Falling for the Goalie and Other Dangerous Sports

Chapter 26 - Maddy

I did not want to go to practice.

Soccer used to be a thing of beauty. Something worth passion, time, and effort. Something so glorious the whole world admires it in all it's fine awe and power.

I mean, I like it and all but Derek has made practice a living hell.

He shoved a lot more than usual during drills. He was extremely hostile to everyone. How furious was he? You could take a thermometer to the steam coming from his head, for a gauge. I wouldn't have any of it, however. Every time he pushed me, I pushed back. Harder, I made sure.

"Looks like you guys are in the defensive mood today." Coach beckoned us towards her.

"This drill starts with everyone in pairs, and one ball. For one minute one person will try and defend the ball as well as they can but by not moving anymore than 3 feet in any direction. If you move outside those 3 feet, the ball goes to the other player to defend. If they get the ball from you, they get to defend. Partner up."

I immediately grabbed a ball and went with Aimee. Even though I was extremely pissed, we still joked around as we played. She tried to tickle me, I hip-checked her, and a few giggles even came out then and now. The whistle stopped and I hadn't lost possession, so I found Mark and played again.

Mark might be a little more built than me, but he was at least a head shorter. 30 seconds was called out, and Mark was considerably more aggressive than Aimee. I had my speed however, and managed to hold onto the ball for the minute. He cursed a little under his breath, but I was power hungry for more competition.

I won two more rounds and ended up in a sort of "championship". Apparently Derek had gotten out, because Wyatt was coming to the middle circle.

He walked and up to me and asked, "I'm looking for a real challenge this time." He added a side smile, and for a moment his dark hair that was always in an almost-black wave atop his head and dark brown, perfectly almond shaped eyes looked quite attractive. A hand when through his hair to fix the wave and my heart rate went up a notch. Fucking puberty.

"Me too," I responded, rolling the ball to him and coming to my senses. "You start."

He laughed a little and put a foot on the ball, keeping it away from me and waiting for the go ahead. Coach blew her whistle and things were off.

I made several attempts to push my way through, but Wyatt was just too strong. We were both doing highly illegal shoves, which caused him to lose the ball in the three foot circle, but I didn't have enough body weight to stop him from getting it back. I kept trying to do anything, and he laughed a little at each attempt. It made me laugh a little, and then we were both laughing. I grabbed his waist and threw him down while he was off guard to get the ball. "You can't do that!" he said, laughing and lunging for my ankle. It was enough to trip me up and lose the ball again, but Wyatt had just grabbed it with his hands and was holding it tight to his chest on the ground. I dove for it and he rolled, causing me to somersault right over him. Desperate, I crawled back and tried to rip the ball from his grasp, both of us panting and laughing until Coach finally called it quits. A lot of the team was laughing along with us.

I helped Wyatt up, who was still holding onto the ball for dear life. "Good game." I said.

"Haha, good game. Maybe next time." He walked away and tossed the ball to me with a slight smile. I caught it without missing a beat. I smiled back and followed the crowd to the water bottles. I had completely forgotten about Derek until his face was in my peripheral vision, drinking water. I couldn't identify what kind of expression he had on. I could care less, however. Putting down my water bottle, I went back out to the field. We played against each other a little bit to end the practice. It was Thursday, and our game had been moved to Friday instead of Saturday as usual. This is what was known as the "hell period", where we had 3, sometimes 4 games a week, relentless playing and practicing and always feeling like you want to quit. I think Coach wanted to lighten things up by letting us play a bit, since we were all very exhausted with such a busy schedule. Oliver scored the one and only goal before Coach decided to call it quits. 

"Game tomorrow, lots of water and lots of rest," Coach called out, gathering her things. "Be at the field by 4:00." 4 on a Friday would mean I needed a ride to the field, because both mom and dad were working and neither gets home until 4:30 at the earliest. 

"Aimee, can I get a ride with you tomorrow?"

"Sure, not a problem. We'll pick you up at about 3:40?"

"Sounds good. See you." 

"Bye," she said, opening the door to her father's car. Derek and I were the only ones still packing up things. "TEXT me." Aimee added, nodding towards Derek. She shut the door before I could roll my eyes. Through the glass however, she looked rather distraught and concerned. 

I pushed it aside. I was looking into people's expressions more than I needed to nowadays. I sat and took a long drink of water, waiting for Heather and Hadley to come (as usual). Derek was walking up to the pavilion. The golden sun had dropped behind the treeline and left a blue gray color over everything. The air was still, and the grass turned an eerie green color - a telltale sign of a storm approaching. The thought didn't even cross my mind before it started to rain. I looked up the slope and found Derek just getting into the pavilion, throwing his bag down and resting his head on the wooden picnic table. I didn't want to walk up there. The very thought was repulsive. 

I did anyway.

I mean, I didn't want to stay in the rain. I hoisted my bag higher on my shoulder and began the hike up. The memory of him dipping me low to the ground and talking about colors rushed past, a hazy blur. I rewound and thought all the little details. The embarrassing comments I had made, the two-leaf clover, hiding in the bathroom stall, that unmistakable urge to just kiss - I stopped abruptly and pinched my thigh. Snap out of it. Scarlett and him. The lies. The heartbreak. Why was I walking up to the pavilion again? 

A sudden boom of thunder rolled through the ground, and I began walking again. The sight of Derek made me really nervous. This was a terrible idea. But another, ripping boom of thunder sent me inside and to a picnic table a ways away from him. He was facing away from me, so I could look at him all I wanted. Well, the back of his head and that messy chestnut hair of his. The plain green shirt that was spotted with rain, but not as soaked as I was. 

I thought about green. I thought about his shirt, about the color the grass turned before the summer storm, the shocking color of his eyes. I thought about the lavender field with the gray clouds and sunlight. I thought about the orchestra that conducted the syllables of his name. I thought about him, elbow on the table, hand on my cheek, water feeling like tears. 

Crunching gravel pushed me back into the real world. It wasn't my car, it was Derek's mom. She pulled up, talked very animatedly on the phone. Derek hadn't moved a muscle. His side expanded and shrunk in an unmistakable rhythm of sleeping. I looked back to his mom, who was still busy talking on the phone. 

I stood up. Eyes fixed on his side, rising, falling, rising, falling, I walked over and poked him awake. 

"Derek...Derek..." The boy slept like a log. "DEREK!" I shouted, jolting him awake.

"Hmm, what?" He stretched his arms up. 

"Your ride's here." 

He got up abruptly, turning to face me with a very puzzled expression. "Uh, oh..." He looked back to his mom, still talking. "Um, thanks." Derek picked up his things and stared at me. I grew increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze. We hadn't said anything casual to each other in awhile. He climbed into his mom's car without another word.

I sat down and held my head in my hands. What have I done.