Girlfriend On Mars

15. "Tell me, are you alright?"

Fifteen.

"Tell me, are you alright?"

(tw for mention of injury)

The grumpiness in Marley lingered—she found she was excellent at holding emotional grudges, even though she hadn't fought with anyone. Not yet anyway. Her day consisted of false smiles and laughter—waiting desperately on the moment the final bell would sound so that she could play soccer, release all her pent-up irritation. That afternoon, she felt so invested in her practice that she couldn't stop to care what the other girls thought of her for once.

She charged onto the pitch after changing into her uniform, taking a ball under her booted foot and rolling it about. She waited impatiently for the rest of the team to come out of the locker rooms, bouncing on her toes, tucking her top into her shorts.

"You're in a hurry, Marley." Mya observed, separating herself from the girls that were pooling out the locker room. The air was cool under the shade of the clouded sky and Mya Gash had zipped her sports jacket right up to her tan chin.

"I just want to play." The blonde said quietly. Then she took off with the ball at her feet, twirling and prancing elaborately around the other girls trying to reach her. She was the only one who hadn't worn her jacket and strangely she didn't feel the cold at all; she was hot, cheeks flushed with the heat that was unfurling through her body.

It was obvious to all the players on the team that something was going on with Marley Rhodes. They all exchanged questioning glances as the blonde raced about the field, dodging with undeniable aggression. It was even obvious in her shots. Her foot would leave the grass with more power than needed, muscles in her neck and calves flexing as her boot hit the soccer ball. Even the goalkeeper flinched.

"Woah, you were a bit close to be blasting the ball like that." The keeper said wearily, lifting the ball from the back of the net and rolling it towards another player. "Could have taken my head off—careful with it."

Marley ran her fingers hastily through her hair and answered with, "sorry, sorry."

No one would address the issue though, not with Marley especially. It was like acknowledging the elephant in the room. But most of the girls were looking towards Mya expectantly as she was the closest to the Rhodes girl. They were all mouthing messages to one another concerning the grumpy captain, strings of words connecting the mouths of the girls behind Marley.

There was no stopping her though. She'd become oblivious almost completely to her surroundings, entirely focused on the movement of the ball at her feet. She watched the way it spun and whizzed about with her body, the sound of her breathing heavy in her ears, fatigue closing in.

"Marley... Marley?" Mya voice rang out, disrupting her focus and the blonde felt her ankles smash together below her. Then she toppled, both feet tripping on the ball, one after the other. Pain soon followed in her right arm as her body weight trapped it against the ground.

"Shit, I'm sorry, are you alright?" Mya asked, sucking in a sharp breath as she watched her friend hit the grass.

Marley sat up quickly and noticed the game had stopped around her—then furious heat reached her face. She brushed off Gash's attempt to pull her up and jumped up without support, brushing down her kit with clumsy arm movements.

"Marley, hello? You with us right now?" Mya called. All the girls were staring, confused at the sight of the unfocused captain.

"Yeah, I am, sorry, sorry." Marley sighed, looking about for the ball. "Let's carry on then. Don't let me hold up the game."