to "bed". She had been on the phone. Hope wasn't paying full attention to her as she was intently absorbed in her personal studies. But, she was listening enough to make out the phrase, "I'll meet you at Diggy's at eleven."

Now, "Diggy's" might of seemed like someone's home, but if you were from NYC or lived/were living there, you would know that Diggy's was the top-notch bar for illegal and underage drinkers. Hope knew this. But at the time, it had seemed like nothing. Sure, it was illegal, but tons of college kids and teens did it nightly, and they were never caught.

But... that was before Hope had seen the newspaper this morning. The headline had read, Bust at Diggy's: Over 50 Amateurs Arrested. She had completely forgotten about Kelley's phone call; she had been too caught up in book and her thoughts. But now it hit her like a pile of bricks.

I screwed up really bad, she thought, grimacing.

-

the night before:

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything that you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you free of charge."

Kelley reluctantly put her hands behind her back and cold medal closed around them. She had never been arrested before. She had never planned on being arrested. But it had happened, so... she had to deal with it. Her best friend, Heather, had agreed to meet her at Diggy's in order to help get Kelley's mind off things. In other words, get her drunk as fuck. And you could say Heather had accomplished her mission.

Kelley looked to her right. Heather's handcuffs were still being put on her.

"Come on," Kelley's police man growled, tugging her violently into the backseat of a red and blue sirens cruiser. He buckled her seatbelt and slid into the front seat. They rode in silence, except for the occasion grunts from the man when he got cut off by a stopping taxi. Kelley wished he could turn the radio on. Anything to fill the awkward atmosphere with noise. Drunken thoughts began to swirl around Kelley's brain. Her first thought was Heather, but Heather was 20 and had already dropped out of NYU. She could fend for herself. Her second thought though, was her teammates. The college would surely find out about this. Would she get kicked off the team? Would she... be kicked out of school?

"Get out of the car," the growly police guy said again, opening the door and unbuckling the belt. Oh. Kelley hadn't realized they were there already. The man guided her inside the station. Kelley looked around. Even though it was in a city, the station could have been easily misplaced for a police office in Miami or Santa Barbara, the only two cities Kelley had been to besides her hometown and New York. Tan tiles lined the floor and desks holding computers and piles of paperwork were scattered around the room.

"Chief," he said into his radio. "I've got a girl who was seen performing underage drinking along with many others at Diggy's. Most got away, but we got our hands on a few. I'm bringing her down to questioning but will need a fucking BAC test."

"Yes, Detective," the so called chief's voice said through the radio. The man escorted the girl down a small but steep set of stairs and into a room that had mirrors as walls. Her knowledge from the many police shows coming back, Kelley was almost positive that the other side of the mirrors was clear as glass and few officers and the chief were watching her every move.

A different detective than the one that had arrested her, this time, a nice looking blonde woman came into the room.

"Hello," she said politely, taking a seat next to Kelley who refused to meet her eyes. "What's your name?"

Kelley was silent for a minute before deciding that being a good girl was more likely to get her out of trouble.

"Kelley O'Hara."

The woman jotted something down on a paper. "How old are you?"

"18," Kelley said again, looking down.

"Are you a student?"

She nodded. "At NYU. Started this fall."

The blonde woman smiled gratefully. She probably didn't get very many convicts that were so willing to give her answers.

"Were you drinking?"

Kelley went silent. Answer it, Kels. "Yes."

"Why?" The cop wrote something else down on her clipboard.

"I, uh, wanted to get my mind off things. And I was with my friend."

She nodded. "Okay, thank you Miss O'Hara. I'm going to ask you to remain still while a specialist performs a BAC test. Are you afraid of needles?"

She shook her head, no. The blonde left the room and was almost immediately replaced by a balding older guy in a white doctor's robe, carrying a blood test and a needle. He rolled up her sleeve to expose her upper arm and cleansed it with a baby wipe before piercing the skin. Kelley glanced the other way and closed her eyes as the pinch like feeling faded. The man gently placed a band-aid on the bleeding spot and left the room. Finally, it was the gruff detective that appeared and walked the defender to a cell. He opened the door and let her in.

-

Hope paced back and forth in the lobby of the NYC Police Station. She had driven straight to the nearest department, praying Kelley would be there. Her assumptions had been correct.

The secretary had told her that "Miss O'Hara is in her cell, awaiting her private trials outcome". Hope had no idea what that meant, she just hoped it was good.

And it turned out to be good. Kelley had only been given 30 days of community service as well as a ban from driving and any alcoholic substances until she turned 21. Not the driving. The driving was only for 30 days. She was lucky; rumor had it that three other underage drinkers had a week in jail and 45 days of community service and no driving.

"Kelley?" Hope asked, seeing the slightly younger girl being taken out of her cuffs.

"Free to go," Kelley said, grinning.

Hope breathed a sigh of relief.

Kelley looked up at her. "Hope, I want to thank you for being like my older sister. Keeping me out of trouble."

Hope chuckled at the girl's kindness. "It looks as if I'm going to have a hard time with that last one," she said, half joking.