Floating in the Abyss ✔️

Chapter 24

We walked up the big stairs into the grandstand and looked for enough seats so all three of us could sit.

"Is that Elyse?" I asked, pointing.

"Yes!" Smiled Laura, hurrying over to her. She had saved us seats right at the front of the grandstand, giving us a clear view of the oval in front.

"Hi!" She exclaimed, standing up to hug all of us. She was gentle but held me very tight when it was my turn. "How are you, Ash?" She asked.

"I'm good, thank you." I told her truthfully. I was excited and nervous at the same time. Today was the day where I would actually meet my brothers.

We all took our seats and got comfortable. The stand was almost full, but many people were onlooking from the field sidelines. It was very professional, unlike any of the schools around where I used to live. Any grass was considered a field, but these were professionally cut and looked amazing.

"This morning, we have Ryan's football game, and then half an hour after it finishes, Austin and Jonah's soccer game starts. We'll leave quickly from here to make sure we can get seats or a good spot at the soccer field." Laura told me.

"Relax, don't stress so much." Chris sighed, shaking his head and smiling at her.

"I just want to make sure we don't miss any of the boys and make sure Ash gets to see it all. Its her first time."

"I'm well aware of that." Chris laughed.

"Shhhh!" Elyse hushed. "There they are!" She pointed to a team of boys wearing blue and yellow. Even from where we were, I could see how tall and strong each of them were. I didn't know which one Ryan was, but they all looked scary.

The other team came out wearing purple, so I was happy that the team I was cheering for wasn't them. I wasn't a huge fan of purple and the uniform was really dark. The yellow was much happier.

Not long after the boys came out, a loud whistle blew, and people started yelling. Boys went every which way on the field, running and yelling. Every now and then I found where the ball was and watched it get kicked high into the air, and people sighing and cheering as it changed over teams. I also realised that not all the people in the grandstand were going for Monarch. Some were going for the purple school too.

"Ryan is number 18." Chris told me, probably noticing the confusion on my face. After that I was able to focus my attention fully on him, instead of trying to get a good look at each of the faces and see who looked like Laura or myself. Ryan was my brother by blood. Surely, he carried some of the same genes as me.

Although I didn't get to see his face during the game, I could tell he was good at the sport. He touched the ball a lot and even managed to kick it between the posts a few times. I didn't know what it did, but the game basically reset every time it happened.

Midway through the game they had a break, and Laura and Elyse went to go get another coffee. I had never had it before, but I figured it must be good if they were having their second one this morning. Whilst they were gone, Chris tried explaining the game to me. It made a bit more sense, how the goals and scoring worked, but I didn't understand why they were so rough.

"It's just how the game goes." He shrugged.

"But don't they get hurt?"

"Sometimes, yeah." He nodded, unfazed. I didn't know why anyone wanted to put themselves in that position. It didn't seem enjoyable at all.

Right before the whistle went to signify the game was starting again, Laura and Elyse arrived back with the coffee. She handed one to Chris and then we continued to watch. All three of them remained very focussed as the game continued, whilst I just tried to get a better view of Ryan's face. I couldn't tell exactly, but his hair looked to be a similar shade of brown to mine, but of course much shorter.

Finally, when the game was over, Laura quickly grabbed her bag and we made our way out of the grandstand and started to make our way to the soccer field to watch Austin and Jonah. We were walking around the back of the grandstand when the purple team appeared, walking out of the underneath part where teams prepared themselves for the game. Quickly after them the Monarch team appeared; in the same hoodies I was currently wearing. I pulled my puffer jacket to one side over my chest so no one would see. I felt like I was intruding.

"Ryan!" Chris called out. Instantly the person with the number 18 hoodie turned around.

"Hey Dad! Mum, Elyse." He smiled, nodding and coming over to us quickly, whilst his team continued walking without him. His voice was deeper than I had expected. "We...what the hell." He stopped midsentence, his eyes landing on me. "No...but..." He trailed off again, looking between me and Laura.

"Ay! Ryan!" A loud voice yelled from the team. He turned back and looked but then returned his eyes to me.

"I..." He continued to look between me and his team. "I have to go. You better explain." He said, seemingly pained by this forced decision. He glared at Chris and Laura before taking one final glance at me and jogging to catch up with his team. They quickly disappeared around the corner.

"That's going to be a long conversation. But there you go Ash, that's Ryan." She gave me a tight smile before we all kept walking.

I thought about his reaction, it didn't seem bad, but he looked confused. I would have been too if I had been told my little sister was dead and then 10 years later, she reappeared, perfectly fine. He had every reason to be confused.

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