“I’m gonna try this again,”
Keliah’s breath hitched as she felt Georgia’s hot breath in her ear. Georgia slowly turned Keliah around, facing her. For a second, Keliah is entirely speechless; all the moisture in her mouth relocating somewhere else. The hunger in Georgia’s eyes was so intense, it captivated Keliah making her not want to blink.
“Don’t run this time."
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
“Fuck!”
Gabrielle gave a piercing cry into the turf. She rolled onto her back, automatically taking pressure off of her ankle. She dragged her teeth across her bottom lip in attempt to hush her scream. Hot tears spilled from her eyes and trembling fingers reached down to her ankle to alleviate the throbbing ache in her left foot.
“You’re okay, look at me.”
Gabrielle immediately opened her eyes to Meredith’s soothing voice before shutting them again, wincing in pain.
“Mer?…Meredith it hurts!”
Meredith knelt down in front of Gabrielle’s head and dusted the turf pebbles off of her forehead.
“I know, just hang in there.”
Gabrielle closed her eyes shut again as she heard more footsteps approach. Meredith whispered Gabrielle to breathe, again and again until her breaths were calm and her crying ceased. Meredith was soon circled around the entire Swedish team as well as two guards who weren’t as appreciative of her presence as Gabrielle was.
“Missa, du får inte vara här!”
They started shouting frantically at her and using wild gestures. Meredith rose to her feet with furrowed brows trying to decipher what Swedish they were speaking.
“Det är okej.”
A tall woman from Gabrielle’s team stepped in, and the guards backed away, letting the trainers through the ring enclosed around Gabrielle. Meredith looked to the woman who had probably just saved her from getting arrested, but before she could question who she was, Gabrielle’s Swedish cry stopped her. The trainers immediately picked her up and carried her off into the locker room. There was a slow clap for Gabrielle that echoed throughout the stadium. Meredith dusted the pebbles of turf off of her hands before shoving them in her coat pockets and making her way off of the field.
“Meredith, right?”
Meredith turned around and was faced with the taller woman who had saved her ass before.
“Uh, yeah. Do I—how do you know me?”
“Gabrielle is my best friend. Your name is practically holy around here.”
Becca looked at the clock and saw that the game had ten minutes remaining.
“You should probably get off of the field. We already have a sub for Gabrielle.”
Becca gave Meredith a warm smile just in case her tone reflected something a little bit colder. Meredith smiled thinly, looking back at all the cameras that were pointed at her.
“Right. Well thanks.”
Meredith shoved her hands back in her pocket and walked back to the stairs where her family was sitting.
“Is she okay? How did you manage to get on the field?”
Meredith’s family asked all at once. She immediately locked eyes with Roelle and her sister’s last words suddenly registered in Meredith’s head.
“Um, yeah—I mean, I don’t know. It was her ankle.”
“Yeah we saw. Number twelve. What a bitch.”
Meredith slowly sat down next to Roelle and glued her eyes to the game, praying her sister would save their conversation for a later date. Roelle eased back into her seat after glaring at Meredith, deciding she should discuss her new discovered information about her sister in private.
***
“Son of a bitch!”
Gabrielle huffed, slamming her hand against her locker. Her team had won the game, and were back in the locker room with Gabrielle. Some of them couldn’t understand what she was saying but they could tell by her rage that she was livid.
“Hey, it’s a sprain. Lugna ned.”
Becca said as she stood next to Gabrielle at her locker, removing her jersey. Gabrielle clenched her jaw and looked up at the taller woman in disgust.
“That’s not what I’m upset about.”
Becca removed the rest of her clothes and wrapped herself in a towel, preparing to head for the showers.
“Then what is it?”
“Never mind.”
Gabrielle grabbed her crutches and hopped out of the locker room, heading to the bus early, deciding to skip the immediate press conference. The staff and trainers carried her belongings and quietly followed behind Gabrielle, careful not to upset the young forward anymore. Gabrielle watched as all of the fans exited the stadium and pressed her forehead against the window in search for Meredith through the large span of people. When her teammates finally loaded on the bus, Gabrielle gave up her search. Becca stepped on the bus after a few of her teammates and contemplated giving Gabrielle her space when she saw her lips in the form of a pout and her forehead pressed against the frigid window. They were bus mates. They always sat together. Becca quickly scanned the bus for open seats but everyone had their seats, even the newbies. She decided she would tread with caution. She stopped at her and Gabrielle’s seat and stood on the tips of her toes to place her gym bag above the seat before plopping down in her chair followed by a heavy sigh.
“Terrible win. Fucking hate them."
Gabrielle slightly nodded in
