Chapter 25

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We continued walking until we got to the soccer pitch.

"It's quieter here." I commented quietly, sticking close to Chris and Laura because there were still a lot of people.

"Yeah. For soccer, only eleven people are on the field for each team at a time, but footy has eighteen. That's why." Chris told me, as we looked for a good spot. The field was real grass, but it was gated and cut so neatly that I thought it looked almost fake. There was a small building next to the field, so we sat on the steps and watched as they warmed up for a little longer. I had never played any sports before, but I would watch if I wanted to delay going back to them. Whilst we were watching Chris explained the rules of soccer.

"It's not as rough as footy. There isn't as much contact." He told me.

"That's good. Not so scary." I responded.

"Yeah." He chuckled, then just like at the football game, or footy, as Chris would say, the whistle blew, and the game began.

I was quick to realise the ball stayed on the ground a bit more than in football, and the score was much lower too. Barely any goals were scored since most of them we blocked by the goalkeeper, or there was a turnover before it even got close to the goals.

I already knew Austin's number since the hoodie I was wearing said Austin in big capital letters with an 11 written on the back, but I didn't know Jonah's.

"What's Jonah's number?" I asked Chris.

"He's number 23 because his birthday is on the 23rd."

"Where is he?" I asked, scanning the pitch and not being able to find his number.

"Over there." Chris pointed to a group of three boys who weren't playing.

"Why isn't he playing?"

"He's off at the moment. They'll switch soon and he'll go back on. He's been injured recently so he only plays half games at the moment whilst he gets better."

"Is he okay?" I asked, that being my first thought.

"He's fine." Chris smiled, looking at me. I couldn't tell what he was feeling or thinking, but he looked amused.

"What?" I frowned.

"You're caring and you haven't even met him. He's going to love you." Chris told me. I could only hope it was true. It would be strange for him to find out he has a step-sister now, after so long.

Finally the game finished, and Monarch won. They didn't verse the purple school like the football team did, but this team was pretty good, at least in my opinion. The scoreboard told me that the final score was only 2-1, so I figured that meant both teams were good.

We started leaving and I got confused.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Home." Laura smiled.

"We'll get the boys later. They go and watch their friends' games and they have a few team celebrations. It's the final day of their season and a pretty big deal." Chris told me, sensing the question before it came.

"Oh, okay." I nodded.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys at some point in the next few days. Tell Ryan he played well and good job to Austin and Jonah as well. Hopefully we'll see River out here next season too." Elyse laughed, hugging us goodbye.

"In our dreams!" Laura chuckled, looping her arm through Chris's as we walked back towards where the car was parked.

"Does River not play?" I asked, after Elyse had gone her own way.

"He's not really the sporty type. He plays basketball but that's about the extent of his physical activity." Laura rolled her eyes.

"Don't forget his intense gaming though. The sweat the kid gets from that is actually impressive." Chris laughed.

"Don't encourage it!" Laura gently wacked Chris, right as we got to the car.

It didn't take long to drive back home, where Laura made some food. She made the same toasted sandwich as I had eaten on the plane, only it tasted much better.

"Probably because it wasn't all soggy from sweating in the foil on the plane. Plane food is never that good."

"I didn't mind it." I told her. "I liked the red fruit."

"The watermelon?" She laughed. "It's green too. And you can buy it in yellow, actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they taste almost identical though. The outside of the pink watermelon is green. I don't have one at the moment, but I will go to the supermarket and buy you one tomorrow."

"Oh, you don't have to do that." I told her.

"No protesting." She tutted, smiling. "That reminds me. I bought you something to join your Little Women set on that lonely looking bookshelf of yours." Her eyes lit up and she hurried into her office and came out with a big bag. I had no idea when she had the time to go out and shop for something like this, since I had been with her almost every second since she came to the hospital.

"Open it." She instructed handing me the bag. I sat it on the floor since I was too heavy for me to hold, and then sat down next to it, pulling out all the tissue paper. Inside was a rectangular box. It took me a second to realise that the box's contents were the eleven Princess Diaries novels.

"Woah." I gasped, pulling off the plastic.

"I thought that the books would suffice since there weren't any more movies." She winked. I pulled the first one out and ran my hands through the pages. I could tell this book had never been touched by anyone else ever before, and it still had that brand-new book smell.

"Thankyou so much." I told Laura, standing up and hugging her. That was the first time I had initiated a hug with anyone.

"You're welcome, my love." She kissed my forehead before letting go.

"What have we got here?" Chris asked, coming out of his office.

"Just a little surprise for Ash." Laura giggled. Chris peeked over my shoulder to have a look.

"The Princess Diaries. Sounds very interesting."

"I watched the movies at the hotel and on the plane. They're really good."

"I'm glad to hear." Chris smiled, ruffling my hair before disappearing again.

I put the stray book back in the box and carried it into by room, sitting it neatly on my shelf, right next to the box set of Little Women. I found my phone and sent a snapchat picture to Morgan of my outfit and my new books. She replied instantly with a video of her telling me all about how much she missed me and how she couldn't wait to get out of the hospital. I didn't understand why she was still there, but it was something to do with her parents wanting her to be safe.

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